Chapter 42
Sons of Korah.
First Psalm of Book 2.
1st, As the deer...(Much longer stanzas here.)
2nd, A cry from a soul that is cast down.  This person is depressed because of his enemies, and because those enemies laugh and ask why God does not save him.  The person feels forgotten by God, and that his enemies get away with ridiculing God.  He would see them punished.
3rd, Hope in God, for I will yet praise Him.

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Chapter 43
A psalm asking for defense against enemies, and against injustice in general.  A request for direction from God, to lead us back to his altar.
This Psalm ends with the same verse as Psalm 42, yet 42 is not in this day's reading...
Here is yet another Psalm where David is afraid of enemies, and he feels that God has abandoned him.  Was this while he was hiding in the wilderness or while he was King in Hebron.  In the chronological reading, this is after Hebron.  Perhaps these are during the time before all Israel and a lot of Judah got in line behind him.  During Abner's time, and Ishbosheth's.  He would have had a lot of enemies during this time, pretenders trying to knock him off and make their own claims to the throne of all Israel.  So David is not paranoid, there really are plots against him in every direction.
AND, David is not the author of this psalm!  This is book 2, written mostly by the sons of Korah.  So trying to pin these psalms to events specific to David's life is inaccurate.

2021 - Looking at this today, I don't know that you can even say it is about military enemies.  Perhaps this is about the unsettled nature of things after Saul was defeated by the Philistines and David is accepted as King only in Hebron.  That leaves much of Israel in turmoil, without rule of law, and the day to day problems of ordinary people would be their own, with no justice system really to take care of things.  If you got cheated, that was on you.  It would have been a depressing time, a difficult time, an uncertain time.  They could no longer count on the "government" to enforce good behavior much less justice.  A time of growing similarity for the US, with all our "failures of government" right now.  No leadership or common sense in the war on covid, in fact it often seems like deliberate insanity.  The open borders, letting migrants come in and set up "encampments" and then the "government" tells law enforcement they aren't allowed to do anything about it.  That's deliberate injustice to the citizens of this country in favor of those of some other country.  Inflation ramping up because the government is adding so much money to the economy and they seem to be drunk with doing so, and determined to keep it going.  Yes, it is a time of uncertainty here also.  In the case of Psalm 43, it was problems with a new country, just learning to function under a king.  With us, it seems more like the writhing of a dying country, just trying to hang on a little longer, but with an inevitable end in sight.

Chapter 44
2021 - Specifically says the Sons of Korah wrote this.  NOT David.
First stanza thanks God for his help in conquering Canaan.  His help in times past, in establishing Israel.
Second stanza is a praise to God for his help in the present, in defeating current foes.
Third stanza is about God's rejection of Israel (presumably when they do not obey his laws, when they break covenant with him) and the ridicule and shame it brings on them to be defeated.
These verses:
9 But you have rejected us and disgraced us and have not gone out with our armies. 10 You have made us turn back from the foe, and those who hate us have gotten spoil. [Psa 44:9-10 ESV]
David assumed power right after the Philistine's routed Saul's army and killed his sons.  Perhaps this is the rejection referred to in this stanza.  Furthermore, at this time the north and south are divided, and the south is divided against itself.  There would be no common defense of Israel, so it would be vulnerable to raiders, to invaders, and so on.  There would be no central response.  So they would get no respect from any of the surrounding countries.

Fourth stanza says they have not broken the covenant but are being slaughtered like sheep anyway.  The writer says he doesn't understand why Israel is being punished/abandoned by God to her enemies.  Perhaps this Psalm is an appeal for understanding, so that they can know what the problem is?  

Ahh...not just me.  MSB note on this Psalm says it is a national lament following some unidentifiable defeat in battle.  They didn't understand why they lost, and we don't even know what battle it was.

So you have to ask why this Psalm is at this spot in a chronological reading if we don't know what battle it is about.  Just a good spot, maybe.
Fifth stanza is short, and exhorts God to awake, to rouse, and to help them.

2021 - This is about a bad time.  Israel is losing battles.  Was this a time when David was in Hebron and Jerusalem was not the capital at all?  Hmm...where is the tabernacle at this time?  Where were these "Sons of Korah" writing from?  The Ark was still in a tent at this time...or was it in Philistia still.  Is this about Saul's defeat and the advantage taken by all Israel's neighbors during their time of division and disunity?  Most of the country was likely operating without rule of law, and raiders might have been having a heyday in Israel.
2021 - This verse shows up twice almost identically.  I will put the second time, because it is so familiar:
22 Yet for your sake we are killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered. [Psa 44:22 ESV].  Similar to vs 11.  I have heard this verse used to say we should send missionaries out until the pagans stop killing them.  I have heard it used to say we should not resist evil, but let ourselves be sacrifices.  I don't see how either of these interpretations of the verse could be correct in the context of this Psalm.  People in Israel were dying right and left, and they hadn't done anything (in their view) to deserve such destruction.  God was not giving His people any more consideration than a farmer would his sheep at slaughter time.  They were being indiscriminately killed and God didn't seem to care.  It is a metaphor, it is not an instruction.  This verse never meant that missionaries should be sent to their deaths like lemmings going over a cliff.  This would not be right at all.  Just look at the next verse:
23 Awake! Why are you sleeping, O Lord? Rouse yourself! Do not reject us forever! [Psa 44:23 ESV].  These sheep were not people doing God's will in a sacrificial way.  They didn't see it that way at all.  They saw it as God not caring what happened to them.  How long were they in bondage in Egypt?  How long were they abused there and treated like so much livestock?  This is reminding me of what happened to Job as it was applied to a whole nation.  God must have had his reasons to let these things happen.  And their response, like Job's, is to cry out to God but not to call God wrong for their plight.
Possible FB post.  This verse is NOT about submission.  It is a crying out to God by a people who believe they are unjustly punished.  It doesn't say "be like a sheep going to slaughter", it says "why do you treat us like sheep?"  This is a discouraged nation.  Perhaps that is the lesson...even when it seems that God had turned us over to the enemy, we are still to be faithful, and it is to Him and Him only that we appeal for help.  But it is NOT about submitting to enemies!
2022 addendum...BUT, there is also this:
35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36 As it is written, "For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered." [Rom 8:35-36 ESV].  Why in the world did Paul use this passage in this way?  He does indeed make it sound like we are to be martyrs.  But...look at the very next verse:
37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. [Rom 8:37 ESV].  Starts with NO!  We are NOT dying as so many sheep, sent to slaughter by an owner interested only in our value, not in who we are.  This is NOT right.  We are loved by Christ, and we are MORE than sheep, loved by the master not "sent to the sale barn" with never a thought.  This is NOT what we are.
2023 - But the passage ending at vs 22 does kind of say that for some reason not at all understood by the nation, God is letting them be slaughtered like so many sheep.  Like Job, they are not saying God has no right, but they are most definitely asking for an explanation.  Look at this verse:  17 All this has come upon us, though we have not forgotten you, and we have not been false to your covenant. [Psa 44:17 ESV].  Very reminiscent of things we read in Job.  And then vss 23-24!  They want God to stop this "unjustified" retribution - or what seems to them unjustified, and seems to them retribution.

