"The Whole Book"

Wednesday, April 8, 2020

#890 Midst

I give you thanks, O Lord, with my whole heart;

before the gods I sing your praise;

2 I bow down toward your holy temple

and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness,

for you have exalted above all things

your name and your word.

3 On the day I called, you answered me;

my strength of soul you increased.

4 All the kings of the earth shall give you thanks, O Lord,

for they have heard the words of your mouth,

5 and they shall sing of the ways of the Lord,

for great is the glory of the Lord.

6 For though the Lord is high, he regards the lowly,

but the haughty he knows from afar.

7 Though I walk in the midst of trouble,

you preserve my life;

you stretch out your hand against the wrath of my enemies,

and your right hand delivers me.

8 The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me;

your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever.

Do not forsake the work of your hands. Psalm 138 ESV

A Psalm of David.

- “This Psalm is wisely placed. Whoever edited and arranged these sacred poems, he had an eye to apposition and contrast; for if in Psalm 137 we see the need of silence before revilers, here we see the excellence of a brave confession. There is a time to be silent, lest we cast pearls before swine; and there is a time to speak openly, lest we be found guilty of cowardly non-confession.” (Charles Spurgeon)

I give you thanks, O Lord, with my whole heart - In past poetry we have heard the Psalmist cry out, "create in me a clean heart, renew a right spirit within me." It is always a matter of the heart, and the whole of it should belong to Him, Who made it whole again. He is holding no part back to himself, no credit belongs to any other than his Lord, his Savior.

Before the gods I sing your praise - Some think here he means before angels, others say before rulers as mentioned in verse 4. I think the Psalmist would nod to all that in this, declaring the preeminence of Jehovah above all things. Whatever others may call gods, he knows only one Creator, and in the presence of anything or anyone he is not ashamed to give thanks and to sing praise to his God.

…3 Our God is in heaven; He does as He pleases. 4 Their idols are silver and gold, made by the hands of men. 5 They have mouths, but cannot speak; they have eyes, but cannot see;… Psalm 115: 3-5

I bow down toward your holy temple - For some this was a monument, a beautiful building, but for David, the tabernacle was a place where God's presence was known. It told the story of distance, of holiness, of atonement, of salvation. This was a sacred place, and he had purchased the threshing floor, contemplated the services of the priest, and looked forward to the temple he would not build.

And give thanks to Your name for Your steadfast love and Your faithfulness -

…2 Great is the LORD in Zion; He is exalted above all the peoples. 3 Let them praise Your great and awesome name— He is holy! 4 The mighty King loves justice. You have established equity; You have exercised justice and righteousness in Jacob.… Psalm 99: 2-4

…22 Because of the loving devotion of the LORD we are not consumed, for His mercies never fail. 23 They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness! 24“The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in Him.”… Lamentations 3: 22-24

For You have exalted above all things Your name and Your word - God has put a premium on His word, and all that would seek another way will find their efforts in vain. He need not change Who He is, or what He says. He is not lost, but this is such a grand measure of grace, that He has given His word to those who are. It is a measure of His children too, His sheep hear His voice, they love His word.

- The word of promise made to David was in his eyes more glorious than all else that he had seen of the Most High. Revelation excels creation in the clearness, definiteness, and fullness of its teaching. The name of the Lord in nature is not so easily read as in the Scriptures, which are a revelation in human language, specially adapted to the human mind, treating of human need, and of a Saviour who appeared in human nature to redeem humanity. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but the divine word will not pass away, and in this respect especially it has a preeminence over every other form of manifestation. Moreover, the Lord lays all the rest of his name under tribute to his word: his wisdom, power, love, and all his other attributes combine to carry out his word. It is his word which creates, sustains, quickens, enlightens, and comforts. As a word of command it is supreme; and in the person of the incarnate Word it is set above all the works of God's hands. The sentence in the text is wonderfully full of meaning. We have collected a vast mass of literature upon it, but space will not allow us to put it all into our notes. Let us adore the Lord who has spoken to us by his word, and by his Son; and in the presence of unbelievers let us both praise his holy name and extol his holy word. C. H. Spurgeon

