Praying God centered Prayers

Psalm 76:1-12,

“(1) To the Chief Musician. On Stringed Instruments. A Psalm of Asaph. A Song.

In Judah God is known; His name is great in Israel. (2) In Salem also is His tabernacle, And His dwelling place in Zion.

(3) There He broke the arrows of the bow, The shield and sword of battle. Selah”

It is suggested in one of my commentaries that this may be in reference to the miraculous defeat of the Assyrians in 701 B.C. which is recorded in Isaiah 36-37. So after reading this Psalm we will go and read that account in Isaiah.

“(4) You are more glorious and excellent Than the mountains of prey.

(5) The stouthearted were plundered; They have sunk into their sleep; And none of the mighty men have found the use of their hands.

(6) At Your rebuke, O God of Jacob, Both the chariot and horse were cast into a dead sleep.

(7) You, Yourself, are to be feared; And who may stand in Your presence When once You are angry?

(8) You caused judgment to be heard from heaven; The earth feared and was still, (9) When God arose to judgment, To deliver all the oppressed of the earth. Selah

(10) Surely the wrath of man shall praise You; With the remainder of wrath You shall gird Yourself.

(11) Make vows to the LORD your God, and pay them; Let all who are around Him bring presents to Him who ought to be feared.

(12) He shall cut off the spirit of princes; He is awesome to the kings of the earth.”

Isaiah 36:1-22,

“(1) In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah’s reign, King Sennacherib of Assyria marched up against all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them.

(2) The king of Assyria sent his chief adviser from Lachish to King Hezekiah in Jerusalem, along with a large army.

The chief adviser stood at the conduit of the upper pool which is located on the road to the field where they wash and dry cloth.

(3) Eliakim son of Hilkiah, the palace supervisor, accompanied by Shebna the scribe and Joah son of Asaph, the secretary, went out to meet him.

(4) The chief adviser said to them, “Tell Hezekiah: ‘This is what the great king, the king of Assyria, says:

“What is your source of confidence? (5) Your claim to have a strategy and military strength is just empty talk. In whom are you trusting, that you would dare to rebel against me?

(6) Look, you must be trusting in Egypt, that splintered reed staff. If someone leans on it for support, it punctures his hand and wounds him. That is what Pharaoh king of Egypt does to all who trust in him!

(7) Perhaps you will tell me, ‘We are trusting in the LORD our God.’ But Hezekiah is the one who eliminated his high places and altars and then told the people of Judah and Jerusalem, ‘You must worship at this altar.’

(8) Now make a deal with my master the king of Assyria, and I will give you two thousand horses, provided you can find enough riders for them. (9) Certainly you will not refuse one of my master’s minor officials and trust in Egypt for chariots and horsemen.

(10) Furthermore it was by the command of the LORD that I marched up against this land to destroy it. The LORD told me, ‘March up against this land and destroy it!’” …

(21) They were silent and did not respond, for the king had ordered, “Don’t respond to him.” (22) Eliakim son of Hilkiah, the palace supervisor, accompanied by Shebna the scribe and Joah son of Asaph, the secretary, went to Hezekiah with their clothes torn and reported to him what the chief adviser had said.”

Isaiah 37:1-38,

“(1) When King Hezekiah heard this, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, and went to the LORD’s temple.

(2) Eliakim the palace supervisor, Shebna the scribe, and the leading priests, clothed in sackcloth, sent this message to the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz:

(3) “This is what Hezekiah says: ‘This is a day of distress, insults, and humiliation, as when a baby is ready to leave the birth canal, but the mother lacks the strength to push it through.

(4) Perhaps the LORD your God will hear all these things the chief adviser has spoken on behalf of his master, the king of Assyria, who sent him to taunt the living God. When the LORD your God hears, perhaps He will punish him for the things he has said.

So pray for this remnant that remains.’”

(5) When King Hezekiah’s servants came to Isaiah, (6) Isaiah said to them,

“Tell your master this: ‘This is what the LORD has said: “Don’t be afraid because of the things you have heard – these insults the king of Assyria’s servants have hurled against Me. (7) Look, I will take control of his mind; he will receive a report and return to his own land. I will cut him down with a sword in his own land.”’”

(8) When the chief adviser heard the king of Assyria had departed from Lachish, he left and went to Libnah, where the king was campaigning.