 

2024 - Or...hmmm...So if we start with say vs 20, we read that the writer is talking about how they are loyal to God.  They have no other Gods but him.  They offer that if they had done anything like this, God would know.  He is saying that they ARE worshiping God, they are proclaiming his name, they are giving him the praise and thanksgiving for all they have.  I do not think we can read "missionary work" or "making proselyte Jews" into this passage at this point in Jewish history.  But like Job, they seem absolutely to believe they are in the revealed will of God in all that they are doing.  And yet they meet with failure, derision, death, defeat, they are laughed at by their enemies, their goods are taken as spoil...in all they do it is like God has turned away, and decided to get out of the sheep business.  He is "liquidating his stock".  This is how they feel.  And I suppose missionaries in the field might feel this way when they have essentially no success for many years...or when missionary after missionary goes into the jungle or into the desert, and is never seen or heard from again.  Like sending sheep to the butcher with no thought at all.  Perhaps this was during the time that the ark was in the hands of the Philistines.  Perhaps Israel, as it started to organize itself under a new king, was perpetually raided by those who knew the army had been severely reduced by the loss to the Philistines under Saul.  They knew Israel was weak militarily, and when the remaining army of Israel went out to stop these raids, expecting God to give them victory over stronger forces as He had helped their fathers to conquer the land in the first place, and they had faith that he would do so...yet they keep losing.  They are seen by their enemies as a pitiful excuse for a national army, and with each defeat they look weaker than before, inviting more and more raids, invasion, and pillaging.  This makes some sense.  They march out trusting that God is on their side...and they get routed, time after time after time.  And so they ask, what are we to do?  What have we gotten wrong.  Finally a way to look at it that seems to make sense. 

Chapter 45
(Starting with 42, we are in Book Two of Psalms.  These Psalms all seem to be from the "Sons of Korah".)
2023 - There is a definite shift in the emphasis - the foundation - of the Psalms in Book 2 as contrasted with Book 1.  There are many many Psalms in Book 1 that I would call Psalms of Comfort.  In Book 2, the Psalms seem more "earthbound" at least so far, and more Psalms of Request for Vengeance.
This Psalm praises God as King, overpowering all, majestic in appearance and action.
2021 - No, I don't think so.  The intro says this is a love song from the Sons of Korah, and then vs 1 says it is addressed to the King.  I think this is written to a living, current in their time, physical King.  Perhaps to David.  And where does it go if we look at it that way?
2021 - Perhaps vss 1-5 are a picture of the Conquering King, far in the future, and of some current (David?) king as iconic of that future time.  I can see it being about that.  Then vs 6 turns eyes to the throne of God in heaven, not as a change of view, but as the source of the sovereignty of this earthly king, or the future Conquering King.  But it is still the icon that is in view.

Some interesting verses here...and is this about the Father, or the future Messiah on his throne?
8 your robes are all fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia. From ivory palaces stringed instruments make you glad; [Psa 45:8 ESV]
Are these spices the ones used typically as burial spices, and so a reference to the risen Messiah?
9 daughters of kings are among your ladies of honor; at your right hand stands the queen in gold of Ophir. 10 Hear, O daughter, and consider, and incline your ear: forget your people and your father's house, 11 and the king will desire your beauty. Since he is your lord, bow to him. [Psa 45:9-11 ESV]
Surely this verse would apply to any mortal king, to any man, but God has no queen, nor does Christ.  Jesus' bride is the church.  MSB says this is picturing a royal court, and that polygamy was common at the time, though prohibited by God's word.  I don't think that really explains what's going on in this Psalm...

This is all very "earthly" to me.  Almost like they've mistranslated God, or inserted it, when this Psalm was actually written for David or Solomon, not for God.  But if it was something like that, MSB would say so I think.  This one is difficult.

Second time...This verse:
2 You are the most handsome of the sons of men; grace is poured upon your lips; therefore God has blessed you forever. [Psa 45:2 ESV]
God is not the son of any man.  So this isn't about God.  Jesus was plain, not handsome.  Not about Jesus.  This is about an earthly king - just my opinion of course!

In vs 6, the subject changes from an earthly king to God himself.  Like this:
6 Your throne, O God, is forever and ever. The scepter of your kingdom is a scepter of uprightness; [Psa 45:6 ESV]
These verses are perhaps near/far prophecy, referring to a current King and his court immediately, and some parts more about the future kingdom with Christ at the head.

2021 - Hmm...this ends with the princess and her virgin maidens following behind her as she is taken to this King the Psalm is about.  That pretty much disconnects it from the Conquering King view entirely.  That makes it solely about whomever was king when it was written.  It just about has to be about David.  Israel really never had any other King that would qualify for this kind of praise, even though we have no idea when it was really written.  So the whole vision of this as a near/far prophecy breaks down in those last verses, vss 13-17.  This Psalm...should not be the basis of any doctrine or any eschatology.

2022 - It could also be about Solomon, with his many wives, as he presided over "the golden age of Israel".  Saul was "the handsomest" man in Israel when he was made King.  I think there is also a reference to David being a good looking red-headed guy.  But I don't remember any references to Solomon's looks....except as described in Song of Solomon.  That lady though he was pretty handsome.  I think Solomon is the most likely subject of this Psalm.

