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Wednesday 06/11/25
Thru the Bible: Psalm Book V: Chapters 140-145
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Awaken me with word of Your Lovingkindness
Well tonight is a David night. All five psalms I am intending to cover were composed by him. This is also a momentous night for two other reasons.
- Our closing Psalm tonight – 145 is the very last of the known psalms composed by David.
- The final 5 Psalms (146-150) are a pentalogy which are each a doxology to themselves. Taken together however, they build an escalating theme of praise to God’s glory serving as the doxological closing bookend to the greater book of Psalms, corresponding to chapters 1 & 2 at the beginning of the greater book of Psalms.
Put more plainly, just as chapters 1 & 2 kick off the entire book of Psalms with a praise to God’s glory, so the final 5 chapters do at the end of the entire book of Psalms.
Doxa is the Greek word for “glory” and God’s glory in particular. It is from this Greek word that the English word ‘Doxology’ is derived and so a true doxology does not just express praise to God in general, but particularly capitalizes on His transcendent glory.
So next week we will close out the Book 5 of Psalms and the entire book itself with 5 Psalms praising God’s glory!
Psalm 140:1-13,
Here we have a psalm of David making it applicable to the exile or post-exilic period, but written long beforehand.
“(1) To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.
Deliver me, O LORD, from evil men; Preserve me from violent men, (2) Who plan evil things in their hearts; They continually gather together for war. (3) They sharpen their tongues like a serpent; The poison of asps is under their lips. Selah
(4) Keep me, O LORD, from the hands of the wicked; Preserve me from violent men, Who have purposed to make my steps stumble.
(5) The proud have hidden a snare for me, and cords; They have spread a net by the wayside; They have set traps for me. Selah
(6) I said to the LORD:
“You are my God; Hear the voice of my supplications, O LORD.
(7) O GOD the Lord, the strength of my salvation, You have covered my head in the day of battle. (8) Do not grant, O LORD, the desires of the wicked; Do not further his wicked scheme, Lest they be exalted. Selah”
The phrase “O GOD the Lord” sounds a bit odd but makes sense if clearly translated. The two words “the Lord” is aḏōnāy which is a masculine noun used exclusively for God and is an emphatic form of the more general word āḏôn. It was often used in place of God’s name YHWH and points to Him as the One Who is Supreme in authority or power.
So David is saying “O Sovereign God” as he acknowledges Him as the strength of his salvation.
Now I don’t want the force of this to escape you. It is enough that God would cover one’s head in His protection. When however, we acknowledge His protection within the greater awareness of His sovereignty, it strengthens the mental confidence that God is able to provide that protection.
Knowing that God is doing this David goes on to request that not only while in open battle, but regarding any desire or designs his enemies have on him – to protect him.
God’s sovereignty is such that without His permission no evil could befall David. So all he prays here is in view of God’s sovereign and absolute authority over the works of His hands.
In the next verse David specifically draws attention to the leader of his enemy in the word “head”.
(9) “As for the head of those who surround me, Let the evil of their lips cover them; (10) Let burning coals fall upon them; Let them be cast into the fire, Into deep pits, that they rise not up again.”
So far as I can tell, this phrase – though similar in construction – should not be compared to or confused with the similar phrase which appears in Proverbs 25:21-22 & Romans 12:20.
Both of which say, “If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat, and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink, for you will heap coals of fire on his head, and the LORD will reward you.” A modern rephrasing of which would read something like “killing them with kindness”. The goal of which is to cause shame leading to a change of heart. Whereas here David clearly intends destruction upon his enemies.
As the thought develops it seems as if David’s purview is greater than just himself but is looking at the global and future landscape and is seeking a time and environment in which righteousness will dwell and all evil will be extinguished.
“(11) Let not a slanderer be established in the earth; Let evil hunt the violent man to overthrow him.”
(12) I know that the LORD will maintain The cause of the afflicted, And justice for the poor.
(13) Surely the righteous shall give thanks to Your name; The upright shall dwell in Your presence.”
Psalm 141:1-10,
Again we have a psalm of David as a psalm out of time. This only illustrates how all scripture is good for all time periods even if the particulars and time period are different.
