29 June

Bible in 365 Days                                

Psalms 80-85

 

Psalm 80

Again we have a song out of the midst of distress. There is far more light and color about it than in the previous one. The circumstances do not seem to be any more favourable than those described before. There is this difference however, between the two psalms. The first is mainly occupied with the disastrous conditions; this one begins with a prayer which is a recognition of the past relationship of God to His people.

This is therefore a great song of God as Shepherd. The aspects of the shepherd nature dealt with are those of His guidance and care protection. The Shepherd of glory, Who by the shining saves from danger, is appealed to. Then the figure is changed, and God is the Husbandman. His vine, which He planted and which flourished so perfectly has become a prey to the ravages of wild beasts and fire. Suddenly the figure ceases, and its meaning is revealed in the words,

"Let Thy hand be upon the man of Thy right hand, Upon the son of man whom Thou madest strong for Thyself".

The burden of the psalm is expressed in the thrice repeated prayer (Psalms 80:3; Psalms 80:7; Psalms 80:19). The suffering of the people is due to their own sin in turning away from God as Shepherd, Husbandman, and King. Their restoration can only come as He turns them back to Himself. Notice the ascent in these verse in the names which the singer uses for God. "God," "God of hosts," "Jehovah God of Hosts."

 

Psalm 81

This is a psalm for the Feast of Trumpets. In the calendar of the Hebrews this feast prepared the way for the Day of Atonement and the Feast of Tabernacles. The first day of the seventh month was the feast of Trumpets. The tenth day of the seventh month was Atonement. The fifteenth day of the seventh month was Tabernacles (Leviticus 23:1-44).

The psalm opens with a call to the Feast of Trumpets, and a declaration of its Divine appointment (Psalms 81:1-5). Then the singer expresses the attitude of God to His people, and the song proceeds as in the words of Jehovah (Psalms 81:6-10). First He tells of His deliverance of them from bondage, and His answer to them at Sinai (Psalms 81:6-7). Then He reminds them of the terms of the covenant with them. He would speak and they should harken. They were to have no God but Himself, and He would be to them Jehovah God. They were to open the mouth and He would fill it (Psalms 81:8-10). They failed in refusing to hearken and obey, and therefore He abandoned them to their choice (Psalms 81:11-12). Finally He expresses His desire that they should return, and declares His ability still to deliver them (Psalms 81:13-16). It is still the same burned of the faithfulness of God, and the unfaithfulness of His people. Panic and defeat on the part of the people of God are always due to their departure from Him. The enemies who overcome us are without strength in the conflict against Him. When they overcome us it is because we have departed from Him.

 

Psalm 82

This psalm is a cry for justice, born of a sense of maladministration of those in authority. It first announces the fact that God is the supreme Judge. This is a recognition of the perfect equity of the standard of justice. The judges in mind have erred in that they have shown respect for the persons of the wicked, and thus departed from that strict justice which ever characterises the dealings of God to Whom they are all responsible.

The singer then sets forth what are the essential functions of the judges. They are specially to care for all those who are in circumstances of difficulty and danger. This had not been done, for such people were without knowledge of guidance. The judges have had the name of authority, and its position, but through their failure they are to be degraded.

The song ends with an appeal to God to arise and judge the earth. This is every the cry of the man of faith when he stands in the presence of the wrongs and oppressions obtaining among the poor and afflicted. There is nothing the world needs today more than the administration of strict and impartial justice, and there is no greater comfort to the heart than the conviction that the prayer of the psalmist, multiplied ten thousand fold in the passing centuries by all who have been and still are, conscious of prevailing injustice, will yet be answered. God's day of Judgment will be a day of mercy in the largest sense.

 

Psalm 83

The psalmist has a vision of the union of all the enemies of the people of God. This he describes as to its process, it constitution, and its purpose. They have allied themselves with the avowed purpose of the annihilation of the very first part of the psalm ends (Psalms 83:1-8).

The song then becomes a prayer definitely for the destruction of this union, and the confusion of its purpose. Past victories are referred to, and in a strong and overwhelming sense of peril the cry for the Divine activity is poured forth. Here again, as constantly, this attitude of the singer must be accounted for according to his own declaration. In describing this unholy alliance, he declared,

"For they have consulted together with one consent; against Thee do they make a covenant."

At the close of the prayer he says,

"That they may know that Thou alone, Whose name is Jehovah Art the Most High over all the earth".

These singers of the ancient people were all inspired supremely with a passion for the honor of God. With them, as with the prophets, selfish motives were unknown. Selfishness sings no songs, and sees no visions. On the other hand, a passion for the glory of God is capable of great sternness, as well as of great tenderness.

 

Psalm 84

This is a pilgrim psalm. It falls into three strophes (sections) divided by Selahs. The first describes the pilgrim's hope (Psalms 84:1-4); the second, the pilgrim's experience (Psalms 84:5-8); the third, pilgrim's prayer (Psalms 84:9-12).

The hope of the pilgrim is centred in the dwelling-place of God. The earthly temple suggests the heavenly home. It is a place of rest and of worship. The light of it shines upon the pathway, and is the inspiration of the pilgrimage.

The experience of the pilgrim is then described. Faith has an anchorage; it is found in God when the heart is set upon the consummation. Faith has an activity; it passes through dry valleys and fills them with springs of refreshment. Faith has an assurance; it goes from strength to strength, confident of finally appearing before God.

The pilgrim finally pours out his prayer, and it is full of praise and confidence. Its desire is for the vision of God, which by comparison is infinitely to be preferred, even though it be the distant view of a doorkeeper, to all the world has to offer. The lessons of the psalm for all the pilgrims of hope are first, that the heart should be set upon the upper things; secondly, that faith may dig wells in driest places and find the living Water; and finally, that pilgrimage develops strength, rather than produces weakness, as these conditions are fulfilled.

 

Psalm 85

This psalm would seen to have been written in a day when some Divine deliverance had been wrought for the people of God. Yet the singer is conscious that in the heart of the people there remain dispositions not in harmony with the will of God; and therefore, there abides with them a deadness and a lack of joy. And yet further he is confident that God, Jehovah, had purposes of the highest and best for His own; and moreover, that He will accomplish these purposes.

These three matters are evident in the three fold movement of thanksgiving offered (Psalms 85:1-3), of petition presented (Psalms 85:4-7), and of confidence affirmed (Psalms 85:8-13). In the thanksgiving the relation between captivity and sin is remembered, and the ending of the first by the putting away of the second is declared. Yet the imperfection of their loyalty crates the long discipline of sorrow and shame, and the prayer is that God will turn the people to Himself. And this is surely His will, for when he pauses to hear what Jehovah will say, he hears tender and gracious words which tell of salvation, first in the spiritual realm, and then in the material. In this psalm which breathes the spirit of the tender compassion of God, the name Jehovah is the predominant one.