Heart of a Psalmist - Worshipping Christ Through The Psalms

The story of Nabal and David in 1 Samuel 25 has several parallels with this psalm. First of all is Nabal’s name meaning ‘fool, churlish man’ in the Hebrew language. He is described in 1 Samuel 25:3,17: “ Nabal …was mean and dishonest in all his dealings. ” Abigail, his wife described him: “ He’s so ill-tem- pered that no one can even talk to him! ” Psalm 14:1,4 says that the fool is ‘ corrupt, evil’ and will “never learn!” David had sent men to Nabal to ask for some food as he had protected his flocks and never stolen from him. Nabal’s reply was of course, foolish! “ Should I take my bread and water and the meat I’ve slaughtered for my shearers and give it to a band of outlaws who come from who knows where?”(25:11) Psalm 14:4 says that the foolish ‘ …eat up my people like bread;’ another way of saying they don’t con- sider kindness to God’s people at all. David is outraged and is on his way to kill Nabal and his men when Abigail intervenes and brings food and good advice to him. “ I know Nabal is a wicked and ill-tem- pered man; please don’t pay any attention to him. He is a fool, just as his name suggests.” (25:25) David listens to her and it keeps him from murdering innocent people. The next morning Abigail tells Nabal of what happened the day before: “ As a result his heart failed him and he lay on his bed paralyzed.”(25:37) Psalm 14:5 says: “ Terror will grip them… ” Ten days later, Nabal dies and David marries Abigail illustrating verse 5 of Psalm 14: “ …God is with those who obey him ”. Nabal lost his wife and his life because of foolishness and it possibly resulted in the composition of this psalm. This is first a prayer: “ Oh, that salvation would come…” and then a prophecy: “For when the Lord restores his people… ” The Messiah will certainly come from Mount Zion, representing the new covenant of faith and love rather than from Mount Sinai that represents the covenant of Law and judgment. “ …you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living god, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to thousands of an- gels in joyful assembly…You have come to Jesus, the one who mediates the new covenant between God and people…. ’ The Father and the Son together have engineered our salvation from Mount Zion, their heavenly city. As this verse suggests, it is a very happy place. Jesus has restored fallen humanity and breaks the captivity of sin for all who believe in him. “ We are made right with God when we believe that Jesus shed his blood, sacrificing his life for us.”(Rom.3:25) The corrupted, fallen race can now stand nobly before God through the work of God’s son: “ So just as sin ruled over all people and brought them to death, now God’s wonderful kindness rules instead, giv- ing us right standing with God and resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”(Rom. 5:21) The final picture of this psalm is that of Jacob shouting and Israel rejoicing over the amazing sal- vation given to us by Elohim/Yahweh. This becomes a cornerstone of the worshippers understanding, God has rescued us from a fallen race through his son to rejoice before him forever. People from every nation have been invited to the festivities through faith in Christ. “ Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of highest privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing god’s glory.”(Rom. 5:2) It is definitely not foolish to love and believe in the Son of God! III THE FREE SALVATION - 7 “ Oh, that salvation would come from Mount Zion to rescue Israel! For when the Lord (Yahweh) restores his people, Jacob will shout with joy, and Israel will rejoice.” (7)

PSALM 15: WHO MAY ENTER YOUR PRESENCE? The Qualifications of the Worshiper

This psalm about the qualifications of the true worshiper stands in contrast with the ‘foolish man’ in Psalm 14. It is compared with Psalm 24 as they both ask the question of who is allowed to live in God’s presence. The answer is given in six positive things that the worshiper does and 5 negatives that they avoid. This psalm is generally thought to have been composed during the time of the return of the ark to Jerusalem when David set up a sanctuary for it upon Mount Zion. It is divided into two sections:

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