(9) The king heard that King Tirhakah of Ethiopia was marching out to fight him. He again sent messengers to Hezekiah, ordering them: (10) “Tell King Hezekiah of Judah this: ‘Don’t let your God in Whom you trust mislead you when He says, “Jerusalem will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.”

(11) Certainly you have heard how the kings of Assyria have annihilated all lands. Do you really think you will be rescued?

(12) Were the nations whom my predecessors destroyed – the nations of Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the people of Eden in Telassar – rescued by their gods?

(13) Where are the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, and the kings of Lair, Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah?’”

(14) Hezekiah took the letter from the messengers and read it. Then Hezekiah went up to the LORD’s temple and spread it out before the LORD. (15) Hezekiah prayed before the LORD:

(16) “O LORD of Heaven’s Armies, O God of Israel, Who is enthroned on the cherubim! You alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You made the sky and the earth. (17) Pay attention, LORD, and hear! Open your eyes, LORD, and observe! Listen to this entire message Sennacherib sent and how he taunts the living God!

(18) It is true, LORD, that the kings of Assyria have destroyed all the nations and their lands. (19) They have burned the gods of the nations, for they are not really gods, but only the product of human hands manufactured from wood and stone. That is why the Assyrians could destroy them.

(20) Now, O LORD our God, rescue us from his power, so all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You alone are the LORD.”

(21) Isaiah son of Amoz sent this message to Hezekiah:

“This is what the LORD God of Israel has said: ‘As to what you have prayed to Me concerning King Sennacherib of Assyria, (22) this is what the LORD says about him:

“The virgin daughter Zion despises you – she makes fun of you; daughter Jerusalem shakes her head after you. (23) Whom have you taunted and hurled insults at? At whom have you shouted and looked so arrogantly? At the Holy One of Israel!

(24) Through your messengers you taunted the Lord, ‘With my many chariots I climbed up the high mountains, the slopes of Lebanon. I cut down its tall cedars and its best evergreens. I invaded its most remote regions, its thickest woods. (25) I dug wells and drank water. With the soles of my feet I dried up all the rivers of Egypt.’

(26) Certainly you must have heard! Long ago I worked it out, in ancient times I planned it, and now I am bringing it to pass. The plan is this: Fortified cities will crash into heaps of ruins. (27) Their residents are powerless; they are terrified and ashamed. They are as short-lived as plants in the field or green vegetation. They are as short-lived as grass on the rooftops when it is scorched by the east wind.

(28) I know where you live and everything you do and how you rage against Me. (29) Because you rage against Me and the uproar you create has reached My ears, I will put My hook in your nose, and my bridle between your lips, and I will lead you back the way you came.”

(30) “This will be your reminder that I have spoken the truth: This year you will eat what grows wild, and next year what grows on its own. But the year after that you will plant seed and harvest crops; you will plant vines and consume their produce. (31) Those who remain in Judah will take root in the ground and bear fruit.

(32) “For a remnant will leave Jerusalem; survivors will come out of Mount Zion. The zeal of the LORD of Heaven’s Armies will accomplish this.

(33) So this is what the LORD says about the king of Assyria:

‘He will not enter this city, nor will he shoot an arrow here. He will not attack it with his shielded warriors, nor will he build siege works against it. (34) He will go back the way he came – he will not enter this city,’ says the LORD.

(35) I will shield this city and rescue it for the sake of My reputation and because of My promise to David My servant.”’”

(36) The LORD’s angel went out and killed 185,000 troops in the Assyrian camp. When they got up early the next morning, there were all the corpses! (37) So King Sennacherib of Assyria broke camp and went on his way. He went home and stayed in Nineveh. (38) One day, as he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch, his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer struck him down with the sword. They ran away to the land of Ararat; his son Esarhaddon replaced him as king.”

Please see – God adds 15 years to Hezekiah’s life for more on these events

Psalm 77:1-20,

“(1) To the Chief Musician. To Jeduthun. A Psalm of Asaph.

I cried out to God with my voice— To God with my voice; And He gave ear to me.

(2) In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord; My hand was stretched out in the night without ceasing; My soul refused to be comforted.

(3) I remembered God, and was troubled; I complained, and my spirit was overwhelmed. Selah

(4) You hold my eyelids open; I am so troubled that I cannot speak.