On the day I called, You answered me -

- The Lord answered it, but what answer can there be to a cry? --to a mere inarticulate wail of grief? Our heavenly Father is able to interpret tears, and cries, and he replies to their inner sense in such a way as fully meets the case. The answer came in the same day as the cry ascended: so speedily does prayer rise to heaven, so quickly does mercy return to earth. The statement of this sentence is one which all believers can make, and as they can substantiate it with many facts, they ought boldly to publish it, for it is greatly to God's glory. Well might the Psalmist say, "I will worship" when he felt bound to say "thou answeredst me." Well might he glory before the idols and their worshippers when he had answers to prayer to look back upon. This also is our defence against modern heresies: we cannot forsake the Lord, for he has heard our prayers. And strengthenedst me with strength in my soul. This was a true answer to his prayer. If the burden was not removed, yet strength was given wherewith to bear it, and this is an equally effective method of help. It may not be best for us that the trial should come to an end; it may be far more to our advantage that by its pressure we should learn patience. C. H. Spurgeon

…11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, to give you a future and a hope. 12 Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.… Jeremiah 29: 11-13

My strength of soul You increased - God never calls us to something that He does not make us fit unto. God is holy and when He calls the redeemed from Eternity, it is without compromise. He calls, He justifies, He sanctifies, He glorifies, by the merit and atonement of His Son's life and death, and by the work of His Holy Spirit, regenerating men unto repentance, calling them to confession and forgiveness of sin. When troubles are great His mercy abounds, He is the lifter of my soul.

…5“Do you not know what they are?” replied the angel. “No, my lord,” I answered. 6 So he said to me, “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the LORD of Hosts. 7 What are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become a plain. Then he will bring forth the capstone accompanied by shouts of ‘Grace, grace to it!’”… Zechariah 4: 5-7

All the kings of the earth shall give You thanks, O Lord - Every knee will bow, and these that are called lords here will give thanks. Take the word of God to every nation. This is a king not satisfied with his own knowledge and worship of the One True God, for the glory of God is more than he alone can express, and it is more than he can contain. It is overflowing, that God you deserve more, that all men should praise You, that all should come to the knowledge of Christ, we should detest a watered down understanding, a creed of our own feelings, an isolated religion, and we should not rest while another gospel is preached.

For though the Lord is high, He regards the lowly - Humble thyself in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.

…31 Now judgment is upon this world; now the prince of this world will be cast out. 32 And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself.” 33 He said this to indicate the kind of death He was going to die.… John 12: 31-33

…9 They will neither harm nor destroy on all My holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the sea is full of water. 10 On that day the root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples. The nations will seek Him, and His place of rest will be glorious. 11 On that day the Lord will extend His hand a second time to recover the remnant of His people from Assyria, from Egypt, from Pathros, from Cush, from Elam, from Shinar, from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea.… Isaiah 11: 9-11

…13 No one has ascended into heaven except the One who descended from heaven—the Son of Man. 14 Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15 that everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life.… John 3: 13-15

But the haughty He knows from afar - Pride is the root, and we attack much of the surface, and sometimes the most prideful men have the cleanest outside, but inwardly it is decay, gangrenous. The sight and smell of it must be know to remove it, but we need a physician. Sin is the disease, and Christ is the only Cure. I remember the first time I threw up and had to leave the operating room as a tech, and it was a twisted intestine that had gone gangrenous. You couldn't tell from the outside, but once he was open, a healthy looking man in his 30's, strong, athletic surfer, a man I knew, and I felt for him, my heart was filled with compassion, but when the surgeon opened his abdomen, I had to run from the room, my stomach kept wanting to empty itself, over and over again. Pride will say there is nothing wrong, I am clean, I am good, or at least good enough, but that is delusion, and the humble will cry out, I am sick, I am a sinner, I can't fix this, please save me.

