24 June

Bible In 365 Days

Psalms 58-65

Psalm 58

This is a fine setting forth of the certainty of the judgment of God against wickedness. The psalmist declares its reason (Psalms 58:1-5), its process (Psalms 58:6-9), and its effect (Psalms 58:11).

The whole psalm will be misunderstood save as we carefully note its opening questions. The reason of the judgment is not personal wrong. It is rather the failure of the rulers to administer justice. They are silent when they should speak. Their judgments are not upright. Evil in heart, they lie in word, and poison like serpents, and no charming wins them.

The process of judgment is described in the form of prayer, which shows the sympathy of the singer with the God who is forever against the oppressor. The terms are fierce and terrible, but not more so than are the wrath and stroke of God against such evil men. The effect of the divine judgment is to be the rejoicing of the righteous, the destruction of the wicked, and His vindication among men. It is a sickly sentimentality and a wicked weakness that have more sympathy with the corrupt oppressors than with the anger of God.

Psalm 59

Again we have a song from the midst of peril. The singer is the object of determined, stealthy, and malignant opposition. It is divided into two parts, both ending with the same declaration, "God is my high Tower."

The first (Psalms 59:1-9) describes the danger. Without any reason, and with the most relentless determination, the singer's enemies are attempting to encompass his destruction. He announces his determination to wait on his Strength, and declares that God is his high Tower.

The second part is a prayer that God will deal with these foes. Not that they may be slain, but rather that they may be consumed in their own sinning. He then announces his determination to sing praises to his Strength, and the note of the praise is that of the prayer. God is his high Tower!

There is perhaps no more beautiful description of what God is to His tried people. The phrase suggests at once strength and peace. A tower against which all the might of the foe hurls itself in vain. A high tower so that the soul taking refuge in it is lifted far above the turmoil and the strife, and enabled to view from a vantage ground of perfect safety the violence which is futile and the victory of God.

Psalm 60

This is a song out of defeat. It may be divided into three parts. The first is a recognition of the cause of defeat, ending with a prayer (Psalms 60:1-5). The second expresses the answer of God in the soul of the singer (Psalms 60:6-8). In the third there is a note of helplessness, a cry of need, and a cry of confidence. In the midst of an evidently disastrous defeat, the singer recognizes the government of God. His appeal for help is based on his recognition of the true vocation of the people. They bear a banner for the display of truth. Note the "Selah" at this point, suggesting especial attention to this fact. For the sake of that banner the cry for deliverance is raised.

Then the singer tells of the answer, but the supreme note is "God hath spoken in His holiness."

All the fine imagery which describes triumph follows that declaration. Victory is possible only in holiness. Defeat is ever the issue of sin. All human aid is helpless when God has abandoned the people. The song ends with a cry for help and the declaration of personal assurance.

Psalm 61

In this song there is the same undertone of confidence as in the preceding one. Here, however, it is rather the voice of one man than that of the people. The reference to the king, in Psalms 61:6, although in the third person, makes it likely that it was written by David under the stress of trial, most probably at some period of exile from his city.

His longing is for restoration to God rather than to circumstances. All through there seems to breathe a sense of perfect confidence in God, together with a consciousness of present need, and a longing desire for a return to past experience. There is no uncertainty in his mind concerning God's help of him in days that are gone. The very height of the psalm as a prayer is reached when he cries: "O prepare lovingkindness and truth, that they may preserve him." There has been some difficulty as to the word "prepare." Perhaps it ought not to be there. In that case we have an affirmation rather than a petition, which may read: "Lovingkindness and truth shall continually guard him." The one impression from reading the psalm is that of the singer's sense that in the midst of trouble his hope is still in God.

Psalm 62

In this psalm the principle of the last is yet more emphatically expressed. It opens with the declaration: My soul waiteth only upon God, and then proceeds in three stanzas to set forth this fact.

The first opens with the words we have already quoted, and is an affirmation of confidence made in the presence of enemies. Indeed, it is addressed to them, declaring the relation of defense which God bears to him, and appealing to them against their malicious onslaught. The sense of his enemies is with him as is evidenced in his words:

I shall not be greatly moved.

In the second stanza he addresses, fist, his own soul, and then appeals to the people, most probably those over whom he rules. To himself he repeats what he has said to his enemies about the relation of God to him; and this time, with his eye fixed on God, he reaches a higher level of confidence, and says:

"I shall not be moved."

Finally, he puts the false helps on which men depend, in contrast with the only Help of man, who is God Himself. The false helps are "men of low degree," "men of high degree," "oppression," "robbery," "riches," and the weakness and uselessness of all are declared.

Psalm 63

Here the conviction which has been the inspiration of the two previous psalms reaches a consummation of expression. The song can hardly be divided, for it runs on in a continuous outpouring of praise. The singer is beset by difficulty and sadness, and yet the statement of this at the beginning and at the close, constitutes a background which throws into clearer relief the sure confidence of the soul in God.

Beginning with the affirmation, O God, Thou art my God, the singer declares his thirst in a dry land for the same visions of God he had seen in the sanctuary in former days. Immediately the song ascends to higher levels. The past is the inspiration of the present. Over all diverse and difficult circumstances it rises in triumph because it knows God. Happy indeed is the soul who is able to make sorrow the occasion of a song, and darkness the opportunity for shining. Two things are necessary for such triumph as this. These are indicated in the opening words of the psalm. First, there must be the consciousness of personal relationship, "O God, Thou art my God"; and, second, there must be earnest seeking after God: "Early will I seek Thee." Relationship must be established. Fellowship must be cultivated.

Psalm 64

Psalm 65

This is a great song of worship. The occasion would seem to be that of a harvest festival. The people are assembled for praise (Psalms 65:1-4). God's particular goodness in the harvest is celebrated (Psalms 65:5-8). With reference to the assembling of the people the marginal reading is full of beauty:

There shall be silence before Thee and praise.

The same thought is present, though obscure, in the text: Praise waiteth for Thee.

It is the true attitude of worship. Reverent silence preparing for, and issuing in, adoring praise.

There is always a difficulty in the way of worship. "Iniquities prevail." Yet these are not final hindrances, for God purges away transgressions. The way into the silence of praise is described. God chooses, and causes to approach. The man so conducted dwells in the courts of God, and is satisfied with the goodness of His house. That is a fine description of worship in its expression, its method, its experience. The greatness of the power of God is the subject of the worshiper's song, and that power is at the disposal of those who worship. Then, finally, is sung the song of harvest. This is beautiful as a description of God's part therein. Man's toil is not described. It is taken for granted, and is his prayer. God's answer is co-operation by which harvest comes in joy and singing.