SUNDAYS

The main theme of this psalm is repeated in both verses 7 and 19: “Restore us, O Lord God of hosts! Let your face shine, that we may be saved!” This psalm is another community lament, written again by Asaph. It is structured with verses 1-3 as a call for the Shepherd for restoration. Then we see in verses 4-7 a bit of a complaint about the Lord’s anger (similar to what we saw in the last psalm, alluding to the fact that they may be related. Next, in verses 8-13, we see the metronome of the vine, and finally to close (14-19) an appeal to revive and restore. The idea of restoration is interesting and always makes me think of a restored car. The car is made new, and this is what the writer is asking of the Lord, for the nation to be restored, to be made new under Him. This is not only a good prayer theme for our loved ones who don’t know the Lord, but also for our nation. 

‭‭

#jesus #biblestudy

There are varied opinions on who actually wrote this psalm. It states that it is a psalm of Asaph, but it is commonly believed that this psalm takes place after the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians. If this is the case, then it would be a “later” Asaph than the musician we’ve become accustomed to, possibly even the offspring of Asaph. It is also said that this psalm compliments Psalm 74. With this in mind, and that background, we can get a better idea of this psalm’s context. In the opening verses (1-4) we see a complaint from the writer. In verses 5-12, the prayer is offered, then in closing, there is praise. The writer prays for the city of Jerusalem and its people after these horrific events. He prays for justice and deliverance and in addition for compassion and mercy. In verse 9, the Lord is called the “God of salvation,” which is another reminder to us Who the source is of our salvation, whether it be physical or spiritual. You see here too that those who oppose the Lord are a bit of an annoyance to the writer. He takes offense to those who oppose the Lord, closing with the affirmation of their own faith devoutness. While it is appropriate to be angry because of the sin and the denial of our Lord by those around us, the appropriate response is to love and pray. That sounds very cliche doesn’t it? That’s okay. It really is that simple. We must love our brother, even if they hate the Lord. We can share His love of Jesus through prayer, through sharing the Word, and living our four faith. It really does go a long way. 

#jesus #biblestudy

Admittedly, this is a hard psalm to recap or summarize. Primarily because it is a historical psalm. As you have seen already, a lot of emphasis of the writers of these psalms so far have pointed the reader back to the past of Israel, whether it be the exodus, the kingdoms, or other historical events that have shaped the nation, and really the future. I think is key in understanding this psalm, and the overall purpose. You would have noticed that I used "remember" as the title of this post, mainly due to the fact that there is a lot of mentions of remembering what the Lord has done. We also see the term "forget" spread throughout the psalm. This speaks of the attitude of the people of Israel, forgetting the Lord's direction, and not teaching His Word to the next generation. This is a good reminder for us, particularly if we are parents or have any contact with the next generation. We must teach them the ways of the Lord. With the culture today, this is very important, as they will learn from many others that have a very different point of view that what we have in the Bible. This will be difficult for many to discern what is right from wrong, and it will be up to us to help guide the next generation. This is a big task, will you take part in helping the next generation? 

#jesus #biblestudy