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Psalm 60: The Wine of Astonishment

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Introduction

This psalm begins in a disastrous period in Israel’s history, and ends with disaster for her enemies and foes. It begins with Israel drinking the wine of astonishment at her peril and impending calamity, and ends with Moab and Edom thrown down. It begins with Israel facing potential disaster, and ends with her enemies facing actual disaster.

The Text

To the chief Musician upon Shushaneduth, Michtama of David, to teach; when he strove with Aramnaharaim and with Aramzobah, when Joab returned, and smote of Edom in the valley of salt twelve thousand.
“O God, thou hast cast us off, thou hast scattered us, thou hast been displeased; O turn thyself to us again . . .” (Ps. 60:1-12).

Background to the Text

The inscription to this psalm identifies it with the occasion when Joab defeated Edom in the valley of salt. This would appear to be the battle mentioned in 1 Chron. 18:12, although there the slain were numbered 18,000. The discrepancy may be accounted for by reckoning 12,000 to Joab, and 6,000 to his brother Abishai. David came to a (divided) throne in 1 Chron. 11), and was immediately in the midst of hard fighting—first with the Philistines, and then later with Edom and Moab. Remember that when David assumed the throne, the priests of God had been murdered by the king, the kingdom was still divided, contemptible men were in office, and Israel’s military power had been scattered. David says that God had cast Israel away, and the word indicates the way you would cast away a loathsome object.

Summary of the Text

This psalm progresses through three phases. The first reflects the terrible situation that Israel was in when David came to the throne (vv. 1-3). The reign of Saul was ended by the military disaster at Gilboa. When David came to power the Philistines were in the ascendancy, and the Israelites were divided between David and Ishbosheth. Threats were potent in every direction, but David cites the real problem. God had cast them off (v. 1). God was the one making Israel lean precipitously, ready to go clean over (v. 2). God had given Israel the gift of hard times. He had showed them hard things, and had given them the wine of astonishment (v. 3). The second section (vv. 4-8) begins with those capable of learning from the first three verses—“those who fear thee.” God gave them a banner to fly (v. 4). David’s name means beloved, and he is a proxy for all God’s beloved (v. 5). God has given the word, and David will triumph (v. 6). He will divide the spoils in Shechem (v. 6). Gilead and Manasseh, loyal to Ishbosheth, will come to David (v. 7). Ephraim, the largest tribe, will be David’s strength, and Judah will be the seat of law (v. 7). Moab becomes a pot for David to wash his feet in (v. 8), Edom will have to clean his boots (v. 8), and Philistia is taunted with the irony of David’s victories (v. 8). We see this exultation is all by faith because the third section presents a petition to God that concerns the coming conquest of Edom (v. 9). The entry to Edom was Petra, and the access to that was a two-mile long canyon, with places only wide enough for two horses side by side. God, who formerly had abandoned Israel, is asked to return to them (v. 10), and what man cannot do, God most certainly can (v. 11). Through God we will do valiantly—and that is the only way we will do valiantly (v. 12).

Broken

We always want to deal with a wound by dabbing around the edges of it. We want to spin our way out of a hard diagnosis. We don’t want the hard truth. But when David comes to the throne, he conducts a frank and completely honest inventory. He concludes that Israel makes God sick. All the horizontal difficulties (and there were many) were functions of God’s great displeasure. And so David begins by asking for a true restoration (v. 1), which will only happen if God turns back to Israel. Israel was tipping over, and at the point of utter collapse (v. 2).

The straight way out of any disaster is complete honesty in confession. How do we know that help is near? When God shows us hard things. When God gives us wine that makes us stagger.

Broken and Restored

But there are two elements to this. The first, just mentioned, is honesty about the sin. The second is honesty about your Savior. Those who fear God, David says, are given a banner. Where does a banner belong? On the end of a pole, up in the sky, with that pole in the hands of the bravest man in the regiment. God gives a banner to those who fear Him (v. 4), so that it might be displayed because of the truth (v. 4), in order that God’s beloved might be delivered by Him (v. 5). Salvation must be declared. The Savior’s name must be honored. The banner of Christ’s sacrificial lordship over all, a blood-red banner, must be unfurled. And when it is, no matter how grim the circumstance before, God will arise and by His might, put all His enemies to flight.