…23 Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my concerns. 24 See if there is any offensive way in me; lead me in the way everlasting. Psalm 139: 23-24

…30 But the Pharisees and their scribes complained to Jesus’ disciples, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” 31 Jesus answered, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 32 I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”… Luke 5: 30-32

Though I walk in the midst of trouble - He is the preserver of my soul, even in the turmoil, when I my enemies outnumber me, when my problems are many and pressing. If I was the keeper of my own salvation, surely it would not hold, the trials would brake me, but no, His left hand holds back the storm and His ride hand accomplishes the victory.

Do not forsake the works of Your hands -

“Look upon the wounds of thy hands, and forsake not the works of thy hands, prayed Queen Elizabeth. And Luther’s usual prayer was, Confirm, O God, in us that thou hast wrought, and perfect the work that thou hast begun in us, to thy glory; so be it.” (Trapp)

ii. His creating hands formed our souls at the beginning; his nail-pierced hands redeemed them on Calvary; his glorified hands will hold our souls fast and not let them go for ever.” (Burgon, cited in Spurgeon)

#889 Psalm 137 Sing to Us

By the waters of Babylon,

there we sat down and wept,

when we remembered Zion.

2 On the willows there

we hung up our lyres.

3 For there our captors

required of us songs,

and our tormentors, mirth, saying,

“Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”

4 How shall we sing the Lord's song

in a foreign land?

5 If I forget you, O Jerusalem,

let my right hand forget its skill!

6 Let my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth,

if I do not remember you,

if I do not set Jerusalem

above my highest joy!

7 Remember, O Lord, against the Edomites

the day of Jerusalem,

how they said, “Lay it bare, lay it bare,

down to its foundations!”

8 O daughter of Babylon, doomed to be destroyed,

blessed shall he be who repays you

with what you have done to us!

9 Blessed shall he be who takes your little ones

and dashes them against the rock! Psalm 137 ESV

A Psalm of Lament.

- This plaintive ode is one of the most charming compositions in the whole Book of Psalms for its poetic power. If it were not inspired it would nevertheless occupy a high place in poesy, especially the former portion of it, which is tender and patriotic to the highest degree. In the later verses (Ps 137:7-9), we have utterances of burning indignation against the chief adversaries of Israel, --an indignation as righteous as it was fervent. Let those find fault with it who have never seen their temple burned, their city ruined, their wives ravished, and after children slain; they might not, perhaps, be quite so velvet mouthed if they had suffered after this fashion. It is one thing to talk of the bitter feeling which moved captive Israelites in Babylon, and quite another thing to be captives ourselves under a savage and remorseless power, which knew not how to show mercy, but delighted in barbarities to the defenceless. The song is such as might fitly be sung in the Jews' wailing place. It is a fruit of the Captivity in Babylon, and often has it furnished expression for sorrows which else had been unutterable. It is an opalesque Psalm within whose mild radiance there glows afire which strikes the beholder with wonder. C. H. Spurgeon

By the waters of Babylon - This would most likely be a reference to the great Tigris and Euphrates or one of their tributary rivers.

There we sat down and wept - A common practice of the Jews in captivity, removed from home, their temple far away in ruins and no synagogue for them in Babylon, so they seek a place of solace, the river. It is never the building made with hands, true worship is from the heart, and it is the apostate heart that tears the building down.