As we start off we see a recently familiar statement. A few weeks ago as we were working through Psalm 134 where it addressed the work of the priests in the Tabernacle of Meeting, we discussed the Incense Altar and that the incense offered upon it as it ascended as smoke before the curtain dividing the Holy of Holies from the Tabernacle of Meeting it represented the prayers of God’s people. David here confirms that understanding in verse 2.
“(1) A Psalm of David.
LORD, I cry out to You; Make haste to me! Give ear to my voice when I cry out to You. (2) Let my prayer be set before You as incense, The lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.”
“(3) Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth; Keep watch over the door of my lips. (4) Do not incline my heart to any evil thing, To practice wicked works With men who work iniquity; And do not let me eat of their delicacies.
(5) Let the righteous strike me; It shall be a kindness. And let him rebuke me; It shall be as excellent oil; Let my head not refuse it.”
David is embracing his humanness. He knows what he wants to do, but is palpably aware of his weaknesses in carrying it through to completion. So He asks for God’s help to guard his heart and so also what comes out of his mouth so that he will not in the end, be as guilty of iniquity as those he is praying against.
He asks for true brothers who will reprove him and keep his steps ever true to God in righteousness. This he compares to oil – perhaps that which Samuel had poured upon his head as a shepherd boy as a symbol of the Holy Spirit Who had passed from Saul only to rest upon his head. Or more likely like the anointing oil upon the heads of Aaron’s sons, which just a few psalms ago was compared with the brothers dwelling together in unity.
In any case, it almost certainly has a connection to the Person and presence of the Holy Spirit.
“For still my prayer is against the deeds of the wicked. (6) Their judges are overthrown by the sides of the cliff, And they hear my words, for they are sweet.
“(7) Our bones are scattered at the mouth of the grave, As when one plows and breaks up the earth. (8) But my eyes are upon You, O GOD the Lord;
In You I take refuge; Do not leave my soul destitute. (9) Keep me from the snares they have laid for me, And from the traps of the workers of iniquity.”
Upon reading this my mind was immediately stirred to remember Paul and Timothy who when writing the church in Corinth informed them of the extreme dangers they had encountered in Asia.
These are two examples of the same thing only coming from opposite sides.
David’s account here was still in the works, while Paul’s was written in retrospect – but BOTH produce truths which spring from the same perspective.
In these words David is saying that even though their situation is dire, so much so that it is as if they had already died and their remains had been dishonored by not being buried or by being exhumed after death, he still looked to God and cried out to Him in hope as His place of refuge.
In like manner Paul and Timothy said the following to the Corinthian church,
“(8) For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, regarding the affliction that happened to us in the province of Asia, that we were burdened excessively, beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of living.
(9) Indeed we felt as if the sentence of death had been passed against us, so that we would not trust in ourselves but in God Who raises the dead.
(10) He delivered us from so great a risk of death, and He will deliver us. We have set our hope on Him that He will deliver us yet again, (11) as you also join in helping us by prayer, so that many people may give thanks to God on our behalf for the gracious gift given to us through the help of many.” – 2Cor. 1:8-11
Now lest one think that God ‘resisting the proud and giving grace to the humble’ is only a New Covenant truth, we need to realize that when James wrote that in James 4:6, he was literally quoting the Old Testament in Proverbs 3:34.
David then sums up his prayer with,
“(10) Let the wicked fall into their own nets, While I escape safely.”
Psalm 142:1-7,
“(1) A Contemplation Of David. A PrayerWhen He Was in the Cave.
Another, yet less known superscript of this psalm is “A well-written song by David, when he was in the cave; a prayer.”
Of course the cave being referenced is the cave of Adullam. The first mention of this cave in association with David is found in 1 Samuel 22. In this place it is recorded that David feigned insanity before King Achish of Gath who he suspected would have turned him over to Saul. So he pretended to be crazy and was allowed to leave. When he left, we are told he fled to the cave of Adullam to hide from Saul.
All of this happened just after the time when Saul was called away from his pursuit of David to deal with the Philistines. After that incursion Saul was told that David was in the Wilderness of En Gedi. As it turns out, Saul entered the very cave where David and his men were hiding out, deeper in the cave.