Chapter 46
Authored by the sons of Korah.  A song.
A missionary spoke at church last night.  He used this very same Psalm as his text.  Coincidence?  I don't think so.  He said he read this Psalm as a song of battle, a Psalm to "pump up the troops".  Interesting that in chronological reading, it shows up right after Sennacherib gives up his siege of Jerusalem.  Probably exactly where it belongs...and that missionary has it right.

Verses 1 and 2 set the stage:
1 To the choirmaster. Of the Sons of Korah. According to Alamoth. A Song. God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. 2 Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, [Psa 46:1-2 ESV]

vs 10, oft-quoted in part, is in this "military" chapter:
10 "Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!" [Psa 46:10 ESV]

2021 - This Psalm pumps up the troops by reminding them of the power of God, that God is in Jerusalem, and that he looks after his people.

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Chapter 47
The Sons of Korah.
Praise the great God of Abraham

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Chapter 48
This is a Psalm of the sons of Korah, and is a description of Zion, the chosen city of God, as seen by man.

 

Chapter 49
Still Book 2, still the Sons of Korah.
This seems to be about devotion and trust in God despite the troubles of the world.  This verse:
7 Truly no man can ransom another, or give to God the price of his life, 8 for the ransom of their life is costly and can never suffice, 9 that he should live on forever and never see the pit. [Psa 49:7-9 ESV]
...once to die...and no way out of that.  And no man can be good enough to pay us out of this fate.  Only Jesus can give eternal life.

11 Their graves are their homes forever, their dwelling places to all generations, though they called lands by their own names. 12 Man in his pomp will not remain; he is like the beasts that perish. [Psa 49:11-12 ESV]
The transience of man in the world.  Reminds me of Ecclesiastes.  Nothing we do remains, our wealth accumulates for others, our lands take on new names with the passage of time.

15 But God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol, for he will receive me. Selah [Psa 49:15 ESV]
In God, we can live on.  This is the only solution.  So this is saying first that we all must die a physical death.  There is no immortality in this body.  This one must die, and others will come after us.  What we do on this earth is ultimately meaningless.  But in God, in Christ in fact, our souls can be ransomed from Sheol, we can be bought out of hell.  But only God can do this.

2021 - Both good men and evil men must die, it is the price of sin.  Evil men die and have nothing, and their works on earth soon die with them.  But good men, godly men, are ransomed from hell not with money but with blood.  See vs 15.  God himself ransoms us - with His own son - and saves us from hell.

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2024 - This is about perspective.  We ought not spend much time worrying about the evil rich, the foolish rich, even the stupid rich.  With all their money, they too will die, and from the same causes that we do.  No amount of money keeps this body from dying.  But God can redeem us, and raise us to eternal life.  Not because of our money, but because of our faith.

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Chapter 50
Asaph.
2021 - So this is not "The Sons of Korah", but specifically by Asaph.
1st stanza, God as judge.
2nd, God speaks
3rd, God needs no sacrifices, for all the bulls and goats are His.  He knows the birds, he knows everything that moves.  All are His.  There is nothing that we can sacrifice to him that isn't his.  So what he wants of us is thanksgiving, vows performed, and our prayers in time of trouble.  He wants us to look to Him for deliverance.  These things - love devotion faith dependence.  These are what he wants from us, and these are NOT already His because He gave us the freedom, the room, to decide where we will direct these things.  

 

2024 - God is speaking to Israel in these verses, and says: 13 Do I eat the flesh of bulls or drink the blood of goats? [Psa 50:13 ESV].  Note that even in that day when drinking blood was strictly prohibited, God says he can drink it.  So...it isn't that drinking blood is sin.  It is that man was not to drink blood.  Only God could do that.  And then in the NT, at the last supper, Jesus tells the 12 to drink his blood from then on, in remembrance of him.  This is still difficult to understand.  I have not seen this verse this way before.

4th, He speaks to the wicked.
2023 - These verses:  
16 But to the wicked God says: "What right have you to recite my statutes or take my covenant on your lips?
17 For you hate discipline, and you cast my words behind you.
18 If you see a thief, you are pleased with him, and you keep company with adulterers.
19 "You give your mouth free rein for evil, and your tongue frames deceit.
20 You sit and speak against your brother; you slander your own mother's son.
21 These things you have done, and I have been silent; you thought that I was one like yourself. But now I rebuke you and lay the charge before you. [Psa 50:16-21 ESV]
Ever have someone you know is an unbeliever quote a verse to you to shame you?  Usually they like judge not lest ye be judged.  Seems like they all know that one.  Here's the thing.  Christians DO very OFTEN mess up, and the accusations may be well founded.  However, we ought not feel worse because it was an unbeliever rather than a brother or sister who called us out.   Look at how God describes such people in these verses.  God does not count a sin called out by an unbeliever as worse than a sin in secret.  God says he let's them make all the noise they want, but ultimately, they will be charged with all that they have done wrong...and we will be judged guiltless because of the blood of Christ.  Our repentance ought to be directed to God, not to the ones who prefer sin to righteousness anyway!
Possible FB post...needs work.

 

2025 - So how should we respond when an unbeliever quotes the Bible at us to show our sin?  We need first to confess that we are not perfect - no more perfect than the accuser.  But we are different than the accuser in that Jesus' own blood was offered to for our sin and removed God's judgment from us.  Then, from level ground, we can ask our accuser if they believe the book they are using to judge us.  That book says "And salvation is found in no one else..."  There's no alternate path to God.  Being "better than Joe" won't do it.  
So get on the same side of the desk by confession, point out the real difference with profession, and then offer something better with invitation.

5th, God rebukes the wicked.
6th, Summation, and this verse:
  23 The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me; to one who orders his way rightly I will show the salvation of God!" [Psa 50:23 ESV]

Chapter 51
David, when Nathan came to him after Bathsheba.
2021 - So this is a Davidic Psalm in Book 2.

