Good morning! Boker Tov! It has been said that the follower of Yeshua, the child of God, must be on guard of his or her soul and never more so than after a period of prosperity, of feeling “fat in one’s soul”. David was in such a period when he wrote Psalm 16. He looked forward to dwelling in the presence of God forever. However, in between Psalm 16 and Psalm 17, David committed the heinous sins of complacency, lust, adultery and murder. We find the story in II Samuel 11. Look at verse 1 with me, as we begin this morning.
In the spring, at the time when kings go out to war, David sent out Yo’av, his servants who were with him and all Isra’el. They ravaged the people of ‘Amon and laid siege to Rabbah. But David stayed in Yerushalayim.
Look at David’s complacency and indolence here. He thought he “had it made” in all respects. This was a time of year when, after winter was past, kings rode out to conquer. What was David doing? He was relaxing in his palace, resting on his laurels, apparently spiritually as well as physically. Instead, he sent out his head general, Joab, and his army, to battle the kingdom of Amon. Spiritual complacency is never good. It leaves us vulnerable to Satan’s attacks.
2 Samuel 11 goes on to record that it was after an afternoon nap, David spied Bathsheba, bathing in a pool on the roof of her home, began to lust after her and eventually committed adultery with her. If that were not enough, he resolved to take her from her husband, who was one of his faithful warriors. He put her husband, Uriah, into a precarious position in which he would most certainly be slain. And, he was. It was, in effect, murder.
This awful story is a cautionary tale for each of us. Have you ever said, “I would never!” “I would never commit ______ sin!” You’d better be careful in those prideful words. I’ve been guilty of saying that very thing, about something I felt was not a temptation to me...at the time. When we do that, it is like waving a red flag in front of a bull, with us being the flag-waver and Satan being the bull. It’s like that expression, “throwing down the gauntlet”. You are absolutely inviting the enemy to come after you with a powerful attack.
Psalm 17, the next psalm in our line-up, was written after this series of life-altering sins. David had repented, but he realized his mistakes had put his entire nation at risk. He feared his army might be decimated in the fury of God’s retribution on him. In this psalm, he prayed fervently this would not occur. Furthermore, he began to have doubts about his own relationship with Father Yahweh.
This psalm is not mentioned in the New Testament. I always like to look for those cross-references, if they are present. For now, let’s begin to examine the 15 verses of Psalm 17. From the CJB, verses 1-2:
(0) A prayer of David:
(1) Hear a just cause, Adonai, heed my cry;
listen to my prayer from honest lips.
2 Let my vindication come from you,
let your eyes see what is right.
In verse 1, the word “cry” is better translated as “shouting aloud in prayer”, i.e. with a raised voice, wailing aloud. The reference to “honest lips” indicates that David is conveying the true feelings of his heart to his God. We might as well honestly pour out our hearts to Him, as He knows every thought and intent of our hearts anyway.
He then, in verse 2, affirms that vindication comes only from the LORD, because only His eyes see perfectly what is right. It is believed by the sages that David is appealing to God to give him leniency because of his many past, righteous deeds, i.e. that they would outweigh his recent sinful ones.
3 You probed my heart,
you visited me at night,
and you assayed me without finding evil thoughts
that should not pass my lips.
4 As for what others do, by words from your lips
I have kept myself from the ways of the violent;
5 my steps hold steadily to your paths,
my feet do not slip.
In verse 3, David speaks of the LORD examining him in the nighttime hours, which corresponds to the time period his downward slide into sin with Bathsheba began. She was bathing on the rooftop and he spied her, in the early evening, and his sin with her occurred later on that night. David speaks of being tested and purged in the aftermath of his sins. A better translation of the second half of verse 3 would be “(you) have tested me without success. May my scheming no more cross my lips.” In other words, “in Your testing of me, Lord God, you found my flaws, that I’m not ‘all that and a bag of chips’. May I never allow evil thoughts to even get past my lips in the future.”
Verses 4 and 5 go on as an affirmation from David that he will no longer stray from “the straight and narrow” path of righteousness. The incident with Bathsheba and Uriah was a severe example of “wandering off the path”. In that instance David most certainly DID employ the ways of the violent, albeit trying to make his murderous acts look like a casualty of battle.
Now I call on you, God, for you will answer me.
Turn your ear to me, hear my words.
7 Show how wonderful is your grace,
savior of those who seek at your right hand
refuge from their foes.