God Hath Spoken

David’s confidence is not suspended in mid-air. God had promised the land to the patriarchs, and so David’s confidence was based on a recognition that God will complete what God has begun. If God has declared that something will come to pass, then he is no fool who counts on it coming to pass, and who labors toward that end.

Vain is the Help of Man

David began by noting that God needed to be the one who reversed Israel’s misfortune. He ends on the same note. He asks God for help from trouble, and he says that vain is the help of man. At the same time, he says “through God we shall do valiantly.” We work out what God works in. Work out your salvation, Paul says, with fear and trembling, for God is at work in you to will and to do for His good pleasure. A strong confidence in the ultimate and complete authority of God does not lead to a passive quietism. It does not lead to the true believer schlumped on the sofa. We shall do, and we shall do valiantly. Atheist observers will deny that God had anything to do with it —but we know better.

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Psalm 59: Deception and War

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Introduction

Here is yet another psalm from yet another time when David was in trouble. The inscription says that it was the incident in which Saul’s daughter, Michal, helped David to escape when Saul’s men were watching their house.

The Text

To the chief Musician, Altaschith, Michtam of David; when Saul sent, and they watched the house to kill him. “Deliver me from mine enemies, O my God: defend me from them that rise up against me . . .” (Ps. 59:1-17)

Background to the Text

Let’s begin by reading the account of this incident in 1 Sam. 19:8-17. We can tell something of the generally low spiritual condition in that time by the availability of a teraphim, a household idol that Michal could use. Samuel had rebuked Saul four chapters earlier, and used this word to do it—stubbornness is “as iniquity and teraphim” (1 Sam. 15:23). Rachel had stolen the teraphim of her father in Gen. 31, a smaller one, that she could hide under a saddle. This one that Michal used was apparently much larger, the size of a man. The thing to note here is that David was delivered by the Lord, and he was delivered by means of his wife’s cunning and trickery. She helps David escape by means of a trick, and protects herself from her father’s anger by means of a lie.

Summary of the Text

In vv. 1-7, he prays, setting forth his woes. In vv. 8-10, he declares his confidence in the Lord. In the remainder of the psalm, he renews his petitions, singing with joy as he does so (vv. 11-17). Saul had been stirred up by an evil spirit “from the Lord,” and yet David was still able to cry out to God for deliverance (v. 1). Those seeking him were intent on murder, they were bloody men (v. 2). They were waiting for him (v. 3), and not because he had done anything wrong. They are industrious in their evil (v. 4). He asks God to withhold mercy from the wicked, as they are being wicked (v. 5). For the first time, David compares his enemies to prowling scavenger dogs (v. 6). Their mouths spill out violence (v. 7). But David knows that they are going to be laughed at (v. 8). “Saul’s daughter put an idol in the bed, and then used goat hair . . .” God would defend David (v. 9). God would let David see his enemies thwarted (v. 10). David then asks God to prolong the existence of his enemies, so that God’s people would not get too much out of spiritual shape (v. 11). David asks that their lying and deceitful ways would result in them being taken in their pride (v. 12). Consume their lying works (v. 13). Let them prowl, and growl, unsatisfied (vv. 14-15). David escaped by night; he would sing in the morning (v. 16). He will sing to the God of all mercy (v. 17).

Envy is a Form of 20/20 Blindness

In the historical background to this psalm, we learn that David was a faithful warrior, fighting Saul’s battles, and that God had given him success. He was then used as a musician to play in a way that might comfort Saul. But Saul was tormented, and tried to pin David to the wall with a javelin.

Noise Like a Dog

We are accustomed to think of dogs in the way we use them as domestic pets. We have very little experience with dogs of the ancient near East, dogs that were vicious scavengers, hunting in packs within the city limits—a very dangerous form of garbage disposal. David compares the stake out team outside his house to such dogs, and he does so twice. The first mention is in v. 6—they make a noise like a dog, and go around the city. The second is in v. 14, with the detail added that they should resent it if they are not satisfied, if they do not get what they want (v. 15).