David’s men encouraged him to take advantage of this opportunity to do to Saul whatever seemed good to him. This is the occasion when David waited until Saul was asleep and cut off a corner of his robe – for which his heart troubled him – and he would not allow his men to take advantage of the situation against Saul.
“I cry out to the LORD with my voice; With my voice to the LORD I make my supplication. (2) I pour out my complaint before Him; I declare before Him my trouble.
(3) When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, Then You knew my path. In the way in which I walk, they have secretly set a snare for me.
(4) Look on my right hand and see, for there is no one who acknowledges me; Refuge has failed me; No one cares for my soul.
(5) I cried out to You,
“O LORD”: I said, “You are my refuge, My portion in the land of the living.”
It is a matter of interest that the name “Adullam” means refuge and while the cave did offer some retreat of safety, in all reality it was God Himself Who was David’s refuge!
“(6) Attend to my cry, For I am brought very low;
Deliver me from my persecutors, For they are stronger than I.
(7) Bring my soul out of prison, That I may praise Your name;
The righteous shall surround me, For You shall deal bountifully with me.”
This is a beautiful psalm, the truths of which we have learned over the course of the past 12 years here in this church.
There was a day when we would have viewed such exclamations as bad confessions but in all reality, David was simply embracing truth. He was acknowledging his weakness in humility and thus placing himself in a perfect position to receive God’s strength and grace.
Paul writes of this in 2 Corinthians 12 regarding the opposition sent to him from satan to hinder him due to the revelations God had given him.
Sadly, many interpret this exchange between God and Paul as saying that the devil was opposing Paul in an attempt to keep him back from pride, which of course makes literally no sense whatsoever! The devil encourages pride to facilitate one’s fall.
In this case the devil knew that if Paul continued to walk in humility and obedience to the vision he had received God would exalt him – something satan patently did NOT want to happen. Paul was already a major “thorn in the devil’s flesh”, so to speak and so why would he want to steer Paul away from the very thing that would make him fall?
The phrase “thorn in the flesh” which is more properly translated as “a tent spike in the flesh” was a Jewish idiom employed at least two times previously in scripture.
To my knowledge, the exact phrase does not appear, but its equivalent does. Being translated from Hebrew it sounds different but it is the same core expression. They are found in Ezekiel 28:24 & Joshua 23:13 and both represent the opposition from people or nations.
What it WASN’T was an indication of a physical ailment.
This phrase corresponds very closely to our English expression “pain in the neck” which also is not to be taken literally.
Paul’s thorn was almost certainly the opposition he received everywhere he went (largely by the Jewish community). The greatest portion of which he could have avoided had he stuck exclusively to the grace calling God gave him which was to be an Apostle to the Gentiles.
Jesus told Paul that His grace – or influence – was sufficient for him BECAUSE His strength was perfected in Paul’s weakness.
So Paul’s weakness mentioned in 2 Corinthians 12 was certainly a different kind than experienced by David as described here in Psalm 142 but both of these men addressed their individual weaknesses the same way.
So how did Paul respond to his weakness? He said,
“Therefore, I will most gladly boast all the more about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may reside in me. So because of Christ, I am pleased in weaknesses, in insults, in catastrophes, in persecutions, and in pressures. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” – 2 Corinthians 12:9-10
Boasting in our weaknesses – What Paul was saying was that he gloried and exalted in his moral frailty, so that the achieving power of Christ might descend upon him and dwell within him.
Paul’s embracing of his weakness was the necessary trigger to release the grace of God into his life!
But in order for Paul to do this he needed to trust a strength outside himself WOULD be supplied!
People are NOT willing to surrender their strength if there is nothing there to replace it.
TRUSTING in God’s goodness, nearness, abiding power and dedication to them – to help both of these men in their need was what enabled them to relinquish control, embrace their weakness and receive God’s strength in faith!
Psalm 143:1-12,
“(1) A Psalm of David. Hear my prayer,
LORD, Give ear to my supplications! In Your faithfulness answer me, And in Your righteousness.
(2) Do not enter into judgment with Your servant, For in Your sight no one living is righteous.
(3) For the enemy has persecuted my soul; He has crushed my life to the ground; He has made me dwell in darkness, Like those who have long been dead. (4) Therefore my spirit is overwhelmed within me; My heart within me is distressed.”
