Psa 79:1

SUPERSCRIPTION: “A PSALM OF ASAPH”. Re Hezekiah & Sennacherib (see v 13n).

REV 11: Many allusions to this psalm in Rev 11, or direct quotations from it. Why should Psa 79 be used so pointedly and often in Rev 11 and nowhere else? Just because the words happen to fit in some superficial manner? Of course not. All the rest of the psalms support the view that Rev 11 is intimating a Messianic LD fulfillment of Psa 79. No other ref is poss. Here, then, there is a picture of the desolation of the Holy Land at the time of Messiah’s coming. The “two witnesses” repr the nation of Israel in the Land, and their deaths repr the (temporary) political extinction of the state of Israel. But the people of Israel are not totally annihilated (Jer 30:11), since the “sighing” of some comes before God (Psa 79:11). When the situation seems desperate, even hopeless, the God of Israel will, in response to their genuine repentance, redeem His people, as the angel of the Lord did in the time of Sennacherib. The “dry bones” (Eze 37:10) will stand up again (Rev 11:11)! And the outcome will be “praise to all generations… thanks for ever.” All the details of the psalm need to be studied anew from this angle (WRev 148,149; JABP 101-104; LD 23-26; WExpAp 78).

THE NATIONS HAVE INVADED YOUR INHERITANCE: That is, they have come into the Land of Israel, God’s Land.

THEY HAVE DEFILED YOUR HOLY TEMPLE: Ahaz, in his subservience to Assyria, seems to have allowed an Assyrian garrison to be quartered in one of the temple courts (2Ki 16:8,18; 2Ch 28:21; cp Isa 52:1; 63:18; 64:11; Mic 5:5; Psa 74:6,7n). When Hezekiah refused to accept this subjection, the foreign soldiery who had already defiled the temple with their presence, would certainly work as much further havoc there as poss before leaving; hence the need for cleansing in 2Ch 29:4,5. When the Gentiles are allowed by God to defile His holy temple, we may be sure it is because God’s people Israel have defiled it first (cp vv 8,9)!

THEY HAVE REDUCED JERUSALEM TO RUBBLE: Of course this did not happen in the time of Sennacherib. Yet there cannot be ref to the Babylonian destruction, for this v also says: “Thy holy temple have they defiled.” But Nebuchadnezzar’s men burnt the temple to the ground. Two poss explanations are available: (a) Before the Assyrian garrison left Jerusalem, they not only defiled the temple but also did a good deal of other damage in the city. Or… (b) Mic 3:12 foretold “Jerusalem laid on heaps”, and the psalmist thought the time was come for that fulfillment, and spoke of it as assured by using the perfect tense (a common feature in OT prophecy). That prophecy was not fulfilled in Hezekiah’s time, but it might have been if Hezekiah had not turned aside the wrath of God (see Jer 26:18,19). With these alternatives, one phrase should not be allowed to negate an explanation which makes all the psalm consistent in its picture of the Sennacherib crisis. Note that all the Asaph psalms fit Hezekiah’s reign very neatly. Should Psa 79 be a solitary exception because of one phrase?

Psa 79:2

The slaughter during the Assyrian invasion. This very detail is prominent in Assyrian bas-reliefs.

AS FOOD TO THE BIRDS OF THE AIR: To be deprived of burial was considered by the Jews to be one of the greatest disgraces: Deu 28:26; 1Sa 17:44-46; Psa 141:7; Ecc 6:3; Jer 7:33; 16:4; 19:7; 34:20; 36:30. “Falling in battle before the enemy may prove that God has a just cause against the party overcome; but cannot prove that the victor’s cause is good” (Dickson).

SAINTS: Israel in Exo 19:6; Deu 7:6; Dan 8:24; 12:7.

Psa 79:3

Cp Rev 6:9.

ALL AROUND JERUSALEM: Why “all around” but not IN Jerusalem? This is a hint that Jerusalem itself was not captured; but the invaders besieging the city would slay (and impale, in typical Assyrian fashion) every man of Israel they could capture.

THERE IS NO ONE TO BURY THE DEAD: Because the only people who might wish to bury them were shut up inside the city.

Psa 79:4

Cp v 12. Consider the pictures of sustained mockery by the Assyrians round about the city: Isa 36:12-20; 37:10-13,24-29.

Psa 79:5

In spite of Hezekiah’s influential efforts at reformation, there was still a good deal of apostasy in the nation. Isaiah has plenty of scathing rebukes of this. The invasion was seen as God’s punishment of this unfaithfulness (cp vv 8,9).