Life is Not a Game

In football, everything is as level as you can make it. If one team is not allowed to clip, the other team is not allowed to do so. If one team has four plays to make a first down, the other team doesn’t get six attempts. From this, too many Christians have concluded that if the Pharisees don’t get to call Jesus demon-possessed, then we shouldn’t be able to call the man living among the tombs demon-possessed. But in warfare, and in life, there is a little matter called the truth. And there is also an important question about whether or not there is a condition of war. Deception is in war what killing is in war.

Deception and War

Saul sinned by believing lies about David. The wicked men who sought David’s life in this incident were characterized by their lies (v. 12). So how was it God’s deliverance that enabled David to get away by means of deception and trickery?

In a state of peace, lying is a great evil. The lake of fire is reserved for liars (Rev. 21:8). We are told not to lie to one another (Col. 3:9). We are commanded not to bear false witness against our neighbor (Ex. 20:16). But in this fallen world, some people so behave (by their lies) as to forfeit their right to the truth.

In a condition of war, deception is not the kind of lying we just noted. It is not a sin to paint your tank to look like a bush when it is in fact not a bush. But you are deceiving the enemy pilots . . . The Hebrew midwives lied to Pharaoh, and so God greatly blessed them (Ex. 1:17-19). Rahab hid the spies, sent them out another way than she said she did, and James tells us that this deception was what vindicated her faith as true and living faith (Jas. 2:25). In her case, faith without such a deception would have been dead. David pretended to be mad when he was not (1 Sam. 21:15). God told Joshua to deceive the soldiers of Ai with a fake retreat (Josh. 8:1-2). We could make a very long list if we wished. We want to be righteous, not over-scrupulous.

The issue is God’s law. Those who won’t deceive when God’s law requires it are likely to be the same ones who will lie when His law forbids it.

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Psalm 58: Before the Pot Heats Up

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Introduction

We should note again that God’s hymnbook, the psalter, is just full of enemies. Our modern hymnbooks very rarely encounter anything like that. A central part of the reason is that we have worked out a truce with the devil. We don’t have to deal with him attacking us, for we have agreed not to attack him. If we really were to attack him, we would have tumults to sing about soon enough.

The Text

To the chief Musician, Altaschith, Michtam of David.
“Do ye indeed speak righteousness, O congregation? do ye judge uprightly, O ye sons of men? . . .” (Ps. 58:1-11)

Summary of the Text

The psalm can be divided into three sections. In the first, the ungodly enemy is indicted (vv. 1-5). In the second, a just judgment from God is sought (vv. 6-8). In the last, David sees the answer to his prayer by faith (vv. 9-11). David begins by challenging the majority. What the whole congregation knows is not necessarily so (v. 1). The heart of man is an underground forge, in which violence and wickedness is crafted (v. 2). Wickedness begins in the womb; evil men rejoice when they are born—so that they can start learning how to lie (v. 3). Their lies are not harmless, but rather full of venom (v. 4). External tricks and charms will not restrain them (v. 5). They will not be reasoned with, and so David asks God to bust out their teeth (v. 6). Let them be like water running into parched earth (v. 7). Shatter their weapons, O Lord (v. 7). Let them melt like a slug in the sun (v. 8). Let them come to nothing, like an abortion (v. 8). David then exults in the approaching answer to his prayer. Before the cauldron of the wicked heats up, the whirlwind of God shall take them away alive (v. 9). The righteous man does not flinch when he sees this—he rejoices to walk over the battle field after the victory (v. 10). What is the conclusion? Surely the righteous are reward (v. 11), and surely there is a God who judges in the earth (v. 11).

Black-Robed Malice

This psalm provides a strong contrast between the judgments of men (v. 1) and the judgments of God (v. 11). Does man judge uprightly? No. Does God? Yes. What do men speak from their heart of hearts? Lies. What does God speak from His heart of hearts? The truth.

So let us begin with the curse. These are not private slanders that David is dealing with. These are lies parading as righteous judgments in the congregation. These are appalling untruths uttered from behind the bench, with the acclaim of the sons of men. For just one example among far too many, the men who voted to establish Roe v. Wade were Harry Blackmun, William Brennan, Warren Burger, William Douglas, Thurgood Marshall, Lewis Powell and Potter Stewart. All of these men have gone out of this life to settle their accounts with God. They don’t have a black robe anymore and, even if they did, a robe will protect no man if it is soaked with the blood any innocents other than Jesus (Rev. 7:14. What would any of those men give now to revisit that damnable vote?

