Heart of a Psalmist - Worshipping Christ Through The Psalms

“But he also turns deserts into pools of water, the dry land into flowing springs. He brings the hungry to settle there and build their cities. They sow their fields, plant their vineyards, and harvest their bumper crops. How he blesses them! They raise large families there, and their herds of cattle increase.” (35-38) The language of this passage is very much like Isaiah 35 where he prophesies of the return of Is- rael to their land and its fruitfulness: “The desert will blossom with flowers. Yes, there will be an abun- dance of flowers and singing and joy!” (Isa. 35:1,2) It is also looking to the distant age of grace when the Messiah himself will unleash the waters of the Holy Spirit upon the world and the church will flour- ish: “And when he (God the Messiah) comes, he will open the eyes of the blind and unstop the ears of the deaf. The lame will leap like a deer, and those who cannot speak will shout and sing! Springs will gush forth in the wilderness, and streams will water the desert.” (Isa. 35:5, 6) Cities, fields, vineyards and harvesting are all pictorial language of the New Testament church growing and prospering under the blessing of the Holy Spirit. “When they decrease in number and become impoverished through oppression, trouble, and sor- row, the Lord pours contempt on their princes, causing them to wander in trackless wastelands. But he rescues the poor from their distress and increases their families like vast flocks of sheep.” (39-41) These verses can be viewed as a retelling of the previous story of the sins of Judah and their exile to Babylon or they can be viewed as prophetic of the history of the nation from the time of Jesus until the present. When the leaders are lost in the desert, the sheep are in perilous condition. All they who remember God’s spiritual formula of “Lord, help!” are candidates for his deliverance and celebration: “Let them praise the Lord for his great love and for all his wonderful deeds to them.” VII SEE IN OUR HISTORY - 39-43

“The godly will see these things and be glad, while the wicked are stricken silent. Those who are wise will take all this to heart; they will see in our history the faithful love of the Lord.”(42, 43)

This psalm is meant to bring gladness to the believer through a godly view of history. Without this perspective, the journey of mankind becomes a meaningless succession of suffering and tragedy. This is something to not only perceive with the mind but also with the heart and understand that we too, are included in his faithful love.

1 Keil & Delitzsch

PSALM 108: WAKE UP, MY SOUL! God’s Medley of Victory

This psalm is composed from parts of two previous psalms written by King David and put together for use in the worship services of the rebuilt temple after the Jews returned from Babylon. Psalm 57 re- counts David’s escape from Saul in the cave and Psalm 60 is the psalm sung before David defeated the Edomites who had invaded Israel. The major difference between this and the previous versions is in verse 3 where ‘Yahweh’ is used instead of ‘Adonai’ (Lord) as in Psalm 57. The psalm structure itself is a lesson to us: • This is the first ‘medley’ of two songs being put together in the Psalms. The first psalm celebrates a domestic victory, David’s escape from Saul. The second half recounts the international victory over Edom. Medleys bring out the best qualities of each song. • This is a repetition, whenever the Holy Spirit repeats himself, it is vitally important to notice. This psalm shows us that it is valid to take older songs that ministered in one generation and adapt them to the present time. • Praise, prophecy and prayer are close relatives in the spiritual realm. Psalm 57 begins with prayer and then moves to the praise section we encounter here. Psalm 60 begins with prayer and then moves into the direct prophecy presented in this psalm. ‘By the aid of God’s Spirit we can both pray our- selves up to praise, or praise the Lord till we get into a fit frame for prayer 1 .”

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