Psa 79:6

Why “kingdoms”, plural? Because quite a number of nearby nations chose to become allies of Sennacherib rather than be devastated by his armies (cp Psa 47:3; 48:4; 76:12; Isa 5:26,30; 29:7; 30:28; Mic 4:11). Herodotus calls Sennacherib “the king of the Arabians”.

Psa 79:7

The entire Holy Land was overrun.

HOMELAND: “Naveh” — sheepfold, pasture. Cp v 13.

Psa 79:8

DO NOT HOLD AGAINST US THE SINS OF THE FATHERS: Punishment for the iniquities of former generations are sometimes poured out upon a later generation (Gen 15:16; Exo 32:34; Dan 8:23; Mat 23:32,35,36; 1Th 2:16; see BThes 62,63). The Jews have a saying, that every punishment which falls upon Israel has an extra ounce in it for the sin of the golden calf.

Psa 79:9

It is God’s character (Exo 34:6,7) which is the foundation of faith in this crisis: thus He is called “O God our Savior”. For His Name’s sake God quickens the soul and delivers from trouble (Psa 143:11), pardons sins (here; Psa 25:11; 1Jo 2:12), and leads in the paths of righteousness (Psa 23:2). For man’s sake God cursed the earth (Gen 8:21), but for the sake of His own holy Name He will ultimately bless it forever.

Psa 79:10

WHY SHOULD THE NATIONS SAY, “WHERE IS THEIR GOD?”: One of the main themes in Rabshakeh’s sustained campaign of scorn and disparagement of Jehovah, in his efforts to break the spirit of the people of Jerusalem (v 12; Isa 36:15,18; 37:10). By ct, there is no real evidence that Nebuchadnezzar (to whose time some assign this psalm) ever said anything like this.

BEFORE OUR EYES, MAKE KNOWN AMONG THE NATIONS…: This duly happened — and with a vengeance (Isa 37:36)!

Psa 79:11

MAY THE GROANS OF THE PRISONERS COME BEFORE YOU: In the Taylor Prism inscription, Sennacherib boasts that he had taken over 200,000 captives in his Judean campaign. This v is very close to Psa 102:19,20 — another Hezekiah psalm (cp also Psa 44:11,12 and 106:47).

Psa 79:12

“And render unto our neighbours into their bosoms” (AV), ie into the folds of their garments, called also the “lap” — used as a receptacle for various articles, much as pockets are used today (Num 11:12; Rth 4:16; 2Sa 12:3; 2Ki 4:39; Neh 5:13; Job 31:33; Psa 89:50; 129:7; Pro 6:27; 17:23; 21:14; Isa 40:11; 49:22).

Psa 79:13

A like confidence was often expressed by Isaiah: eg Isa 17:12,13; 29:5,8. God promised Hezekiah a Jubilee year of extraordinary prosperity, and declared that Jubilee observance should be a sign (ie a celebration) of this marvelous deliverance, remembered in succeeding generations (Isa 37:30,31).

THE SHEEP OF YOUR PASTURE: In the Asaph psalms, Psa 74:1; 77:20; 78:72. Also, Psa 100:3.

SUBSCRIPTION: “FOR THE DIRECTOR OF MUSIC. TO THE TUNE OF ‘THE LILIES OF THE COVENANT’ “: “Shoshannim-Eduth” (AV). Shushan (Lily) links with the Passover (see also Psa 44, 68; JWT, Titles 30-48). Also, the lily occurs often in the structure and symbolism of the Temple (1Ki 7:22,26; 2Ch 4:5); it is refd to many times in the Song of Songs, along with other Temple symbolism (Song 2:1,2,16; 4:5; 5:13; 6:2,3; 7:2). It is not surprising, then, that the Temple figures prominently in this Psa 79 also (see v 1 esp) It is poss that Shushan-Eduth (ie the “Passover of the Testimony” — or Covenant) was the “Little Passover”, which was permitted a month later than normal for the benefit of those unclean, or those on a journey at the proper date (Num 9:6-11). This concession had been appealed to by Hezekiah on the occasion of his great (but belated) Passover (2Ch 30:15). It might have been necessary also on the later occasion when, in answer to his prayers, the Assyrian army was decimated outside Jerusalem. Siege conditions and the defilement of many through contact with the almost countless corpses would require — after the time for purification — such a “Little Passover” (see Isa 31:5 — cp “passing over” there with Exo 12:13,23,27; also see Isa 26:20,21; 30:29).