1st Stanza, 1 To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet went to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.
Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. [Psa 51:1 ESV]
Once David is reminded that God already knows about his un-confessed sin, the first thing David prays is for mercy, based on God's love, and not on his own merit.  David knows he cannot earn forgiveness for this sin.  
2021 - In vs 2:  2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin! [Psa 51:2 ESV], David wants the sin to go away.  It wants it off him like dirt after a bath.  He's asking God to wipe it away and it reads as if he wants no consequences.  He wants to be free of it so he can move on, as if it never happened.  Don't we all want that!?  But this is not what happens.

2nd, Full confession, without excuse, sin from one born in sin, deserving the judgement of God.

2022 - This verse:
4 Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment. [Psa 51:4 ESV].  Is this yet another reason that God let sin enter the world?  So that by his forgiveness he might show how merciful he is, and so that it may be absolutely shown that only He is perfect.  If we sin, we throw gasoline on the fire of our own condemnation by God.  Our sins prove that hell is what we deserve, and His forgiveness honors Him.
I think this is probably true, but I don't think it is a post.

3rd, 10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. [Psa 51:10 ESV]  Besides forgiveness, David yearns for the innocence he had before, the clear conscience he had before.  The seeking spirit and the close relationship he had to God, undiminished by this great sin.  That is the great loss that sin causes - a broken relationship, which may be mended, but never quite what it was before.
4th, David knows that sacrifices will not earn God's forgiveness here.  Only a broken spirit and a contrite heart are acceptable sacrifices in this case.

2023 - This one:  14 Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, O God of my salvation, and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness. [Psa 51:14 ESV].  David is not just talking about Bathsheba here.  He is withholding nothing in his confession.  He is guilty of murder, and confesses that also to God.  

2022 - Here is the verse:
17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. [Psa 51:17 ESV].  David was under the Law, yet he understands that it is not the works - not the act of making a sacrifice - that God honors.  Obeying the Law is not like paying for merchandise or services.  Mindless ritual can never appease God.  So...why then did he implement the Law?  The Law was between God and Israel.  I don't think ti was so much for individuals as it was a "gauge" of national faithfulness.  And with it's specific rules, it showed each person that living a perfect life - even with only 613 rules to follow - was impossible.  It remained impossible until the Pharisees came along and redefined and diluted the rules - and added some of their own - to make it possible for them to claim perfection under the Law.  They were not.  They were in fact as far the other way as they claimed to be perfect.  David knew that sacrificing a thousand bulls without repentance in his heart would be a waste of a thousand bulls.  What God wants is repentance, submission, and relationship.

5th, Prayer for Jerusalem.
2022 - Vss 18, 19 seem to bear out that the Law is about the nation.  When Zion is right, God accepts their sacrifices.

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Chapter 52
About Doeg, who told Saul David was in the house of Ahimelech at Nob.  Doeg kills 85 men of God before the episode is over.  This is a sort of prophecy about what Doeg has in store for him from God for what he has done.  A search for "Doeg" in the MSB did not turn up any fulfillment of this prediction in the OT.  
2023 - This verse, where David declares himself "like a green olive tree".  This is important because of the two olive trees in Revelation, the two witnesses, and the references in Zechariah.  This is the first time I have seen David call himself one of these:
8 But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God. I trust in the steadfast love of God forever and ever. [Psa 52:8 ESV].  It seems unlikely that David would come back as one of the witnesses, but we cannot dismiss it outright, especially given this verse.

 

Chapter 53
David.  Only 6 verses.  Starts with:
1 The fool says in his heart, "There is no God." They are corrupt, doing abominable iniquity; there is none who does good. [Psa 53:1 ESV]
I sure thought that was in chapter 14 of Proverbs, but I cannot find it there.  It is in Psalms 14.1.  The wording I remember is in 14.  This is slightly different, but most certainly has the same idea.

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Chapter 54
David wrote this one.  It says he wrote it when the Ziphites betrayed him to Saul.  
2022 - NDP
4 Behold, God is my helper; the Lord is the upholder of my life. 5 He will return the evil to my enemies; in your faithfulness put an end to them. [Psa 54:4-5 ESV]

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Chapter 55
David wrote this one.  
Seems to be about a former friend who used their friendship to deceive David.  This person was not an enemy or adversary - or didn't seem so - but now the truth has come out.
This and 54 were both about betrayal.

2022 - These verses:
4 My heart is in anguish within me; the terrors of death have fallen upon me. 5 Fear and trembling come upon me, and horror overwhelms me. [Psa 55:4-5 ESV].  This is how I felt last night, after seeing the clip of Peterson saying that they are shutting down the best farmers in the world in Holland, denying them fuel because fuel pollutes, and so indirectly cutting off the food supply.  The name of the video was to the effect that if Germany can't produce food, there will be starvation.  And then I think about how Revelation says the price of food will go sky high at the end, and how the man of sin will obtain control of the food and make it impossible to buy food, except from him at the price of worshiping him.  And then they talked about Bill Gates being the single largest private landholder in the US, and  how he buys farmland and t hen shuts it down as to that purpose.  He is taking food producing property out of production...because he is rich and he can.  And people sell to him anyway.  If all that land is going into a trust, and upon his passing someone truly evil gets control of all that land, then much harm could accrue.  And then, there was the Randy Bonner post saying the rapture is before all this starts...and I absolutely do not believe that is so.  The church goes through all this.  I am old, I can do very little to look after myself or others, especially now with the bicycle wreck which doesn't seem to be healing.  And I lay in bed thinking, wondering how I can be faithful while starving and how I can deal with my family starving or my family expressing loyalty to that end times system...As I thought these things, my heart was in anguish, and the terror of death - of a tortured, lonely death - fell upon me.

 

2025 - As I read these same haunting verses this year, I see that even David was sometimes entirely overwhelmed by the threatening nature of events in the world around him.  He says he had fear and trembling.  So when these things happen to us, we need to realize that we are in good company.  This is not a sign that our faith is uniquely small, or even that our faith falls way over on the left end of the curve.  
2025 - Sometimes the world is a horrible place.  Sometimes I think God gives us some insight into just how awful it is and it scares us down to our toes.  We should interpret this fear as God showing us that our last best only hope is in Him.  Whatever is happening is part of the plan, and we should seek OUR part - which might well be displaying confidence in our God and so shining light into the darkness so that those who have no hope can come to the only light there is.