Now, when the Lord judges, what will He judge? He will judge the pretence of righteousness (v. 1). He will judge the hidden forge of malice (v. 2). He will judge the lies involved, including convoluted reasoning learned in order to pass the bar (v. 3). He will judge the poison (v. 4). He will judge the refusal to listen (v. 5). How will He judge? He will break out their teeth (v. 6), shatter their weapons (v. 7), cause them to melt away (vv. 7-8), and bring them to an abortive end (v. 8). God judges before their pot heats up (v. 9). Every unconverted man is an abortion—not able to grow up to the restored image of God in Christ.

No Endless Discussions

Truth is determined by what God says, not by what the general consensus is. Justice is determined by how God would judge a case, not by what we might think while groping our way. When we hear the phrase final judgment (which we do too rarely), we sometimes rush to the judgment side of it. But we really need to remember that it is final. Everything gets settled.

Early Morning Lies

Whenever you get up early in the morning for a trip, by the end of the day, you will have been able to go a long way. So when you rise early in your life to tell lies, by the time you are done, you have traveled long down that road. But here is the hard truth—this is the human dilemma. As Paul reminds us in Romans 3, no one seeks after truth. But God be praised, the truth seeks after us. That is grace.

Afraid of Victory

The liberal is one who doesn’t feel up to taking up his own side in anything. If this is at all accurate, many so-called conservatives are actually liberals. We have been far more affected by the spirit of the age than most of us know. If we hear anyone pray to the Lord, “Break out their teeth, O Lord, and don’t leave them with any,” our first reaction is to rush to the cautionary warning that they probably don’t know what spirit they are of (Luke 9:55). Okay, so maybe they don’t. But do we know what spirit we are of ? Like so many castrated roosters, we greet the morning sun like Knox, and Luther, and Huss, but we are just a cluster of capons for all that. Never confound personal desire to retaliate, which is prohibited to us, with in God’s vengeance (v. 10).

Two Things to Keep in Mind

We are told in Scripture that the man who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is the rewarder of the one who diligently seeks Him (Heb. 11:6). We find the same kind of thing here in this psalm. A man should be able to say two things about God. First, that there is a God who judges in the earth, and second, that He brings with Him a reward for the righteous.

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Psalm 57: In The Shadow Of Thy Wings

Joe Harby on

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Introduction

We are in a stretch of the psalms which record David’s trials before coming to the promised throne. This psalm is a cry of faith from a very beleaguered and dark time. Since the reference is simply to “the cave,” this is probably the time when David and his six hundred men hid in the cave (1 Sam. 24:1-22), and David cut off the hem of Saul’s robe.

The Text

To the chief Musician, Altaschith, Michtam of David, when he fled from Saul in the cave.
“Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me: for my soul trusteth in thee: yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be overpast . . .” (Ps. 57:1-11).

Summary of the Text

The inscription of this psalm locates it at the time when David hid from Saul in the cave. The psalm divides into two main sections—the first being prayer (vv. 1-6) and the second praise (vv. 7-11). In the first part of the psalm, he is deep in the cave, and at v. 7 he comes to the mouth of the cave and stands in the sunlight. He begins with a repeated cry for mercy (v. 1). He does not hide in the cave alone, but under the shadow of God’s wings (v. 1). David cries out, and does so in complete faith (v. 2). God is the one who performs “all things.” He shows his confidence (v. 3), knowing that God will send deliverance from heaven. God sends forth salvation, mercy, and truth. The devil has sharp teeth, as also his servants (v. 4). Whatever happens, David wants God to be exalted
and glorified (v. 5). Caught in a trap, David prays that God be glorified above heaven and earth. David mentions the trap prepared for him, and declares that he knows that his adversaries will fall in it themselves (v. 6). Saul pursued David, but David managed—more than once—to catch Saul. The prayer is offered, and David knows it is heard. He turns at this point in the psalm to praise the Lord. Where does his praise begin? He says “my heart is fixed” (v. 7). That is where praise begins. What is necessary to praise God rightly? Three times David exhorts himself to wake up (v. 8). David resolves not to limit his praise service to the back of the save, but rather to sing among all nations (v. 9), a thing which he has successfully done. His mercy is great, and his truth ascends to the sky (v. 10). Our praise of Him should do its level best to match that (v. 11).