We know that David is set before us in scripture as a man who loved God and sought after Him. As such, how he responded in times of trouble is an example to follow for the godly of all ages.
What David did was remember God’s works both to himself as well as to all of Israel even in events which predate his birth. God does NOT change and is not a respecter of persons.
David makes God the focus of his thoughts and hopes. He takes his refuge in God Himself – not simply in what God could do FOR him, but in God Himself! He lifted up his soul to God for guidance and longs to hear His God speak His words of loving kindness to him.
“(5) I remember the days of old; I meditate on all Your works; I muse on the work of Your hands. (6) I spread out my hands to You; My soul longs for You like a thirsty land. Selah
(7) Answer me speedily, O LORD; My spirit fails! Do not hide Your face from me, Lest I be like those who go down into the pit.
(8) Cause me to hear Your lovingkindness in the morning, For in You do I trust;
Cause me to know the way in which I should walk, For I lift up my soul to You.”
“(9) Deliver me, O LORD, from my enemies;
In You I take shelter. (10) Teach me to do Your will, For You are my God; Your Spirit is good. Lead me in the land of uprightness.
(11) Revive me, O LORD, for Your name’s sake! For Your righteousness’ sake bring my soul out of trouble. (12) In Your mercy cut off my enemies, And destroy all those who afflict my soul; For I am Your servant.”
In the end David’s cry for help was tethered to the fact that he looked to God in faith as His servant.
David was keenly aware that God cared for the works of His hands even as he had cared for the sheep under his protection in his youth. So he turned to God and was confident that in like manner God watches over with solicitous care, those who serve Him.
Psalm 144:1-15,
I very much like the song we used in Praise tonight. It was performed by Matthew Ward and entitled ‘Fortress’ which is also the title cut of the album – ‘Fortress’.
It wove together as one continuous thought at the end of Psalm 143 with the beginning of Psalm 144.
I believe that this segment of scripture is unique in all the Psalms and perhaps the bible. It shows the tenderness of trust and surrender to God Who is seen and acknowledged as intimately involved in training a warrior with skill and wisdom for battle.
These seem like conflicting arenas but I assure you they are not!
David was a warrior king, but one who often had a stringed instrument in his hand and who not only skillfully played, but had inspired and poetic words forged in the fires of intimacy with God. These psalms resulted from encounters with God during times of peace and dire danger.
David’s was not a faith of convenience but one of sincerity. His psalms held both the practical and the penetratingly relational in perfect and vivid tension.
“(1) A Psalm of David.
Blessed be the LORD my Rock, Who trains my hands for war, And my fingers for battle— (2) My lovingkindness and my fortress, My high tower and my deliverer, My shield and the One in Whom I take refuge, Who subdues my people under me.”
Though King, David rarely, if ever, lost sight of his soul poverty apart from God. He knew his value and worth owed God as their source which begged the question…
“(3) LORD, what is man, that You take knowledge of him? Or the son of man, that You are mindful of him?”
Now with our studies of the phrase ‘Son of man’ which comes from Daniel and his visions, this might throw you a curb ball.
However, if you don’t recall, Daniel used the term ‘Son of man’ to refer to the Christ Who would come. Of course Daniel did not know specifically Who the Messiah would be. We however do and know him to be the real and historic God-man – Jesus of Nazareth.
This phrase in Psalm 144:3 is “ben eesh” and is just another way of saying human being.
The words “a son of man” as used in Daniel 7:13-14 is Chaldean “bar enawsh” and was used of the God man Who would be the Messiah.
Daniel 7:13-14,“(13) I was watching in the night visions, “And with the clouds of the sky one like a son of man was approaching. He went up to the Ancient of Days and was escorted before him. (14) To him was given ruling authority, honor, and sovereignty. All peoples, nations, and language groups were serving him. His authority is eternal and will not pass away. His kingdom will not be destroyed.”
Jesus, during His earthly life, called Himself by this name which has caused confusion in modern readers. To us, the words ‘son of man’ almost speak against the deity of Jesus as if he were claiming to have a simple human, being born from two human parents just like everyone else. However, Jesus was actually identifying Himself as the Messiah by using Daniel’s term ‘son of man’. This was NOT lost on the religious leaders of Jesus’ day who more than once challenged Him and His authority when He would identify with the Messiah in Daniel’s vision.