(5) I have considered the days of old, The years of ancient times. (6) I call to remembrance my song in the night; I meditate within my heart, And my spirit makes diligent search.

(7) Will the Lord cast off forever? And will He be favorable no more? (8) Has His mercy ceased forever? Has His promise failed forevermore? (9) Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has He in anger shut up His tender mercies? Selah

(10) And I said, “This is my anguish; But I will remember the years of the right hand of the Most High.” (11) I will remember the works of the LORD; Surely I will remember Your wonders of old.

(12) I will also meditate on all Your work, And talk of Your deeds.

(13) Your way, O God, is in the sanctuary; Who is so great a God as our God?

(14) You are the God who does wonders; You have declared Your strength among the peoples. (15) You have with Your arm redeemed Your people, The sons of Jacob and Joseph. Selah

(16) The waters saw You, O God; The waters saw You, they were afraid; The depths also trembled.

(17) The clouds poured out water; The skies sent out a sound; Your arrows also flashed about.

(18) The voice of Your thunder was in the whirlwind; The lightnings lit up the world; The earth trembled and shook.

(19) Your way was in the sea, Your path in the great waters, And Your footsteps were not known.

(20) You led Your people like a flock By the hand of Moses and Aaron.”

Psalm 78:1-72,

This Psalm probably has several meanings. On the surface it is about God’s actions regarding Israel once they entered into the promised land, but then failed to teach their children and follow His ways.

During the time of the judges, God delivered them into enemy hands for their treachery and lack of reverent devotion, and time and again He would raise up a judge to deliver them when they cried out.

The tabernacle which Moses had constructed in the wilderness eventually settled in Shiloh and the tabernacle itself remained there so far as we know, even after the Ark of the Covenant was taken by the Philistines years later.

After the Ark of the Covenant was returned to the Israelites in Beth Shemesh, and then moved to Kiriath Jearim, where it remained for 20 years.

King David then moved the Ark to Jerusalem around 1004 BC and this Psalm seems to loosely track this progression and God’s presence which went with the Ark.

More generally, since this Psalm was written after the death of King David, it likely was composed during the time the Northern Kingdom was being assailed by the forces of Assyria while, at the same time, Judah remained safe and housed the presence of God in the temple Solomon built.

As such this Psalm, recounting all the Northern Kingdom had done wrong in their relation to God, was being used as a lens through which to view and understand their current situation.

“(1) A Maskil of Asaph.

My people, hear my instruction; listen to what I say. (2) I will declare wise sayings; I will speak mysteries from the past– (3) things we have heard and known and that our fathers have passed down to us.

(4) We must not hide them from their children, but must tell a future generation the praises of the LORD, His might, and the wonderful works He has performed.

(5) He established a testimony in Jacob and set up a law in Israel, which He commanded our fathers to teach to their children (6) so that a future generation–children yet to be born–might know.

They were to rise and tell their children (7) so that they might put their confidence in God and not forget God’s works, but keep His commandments.

(8) Then they would not be like their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation whose heart was not loyal and whose spirit was not faithful to God.”

Here is where Asaph clarifies the focus of his words as being the Northern Kingdom of Israel.

He addresses Ephraim which was a metonymic way of referring to the entire Northern Kingdom. The tribe of Ephraim was the leading tribe in the Northern Kingdom, and the royal house resided in their territory. The capital of the Northern Kingdom was Samaria, which was also located in the territory of the tribe allotted to Ephraim.

Also because Ephraim was the second born son of Joseph who received the blessing of the firstborn, this tribe was as its namesake – “doubly blessed”. So later in this Psalm when it mentions God’s rejecting Joseph and His not choosing Ephraim, it is a poetic way of mentioning the entire Northern Kingdom. It was not a specific rejection of Joseph who was faithful to God but long dead, nor was it a rejection of Ephraim as distinct from all the other Northern Tribes.

“(9) The Ephraimite archers turned back on the day of battle. (10) They did not keep God’s covenant and refused to live by His law. (11) They forgot what He had done, the wonderful works He had shown them.

(12) He worked wonders in the sight of their fathers, in the land of Egypt, the region of Zoan.

(13) He split the sea and brought them across; the water stood firm like a wall. (14) He led them with a cloud by day and with a fiery light throughout the night. (15) He split rocks in the wilderness and gave them drink as abundant as the depths. (16) He brought streams out of the stone and made water flow down like rivers.