Shadows and Shadows

Like a cloud overhead, David is dealing with various calamities. He is under the shadow of those calamities. When under this kind of shadow, he seeks out the shadow of God’s wings. There are two likely images here—like a chick in danger seeks out refuge under the wings of the mother hen, so we seek out God’s protection. Jesus used this image (Matt. 23:37). And because of the close association with the cry for mercy, remember that the mercy seat, the great mercy seat of the ark of the covenant, was covered over with wings—the wings of the cherubim. In that place we recognize that our troubles are temporal, and our safety is eternal.

Where Praise Begins

For David, his praise begins in the cave. God wants us to grow in our tests and trials by rejoicing before they are over. Always and for everything giving thanks . . . (Eph. 5:20). We praise God for the sunlight while we are still in the cave. We praise God for deliverance while we are still on the run. We praise God for the resurrection before we have died. We live and we die in faith. Praise and worship are not built on the foundation of sentiments; they are built on the bedrock of trust and faith.

A Fixed Heart

The right worship of God begins with resolve. Remembering what we have just said, it has to be a resolve to trust, a resolve to believe. Not only that, but it also has to contain a recognition that resolve is not something we are able to gin up on our own, but is rather the gift of God. So David says that his heart is fixed. Therefore he will sing and give praise. He emphasizes this, saying twice that his heart is fixed. The New Testament tells us a very similar thing about our praise. Singing and making melody in your hearts to the Lord (Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:15). Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks (Matt. 15:18). This applies to praise and thanks as well as to sins.

Make the World

David tells his glory to wake up. He tells his musical instruments to wake up. And in a striking figure, he tells the dawn to wake up—he is up before the dawn, ready to use the day for praising God. Sluggishness is not a fit condition for praising God. Psalters and hymnals were not made so that we might have something to mumble into. Music should be skillful. Music should be robust. Music should be loud.

The Nations Praise

David wants his praise to extend vertically—he says this twice. This psalm is full of important repetitions. He wants God to be exalted and glorified above the heavens and earth (vv. 5, 11). But he also insists that God be glorified extensively, horizontally, in the presence of all the nations (v.9). Praise extends laterally, and not just vertically. This is a very common theme in the psalms (e.g. Ps. 18:49), one which the apostle Paul notes (Rom. 15:9). How will David do this? Well, we are Gentiles, we are living on the other side of the world from David and his cave, and we are living thousands of years later. What are we doing? We are rejoicing, together with David, and we are using his compositions, his praises, in order to do it. We are those nations, we are the fruit of David’s faith.

Under the Shadow of Thy Wings

A crisis reveals where a man’s faith is. When something threatens, where do we turn. When a hawk appears, no one needs to train chicks how to run for the mother hen’s wings. They know what to do. In the same way, a crisis reveals where a man believes his savior to be. Where does he turn? What name does he cry out? What temple does he go to? What wings does he seek shelter under?

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Psalm 56: I Know God is for Me

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Introduction

The troubles that David went through on the way to his promised throne were many. But this meant that before he assumed the rule of God’s people, he had seen that many answers to prayer, that many deliverances. David was not dropped on his throne from Heaven, rather he was delivered out of tribulation, as he ascended to that throne.

The Text

To the chief Musician upon Jonathelemrechokim, Michtam of David, when the Philistines took him in Gath.
“Be merciful unto me, O God: for man would swallow me up; he fighting daily oppresseth me. Mine enemies would daily swallow me up: for they be many that fight against me, O thou most High. What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee. In God I will praise his word, in God I have put my trust; I will not fear what flesh can do unto me . . .” (Ps. 56:1-13).

