Bible Reading Reflection from Psalms 78-83

 [Originally posted in a WhatsApp group (MPG) as a reading update (reflection) from one chapter of the Bible a day]

ℙ𝕊𝔸𝕃𝕄 𝟟𝟠:𝟙𝟡

"Then they spoke against God;

They said, “𝙲𝚊𝚗 𝙶𝚘𝚍 𝚙𝚛𝚎𝚙𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚊 𝚝𝚊𝚋𝚕𝚎 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚒𝚕𝚍𝚎𝚛𝚗𝚎𝚜𝚜?"

The biblical canon is arranged in a beautiful structure. Asaph has been experiencing a lot of things from the beginning of this Book III.

In Ps. 73-77, he has recounted a lot of struggles he has as a believer. Will God do something to wicked people? Will God vindicate the righteous? Can God do wonders and demonstrate mercy as he had done before?

And now in Ps. 78, he moves from self-contemplation to teaching. From a philosopher to a teacher. In v1, he calls people to listen to him! As if to say: Don't teach until you have done your homework/research 🙂

He recalls how Israelites questioned the power and goodness of God (v19), and how they were stiff-necked even when God stooped down to answer even their stupid question by providing them with what they were asking.

Well, God can! And will always be powerful and faithful. And God destroys the wicked (v66) and preserves the righteous (v70-72).

Asaph wants his people to know the goodness of God, that they may not envy the prosperity of the wicked and be like the world (like their rebellious fathers v8) but to set their hope in God v7, because He will remain good, powerful and faithful to preserve them!

 

ℙ𝕊𝔸𝕃𝕄 𝟟𝟡:𝟝

"How long, O Yahweh?

Will You be angry forever?

Will Your jealousy burn like fire?"

This Psalm is related to Ps. 74. Last time, I mentioned, there's no mention of any personal or national sin in Ps 74. Here's, the difference, in this Psalm, v8-9 is the confession of sins.

It's a Psalm of Lament, "How Long?" ESV Study Bibles notes that this is the most occurring question (nearly 20 times) in the whole collection of Psalms.

Have you ever lamented? Godly people always lament. Do you know that there's even a lamentation in heaven? Revelation 6:9-11. Those dead souls, who have received white robes, cried out with a loud voice, "How long, O Lord?" And of course, godly lamentations always lead us to hope v13, because their lamentations, their imprecatory prayers are made for His name's sake v9.

 

ℙ𝕊𝔸𝕃𝕄 𝟠𝟘:𝟛,𝟟,𝟙𝟡

"O God, restore us

And cause Your face to shine upon us, that we would be saved."

Three times it's repeated as a refrain. And what a prayer for mercy!  Begging God to be gracious to them again.

A wonderful word picture of "Shining Face". Nobody wants a gloomy face. Somebody should compose a song on this refrain! v18 indicates that the people had turned away from God, and enemies were plundering them like a wild boar in a vineyard.

It's the mercy of God and the grace of God that strengthen us to stand firm in our faith!

 

ℙ𝕊𝔸𝕃𝕄 𝟠𝟙:𝟙-𝟛

   "Sing for joy to God our strength;

   Make a loud shout to the God of Jacob.

   Lift up a song of praise, strike the tambourine,

   The sweet sounding lyre with the harp.

   Blow the trumpet at the new moon,

   At the full moon, on our feast day.

Oh! Indeed, Uncle Asaph. Enough of lamentation from Ps.73 till Ps.80, it's time for jubilation. It's right to lament but we must also proclaim God's faithfulness. Asaph was not calling for celebration because everything around them has suddenly changed, but because of the testimony of the past!

Circumstances hardly change, but our mood can change, let's remember that!

And interestingly, Asaph also reminded the people of their sins and rebellion (v11-16).

It's like inviting for a birthday party and lashing them out of their past sins, which of course we never do, but God does! True happiness, true worship is based on our confession of God's faithfulness. And God's faithfulness is magnified when we confess who we are before God. The undeserving ones being called to a party should obviously be jubilant and be praising God.

 

ℙ𝕊𝔸𝕃𝕄 𝟠𝟚:𝟛-𝟜

Give justice to the poor and the orphan;

Justify the afflicted and destitute.