It has become a modern objection by those simpletons who attempt to discredit the scriptures that Jesus never claimed to be God, but in identifying with the ‘son of man’ in Daniel’s vision He could hardly be anything less.
It is a matter of some importance that Daniel’s “son of man” was in fact the appellation Jesus’ used more than any other in His earthly ministry.
So when we read here, “Lord what is man, that You take knowledge of him? Or the son of man, that You are mindful of him?” This is simply a poetic device called parallelism where the same phrase is stated twice only employing different words.
“(4) Man is like a breath; His days are like a passing shadow.
(5) Bow down Your heavens, O LORD, and come down;
Touch the mountains, and they shall smoke.
(6) Flash forth lightning and scatter them; Shoot out Your arrows and destroy them.
(7) Stretch out Your hand from above; Rescue me and deliver me out of great waters, From the hand of foreigners, (8) Whose mouth speaks lying words, And whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood.”
“(9) I will sing a new song to You, O God; On a harp of ten strings I will sing praises to You, (10) The One Who gives salvation to kings, Who delivers David His servant From the deadly sword.
(11) Rescue me and deliver me from the hand of foreigners, Whose mouth speaks lying words, And whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood—
(12) That our sons may be as plants grown up in their youth;
That our daughters may be as pillars, Sculptured in palace style;
(13) That our barns may be full, Supplying all kinds of produce;
That our sheep may bring forth thousands And ten thousands in our fields;
(14) That our oxen may be well laden; That there be no breaking in or going out; That there be no outcry in our streets.
(15) Happy are the people who are in such a state; Happy are the people whose God is the LORD!”
Psalm 145:1-21,
This Psalm is another acrostic poem and is recited by some Jews 3x’s a day. Each verse begins with a letter of the Hebrew alphabet in sequence EXCEPT for the 14th letter nun.
There is a suggested reason for this among Jewish sages which says that the nun would recall the word n’filah which means downfall. As such it is reasoned that David did not want to introduce an ominous note in the middle of a psalm which was extolling the mercies of God so it was excluded – kind of.
The reasoning continues, that David – not wanting to fail to use even a single letter – found a workaround.
Verse 14 which should have been the verse that began with the nun actually began with the 15th Hebrew letter samech.
The verse reads, “The Lord supports all who fall”.
Now the word “support” is somech which begins with this next letter of the alphabet samechwhereas the word “fall” is n’fal which begins with the 14th letter nun.
The fifteenth letter samechis said to be a symbol of support, protection, and reliance.
So David does introduce nun in the suggested possibility of man falling, but ONLY AFTER mentioning that before we could ever fall God is ever present as our support.
“(1) A Praise of David.
I will extol You, my God, O King; And I will bless Your name forever and ever. (2) Every day I will bless You, And I will praise Your name forever and ever.
(3) Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; And His greatness is unsearchable.
(4) One generation shall praise Your works to another, And shall declare Your mighty acts.
(5) I will meditate on the glorious splendor of Your majesty, And on Your wondrous works.
(6) Men shall speak of the might of Your awesome acts, And I will declare Your greatness. (7) They shall utter the memory of Your great goodness, And shall sing of Your righteousness.
(8) The LORD is gracious and full of compassion, Slow to anger and great in mercy. (9) The LORD is good to all, And His tender mercies are over all His works.
(10) All Your works shall praise You, O LORD, And Your saints shall bless You. (11) They shall speak of the glory of Your kingdom, And talk of Your power, (12) To make known to the sons of men His mighty acts, And the glorious majesty of His kingdom.
(13) Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, And Your dominion endures throughout all generations.
(14) The LORD upholds all who fall, And raises up all who are bowed down.
(15) The eyes of all look expectantly to You, And You give them their food in due season.
(16) You open Your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing.
(17) The LORD is righteous in all His ways, Gracious in all His works. (18) The LORD is near to all who call upon Him, To all who call upon Him in truth.
(19) He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him; He also will hear their cry and save them.
(20) The LORD preserves all who love Him, But all the wicked He will destroy.
(21) My mouth shall speak the praise of the LORD, And all flesh shall bless His holy name Forever and ever.”
Blessings!
Tri