 

These verses:
19 God will give ear and humble them, he who is enthroned from of old, Selah because they do not change and do not fear God. 20 My companion stretched out his hand against his friends; he violated his covenant. 21 His speech was smooth as butter, yet war was in his heart; his words were softer than oil, yet they were drawn swords. [Psa 55:19-21 ESV].
Look at these!!!  Who is the enemy enthroned from of old?  The Dragon!  He hasn't changed, he has no fear of God.  "My companion"?  I think this is insight into the MoL!  He will be a fried of a great King, he will make a covenant with many through the power of  his words!  But he will violate his covenant, as we see in 20b!  This whole chapter is worth studying for insight into the methods of the MoL!!!

This next to last verse in the Psalm:
22 Cast your burden on the LORD, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved. [Psa 55:22 ESV].  Really need to work at believing this...

Chapter 56
David wrote this one, when he was captured by the Philistines.
3 When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. 4 In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me? [Psa 56:3-4 ESV]

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Chapter 57
David, when he fled from Saul.  So we are going back in time a little, as did the prayer of David in 22.
1st stanza, A plea to God for mercy.
2nd, One verse, shows figuratively that David was surrounded by many dangers.  Deadly dangers.
3rd, One verse, Conspiracy against David by his enemies has led to their own fall.
4th, David promises to give thanks to God before all peoples.  I believe this means David will make it known that his successes, his victories, and the state of his kingdom is all because of God.  He will proclaim God, not proclaim himself.
5th, The closing.  To God be the Glory.
2021 - David surely is an example of how to trust God in the worst of times.  He was hiding in a cave from the King - from the government that was out to kill him.  Yet he looked to God for protection and salvation.  God is what he trusted, and surely he must have lived his days one at a time, and always ready for anything.  A very trying way to live.

​

Chapter 58
David
2021-An unusual intro to this one.  It says "according to Do Not Destry".  What in the world could that mean?
1st, David questions the gods who think they have power on earth.  Per MSB this refers to leaders who don't speak up when they should.
2021 - It is a question that surely could be asked today in the US. 
3 The wicked are estranged from the womb; they go astray from birth, speaking lies. [Psa 58:3 ESV]  This seems to say that some are born for hell.  Some go wrong at birth and never turn back.  Psychopaths?  Sociopaths?  Mass murderers?  Is this verse about them?
2nd, All are born wicked.  Without salvation, none can please God.
2021 - Also seems to be saying that the truly wicked are the way they are from the beginning.  They are born wicked, born to be wicked.
3rd, David prays that God sweep away these wicked people - who did not change to God's ways - as if they are nothing.  Trifles only.
2021 - Another non-defensive prayer.  NDE
6 O God, break the teeth in their mouths; tear out the fangs of the young lions, O LORD! 7 Let them vanish like water that runs away; when he aims his arrows, let them be blunted. 8 Let them be like the snail that dissolves into slime, like the stillborn child who never sees the sun. [Psa 58:6-8 ESV]
4th, When the righteous sees what God has done in sweeping away the wicked, he will rejoice, that if there is punishment for the wicked, there is reward for the righteous.

And this one to finish the chapter:
11 Mankind will say, "Surely there is a reward for the righteous; surely there is a God who judges on earth." [Psa 58:11 ESV]  The word is the basis for morality.  It is the foundation of all that is good and right.  This anti-evolutionary way of living had to come from somewhere.  It is planted within us, not learned.  God is the source.  It comes from Him alone.  Inasmuch as it exists in us, it is because we are created in His image.  He imparted some of that to us at creation, and it continues at conception.  But it cannot be explained or understood in a godless context.  Never.

​

Psalm 59 NDP
2021-Like 58, the intro to this Psalm says "according to "Do Not Destroy"?  One of David's favorites?  One he wanted them to be sure and retain instead of just sing on a special occasion and then throw away?  No way to know.  This is about the night Michal convinces David to flee from Saul and she helps him to escape.  David would otherwise have died that night.  He was within hours of death when he wrote this Psalm, yet he escaped.
A prayer for deliverance.  Written when Saul's men were watching David's house.
2021 - The first two verses are a very direct prayer for protection from evil men and their designs.  David realized he couldn't "outsmart" the conspiracy against him on his own.  Either God would help him, or he would die.  He had no chance on his own.  Prepping is like that.  No matter what we do, we won't make it without God.  God should be the primary "prep".  Hmm... It is also true that David sneaked out of that house and ran for the hills.  He prayed, and then he acted.  It seems that David is always like this.  He prays because he knows he cannot outsmart so many, and then he does his level best to outsmart them, depending on God to fill the gaps.  This we've seen many times from David.

This verse is near the end of the Psalm:
16 But I will sing of your strength; I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning. For you have been to me a fortress and a refuge in the day of my distress. [Psa 59:16 ESV]
How often are we like this?  We pray earnestly for protection or release from some problem, and God answers, and takes care of us.  But we don't pray this last part.  We don't praise and thank him for the answer.  We just go on as if it was nothing.  Thanking God afterward is a big deal too.

​

Chapter 60
David.  There's a long explanation of the source of this Psalm.  It goes along with 2 Sam 8 when David comes to power, brings the ark to Jerusalem and begins to reign.  His first foray is to defeat the surrounding enemies and have them pay tribute to him. 
2021-This Psalm is according to "Shushan Eduth".  Some recent ones were according to "Do Not Destroy".  This one "might" mean "Lily of the Testimony", and is seen as a song title.
1st, God has rejected them. 
2021 - Actually, it says God has rejected US.  Is seems to be about a rejection of Israel.  Perhaps it refers to the time under Saul, the first King, that the people insisted on even though God wanted no king over Israel.  Maybe David is summarizing all the years that Saul was King - 40 years - in these first few verses.  It is interesting that David says God gave them wine that made them stagger, as in gave them something that should have been a good thing, but too much of it had the opposite effect.
2nd, God over all.
2021 - In this middle section, David seems to "shout in triumph" over all his enemies and praise God for his help.
3rd, God help us against our enemies.
2021 - Then in the third section we are back to God rejecting them, not going out with the armies of Israel?  Is this about mistakes, reconciliations, and then more mistakes.  Looking back at the introduction we might think that.  This is a bit of a confusing Psalm.