Psa 80:1

SUPERSCRIPTION: “OF ASAPH. A PSALM”. Related Hezekiah.

NT:

1. The picture of national devastation (vv 4-6, 12-16).
2. The tribulation is an expression of God’s anger against His people (v 4, and “You… You…” in vv 5,6).
3. The indications of helpless repentance (“Turn us again” in vv 3,7,19; and also v 18).
4. The key to all hopes of national redemption: (1) “The lamb in the midst of the throne” (cp v 1 here) who will be the “Shepherd” of his people (Rev 7:17); (2) “the true vine” (Joh 15:1) to replace the discarded vine of Israel (Eze 15:6); (3) “the Son of Man whom thou madest (past tense!) strong for thyself… so (ie in him) shall we not go back.” Instead of apostasy, the remnant of Israel may put their dependence on “thy name” — God’s expressed Purpose becomes an anchor of their faith.
5. Note the terms, so fitting with ref to Messiah: “the Man (ish = a man of distinction) of thy right hand (cp Psa 110:1), the son of man (adam) (cp Psa 8:4,5) whom thou madest strong for thyself.” Cp 2Co 5:19; 1Ti 3:16. In v 17: “Let thy hand be upon the man of thy right hand” may be compared with Isaiah’s description of Messiah as “the Arm of the Lord” (Isa 53:1; cp Isa 51:9,10; 63:5).
6. Observe how appropriate is the phrase “Turn us again” to the regathering of Israel: cp Gen 28:15 (Jacob’s return from servitude), and Jer 23:3: “And I will gather the remnant of my flock…” — all this in the days of the King who is a “Branch” (v 5; cp v 15 here), and who is called “the Lord our Righteousness”.

The situation envisioned in this psalm is yet to materialize. But already in the Messianic Jews there are the first flickers of national repentance, the necessary preliminary to any Messianic salvation. The final crisis of Israel’s helplessness will bring, overnight, the manifestation of Messiah in glory and the dissipation of every hostile threat.

O SHEPHERD OF ISRAEL: Observe the frequency of this lovely figure in the Asaph psalms: Psa 74:1; 77:20; 78:13-16,52-55,70-72; 79:13; and cp Isa 63:11.

YOU WHO SIT ENTHRONED BETWEEN THE CHERUBIM: Hezekiah’s phrase, in his prayer of desperation: Isa 37:16; 2Ki 19:15. Note Deu 33:2 (God in glory on mount Sinai) and Lev 16:2,12,13 (the Glory of God in the Most Holy on the Day of Atonement). The orig cherubim, at the east of Eden, were accompanied by a flaming sword — not so much to bar the way to the tree of life, as to keep or preserve it (Gen 3:24; cp Joh 14:6). This flaming sword would flash forth its fire for the consumption of the acceptable sacrifices offered by the family of Adam before the Lord (Elp 153) — thus corresponding in a general way to the function of the “mercy-seat” above the Ark in the Most Holy.

SHINE FORTH: As in Psa 50:2 (the “detached” Asaph psalm).

Psa 80:2

EPHRAIM, BENJAMIN AND MANASSEH: All these three tribes were descended from Rachel (= “ewe”; hence the “Shepherd of Israel”) (Gen 33:2). These tribes encamped together on the west side of the Tabernacle, hence the preposition “before”. When Israel was on the march these tribes also followed immediately after the Ark (Num 2:17-24). Note here also the union of northern and southern tribes which Hezekiah encouraged so strongly.

COME AND SAVE US: Impl a people in great extremity, but not yet overwhelmed; this answers to a Jerusalem about to be besieged by an invincible Assyrian army and with few defensive resources.

Psa 80:3

As in vv 7,19 also. A conviction (Hezekiah’s? Isaiah’s?) that only repentance can save the city and what is left of the nation from being completely overrun.

FACE (of God): In Psalms, always ref God’s presence in ark/tabernacle/temple: see VL, Pss, God’s face.

Psa 80:4

HOW LONG WILL YOUR ANGER SMOLDER?: A frank acknowledgment of the nation’s unworthiness (cp Psa 79:5).

Psa 80:5

THE BREAD OF TEARS: Implies, perhaps, that food supplies were very low (cp Isa 25:8).

Psa 80:6

OUR NEIGHBORS: Such psalms as Psa 83; 137, and various phrases in Isaiah, imply that Sennacherib in his invasion had the ready assistance of several peoples round about Judah (see also v 12: “all they which pass by”; cp Psa 79:6n).