Protect the poor and needy;

Deliver them out of the hand of the wicked."

This Psalm is like Ps. 2. God shall judge the rulers of this world. In the end, justice will be served. Social injustices around us, what can we do? Well, I would like to advise as I always tell the environmental activist, first deal with it in our context. Or in the word of our Lord, let's remove the enormous plank from our eyes, and then we will first see clearly; then second, we will be able to remove the tiny speck from others' eyes. And that not my kneeling [BLM], not by tweeting, not by the slogan, not by marching rallies, but by being saturated with the Gospel.

How can man oppress one another? Both are created in the image of God! In the universe of God, Elon Musk's wealth is nothing; Einstein's brain is nothing; Alexander's prowess is nothing; Caesar's popularity is nothing. They look huge to common people, but they are like a bucket of water (and ours, a spoonful) in the mighty ocean. Even a million buckets of water will not make a difference in the earth's ocean.

In the parable of the unforgiving servant, the king despised the servant who wasn't willing to forgive his own servant when the King had forgiven him. God despises those who oppress fellow humans! Christian leadership is not even lording over others.

In this fallen world with my unredeemed flesh, sometimes I am the oppressor in some situations and the victim in some situations! And that's everybody!

 

ℙ𝕊𝔸𝕃𝕄 𝟠𝟛:𝟜

"They have said, ‘Come, and let us wipe them out as a nation,

That the name of Israel be remembered no more.’"

ɢᴏᴏᴅʙʏᴇ ᴜɴᴄʟᴇ ᴀsᴀᴘʜ! Thank you for your 12 Psalms! Your Psalms are my prayers too.

That's the end of the eloquent writer singer Asaph! And this last Psalm is a fitting ending. He prayed for the deliverance of Israel from all her enemies. Even today, some of the leaders of the Arab nations are calling for wiping away Israel, to annihilate them. It was attempted many times. Yet Asaph's prayer was definitely being answered. There are no Canaanites, Edomites, or Philistines now, but Israel remains to testify that Yahweh is from everlasting to everlasting.

Asaph’s prayer is to testify that Yahweh is the Most High over all the earth (v18) that nations will come to know Him. And indeed, we have come to know Yahweh.

Asaph’s prayer is God-centred in contrast to most of our self-centred prayers. And evangelistic too!

𝚃𝚘 𝚋𝚎 𝚣𝚎𝚊𝚕𝚘𝚞𝚜 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚏𝚊𝚖𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝙶𝚘𝚍'𝚜 𝚗𝚊𝚖𝚎, 𝙰𝚖𝚎𝚗!

Bible Reading Reflection from Psalms 73-77

 [Originally posted in a WhatsApp group (MPG) as a reading update (reflection) from one chapter of the Bible a day]

ℙ𝕊𝔸𝕃𝕄 𝟟𝟛:𝟙𝟠

"Surely You set them in ᏕᏝᎨᏢᏢᎬᏒᎽ ᏢᏝᎯᏨᎬᏕ;

You cause them to fall to destruction."

Asaph the Psalmist was like me. He wasn't able to swallow the prosperity and ease of the wicked; because of that he nearly slipped. However, when he sought to know God, he realized that actually it was [is] them who will slip at the end.

Notice the play of words — slipped and slippery.

Envy will let us slip, will let us fall into sin, will let us live a miserable life. When actually, it's the design of God to let the wicked slip; no, no, not those who cleanse their hearts and wash their hands in innocence (v13).

In the first and last verse, he affirms that God is surely good. Therefore, why not look at Him in trust than to look at the wicked in envy!?

Yesterday I was watching good food on YouTube and I was saying to a friend, "Even if I live a thousand years, I don't think I can be that luxurious to eat those foods!"

Let's continue to enjoy Ngari and Akhuni, anyway, BTW! 😎

 

ℙ𝕊𝔸𝕃𝕄 𝟟𝟜:𝟙                   

"Why, O God? Have You rejected us forever?

Why does Your anger smoke against the sheep of Your pasture?"

Ps 74 complements Ps 73 very well.