One of the things I admire about David is his confidence that God hears his prayers, and that He will answer. He asks for grace, and then makes a reference to God’s right hand, which is reminiscent of his mention of this in the last verse of Psalm 16, “at your right hand are pleasures evermore”. The reference to David’s foes here has a double-layer of meaning; he is referring to his spiritual foes and his literal, human foes, the Philistines, the Ammonites, the Edomites and others. The sages point out that “the enemies who threaten my soul” does not refer merely to physical enemies. David’s most potent enemies were not people from other nations. The most deadly enemies he faced were the sinful temptations that assailed his own soul.
He is asking for “refuge”, protection from both.
8 Protect me like the pupil of your eye,
hide me in the shadow of your wings
9 from the wicked, who are assailing me,
Another translation calls the analogy in verse 8 “the apple of your eye”. We find in Deuteronomy 32:10-11 a similar reference to these Psalm 17 verses. You could even say David was thinking of these verses from Deuteronomy and even quoting the same analogies.
“He found his people in desert country,
in a howling, wasted wilderness.
He protected him and cared for him,
guarded him like the pupil of his eye,
11 like an eagle that stirs up her nest,
hovers over her young,
spreads out her wings, takes them
and carries them as she flies.
In Zechariah 2:8, we find another reference to “the pupil of God’s eye”. Here is the verse:
For Adonai-Tzva’ot has sent me on a glorious mission to the nations that plundered you, and this is what he says: “Anyone who injures you injures the very pupil of my eye.
In Hebrew, the expression “pupil of God’s eye” is “bavat eino”. It is a term of endearment that Father Yahweh uses for no nation on earth other than the physical descendants of Abraham. In Isaiah 14:1, the Lord declares through the prophet Isaiah that He will never abandon His original covenant people, but will instead choose them for the sake of His Name. Therefore, anyone who believes that The Church has replaced Israel in God’s redemptive plan is making a theological error. Instead, it is just the opposite. The believers in Yeshua, both Jew and Gentile, have become a part of Israel and therefore a partaker of the Almighty’s promises to her. We Gentiles, we disciples of Yeshua, have been “grafted in” to the original tree that is Israel. As the apostle Paul tells us in Romans 11:18 - - the disciples of Yeshua do not support the tree, but rather the tree supports us.
Speaking of trees ... the Hebrew words for tree is “aytz” and the word for bones is similar “etzem”. We recently celebrated (this past April 16th) Israel’s Yom Ha’atzma’ut, which means Day of the Independence. But, the word atzma’ut comes from the noun “etzem”, which means “bones”. This name reminds us of the valley of dry bones story in Ezekiel 37:1-6. Hallelujah that in the physical realm of earth’s nations, Father. Yahweh has revived and restored that valley of dry bones by bringing the Jewish people back from centuries of exile. John J. Parsons, of Hebrew for Christians, said this week on Facebook: “The nation of Israel is Father Yahweh’s “super sign” of God’s faithfulness to the world.” Amen.
And finally, the Messiah made reference to verse 11 here in Deuteronomy 32, when He stood on the Mount of Olives one last time before His Passion Week began and cried out, as recorded in Matthew 23:37 “37 “Yerushalayim! Yerushalayim! You kill the prophets! You stone those who are sent to you! How often I wanted to gather your children, just as a hen gathers her chickens under her wings, but you refused!
Verses 10-12 further describe these enemies of the soul.
10 They close their hearts to compassion; (another version says, “they are enclosed in their own fat”!
they speak arrogantly with their mouths;
11 they track me down, they surround me;
they watch for a chance to bring me to the ground.
12 They are like lions eager to tear the prey,
like young lions crouching in ambush.
People who are arrogant have an inflated view of themselves. Here, the arrogant person who opposes God’s people think they are lions. But, in the end, they are toothless, declawed tom cats.
Allright, let’s finish this psalm. Here are the last 3 verses.
13 Arise, Adonai, confront them! Bring them down!
With your sword deliver me from the wicked,
14 with your hand, Adonai, from human beings,
from people whose portion in life is this world.
You fill their stomachs with your treasure,
their children will be satisfied too
and will leave their wealth to their little ones.
15 But my prayer, in righteousness, is to see your face;
on waking, may I be satisfied with a vision of you.
Although the sages are divided on this, I believe David is still speaking of the opulent, corpulent wicked here, who not only fill their own stomachs with the wealth of the world, but also “stuff” their children and grandchildren similarly. I’m not saying it is wicked to be wealthy. I am saying that riches should be used to lift up and help others who are not so financially blessed as the wealthy person.