…12 From there we went to the Roman colony of Philippi, the leading city of that district of Macedonia. And we stayed there several days. 13 On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate along the river, where it was customary to find a place of prayer. After sitting down, we spoke to the women who had gathered there. 14 Among those listening was a woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message.… Acts 16: 12-14

…20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews say that the place where one must worship is in Jerusalem.” 21“Believe Me, woman,” Jesus replied, “a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22 You worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews.… John 4: 20-22

When we remembered Zion - It is important here to place ourselves in the shoes of the writer, and I think the significance of such an approach will become more clear towards the second half. This was a place of pilgrimage as seen in the songs of ascent preceding. Families from all over Israel would walk together in bands, meeting friends from afar, traveling and singing together, worshiping freely and openly along the way. This was the capital of government, where David built his house, and Solomon built the temple. As I drive by many a church, in a country that has enjoyed religious freedom for quite some time, I am reminded at how quickly this goes away, how quickly it is taken for granted. Many of these buildings were full and overflowing in my youth, and when the pastors' and elders' hearts became lifted by the numbers, the message changed to accommodate the head count. They were more afraid of empty seats then empty messages. They spoke less of sin, of repentance unto salvation, of dying to self, and more of self fulfillment and prosperity. These men became entertainers, borrowing their messages from a corrupt culture, mimicking motivational speakers, and creating a cliche Christianity. It stings bitterly now, it hurts deeply, because I was only there for the fish and the bread myself.

…12 Or if the scroll is handed to one unable to read, he will say, “I cannot read.” 13 Therefore the Lord said: “These people draw near to Me with their mouths and honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. Their worship of Me is but rules taught by men. 14 Therefore I will again confound these people with wonder upon wonder. The wisdom of the wise will vanish, and the intelligence of the intelligent will be hidden.”… Isaiah 29: 12-14

25 When they found Him on the other side of the sea, they asked Him, “Rabbi, when did You get here?” 26 Jesus replied, “Truly, truly, I tell you, it is not because you saw these signs that you are looking for Me, but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. 27 Do not work for food that perishes, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on Him God the Father has placed His seal of approval.”… John 6: 25-27

On the willows there we hung our lyres - Weeping willows for sure. They set aside their instruments of praise for the guttural instruments of mourning.

…6 The waters of Nimrim are dried up, and the grass is withered; the vegetation is gone, and the greenery is no more. 7 So they carry their wealth and belongings over the Brook of the Willows. 8 For their outcry echoes to the border of Moab. Their wailing reaches Eglaim; it is heard in Beer-elim.… Isaiah 15: 6-8

For there our captors required of us songs - "Entertain us." Talk about insult upon injury, and are we all not at some point willing to kick a man when he is down?

…24 And when the people saw him, they praised their god, saying: “Our god has delivered into our hands our enemy who destroyed our land and multiplied our dead.” 25 And while their hearts were merry, they said, “Call for Samson to entertain us.” So they called Samson out of the prison to entertain them. And they stationed him between the pillars. 26 Samson said to the servant who held his hand, “Lead me where I can feel the pillars supporting the temple, so I can lean against them.”… Judges 16: 24-26

How shall we sing the Lord's song in a foreign land - Paul and Silas sang in prison, praising God in and through their trials, these in Babylon had not yet found such hope. Admirably they refuse the stumbling block that lays before them, the defiling of the sacred for the sake of entertaining the uncircumcised.

- St. John Chrysostom observes the improvement such tribulation effected in the Jews, who previously derided, nay, even put to death, some of the prophets; but now that they were captives in a foreign land, they would not attempt to expose their sacred hymns to the ridicule of the Gentiles. --Robert Bellarmine.

1 Then the Pharisees and Sadducees came and tested Jesus by asking Him to show them a sign from heaven. 2 But He replied, “When evening comes, you say, ‘The weather will be fair, for the sky is red;’ 3 and in the morning, ‘Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but not the signs of the times!…

4 A wicked and adulterous generation demands a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah.” Then He left them and went away. Matthew 16: 1-4

If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget its skill - Every rock, every tree, every man and his ability is to the glory of the One Who made them.

