Anchored to the Rock: A Song of Thanksgiving

One with God is a majority. – William Carey

I am skipping psalm 17 because I plan to preach from the ‘parallel’ psalm (22) closer to the Passion Week. Psalm 18 is a very long psalm, so I was tempted to skip it in my preaching.

However, I find this an important one (it is also found in 2 Samuel 22) and I will tackle it with God’s help.

The following preliminary notes are from Lawson and the ESV Study Bible. By the end of the week I usually refine my understanding of the psalm and I may be in partial disagreement with these comments, but I find these notes as good starting points.

MAIN IDEA: David rejoices in God who has rescued him from all his enemies.

This is a royal psalm, i.e., it celebrates the way that God has shown his love to his people by giving them the Davidic monarchy and by preserving David through many dangers (see the title and v. 50). The text of the psalm is almost identical to 2 Samuel 22. The two songs differ, however, in their context: Second Samuel 22 is David’s personal expression of gratitude to the Lord, while Psalm 18 is the adaptation of that song for the whole people to sing, because their well-being is now tied to the offspring of David (2 Sam. 7:4–17). When God’s people sang this, then, they were to give thanks for the Davidic line and to pray that its heirs would be faithful to the Lord and would be valiant military leaders, so that Israel might carry out its God-given purpose of bringing light to the Gentiles. (ESV Study Bible).

A. David’s Rejoicing (1-3)

Love for God

Protection from God

B. David’s Reasons (4-45)

God rescued me (4-19)

God rewarded me (20-27)

God renewed me (28-42)

God restored me (43-45)

C. David’s Refrain: (46-50)

God subdues (46-47)

God saves (48)

God succeeds (49-50)

QUESTIONS and THOUGHTS:

What struck me about this psalm is the opening line: I love you, O Lord! This statement of love is almost unparalleled in the Bible. Check it out for yourself by starting with the psalms.

Read the ‘theophany’ in vv. 7-15. What are your feelings and understanding about this?

How is this psalm applicable to the Christian today?

What are your reasons for thanksgiving?

Can this psalm be preached ‘Christologically’?

LIVING HOPE (You Will Not Abandon My Soul)

Psalm 14 ended with a prayer of hope for salvation to come from Zion (later = the Church). Psalm 15 set down the conditions for entering into God's presence on Mt Zion. It called us to a life of integrity and sincerity deep in our heart. Only such a church can be attractive to the world and be the hope of the world.

Next Sunday we will look at Psalm 16. Please read and meditate on this wonderful psalm. Here are some guidelines (most are from ESV Study Bible) to help you think about this text.

WALTKE: Notes from TNIV that Psalms 15 and 24 frame a cluster of psalms that have been arranged in a CHIASTIC pattern with Psalm 19 as the hinge. Thus:

15 WHO has access to the temple? 24 WHO may ascend the holy hill?

16 Confession of TRUST in YHWH 23 Confession of TRUST in YHWH

17 Plea of DELIVERANCE from foes 22 Plea of DELIVERANCE from foes

18 ROYAL praise for deliverance 20-21 PRAYER and praise for KING’s victory

19 YHWH’s glory in Creation and Torah

When the faithful sing Psalm 16, they entrust themselves to the Lord and foster their confidence and contentment in his care. The psalm uses imagery from Israel’s allocation of the land (vv. 5–6) to express contentment in this life, and goes on to look forward to everlasting life in God’s presence (vv. 9–11). [ESV Study Bible]

Ps. 16:1–2 The Lord Is My Refuge. The Lord is the only one on whom the psalmist relies for well-being (no good apart from you, v. 2).

Ps. 16:3–4 My Preferred Company: The Godly.There is a contrast between “the saints,” in whom is all my delight (v. 3), and those who run after another god (v. 4; idolaters, among whom would be unfaithful Israelites), whose practices the faithful will shun.

Ps. 16:5–6 Contentment with My Chosen Portion. The psalm now describes the psalmist’s satisfaction with the Lord and his provision. The terms portion, lot, lines, and inheritance evoke the allocation of the land into family plots (perhaps with an allusion to the Lord as the Levites’ portion and inheritance; Num. 18:20); the song promotes contentment with the arrangements of one’s life, seeing them as providentially ordered.

Ps. 16:7–8 Delight in God’s Constant Presence. God’s presence, in which the psalmist delights, is seen in the moral instruction he receives (v. 7), and it results in his assurance of stability (v. 8). The psalmist’s heart instructs him during the night (v. 7), a result of deliberate reflection (cf. 1:2); likewise to set the Lordalways before me expresses intention.

Ps. 16:9–11 Hope of Everlasting Joy. As in49:15 and 73:24–26, here there is a clear affirmation that the human yearning to be near to God and to know the pleasure of his welcome forever, beyond the death of the body, finds its answer in the covenant. Peter cites 16:8–11 in his Pentecost speech (Acts 2:25–28), applying the verses to the resurrection of Jesus; Paul used Ps. 16:10 in his similar speech (Acts 13:35). If the apostles meant that David’s words were a straight prediction of the death and resurrection of Jesus, it is difficult to know what function the psalm could have played in ancient Israel: the congregation would have scratched their heads in puzzlement every time they sang it. This puzzlement goes away if the psalm is seen as cultivating the hope of everlasting glory for the faithful, with the resurrection of Jesus (the holy one par excellence) as the first step in bringing this hope to fruition (cf. Rom. 8:23; 1 Cor. 15:23).

Relevant questions and 'homework':

1) Try to jot down a few characteristics of the believer in this psalm.

2) How can this psalm apply to our Lord Jesus Christ?

3) MEMORIZE a few verses that you find especially powerful from this psalm.

Many blessings and joy,

Cristian

Psalm 15 - Who Shall Dwell in God’s Presence? (A Liturgical Decalogue)

Psalm 15 was recognized early as a catechetical psalm of the Decalogue, and as a liturgical psalm, it was frequently repeated throughout the week by monks.

Here are some notes from Steven W. Lawson in his commentary on Psalms.

MAIN IDEA: David describes the moral integrity and personal holiness of the person who worships God.

TEACHING OUTLINE

A. The Searching Question (1)

1. WHO may approach God? (1a)

2. WHO may abide with God? (1b)

B. The Spiritual Qualifications (2-5b)

1. His character must be holy (2a-5)

2. His conversations must be holy (2c-3a)

3. His contacts must be holy (3b-c)

4. His company must be holy (4a-b)

5. His commitments must be holy (4c-d)

6. His commerce must be holy (5a-b)

C. The Strong Assurance (5c)

1. He will be intimate with God

2. He will be immovable in God

QUESTIONS for discussion:

Do you examine yourself before you come into the presence of God?

Are you living a blameless and righteous life?

In which one of these areas are you struggling in you Christian life?

What is our basis for righteousness?