David was a very wealthy man, and it was his wealth and power that led him to believe it would be okay to just take Bathsheba, another man’s wife. He did not have compassion on Uriah when he took Uriah’s wife. In this, he had behaved no better than the wicked he speaks of here. And, I believe he knew this after being reprimanded by the prophet Nathan, and that he repented from it. But, when you have fallen down into the muck and mire of sin, you can more easily recognize it in others, since you yourself have “been there”.
In verse 15, the repentant David affirms that his prayer, his only desire, post-repentance, post-confession, post-restoration, is to keep his eyes focused on his God, to seek to see His face, to be fully satisfied in Him. May we all desire the same and do likewise.
Let’s move on to Psalm 18. Although many psalms, around half of them, were composed by David, this one is referred to by the sages as THE Song of David. Hold your place here and then turn to 2 Samuel 22. I’ll give you a minute to turn there. When you get there, compare the 22nd chapter of 2 Samuel with Psalm 18. Extraordinary, isn’t it? Again, like last week, when we studied psalms 53 and 16, the two were virtually the same, remember? Here, again, these two chapters are virtually the same.
The sage Rashi believed that this psalm was composed by David in his old age, even though it speaks of David’s deliverance from King Saul. Ibn Ezra cites 2 Samuel 21:17, where the nation had determined that their old, frail king could no longer participate on the battlefield with his army, because it was just too dangerous. By contrast with Rashi, Abarbanel, who wrote a commentary on the book of Samuel (it was actually one book, but in our Christian bibles it is divided into two), held the opinion that David composed this psalm in his youth when he was still enmeshed in trials and tribulations, including having his life threatened repeatedly by King Saul.
The sages say, regardless, that the original version of this psalm appears in 2 Samuel 22. It is often recited on the 7th day of Passover, which would be the 22nd of Nisan. In many homes, a second/final Passover Seder is held on that day. Harav Gifter believes this psalm is particularly suited to this occasion, because it was on Nisan 22 that the Sea of Reeds was split. This event, which the Hebrew people participated in through faith, represents and was the forerunner of all future redemptions, including the redemption made for us by our Mashiach Yeshua.
Now, Psalm 18 is a LONG psalm, 51 verse long! We are NOT going to examine it verse-by-verse. We don’t have enough time today to do that. Instead we are going to do something different. Here is where you are going to need your pencil I asked you to find, at the beginning of the broadcast.
We are going to read Psalm 18, but before we begin, I want you to mark in the left margin with your pencil, or make notes on a separate piece of paper, because we are going to group these verses together before we read along. Ok, ready? Here we go.
Psalm 18 forms a chiastic structure:
1a) Psa 18:1-3, God is my deliverer;
1b) Psa 18:4-6, I cried out to God and He heard me;
1c) Psa 18:7-19, God’s might in warfare;
1d) Psa 18:20-24, My righteousness;
central axis) Psa 18:25-27, “With the merciful You will show Yourself merciful; with a blameless man You will show Yourself blameless; with the pure You will show Yourself pure; and with the devious You will show Yourself shrewd. For You will save the humble people, but will bring down haughty looks;”
2d) Psa 18:28-30, God’s grace;
2c) Psa 18:31-40, God’s empowerment of my might for warfare;
2b) Psa 18:41-42, My enemies cried out to God, and He did not hear them;
2a) Psa 18:43-50, God is my deliverer.
The beauty of chiastic structures is that they help us to frame and to see the gestalt of the passage. The structure of this psalm is ABCD <central axis> DCBA
Let me explain as we begin to read.
(0) For the leader. By David the servant of Adonai, who addressed the words of this song to Adonai on the day when Adonai delivered him from the power of all his enemies, including from the power of Sha’ul. 2 He said:
These first three verses’ theme is that Adonai (my masters) is my deliverer.
(1) “I love you, Adonai, my strength!
3 (2) “Adonai is my Rock, my fortress and deliverer,
my God, my Rock, in whom I find shelter,
my shield, the power that saves me,
my stronghold.
4 (3) I call on Adonai, who is worthy of praise;
and I am saved from my enemies.
These verses’, 4-6, theme is that David cried out to God for deliverance and God heard him.
5 (4) “For the cords of death surrounded me,
the floods of B’liya‘al terrified me,
6 (5) the ropes of Sh’ol were wrapped around me,
the snares of death lay there before me.
7 (6) In my distress I called to Adonai;
I cried out to my God.
Out of his temple he heard my voice;
my cry reached his ears.
Verses 7-19 have the theme of showing God’s might in warfare. And, remember, David got to see the Angel of the Lord in action, as recorded in 1 Chronicles 21:16. You can look that up and read about it later. We don’t have time this morning.