- To sing Zion's songs for the pleasure of Zion's foes, would be to forget the Holy City Each Jew declares for himself that he will not do this; for the pronoun alters from "we" to "I." Individually the captives pledge themselves to fidelity to Jerusalem, and each one asserts that he had sooner forget the art which drew music from his harp strings than use it for Babel's delectation. Better far that the right hand should forget its usual handicraft, and lose all its dexterity, than that it should fetch music for rebels out of the Lord's instruments, or accompany with sweet skill a holy Psalm desecrated into a common song for fools to laugh at. Not one of them will thus dishonour Jehovah to glorify Belus and gratify his vetaries. Solemnly they imprecate vengeance upon themselves should they so false, so faithless prove. C. H. Spurgeon

Let my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth - That would be a blessing for me on so many occasions, but here the players and the singers go on strike, as should be our pain over forgetting the body of Christ, watering down the gospel, counting His great work as a small matter in comparison to our fleshly wants. They refuse a situational ethic, not bowing to present circumstances, but holding to that blessed hope of Zion. The culture is different here, but God is still sovereign. We have sinned, let us not sin the more.

Remember, O Lord, against the Edomites - These were the children of Esau, who was the brother of Jacob, whose name became Israel. They did not side with their closest of kin, but of Jerusalem, they said, "lay it bare, lay it bare, down to its foundations!" They now call out to God to remember this, asking for His justice. What horrors this writer has seen. I am reminded again of the siege of Samaria.

…28 Then the king asked her, “What is the matter?” And she answered, “This woman said to me, ‘Give up your son, that we may eat him, and tomorrow we will eat my son.’ 29 So we boiled my son and ate him, and the next day I said to her, ‘Give up your son, and we will eat him.’ But she has hidden her son.” 30 When the king heard the words of the woman, he tore his clothes. And as he passed by on the wall, the people saw the sackcloth under his clothes next to his skin.… 2 Kings 6: 28-30

- They wished to see the last of Jerusalem and the Jewish state; they would have no stone left standing, they desired to see a clean sweep of temple, palace, wall, and habitation. It is horrible for neighbours to be enemies, worse for them to show their enmity in times of great affliction, worst of all for neighbours to egg others on to malicious deeds. Those are responsible for other men's sins who would use them as the tools of their own enmity. It is a shame for men to incite the wicked to deeds which they are not able to perform themselves. The Chaldeans were ferocious enough without being excited to greater fury; but Edom's hate was insatiable. Those deserve to be remembered by vengeance who in evil times do not remember mercy; how much more those who take advantage of calamities to wreak revenge upon sufferers. When Jerusalem's day of restoration comes Edom will be remembered and wiped out of existence. C. H. Spurgeon

…9 Then your mighty men, O Teman, will be terrified, so that everyone in the mountains of Esau will be cut down in the slaughter. 10 Because of the violence against your brother Jacob, you will be covered with shame and cut off forever. 11 On the day you stood aloof while strangers carried off his wealth and foreigners entered his gate and cast lots for Jerusalem, you were just like one of them.…

…12 But you should not gloat in that day, your brother’s day of misfortune, nor rejoice over the people of Judah in the day of their destruction, nor boast proudly in the day of their distress. 13 You should not enter the gate of My people in the day of their disaster, nor gloat over their affliction in the day of their disaster, nor loot their wealth in the day of their disaster. 14 Nor should you stand at the crossroads to cut off their fugitives, nor deliver up their survivors in the day of their distress.… Obadiah 1: 9-14

O daughter of Babylon, doomed to be destroyed - It is the law, do this and you shall live, an eye for an eye. Israel broke God's law which brought judgment upon them, and they were no longer safe from their enemies, but once again led into captivity. There is a principle also of do unto others as you would have them do unto you and let the punishment fit the crime. History tells of the horrors of conquerors, putting babies on the end of spears, raping the conquered, working them to the point of death. God had put, in His law to the Jews, measures against such, that these means go beyond justice. What this poet has seen, things I do not wish to contemplate, but here it is, and I write from the comfort of my home, with AC, running water, indoor plumbing, plenty of food, a wealthy man by much of the world's standard. I live in a country where people are worried about how to entertain their kids during a pandemic where 6.6 million people have filed for unemployment. I live in a country where I have enjoyed much freedom and have had the right to defend my wife and children from those who do not respect the law or lives of others. I say all this because this is one of the passages I use to use to justify my desire to hold an atheistic world view. "If there is a just God out there, then how can there be so much injustice in the world? Why do You not destroy the wicked?" I didn't think myself wicked by my standard.

