Nothing On Earth But You – Psalms 70-73

Joy: You’re listening to Season 2 of the Lifting Her Voice podcast.  This is Episode #177 and today we’ll read Psalms 70-73 together.  I desire nothing on earth but you.

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 70

A Call for Deliverance

For the choir director. Of David. To bring remembrance.

God, hurry to rescue me.

Lord, hurry to help me!

Let those who seek to kill me

be disgraced and confounded;

let those who wish me harm

be turned back and humiliated.

Let those who say, “Aha, aha!”

retreat because of their shame.

Let all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you;

let those who love your salvation

continually say, “God is great!”

I am oppressed and needy;

hurry to me, God.

You are my help and my deliverer;

Lord, do not delay.

Psalm 71

God’s Help in Old Age

Lord, I seek refuge in you;

let me never be disgraced.

In your justice, rescue and deliver me;

listen closely to me and save me.

Be a rock of refuge for me,

where I can always go.

Give the command to save me,

for you are my rock and fortress.

Deliver me, my God, from the power of the wicked,

from the grasp of the unjust and oppressive.

For you are my hope, Lord God,

my confidence from my youth.

I have leaned on you from birth;

you took me from my mother’s womb.

My praise is always about you.

I am like a miraculous sign to many,

and you are my strong refuge.

My mouth is full of praise

and honor to you all day long.

Don’t discard me in my old age.

As my strength fails, do not abandon me.

For my enemies talk about me,

and those who spy on me plot together,

saying, “God has abandoned him;

chase him and catch him,

for there is no one to rescue him.”

God, do not be far from me;

my God, hurry to help me.

May my adversaries be disgraced and destroyed;

may those who intend to harm me

be covered with disgrace and humiliation.

But I will hope continually

and will praise you more and more.

My mouth will tell about your righteousness

and your salvation all day long,

though I cannot sum them up.

My Lips Will Shout For Joy

I come because of the mighty acts of the Lord God;

I will proclaim your righteousness, yours alone.

God, you have taught me from my youth,

and I still proclaim your wondrous works.

Even while I am old and gray,

God, do not abandon me,

while I proclaim your power

to another generation,

your strength to all who are to come.

Your righteousness reaches the heights, God,

you who have done great things;

God, who is like you?

You caused me to experience

many troubles and misfortunes,

but you will revive me again.

You will bring me up again,

even from the depths of the earth.

You will increase my honor

and comfort me once again.

Therefore, I will praise you with a harp

for your faithfulness, my God;

I will sing to you with a lyre,

Holy One of Israel.

My lips will shout for joy

when I sing praise to you

because you have redeemed me.

Therefore, my tongue will proclaim

your righteousness all day long,

for those who intend to harm me

will be disgraced and confounded.

Psalm 72

A Prayer for the King

Of Solomon.

God, give your justice to the king

and your righteousness to the king’s son.

He will judge your people with righteousness

and your afflicted ones with justice.

May the mountains bring well-being to the people

and the hills, righteousness.

May he vindicate the afflicted among the people,

help the poor,

and crush the oppressor.

May they fear you while the sun endures

and as long as the moon, throughout all generations.

May the king be like rain that falls on the cut grass,

like spring showers that water the earth.

May the righteous flourish in his days

and well-being abound

until the moon is no more.

May he rule from sea to sea

and from the Euphrates

to the ends of the earth.

May desert tribes kneel before him

and his enemies lick the dust.

May the kings of Tarshish

and the coasts and islands bring tribute,

the kings of Sheba and Seba offer gifts.

Let all kings bow in homage to him,

all nations serve him.

For he will rescue the poor who cry out

and the afflicted who have no helper.

He will have pity on the poor and helpless

and save the lives of the poor.

He will redeem them from oppression and violence,

for their lives are precious in his sight.

May he live long!

May gold from Sheba be given to him.

May prayer be offered for him continually,

and may he be blessed all day long.

May there be plenty of grain in the land;

may it wave on the tops of the mountains.

May its crops be like Lebanon.

The Whole Earth is Filled With His Glory

May people flourish in the cities

like the grass of the field.

May his name endure forever;

as long as the sun shines,

may his fame increase.

May all nations be blessed by him

and call him blessed.

Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel,

who alone does wonders.

Blessed be his glorious name forever;

the whole earth is filled with his glory.

Amen and amen.

The prayers of David son of Jesse are concluded.

BOOK III

(Psalms 73–89)

Psalm 73

God’s Ways Vindicated

A psalm of Asaph.

God is indeed good to Israel,

to the pure in heart.

But as for me, my feet almost slipped;

my steps nearly went astray.

For I envied the arrogant;

I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

They have an easy time until they die,

and their bodies are well fed.

They are not in trouble like others;

they are not afflicted like most people.

Therefore, pride is their necklace,

and violence covers them like a garment.

Their eyes bulge out from fatness;

the imaginations of their hearts run wild.

They mock, and they speak maliciously;

they arrogantly threaten oppression.

They set their mouths against heaven,

and their tongues strut across the earth.

Therefore his people turn to them

and drink in their overflowing words.

The wicked say, “How can God know?

Does the Most High know everything?”

Look at them — the wicked!

They are always at ease,

and they increase their wealth.

Did I purify my heart

and wash my hands in innocence for nothing?

For I am afflicted all day long

and punished every morning.

If I had decided to say these things aloud,

I would have betrayed your people.

When I tried to understand all this,

it seemed hopeless

until I entered God’s sanctuary.

Then I understood their destiny.

Indeed, you put them in slippery places;

you make them fall into ruin.

How suddenly they become a desolation!

They come to an end, swept away by terrors.

Like one waking from a dream,

Lord, when arising, you will despise their image.

My Portion Forever

When I became embittered

and my innermost being was wounded,

I was stupid and didn’t understand;

I was an unthinking animal toward you.

Yet I am always with you;

you hold my right hand.

You guide me with your counsel,

and afterward you will take me up in glory.

Who do I have in heaven but you?

And I desire nothing on earth but you.

My flesh and my heart may fail,

but God is the strength of my heart,

my portion forever.

Those far from you will certainly perish;

you destroy all who are unfaithful to you.

But as for me, God’s presence is my good.

I have made the Lord God my refuge,

so I can tell about all you do.

Close

We have now begun Book III of the Psalms.  David’s writings are completed.  And if that article at Homeschool-101 is to be believed, this section will be writings that point out how God is around us.  Let’s keep an eye out for that.  

Book III is kicked off by Asaph, again one of those appointed by David to serve as musician in the Temple.  And I was taken by the song he wrote in Psalm 73.  There is such humility there as he pours out his heart to God concerning his temptation to envy the arrogant.  He says he didn’t understand anything until he entered God’s sanctuary.  I had to check in at Biblehub.com for some guidance on that one.  

I like what Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers says about verse 17.  He contends that there are rules and law and a constant focus on God in the sanctuary which helps the temple servant – such as Asaph – give thought to Godly things.  Then Ellicott says this: “He began to think not of the present, but the future; not of the advantages of sin, but its consequences…”  I suppose that’s exactly what happens when we get outside of our heads, beyond the trappings of the flesh, and focus on God’s ways.  Is that how it happens with you?  What do you think about Asaph’s attitude adjustment?  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.