There's no mention of personal or national sin in this Psalm. Rather the atrocities and wickedness of the enemies, the godless people. However, the psalmist and his people had felt the abandonment of God. Notice the word "forever", it's not a temporary depression, it had been like forever. God's anger was felt as not relenting, but gathering more smoke to be a mighty furnace. Yet all these were not against those godless people but against His Own people.

I am no more righteous than anyone else, but there were times I feel like the Psalmist. Like God has cast me off forever though I couldn't figure out any particular sins in my life that I should repent of.

Well, the Psalmist pled with God to remember them 3 times (v2, 18, 22). And as He pled with God, he also recalled the faithfulness of God and the power of God. And we remember Apostle Paul pleading with Christ 3 times, and Jesus's answer was "the sufficiency of His Grace."

And the psalmist didn’t waver in his faith, nor did Apostle Paul. Neither should we. Hold on!

 

ℙ𝕊𝔸𝕃𝕄 𝟟𝟝:𝟞-𝟟

"For one’s rising up does not come from the east, nor from the west,

And not from the south;

But God is the Judge;

He puts down one and raises up another."

Wow! Simple. If you want success, popularity, fame, and promotion, live in the North! For it says, those didn't come from East, West, or South! Even North America is doing better than South America. 😬😂 Just kidding! That's a bad exegesis! Now to the meat part.

𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚒𝚜 𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝙶𝚘𝚍'𝚜 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚕𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑 𝚂𝚊𝚝𝚊𝚗 𝚒𝚜 𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 as if 𝚑𝚎 𝚘𝚠𝚗𝚜 𝚒𝚝. 𝙷𝚎 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚗 𝚍𝚊𝚛𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚘𝚏𝚏𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚕𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝙲𝚑𝚛𝚒𝚜𝚝!

𝙸𝚝'𝚜 𝙶𝚘𝚍 𝚠𝚑𝚘 𝚛𝚊𝚒𝚜𝚎𝚜 𝚞𝚙 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚙𝚎𝚘𝚙𝚕𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚋𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝚍𝚘𝚠𝚗 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎. 𝚈𝚎𝚜, 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚗 𝚙𝚘𝚙𝚞𝚕𝚊𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚢 o𝚗 𝙸𝚗𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚐𝚛𝚊𝚖, 𝚈𝚘𝚞𝚃𝚞𝚋𝚎, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚃𝚒𝚔𝚃𝚘𝚔. 𝚈𝚎𝚜, 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚗 𝚒𝚗 𝚄𝙿𝚂𝙲 𝚎𝚡𝚊𝚖 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝙿𝚘𝚕𝚒𝚝𝚒𝚌𝚊𝚕 𝙴𝚕𝚎𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗. 𝙰𝚗𝚍 𝙷𝚎 𝚛𝚊𝚒𝚜𝚎𝚜 𝚞𝚙 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚙𝚎𝚘𝚙𝚕𝚎 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚙𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚎𝚛𝚟𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚍𝚎𝚜𝚝𝚛𝚞𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚜 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚏𝚞𝚜𝚒𝚘𝚗, 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝙷𝚎 𝚒𝚜 𝚒𝚗 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚙𝚕𝚎𝚝𝚎 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚝𝚛𝚘𝚕!

𝚂𝚘, 𝚟4-5, “𝚍𝚘 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚋𝚘𝚊𝚜𝚝, 𝚍𝚘 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚛𝚎𝚋𝚎𝚕.”

𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝙸 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚠𝚊𝚝𝚌𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊 𝚃𝚒𝚔𝚃𝚘𝚔 𝚟𝚒𝚍𝚎𝚘 𝚘𝚏 𝙰𝚋𝚛𝚊𝚑𝚊𝚖 𝙿𝚒𝚙𝚎𝚛. 𝙷𝚎 𝚒𝚜 𝚊𝚕𝚖𝚘𝚜𝚝 𝚊𝚜 𝚏𝚊𝚖𝚘𝚞𝚜 𝚊𝚜 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚍𝚊𝚍, 𝙹𝚘𝚑𝚗 𝙿𝚒𝚙𝚎𝚛, 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚊 𝚝𝚘𝚝𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚘𝚙𝚙𝚘𝚜𝚒𝚝𝚎 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚘𝚗— 𝚝𝚘 𝚖𝚘𝚌𝚔 𝙲𝚑𝚛𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚊𝚗𝚒𝚝𝚢. 𝙱𝚘𝚝𝚑 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚖 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚖𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚏𝚘𝚕𝚕𝚘𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚜.