Summary of the Text

This psalm is another one from the time when David was on the run, beset by a persecuting king of Israel, and threatened by the Philistine enemy. He had been anointed, and knew the promise, but he also knew the threat. He cries out for mercy, for men would swallow him (v. 1). If they could, they would swallow him every day (v. 2), and there are many of them. The last part of v. 2 is probably a missed translation—it means his enemies fight from the high places. David’s basic response is a godly reflex response—when he fears, he trusts (v. 3). This kind of trust leads inexorably to praise (v. 4). The people who are against him will snatch at any excuse to accuse him. They twist his words out of all recognition (v. 5). Whenever the wolf is talking with the lamb, anything the lamb says will be used as a compelling reason to have him for lunch.  The conversation always seems to take that turn. These malicious men study David, in order to take him down (v. 6). David asks God to intervene (v. 7). God knows what David has gone through—He collects David’s tears in a bottle, He enters every one of them in His register (v. 8). David knows that his prayer will be answered, for he knows that “God is for me” (v. 9). The only appropriate response to this is praise (v. 10). There is no reason to fear what men can cook up (vv. 4, 11). To promise the payment of vows is a biblical thing to do—provided you pay them (v. 12). The payment of a vow is only right, because God delivered David, and he walks in the light of the living (v. 13).

The Malice of These Men

The malice of these men is remarkable. They know they are being unfair. Because they hate, part of their delight comes from being unfair. They know that the pain they inflict will hurt, but they also know that the pain they inflict for no good reason will hurt more. Because they are haters, this is part of their satisfaction. Note. They twist words. All their thoughts concentrate on how to turn anything to evil. They mark steps, but in a way completely different from the way God does it.  They want to trip, they want to ensnare. They love ambush, they delight in gotcha. When they accuse us of malice and hatred, they know better.

The Tendermercies of God

God knows every last step that David took in the course of his wanderings. He knows how many steps were taken when David was on one side of the mountain, and his pursuers were on the other. He not only knew of all David’s tears, but He also treasured those tears (v. 8), collecting them all in a bottle. He counted them all, entering each one of them in His register, in His book. So the God who will wipe away every tear is not going to do so by abrasively telling us to “get some perspective, wouldja?” (Rev. 7:17; Rev. 21:4). Rather, the God who wipes away every tear is the same God who collected them all, cataloging them. God’s knowledge of every hair on your head is not told to us so that we would marvel at His mathematical abilities, but rather so that we would marvel at His care for us (Matt. 10:30).

Fear and Trust

We have seen that courage is not the absence of fear. It is doing the right thing despite your fears. In order for this to happen, this basic reflex must be there. “What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee.” And if it is not too small to frighten you, it is not too small to entrust to God. There is no threshold between small and large fears where we should start trusting God. Remember that the God you are trusting is the same God who counts every tear. Cast all your anxieties on Him for He cares for you (1 Pet. 5:7). Be anxious for nothing, because God is willing for His peace to rest upon you (Phil. 4:6-7). These are fantastic promises—we would have to say “unbelievable promises,” except that the Spirit of God works in us to enable us to believe them. Does He not?

I Know God is for Me

Now here is an astonishing statement of David’s faith (v. 9), and it is same kind of faith that we are called to. Remember, we are told that we are to sing the psalms (Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16), and among other things this means that are to be schooled by the psalter in how to pray, and we are to learn how to trust God in the same way that David did. This is our hymnbook, and we are supposed to be shaped by what we sing.

But there are striking epistemological issues in this—all of which must be resolved by faith. Think about this: “this I know; for God is for me.” The issues are not resolved by abstract principles, or logical syllogisms in the sky, but by faith. Now David had his enemies, and he had the kind of enemies who would twist his words, including the words of this psalm. “Who are you to say that we are the ones who are evil? Haven’t you ever heard of Prov. 18:17? What about our side of the story?”

In this world, the dividing line between right and wrong, between good and evil, is actually, at the foundational level, the line between faith and unbelief. We are invited to believe that God is “for us,” and we are invited to draw this conclusion, not by peering into His secret counsels (Dt. 29:29), but rather by looking to the gracious terms of His covenant with us. And this is done by means of looking to Christ. Christ is our law, Christ is our promise, Christ is our grace. Look to Him and conclude that “God is for me.”

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