Chapter 61

David1st, Hear my prayer, lead me to high ground, for you are my refuge and strong tower.2nd, Let me be yours forever.3rd, Oh King, live forever.4th, I will sing praises forever.

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Chapter 62
David.

2025 - For reading when we are overwhelmed.

1st, God alone is our refuge.

2025 - vs 1 - Wait in silence.
    vs 5 - Wait in silence
    vs 8 - Trust in Him at all times

2025 - Rock.  Salvation.  Stronghold.  All defensive positions.  Psalms shows us this over and over.  God is our defense, not our weapon to wield against others according to our own plans and ambitions.  God is not a tool for us to use.

2nd, Wicked try only to pull down the good.
3rd, A might refuge is our God, the song may have come from this stanza.  It is about depending only on God for help, for refuge, for defense.  It is about waiting for God's help.
4th, A plea for people to hope in God, and not in wicked plots and plans and schemes.
5th, Summary, All power belongs to God, and He will render to each according to his work.
This would be good for FB posts.  These last two verses.
2023 - But...this verse:
12 and that to you, O Lord, belongs steadfast love. For you will render to a man according to his work. [Psa 62:12 ESV].  That last sentence juxtaposed with the book of Job.  It is how we want it to work, and David puts it here as if it a truth. It ought to read "For you will render to a man as you see fit, as your purpose is best served.  That is how it really works.  I am far more blessed than I have "earned".  I know some less blessed than me who certainly seem to deserve more.  This is a difficult concept.  It is one of those things where the Bible clearly says both are true.

​

Chapter 63
David's Psalm.  Written in the Judean wilderness.  So the thirsty part was a very current metaphor for him. 
1 O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. [Psa 63:1 ESV]

2021 - Vss 5,6 go together.  If you want a satisfied soul, and motivation to praise God, then think of him at night, when you wake up, and there is nothing there.  Think of God then, and of what he does and who he is.  Praise him in the depths of the night.

8 My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me. [Psa 63:8 ESV]

This verse:
9 But those who seek to destroy my life shall go down into the depths of the earth; [Psa 63:9 ESV]
David is not thinking short term here, he is not thinking of earthly things here.  He is thinking that even if those who seek to destroy him and are successful, in the long run, they will be in the depths of the earth - in Sheol, in hell, and in despair of any relief ever, while David is in paradise with God.  That's how we too should think of those who are irreconcilably opposed to us.  It is how we should think of national enemies, whether internal or external.  Even if they win now, to the extent that they are opposed to God and reject His ways, they will ultimately lose, and in a far worse sense than they can ever make God's people lose.  Christians need to lengthen their horizon. We need to pray for today but keep our hope in eternity.
Possible FB post, perhaps as the summary post of some non-defensive prayers.

Chapter 64
David.  We are not told about his circumstances when he wrote it.
1st, David asks for protection from those who would harm him.

 

2025 - This verse, and this recurring theme of David's Psalms:
1 To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. Hear my voice, O God, in my complaint; preserve my life from dread of the enemy. 2 Hide me from the secret plots of the wicked, from the throng of evildoers, [Psa 64:1-2 ESV]. 
David does not ask for super human strength, for skill with bow or sword, not even for a million man army to back him up.  He asks to be hidden from the evildoers.  He leaves the fight to God, because only God can win against such odds, such secretive evil-doers, from liars and sons of liars.  From those so practiced at deceit that David was just no match for their schemes.  But God was, is, and shall be!
2025 - We also have this idea again:
4 shooting from ambush at the blameless, shooting at him suddenly and without fear. [Psa 64:4 ESV].
The evil do not fight eye to eye, face to face.  If they do, it will be obvious to all that they are the real enemy.  They excel at deceit.  Vss 4-6 describe their methods.
2025 - In vvs 7-9 we see God's actions against them.  He wounds them so they stumble.  When they stumble, they are revealed for all to see.  They are revealed for what they are.  

2nd, When God brings the evil down, others see it and ponder what God has done.
3rd, Let the righteous take refuge in God.

​

Chapter 65
David.
1st stanza, Praise.
2021 - This 1st stanza verse:
3 When iniquities prevail against me, you atone for our transgressions. [Psa 65:3 ESV]
This is a "principle" that we readily embrace, but is it correct?  Do the bad things that happen in our lives somehow atone for the sins that we have committed?  Is this how God works or is this how the mind of man works?  Don't we always try to keep score?  Well, yes, I did party big time last Saturday night and I missed church, but on Monday I got fired, so now God and I are even.  The bad thing has atoned for the sin that came before it.  If it is a principle, does it apply to the saved, the lost, or both?  If we say the lost, then there is a way for them to atone for their sins, exclusive of Jesus blood.  So I don't think this principle would apply to the lost.  To the saved?  Jesus has atoned already for ALL the sins of the saved.  So what is left for "bad luck" to atone for?  No, that's not what this verse is about.  It may be about how we think of things, but it isn't how God works.  Here is the verse in NASB:
3 Iniquities prevail against me; As for our transgressions, You forgive them. [Psa 65:3 NASB95].  The first part of the verse is disconnected from the last part.  As if they do not go together as part of the same thought.  If that's the case, then what does the first part mean?  That David is "losing" against his enemies?  
MSB says the word translated "atone" in ESV and "forgive" in NASB is only used three times in Psalms.  It means to cover sin and its effects - which in the OT was found in ritualized animal sacrifices, but ultimately will be found in Christ's atoning death.  So maybe the point of the verse is that these prevailing iniquities are  completely unrelated to personal sins.  Sometimes bad things happen to us, but since it is God that forgives/atones for our sins, we should not see the success of our enemies against us as a consequence of our sins, but as the will of God in our lives for His own purposes.  Yes.  That way, it all goes together, and it all makes sense, and it all means the cause and effect that we apply to the bad parts of our lives is not correct at all.  It does not work that way.
Possible FB post, but it will need some major improvement in coherence, as it is very rambling as it is.
Also, MSB says this Psalm is all about praise with no complaints or misgivings.