Psa 80:7

FACE (of God): In Psalms, always ref God’s presence in ark/tabernacle/temple: see VL, Pss, God’s face.

Psa 80:8

YOU BROUGHT A VINE OUT OF EGYPT: The close resemblances between vv 8-16 here and Isaiah’s parable of the vine (Isa 5:1-7) suggest the distinct likelihood that Isaiah wrote this psalm. The details which follow here describe the conquest and settling of the Land and the ensuing prosperity of the kingdom from the time of David onwards.

VINE: Jer 2:21; Eze 15:6; 17:6; 19:10; Hos 10:1; Deu 32:32,33.

YOU DROVE OUT THE NATIONS: Exo 15:14-16.

AND PLANTED IT: What a ct in vv 12,13,16! See also 2Sa 7:10.

Psa 80:9

YOU CLEARED THE GROUND: By removing the stones and roots — ie the seven Canaanite nations (Gen 15:18-21).

Psa 80:12

The present calamitous condition (ie in Isaiah’s day) of the nation, invaded and ravaged by the Assyrians.

V 12: The Assyrian capture and destruction of Judah’s “fenced cities” (cp Psa 89:40,41).

Psa 80:13

The boar (an unclean animal: Lev 11:7) and the “wild beast” (AV) are allusions perhaps to the standards or banners of some of the Assyrian army detachments. Or, more specifically, boar (singular) = Assyria itself, and beasts (most versions have the plural here) = the Assyrian servant nations.

BOARS FROM THE FORESTS RAVAGE IT: The sw (in LXX) describes the havoc the persecutor Saul of Tarsus (of Benjamin: v 2!) made in the early ecclesia (Act 8:3). Nevertheless God showed His favor upon the martyr Stephen by causing His face to shine upon him (cp Psa 80:3,7,19 with Act 6:15!).

Psa 80:14

RETURN TO US, O GOD ALMIGHTY!: This is reminiscent of Num 10:35,36, the wilderness trek of the Ark. Ct this with the “Turn again” in vv 3,7,19.

Psa 80:15

RIGHT HAND: Recalls “Benjamin” (v 2) — which means “son of the right hand”. Right hand = place of honor and blessing: 1Ki 2:19; Psa 45:9; 110:1; Mat 25:31-34; Mar 14:62; 16:19; Luk 20:42; 22:69; Act 2:34; 7:55,56; Rom 8:34; Eph 1:20; Col 3:1.

SON (OR BRANCH): The “branch” is primarily Hezekiah (cp v 17), the good king. The Heb for “branch” is, lit, son (a Heb idiom, as if the branch were “son” to its “father” the root); in v 17 the // phrase is “son of man”, “the man at your right hand”. This last phrase alludes to the fact that the palace of the king was immed south of the temple — that is, at God’s right hand (in the OT, north and south are left and right respectively — with orientation toward the rising sun assumed).

Psa 80:16

YOUR VINE IS CUT DOWN, IT IS BURNED WITH FIRE: Meanwhile, the orig “vine” of Israel has been marked with the ax along its roots, and is now fit only for burning (Mat 3:10; cp Joh 15:6)!

Psa 80:19

FACE (of God): In Psalms, always ref God’s presence in ark/tabernacle/temple: see VL, Pss, God’s face.

SUBSCRIPTION: “FOR THE DIRECTOR OF MUSIC. ACCORDING TO GITTITH”: “The winepress” (as in Psa 7; 80; 83; Jdg 6:11; Neh 13:15). The “winepress” psalms were to be sung in the autumn, in connection with the Feast of Tabernacles (Lev 23:39-43). The treading of grapes was a figure of harvest joy (Isa 16:10) and a symbol of divine judgment (Isa 63:3-6).

Psa 81:1

SUPERSCRIPTION: “OF ASAPH”. Related Hezekiah.

EXODUS ALLUSIONS: Sustained allusions to the Exodus imply that, as God came to the rescue of His people then, so also will He in the current Assyrian crisis — ie, if only His people will show a spirit of faithfulness and not of stubborn unbelief. Cp Isa 10:24. Vv 13-16 strongly emphasize this. The emphasis in vv 3-5 is on the Israelite’s commemoration (“sign”, as in Isa 37:30,31) of the destruction of the Assyrians through their thankful observance of the Year of Jubilee, just as the slaying of the firstborn was to be thankfully remembered in the keeping of the Passover.

