This is Episode #172 and today we’ll read Psalms 40-45 together. There’s a Part II, a love song and new composers.
Transcript
Joy: You’re listening to Season 2 of the Lifting Her Voice podcast. This is Episode #172 and today we’ll read Psalms 40-45 together. There’s a Part II, a love song and new composers.
Welcome
Welcome to the Lifting Her Voice podcast, Season 2! I’m your host, Joy Miller, and I invite you to grab your Bible and join me – from the beginning – simply reading God’s word together. We built some spiritual muscles in 2020 with just the New Testament. But this year we’re going all out, cover-to-cover, Old Testament and New. So, whether with your first cup in the morning, your commute to work, or as the last thing on your mind before sleep, God’s Word will equip you for every good work. I’m really glad you’re here!
Psalm 40
Thanksgiving and a Cry for Help
For the choir director. A psalm of David.
I waited patiently for the Lord,
and he turned to me and heard my cry for help.
He brought me up from a desolate pit,
out of the muddy clay,
and set my feet on a rock,
making my steps secure.
He put a new song in my mouth,
a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear,
and they will trust in the Lord.
How happy is anyone
who has put his trust in the Lord
and has not turned to the proud
or to those who run after lies!
Lord my God, you have done many things —
your wondrous works and your plans for us;
none can compare with you.
If I were to report and speak of them,
they are more than can be told.
You do not delight in sacrifice and offering;
you open my ears to listen.
You do not ask for a whole burnt offering or a sin offering.
Then I said, “See, I have come;
in the scroll it is written about me.
I delight to do your will, my God,
and your instruction is deep within me.”
I proclaim righteousness in the great assembly;
see, I do not keep my mouth closed —
as you know, Lord.
I did not hide your righteousness in my heart;
I spoke about your faithfulness and salvation;
I did not conceal your constant love and truth
from the great assembly.
Lord, you do not withhold your compassion from me.
Your constant love and truth will always guard me.
For troubles without number have surrounded me;
my iniquities have overtaken me; I am unable to see.
They are more than the hairs of my head,
and my courage leaves me.
Hurry to Help Me
Lord, be pleased to rescue me;
hurry to help me, Lord.
Let those who intend to take my life
be disgraced and confounded.
Let those who wish me harm
be turned back and humiliated.
Let those who say to me, “Aha, aha!”
be appalled because of their shame.
Let all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you;
let those who love your salvation continually say,
“The Lord is great!”
I am oppressed and needy;
may the Lord think of me.
You are my helper and my deliverer;
my God, do not delay.
Psalm 41
Victory in spite of Betrayal
For the choir director. A psalm of David.
Happy is one who is considerate of the poor;
the Lord will save him in a day of adversity.
The Lord will keep him and preserve him;
he will be blessed in the land.
You will not give him over to the desire of his enemies.
The Lord will sustain him on his sickbed;
you will heal him on the bed where he lies.
I said, “Lord, be gracious to me;
heal me, for I have sinned against you.”
My enemies speak maliciously about me:
“When will he die and be forgotten?”
When one of them comes to visit, he speaks deceitfully;
he stores up evil in his heart;
he goes out and talks.
Blessed Be the Lord
All who hate me whisper together about me;
they plan to harm me.
“Something awful has overwhelmed him,
and he won’t rise again from where he lies!”
Even my friend in whom I trusted,
one who ate my bread,
has raised his heel against me.
But you, Lord, be gracious to me and raise me up;
then I will repay them.
By this I know that you delight in me:
my enemy does not shout in triumph over me.
You supported me because of my integrity
and set me in your presence forever.
Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
from everlasting to everlasting.
Amen and amen.
BOOK II
(Psalms 42–72)
Psalm 42
Longing for God
For the choir director. A Maskil of the sons of Korah.
As a deer longs for flowing streams,
so I long for you, God.
I thirst for God, the living God.
When can I come and appear before God?
My tears have been my food day and night,
while all day long people say to me,
“Where is your God?”
I remember this as I pour out my heart:
how I walked with many,
leading the festive procession to the house of God,
with joyful and thankful shouts.
Why, my soul, are you so dejected?
Why are you in such turmoil?
Put your hope in God, for I will still praise him,
my Savior and my God.
I am deeply depressed;
therefore I remember you from the land of Jordan
and the peaks of Hermon, from Mount Mizar.
Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls;
all your breakers and your billows have swept over me.
The Lord will send his faithful love by day;
his song will be with me in the night —
a prayer to the God of my life.
I will say to God, my rock,
“Why have you forgotten me?
Why must I go about in sorrow
because of the enemy’s oppression?”
My adversaries taunt me,
as if crushing my bones,
while all day long they say to me,
“Where is your God?”
Why, my soul, are you so dejected?
Why are you in such turmoil?
Put your hope in God, for I will still praise him,
my Savior and my God.
Psalm 43
Vindicate me, God, and champion my cause
against an unfaithful nation;
rescue me from the deceitful and unjust person.
For you are the God of my refuge.
Why have you rejected me?
Why must I go about in sorrow
because of the enemy’s oppression?
Send your light and your truth; let them lead me.
Let them bring me to your holy mountain,
to your dwelling place.
Then I will come to the altar of God,
to God, my greatest joy.
I will praise you with the lyre,
God, my God.
Why, my soul, are you so dejected?
Why are you in such turmoil?
Put your hope in God, for I will still praise him,
my Savior and my God.