2nd, Power of God, things only God can do.
2024 - This:
7 who stills the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, the tumult of the peoples, [Psa 65:7 ESV]
I didn't put the other verses in, but is a description of God's power over nature.  Now think about this verse in light of Jesus calming the Sea of Galilee with the 12 in the boat with him.  Maybe they weren't real familiar with this verse, like the rest of us, and so did not connect what had just happened with the bigger picture.  It is interesting that their question was "27 And the men marveled, saying, "What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?" [Mat 8:27 ESV]."  God had already given them the answer, and I would bet they made the connection later.  So one application is that we should look to the Bible for answers to the really big questions, for the answers we cannot find on our own.  Then, if you believe those first two phrases, also believe the third.  He also stills the rivalries, the wars, the hatred even, of whole nations toward each other.  Ukraine and Russia, Israel and Hamas/Hezbollah/Iran.  We can ask him to still these conflicts, knowing he has already told us he can do it.  And he can also still the tumult - the division, hatred even - within our own nation.  We can ask Him to do that also, knowing that since he proved he could still the seas, we can believe he can do the rest.  
Good FB post here.

3rd, God provides the rain that provides the grain.
2021-This last stanza is about the glory of God as revealed in nature.  The language is so picturesque.  Some examples:
8 ...You make the dawn and the sunset shout for joy. [Psa 65:3, 8 NASB95]
13 the meadows clothe themselves with flocks, the valleys deck themselves with grain, they shout and sing together for joy. [Psa 65:13 ESV]

Chapter 66

Does not say David wrote this one.  It is not attributed at all.

1st, Glory and praise to God.

2nd, God has demonstrated His power.

3rd, God the deliverer of Israel.

4th, The Psalmist promises to offer sacrifices to God.

2023 - These interesting verses:

13 I will come into your house with burnt offerings; I will perform my vows to you, 14 that which my lips uttered and my mouth promised when I was in trouble. [Psa 66:13-14 ESV].  So making promises when things are going bad is not a new idea.  Does this mean making a vow - a promise - to God in the middle of bad times might be helpful in mitigating the problem...so long as you do what you said you'd do?  Surely that is implied here.

5th, The Psalmist says to come see what God has done for him.

I note that the tense of vs 18 is changed from NKJV.  In NKJV, it was present tense, in ESV it is some form of past tense.  In ESV it is about what would have been different if the Psalmist had been in a different relationship to God at the time he prayed.

2023 - These verses, as clarification of a verse I have often quoted:

17 I cried to him with my mouth, and high praise was on my tongue. 18 If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened. [Psa 66:17-18 ESV].  We are still talking here about crying out to God in the midst of troubled times.  So "the Lord will not hear me" is not about "every day" prayers, at least that is not the context here.  When we're struggling, and we cry out for deliverance, we ought not to expect God to hear us if we are holding onto sin.  We need to get ourselves right with God before we ask for any special favors.  These fit well with 13-14 above.  I do sort of wish I knew who wrote this one though...

 

Chapter 67

Unattributed.  Only 7 verses.1-4, Call for praise.5-7, Let the nations praise Him.

​

Chapter 68
David.  
God shall arise, his enemies shall be scattered; and those who hate him shall flee before him!
Psalms 68:1 ESV
This is coming still.

But the righteous shall be glad; they shall exult before God; they shall be jubilant with joy!
Psalms 68:3 ESV
What a huge contrast!

The rest of the Psalm is like a King's introduction. A recital of the powers, qualifications, and accomplishments of the God of Israel.

18 You ascended on high, leading a host of captives in your train and receiving gifts among men, even among the rebellious, that the LORD God may dwell there. [Psa 68:18 ESV].  So here is where this comes from. And here is the NT verse that quotes it:
8 Therefore it says, "When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men." [Eph 4:8 ESV]. 
What does it mean?  Note that in the OT verse, he RECEIVES gifts, and in the N verse, he GIVES gifts.  I really don't think Paul misquoted the verse.  So we have that change from OT to NT that may be key to understanding what this is about.  MSB note says that in the NT, Paul applies this verse to Christ ascending to the heavens in triumph.  So here in the OT, it is the Father that ascends, victorious, to the mountain of his choosing.  There, as King of all things, he receives gifts of those whom he has defeated.  We saw these kings back in 68:12:  12 "The kings of the armies--they flee, they flee!" The women at home divide the spoil-- [Psa 68:12 ESV].  These defeated Kings are in terror.  They bring gifts to appease the King of All.  The captives are the defeated Kings and their armies.  The victorious King marches into the city leading those he captured, those who surrendered to him, and he takes his seat on the throne, and then he is presented with gifts from his new subjects.  The more defeated captives, the greater is the victory.  
Here is the MSB comment on Eph 4:8:  MSB says Paul is using the OT verse as "...an interpretive rendering of Ps 68.18 as a parenthetical analogy..."  Not very helpful, is is?  Something else from my notes on Eph 4:8 is that the NT verse is written about Jesus ascending to heaven after the resurrection.  All things were given into his hands. And what he did is send gifts to men.  First, the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, the spiritual connection that lets us know how we can honor Christ.  And second, the spiritual gifts that endorsed the early church as God's plan for mankind - for both Jew and Greek.
So in the OT, it is about the conquest of Canaan, about the earthly physical victory of God and Israel in capturing and occupying Mt. Zion - Jerusalem - and the gifts they received from the previous occupiers of Canaan, and from the Kings of the surrounding lands, who now feared the God of Israel.  In the NT, it is about Jesus' spiritual victory over sin on the cross and over death by his resurrection.  And upon receiving all that God gave him, receiving authority over all things everywhere, Jesus GAVE gifts to me.
Perhaps with this explanation we need not really explain the "host of captives" that Jesus led.  Perhaps it is just an incidental part of the reference...except that I don't believe there are any incidentals in the Bible.  I will consider those captives another time...when I get to Ephesians this time maybe.

Chapter 69
David.
2021 - It opens this way:  1 To the choirmaster: according to Lilies. Of David. Save me, O God! For the waters have come up to my neck. [Psa 69:1 ESV].  This is a cry for help from a despairing situation.  This is not about needing a prom dress or money for new tires.  This man is at risk of torture and death.
1st stanza, David says he is in deep mire, greatly distressed, and weary of praying with no results.  This is David complaining that God delays His answer.  This verse:
3 I am weary with my crying out; my throat is parched. My eyes grow dim with waiting for my God. [Psa 69:3 ESV]
But I note that he is still praying, still asking, still trying.  We have to pray until the day we die for the things that matter most.