8 (7) “Then the earth quaked and shook,
the foundations of the mountains trembled.
They were shaken because he was angry.
9 (8) Smoke arose in his nostrils;
out of his mouth came devouring fire;
sparks blazed forth from him.
10 (9) He lowered heaven and came down
with thick darkness under his feet.
11 (10) He rode on a keruv; he flew,
swooping down on the wings of the wind.
12 (11) He made darkness his hiding-place,
his canopy thick clouds dark with water.
13 (12) From the brightness before him,
there broke through his thick clouds
hailstones and fiery coals.
14 (13) “Adonai also thundered in heaven,
Ha‘Elyon sounded his voice —
hailstones and fiery coals.
15 (14) He sent out arrows and scattered them,
shot out lightning and routed them.
(15) The channels of water appeared,
the foundations of the world were exposed
at your rebuke, Adonai,
at the blast of breath from your nostrils.
17 (16) “He sent from on high, he took me
and pulled me out of deep water;
18 (17) he rescued me from my powerful enemy,
from those who hated me,
for they were stronger than I.
19 (18) They came against me on my day of disaster,
but Adonai was my support.
20 (19) He brought me out to an open place;
he rescued me, because he took pleasure in me.
Verses 20-24 describe David’s adherence to Torah, which he calls his righteousness, his uprightness.
21 (20) Adonai rewarded me for my uprightness,
he repaid me because my hands were clean.
22 (21) “For I have kept the ways of Adonai,
I have not done evil by leaving my God;
23 (22) for all his rulings were before me,
I did not distance his regulations from me.
24 (23) I was pure-hearted with him
and kept myself from my sin.
25 (24) “Hence Adonai repaid me for my uprightness,
according to the purity of my hands in his view.
Verses 25 through 27 are the central axis of the chiastic structure. They are the linchpin of the entire psalm.
26 (25) With the merciful, you are merciful;
with a man who is sincere, you are sincere;
27 (26) with the pure, you are pure;
but with the crooked you are cunning.
28 (27) People afflicted, you save;
but haughty eyes, you humble.
Verses 28-30 speak of the grace of God.
29 (28) “For you, Adonai, light my lamp;
Adonai, my God, lights up my darkness.
30 (29) With you I can run through a whole troop of men,
with my God I can leap a wall.
31 (30) “As for God, his way is perfect,
the word of Adonai has been tested by fire;
he shields all who take refuge in him.
Verse 30 is one of the first verses one of my spiritual mamas made me learn as a young teen.
Verses 31-40 speak of how Adonai empowered David for battle, giving them the tools and the strength he needed in order to triumph over his enemies.
(31) “For who is God but Adonai?
Who is a Rock but our God?
33 (32) “It is God who girds me with strength;
he makes my way go straight.
34 (33) He makes me swift, sure-footed as a deer,
and enables me to stand on my high places.
35 (34) He trains my hands for war
until my arms can bend a bow of bronze;
36 (35) “You give me your shield, which is salvation,
your right hand holds me up,
your humility makes me great.
37 (36) You lengthen the steps I can take,
yet my ankles do not turn.
38 (37) “I pursued my enemies and overtook them,
without turning back until they were destroyed.
39 (38) I crushed them, so that they can’t get up;
they have fallen under my feet.
40 (39) “For you braced me with strength for the battle
and bent down my adversaries beneath me.
41 (40) You made my enemies turn their backs in flight,
and I destroyed those who hated me.
Verses 41-42 point out that, although David’s foes cried out to God for help, God did not hear or show mercy to them.
42 (41) “They cried out, but there was no one to help,
even to Adonai, but he didn’t answer.
43 (42) I pulverized them like dust in the wind,
threw them out like mud in the streets.
Verses 43-50 form the second bookend of this chiastic structure. Like the bookend of the first 3 verses, these 8 verses reiterate how God is David’s almighty deliverer.
44 (43) “You also freed me from the quarrels of my people.
You made me head of the nations;
a people I did not know now serve me —
45 (44) the moment they hear of me, they obey me,
foreigners come cringing to me.
46 (45) Foreigners lose heart
as they come trembling from their fortresses.
47 (46) “Adonai is alive! Blessed is my Rock!
Exalted be the God of my salvation,
48 (47) the God who avenges me
and subdues peoples under me.
(48) He delivers me from my enemies.
You lift me high above my enemies,
you rescue me from violent men.
50 (49) “So I give thanks to you, Adonai, among the nations;
I sing praises to your name.
51 (50) Great salvation he gives to his king;
he displays grace to his anointed,
to David and his descendants forever.”
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