Psalm 44
Israel’s Complaint
For the choir director. A Maskil of the sons of Korah.
God, we have heard with our ears —
our ancestors have told us —
the work you accomplished in their days,
in days long ago:
In order to plant them,
you displaced the nations by your hand;
in order to settle them,
you brought disaster on the peoples.
For they did not take the land by their sword —
their arm did not bring them victory —
but by your right hand, your arm,
and the light of your face,
because you were favorable toward them.
You are my King, my God,
who ordains victories for Jacob.
Through you we drive back our foes;
through your name we trample our enemies.
For I do not trust in my bow,
and my sword does not bring me victory.
But you give us victory over our foes
and let those who hate us be disgraced.
We boast in God all day long;
we will praise your name forever.
Selah
But you have rejected and humiliated us;
you do not march out with our armies.
You make us retreat from the foe,
and those who hate us
have taken plunder for themselves.
You hand us over to be eaten like sheep
and scatter us among the nations.
You sell your people for nothing;
you make no profit from selling them.
You make us an object of reproach to our neighbors,
a source of mockery and ridicule to those around us.
Don’t Reject Us Forever
You make us a joke among the nations,
a laughingstock among the peoples.
My disgrace is before me all day long,
and shame has covered my face,
because of the taunts of the scorner and reviler,
because of the enemy and avenger.
All this has happened to us,
but we have not forgotten you
or betrayed your covenant.
Our hearts have not turned back;
our steps have not strayed from your path.
But you have crushed us in a haunt of jackals
and have covered us with deepest darkness.
If we had forgotten the name of our God
and spread out our hands to a foreign god,
wouldn’t God have found this out,
since he knows the secrets of the heart?
Because of you we are being put to death all day long;
we are counted as sheep to be slaughtered.
Wake up, Lord! Why are you sleeping?
Get up! Don’t reject us forever!
Why do you hide
and forget our affliction and oppression?
For we have sunk down to the dust;
our bodies cling to the ground.
Rise up! Help us!
Redeem us because of your faithful love.
Psalm 45
A Royal Wedding Song
For the choir director: according to “The Lilies.” A Maskil of the sons of Korah. A love song.
My heart is moved by a noble theme
as I recite my verses to the king;
my tongue is the pen of a skillful writer.
You are the most handsome of men;
grace flows from your lips.
Therefore God has blessed you forever.
Mighty warrior, strap your sword at your side.
In your majesty and splendor —
in your splendor ride triumphantly
in the cause of truth, humility, and justice.
May your right hand show your awe-inspiring acts.
Your sharpened arrows pierce the hearts of the king’s enemies;
the peoples fall under you.
Your throne, God, is forever and ever;
the scepter of your kingdom is a scepter of justice.
You love righteousness and hate wickedness;
therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of joy
more than your companions.
Myrrh, aloes, and cassia perfume all your garments;
from ivory palaces harps bring you joy.
He Is Your Lord
Kings’ daughters are among your honored women;
the queen, adorned with gold from Ophir,
stands at your right hand.
Listen, daughter, pay attention and consider:
Forget your people and your father’s house,
and the king will desire your beauty.
Bow down to him, for he is your lord.
The daughter of Tyre, the wealthy people,
will seek your favor with gifts.
In her chamber, the royal daughter is all glorious,
her clothing embroidered with gold.
In colorful garments she is led to the king;
after her, the virgins, her companions, are brought to you.
They are led in with gladness and rejoicing;
they enter the king’s palace.
Your sons will succeed your ancestors;
you will make them princes throughout the land.
I will cause your name to be remembered for all generations;
therefore the peoples will praise you forever and ever.
Close
Wow, what an interesting love song we have in Psalm 45. I found myself asking if this was a love song to the groom/king? Or was this directed at God? Was it written for the queen to sing to her bridegroom and king? Or was it intended for Israel to sing to its God? It seems to bounce back and forth, doesn’t it? And a quick peek at some commentaries affirms we’re on the right interpretive track with that.
We also see that Psalms has been marked into a Part II. As a matter of fact, you will find that it is divided into five parts. Of course, there are many different offerings as to why and what each part represents. I found a cool article on Homeschool-101.com. It suggests that each of the five parts represents the five books of the Torah. Could be, I suppose. It also ascribes each part concentrates on God being besides, before, around, above, and amongst us respectively. I’ll have to keep this in mind next year when I read the Psalms again. The article still makes you think, though.
We also see the addition of the Sons of Korah as song-writers here. You’ll recall that the sons of Korah were assigned by David to be in charge of music in the temple.
Gosh, I only had time to talk about one poem in this episode. Which one grabbed your attention? Let me know at Lifting Her Voice.com, Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.
See You Tomorrow!
Thank you for joining me here today. I pray that by spending time in His Word every day, you will by changed. Visit me at Lifting Her Voice.com with your comments and questions. And don’t forget to visit the Blog page while you’re there. If you like the podcast, it would be great if you’d give it a five-star review and share it with everyone you know. Don’t forget to subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. See you tomorrow!
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Christian Standard Bible(r), Copyright (c) 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible(r) and CSB(r) are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.
Show Notes
- Awesome Video of Solomon’s Temple
- These will help! Overview videos of all books of the Bible
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Bible Study Resources
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- The Bible Project– Free!
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- Title of song used in the podcast is 3 Joys & the Truth, by Daniel O’Connor
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