2nd, David counts his enemies, confesses his faults.
Oh my...look at the timeliness of this verse:
4 More in number than the hairs of my head are those who hate me without cause; mighty are those who would destroy me, those who attack me with lies. What I did not steal must I now restore? [Psa 69:4 ESV]
Not sure how exactly, but this looks like a FB post.

3rd, David prays that he will not be the cause of public reproach on God's people.  The verses are as follows:
6 Let not those who hope in you be put to shame through me, O Lord GOD of hosts; let not those who seek you be brought to dishonor through me, O God of Israel. [Psa 69:6 ESV]
David doesn't want to be the cause of other's shame.  He says he wants to bear that shame himself.
2021 - This, and also, let not those who don't know you turn away because of me!  Don't let my hypocrisy harden the hearts of the helpless.

4th, David again talks of his enemies and their ridicule of him because of his zeal for God's house.  David prays that their intentions will not be his end.  This verse:
13 But as for me, my prayer is to you, O LORD. At an acceptable time, O God, in the abundance of your steadfast love answer me in your saving faithfulness. [Psa 69:13 ESV]
A good way to look at the prayers that we continually pray, the petitions that go unanswered year after year.  God's timing is what matters, and it is up to us to remember that he loves us, and that we yield to His timing.
FB Post 7/7

5th, David pleads with God for an answer.
6th, David knows that God is aware of all his situation.
7th, David is specific about what he wants God to do to his enemies.  It is very wrathful.  Here is some of it:
27 Add to them punishment upon punishment; may they have no acquittal from you. 28 Let them be blotted out of the book of the living; let them not be enrolled among the righteous. [Psa 69:27-28 ESV]
This is a prayer about true enemies.  About those seeking our very lives.  This is not something to wish on anyone.  In fact, is this OT stuff only?  Proverbs came right after this, and it says love your enemies, and give them water when they're thirsty.  How do we reconcile this prayer with that concept?  This seems to pray that they go to hell.  There is no MSB note to help with this.
2021-Vss 22-25, A non-defensive prayer.  NDP.  This is perhaps the strongest NDP I have yet seen.  Vss 27, 28 above are very direct.  Is it only David that can pray this way?  I am just still having so much trouble justifying such prayers.  Can it really all be down to being ok to wish God would punish, but not ok to punish them ourselves?  That just seems too simplistic to be the explanation.

8th, 1 vs
9th, 30 I will praise the name of God with a song; I will magnify him with thanksgiving. 31 This will please the LORD more than an ox or a bull with horns and hoofs. [Psa 69:30-31 ESV]  David knew that God pondered the heart, saw sin there, even when it was never acted out.  David knew it wasn't about external compliance with the law.
10th, David acknowledges that the future is God's Zion.  He will ultimately save it.

Chapter 70
David.
1st, A prayer for God to deliver David from his enemies.
2 Let them be put to shame and confusion who seek my life! Let them be turned back and brought to dishonor who delight in my hurt! 3 Let them turn back because of their shame who say, "Aha, Aha!" [Psa 70:2-3 ESV]  NDP
2nd, A prayer for those who also seek God, and for a quick response from God.

​

Chapter 71
2023 - A song for old men.
Also a very long Psalm.
1st, A prayer that God will be there when needed.
2nd, A prayer for rescue
3rd, An appeal to God not to abandon though the one praying is old, and the enemies are preparing to pounce.
4th, No matter what, the one praying will praise, because the blessings received already are uncountable.
13 May my accusers be put to shame and consumed; with scorn and disgrace may they be covered who seek my hurt. [Psa 71:13 ESV]  NDP
5th, God is great, and powerful, and to be praised even in our old age.
6th, I will ever praise, because you have put my enemies to shame.

​

72
Last Psalm of Book 2.
Of Solomon.  Doesn't say just Solomon, as if he wrote it, but that it is about him.  The note in MSB says this is a Coronation Psalm, dedicated to the prosperity of Solomon at the beginning of his reign.  It says further that no NT writer ever applies any of this Psalm to Christ.  Yet, there do seem to be Messianic Reign references in it.  Thought of as a Psalm read or sung during a coronation ceremony gives it much more meaning.

1st stanza, The writer, likely David, prays that Solomon will rule justly, and mentions the poor and needy also getting justice.
2nd, Let Solomon endure forever, may he be a good king..
3rd, Let God have dominion over all the earth, such that all Kings bow down to him.
4th, God delivers the needy.  Somewhere here, it switched from Solomon praying, to Solomon glorifying God.
5th, Or...It is Solomon asking for himself?  This stanza says "Long may he live..." and get gold and riches and may his kingdom have abundance.
6th, Blessed be the Lord.  This verse:
19 Blessed be his glorious name forever; may the whole earth be filled with his glory! Amen and Amen! [Psa 72:19 ESV]  Interesting that this verse we sing in that hymn refers to God Himself in the song, yet in this Psalm from which it is taken, it is about Solomon.  
7th, Conclusion:  "The prayers of David, the son of Jesse, are ended.  Seems like that makes David the writer of this Psalm...and possibly the writer of all of Book 2?  The MSB note says that the psalms of Asaph immediately follow Psa 72, though there are a few psalms of David in that collection.  So perhaps this Psa 72 is the last one that David wrote...though not last in the compilation of all the Psalms.

2022 - This Psalm (72) gives us the standards we ought to look for in our leaders - political, government, civil leaders.  Can you think of when you last voted for someone because they met these criteria?  November is coming.  Make a scorecard, do some homework, and vote for whoever can get closest to this standard.  This  Psalm has objective criteria.  We do not have to guess.  
Possible FB quote, that will be repeated!

​

2024 - That last verse, 20, makes it pretty clear that this Psalm was written by David as a prayer to God for Solomon, as David nears the end of his own life.  We all have to leave, to turn it over to someone else.  They rule over all that we built.  We cannot keep anything.