𝙷𝚒𝚜 𝚙𝚘𝚙𝚞𝚕𝚊𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚢 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚜 𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚢 𝚏𝚊𝚜𝚝 𝚠𝚑𝚒𝚕𝚎 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚍𝚊𝚍 𝚑𝚊𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝚕𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚛 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚢𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚜 𝚒𝚗 𝚏𝚊𝚒𝚝𝚑𝚏𝚞𝚕𝚗𝚎𝚜𝚜.

𝙱𝚞𝚝, 𝚋𝚘𝚝𝚑 𝙿𝚒𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚜 𝚛𝚊𝚒𝚜𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚏𝚊𝚖𝚎, 𝚋𝚎𝚌𝚊𝚞𝚜𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝙶𝚘𝚍. 𝙷𝚎 𝚛𝚊𝚒𝚜𝚎 𝚞𝚙 𝙹𝚘𝚑𝚗 𝙿𝚒𝚙𝚎𝚛 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝙲𝚑𝚞𝚛𝚌𝚑. 𝙷𝚎 𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚘𝚠𝚜 𝙰𝚋𝚛𝚊𝚑𝚊𝚖 𝙿𝚒𝚙𝚎𝚛 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚘𝚗 𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚞𝚗𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚠𝚗 𝚝𝚘 𝚞𝚜. 𝙱𝚞𝚝 𝚜𝚎𝚎𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚘𝚗 𝚘𝚏 𝙹𝚘𝚑𝚗 𝙿𝚒𝚙𝚎𝚛 𝚊𝚙𝚘𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚣𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚒𝚜 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚑𝚞𝚖𝚋𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐 [difficult] 𝚝𝚘 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚙𝚛𝚎𝚑𝚎𝚗𝚍!

 

ℙ𝕊𝔸𝕃𝕄 𝟟𝟞:𝟟,𝟙𝟙

"But You, You are 𝚏𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎;

And who can stand in Your presence when once You are 𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚛𝚢?"

Last night, I was watching a football match between Portugal and Hungary in a room of one of my friends. All of them were supporting Portugal. It happened that Portugal didn't score a goal until the 84th minute. Those in the room were upset, angry, and banging the table and anything around them when every opportunity was missed. I was a little bit scared that they might hit me by mistake or take up a shoe and throw it at the screen! Hmm! It's scary to be in the presence of an angry person. 🥶

Hmm! The psalmist Asaph captured for us the majesty of God in His judgment. Who can stand before the God of this Universe when He is angry?

Anger can be appeased mostly by a gift or a sacrifice. Even me, last night I offered the angriest one to come and sit nearby me because they have reserved the best place for me.

That's why v11.

"Make vows to Yahweh your God and pay them;

Let all who are around Him bring gifts to the Fearsome One."

Indeed, Jesus (His gift of sacrifice on the cross) has appeased the wrath of God, and even now in heaven is interceding for us!

 

ℙ𝕊𝔸𝕃𝕄 𝟟𝟟

MacArthur Study Bible Note is interesting, it has this: "This psalm illustrates one cure for depression. The psalmist does not explain the cause of his despair, but he was definitely locked into gloom. When he thought about God, it only caused him to complain bitterly."

I love Asaph, not only David.

In v3, Asaph remembered God. And that, for David and Jeremiah was enough, the solution for any anxiety; but for Asaph, it was more troublesome.

7 years ago, I remember having a theological discussion with my senior in seminary. I was telling him to stop mentioning "God" and be more practical to solve a particular problem. Defaulting to God looked bitter and not comforting. Sometimes, God doesn't seem to work at all. And to say "God" seems so indifferent.

However, this Psalm is wonderful, and I agree with MSB Note. This is a cure for depression. How? Look at the tenses. Asaph moved from Past tense (1-3) to Present tense (4-9) to Future tense (10-12) as he wrote about his beliefs and confessions. And clung to the lovingkindness (7-9) and omnipotence (16-20) of God.

If one finds himself like Asaph in the past tense, his life will be miserable v3: he complained and was overwhelmed.

Not by Complaining but by Contemplation. One needs to move to the future tense of Asaph!