- It is interesting that the psalmist did not make this a prayer to God as he did regarding Edom in the previous verse. Perhaps he regarded the judgment of Babylon to be so certain that it didn’t need his prayer, only his pronouncement, especially in light of other prophecies. Enduring Word

Cyrus, king of Persia, fulfills this when he takes over Babylon and allows those Jews, that would, go home and rebuild the temple. Ezra chronicles part of this return and rebuilding.

Blessed shall he be who repays you for what you have done to us - Cyrus was considered blessed for this, but the Jewish people would encounter problems with the inhabitants in the land, and again those that remained in Persia would also later encounter those who would seek their genocide. The rule of men is always flawed, unstable, yet we are always looking for a hero among us.

Blessed shall he be who takes your little ones and dashes them against the rock - Picture that, I can't even imagine myself saying that. I was listening to David Platt the other night, as he narrates from his journal, a trip he took to the Himalayas. There was a village his group came to that was unusually lacking in young girls. It wasn't because of genetics, that the people there only threw boys, no, they had baby girls too, but the young women were absent now. In the Third World, diseases, that we treat relatively easily here, wipe out large portions of the population there, but that wasn't what took all these little girls. These people are poor, hungry, many orphaned, but there are cities further down in the valleys, that have "work" for them. Men from the city will go to these mountain towns, offer the parents of an 8 year old girl 100 dollars, the equivalent of half a years salary there, to purchase her for "work" in the city, and many give the promise of returning her home from time to time to bring back more money and visit. Little girls, and I am going to spare you the details of what happens to them every day and just leave it at sex trafficking. But, you ask, how do the parents not figure it out, how do they not know? Well, I ask myself, have I ever been to a strip club? I wasn't raised that way, but yes, many times. At one time I thought it was wrong, and I do now, but I justified it by it being legal, it being consensual, their choice, "supporting single moms", and no one was getting hurt. When I was little my mom took me to a Right to Life meeting where I saw a video of what abortion actually looks like. I saw the little head, the hands and feet, I knew it was a human being. When I was older I looked at what people called a woman's choice and filed under "reproductive rights", and thought how silly, how unscientific, reproduction has already occurred, your killing someone who has information from two different people, their own DNA, their own identity, a person. I knew that, but the first time a girl told me she was pregnant, I wanted so bad to justify what was already legal in my country. It was inconvenient at the time, I wasn't ready for this, I had more things to accomplish, other girls to sleep with, I was trying to justify what I plainly knew as wrong and sacrifice someone else to my idols. Have I ever cheated on my wife? No, I say that quickly and honestly, but what about by God's standard? He says, "if you look at a woman to lust after her you have already committed adultery in your heart." Then yes, that's me too. I think a lot of the parents know, but like so many of us they live in a world of situational ethics. We all know this stuff goes on, but we justify it in our hearts, ignore it, pretend it isn't happening, think what can I do, this is God's fault somehow even though He is the One saying don't do these things, that He hates these things, but we are numb to it. I don't want you to read this hoping that you have an emotional response. I don't want you to read this thinking there is no hope, but I want you to read it from an eternal perspective, in light of what God has declared, "that there is none righteous, not even one." And now, after looking at the history of human depravity, turn and look at the Cross.

Jeremiah 24

#888 Steadfast Love

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,

for his steadfast love endures forever.

2 Give thanks to the God of gods,

for his steadfast love endures forever.

3 Give thanks to the Lord of lords,