(17) But they continued to sin against Him, rebelling in the desert against the Most High. (18) They deliberately tested God, demanding the food they craved.

(19) They spoke against God, saying,

“Is God able to provide food in the wilderness? (20) Look! He struck the rock and water gushed out; torrents overflowed. But can He also provide bread or furnish meat for His people?”

(21) Therefore, the LORD heard and became furious; then fire broke out against Jacob, and anger flared up against Israel (22) because they did not believe God or rely on His salvation.

(23) He gave a command to the clouds above and opened the doors of heaven. (24) He rained manna for them to eat; He gave them grain from heaven.

(25) People ate the bread of angels. He sent them an abundant supply of food. (26) He made the east wind blow in the skies and drove the south wind by His might. (27) He rained meat on them like dust, and winged birds like the sand of the seas. (28) He made them fall in His camp, all around His tent.

(29) They ate and were completely satisfied, for He gave them what they craved. (30) Before they had satisfied their desire, while the food was still in their mouths, (31) God’s anger flared up against them, and He killed some of their best men. He struck down Israel’s choice young men.

(32) Despite all this, they kept sinning and did not believe His wonderful works.

(33) He made their days end in futility, their years in sudden disaster.

(34) When He killed some of them, the rest began to seek Him; they repented and searched for God. (35) They remembered that God was their rock, the Most High God, their Redeemer. (36) But they deceived Him with their mouths, they lied to Him with their tongues, (37) their hearts were insincere toward Him, and they were unfaithful to His covenant.

(38) Yet He was compassionate; He atoned for their guilt and did not destroy them.

He often turned His anger aside and did not unleash all His wrath. (39) He remembered that they were only flesh, a wind that passes and does not return.

(40) How often they rebelled against Him in the wilderness and grieved Him in the desert. (41) They constantly tested God and provoked the Holy One of Israel. (42) They did not remember His power shown on the day He redeemed them from the foe, (43) when He performed His miraculous signs in Egypt and His marvels in the region of Zoan.

(44) He turned their rivers into blood, and they could not drink from their streams. (45) He sent among them swarms of flies, which fed on them, and frogs, which devastated them. (46) He gave their crops to the caterpillar and the fruit of their labor to the locust. (47) He killed their vines with hail and their sycamore-fig trees with a flood. (48) He handed over their livestock to hail and their cattle to lightning bolts. (49) He sent His burning anger against them: fury, indignation, and calamity–a band of deadly messengers. (50) He cleared a path for His anger. He did not spare them from death, but delivered their lives to the plague.

(51) He struck all the firstborn in Egypt, the first progeny of the tents of Ham.

(52) He led His people out like sheep and guided them like a flock in the wilderness. (53) He led them safely, and they were not afraid; but the sea covered their enemies.

(54) He brought them to His holy land, to the mountain His right hand acquired. (55) He drove out nations before them.

He apportioned their inheritance by lot and settled the tribes of Israel in their tents. (56) But they rebelliously tested the Most High God, for they did not keep His decrees.

(57) They treacherously turned away like their fathers; they became warped like a faulty bow.

(58) They enraged Him with their high places and provoked His jealousy with their carved images.

(59) God heard and became furious; He completely rejected Israel. (60) He abandoned the tabernacle at Shiloh, the tent where He resided among men.

(61) He gave up His strength to captivity and His splendor to the hand of a foe. (62) He surrendered His people to the sword because He was enraged with His heritage.

(63) Fire consumed His chosen young men, and His young women had no wedding songs. (64) His priests fell by the sword, but the widows could not lament.

(65) Then the Lord awoke as if from sleep, like a warrior from the effects of wine. (66) He beat back His foes; He gave them lasting shame.

(67) He rejected the tent of Joseph and did not choose the tribe of Ephraim. (68) He chose instead the tribe of Judah, Mount Zion, which He loved.

(69) He built His sanctuary like the heights, like the earth that He established forever. (70) He chose David His servant and took him from the sheepfolds;

(71) He brought him from tending ewes to be shepherd over His people Jacob–over Israel, His inheritance. (72) He shepherded them with a pure heart and guided them with his skillful hands.”

Blessings!

Tri

Wednesday 11/20/24

Thru the Bible: Psalm Book III: Chapters 76-78

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Praying God centered Prayers

Pastor Mark