Vv 1,2: A ref to the song which Miriam taught to Israel (Exo 15:20,21).

THE GOD OF JACOB: Though Jacob is dead, God is still his God (Exo 3:15; Luk 20:37) — thereby proving his resurrection.

Psa 81:3

SOUND THE RAM’S HORN… ON THE DAY OF OUR FEAST: The Day of Atonement at the beginning of the Jubilee Year. After the defeat of Sennacherib’s host, the many thousands of enslaved Israelites were set free, to return to their homeland (Isa 27:6,12,13; 35:10; 42:6,7; 49:9-26; etc) — a true Jubilee!

WHEN THE MOON IS FULL: V 5 makes a link with Passover. This connection is prob because Sennacherib’s army was slain at Passover (like the Egyptian firstborn), and a marvelous celebration of Jubilee (to begin 6 mo later?) was then commanded as commemoration (“sign” in Isa 37:30,31). Also, the conjunction of new moon (the 1st day of the mo) and full moon (the 15th day) suggests ref to the 7th mo (Tishri). This mo began with the Feast of Trumpets (Num 29:1-6), followed on the 10th day by the Day of Atonement (vv 7-11), and on the 15th day by the week-long Feast of Tabernacles (vv 12-40). At the same time there would be the inauguration of the Year of Jubilee (Lev 25:9,10). “New moon” pilgrimages to Zion were common — and will be again in the Kingdom Age (Isa 66:23).

Psa 81:5

WHEN HE WENT OUT AGAINST EGYPT: The slaying of the firstborn (note the similarity of language in Exo 11:4), which was attributed in Exo 12 to “the destroyer”, is here said to be the work of “the God of Jacob”.

A LANGUAGE WE DID NOT UNDERSTAND: The tongue of the Egyptians (Psa 114:1).

Psa 81:6

I REMOVED THE BURDEN FROM THEIR SHOULDERS: Sw Exo 1:11.

THEIR HANDS WERE SET FREE FROM THE BASKET: Baskets for carrying clay or bricks. Cp the “brick-kilns” of Psa 68:13 (not sw, but surely same idea). This detail is an addition to the historical narrative of Exo 1.

Psa 81:7

IN YOUR DISTRESS YOU CALLED: See Exo 3:9. (NT) The LXX has sw in 1Pe 1:17; and also in Act 7:59 — when Stephen was “in distress”. This v emphasizes that God heard their voice, and they heard His (see Exo 2:23,24).

I ANSWERED YOU OUT OF A THUNDERCLOUD: That is, from mount Sinai, with its cloud and fire and lightning and thunder and earthquake (Exo 19:18,19).

I TESTED YOU AT THE WATERS OF MERIBAH: Where the smitten Rock yielded water (Exo 17:6,7). There the people were “proving” (testing) God — “Is the Lord among us or not?” — while at the same time God was proving them!

See Lesson, Selah.

Psa 81:9

This is very much like the Song of Moses: Deu 32:12 (cp), 16 (ct); see also the Decalogue (Exo 20:3).

Psa 81:12

GAVE THEM OVER: May ref to their sin of the golden calf (Exo 32:1-25). Or, since LXX = “sent them away”, poss an allusion to their enforced 40 years of wandering, while the whole generation perished (Num 14:33,34).

Psa 81:13

Vv 13,14: A promise for the future esp: When Israel repents, then God will deliver them from their enemies (Lev 26:40-42; Deu 30:1-3; 1Ki 8:44-53; Jer 4:1,2,14-18; Act 3:19,20).

Psa 81:16

WITH HONEY FROM THE ROCK I WOULD SATISFY YOU: Moses’ Song again (Deu 32:13). “The wild bee is most common in lonely ravines, where it makes its nests in the clefts of precipitous rocks, often [only] with great difficulty accessible to man” (Hastings Dict of Bible). Here, honey sym wisdom (1Sa 14:27,28; Psa 19:10; 119:103; Pro 24:13; Eze 3:3; Rev 10:9,10). Such wisdom is obtainable only from God their “Rock” (tsur: sw Psa 18:31,46; 28:1; 61:2; 78:35; etc). In Moses’ Song (Deu 32), God is called the Rock (tsur) in vv 4,13,15,18,30, 31!

Psa 82:1

SUPERSCRIPTION: “OF ASAPH”. Hezekiah again.

HISTORICAL ALLUSION: “Israel’s judges have been summoned together by God. The position of the presiding judge is vacant when suddenly the Lord Himself appears and takes His place as President of the Assembly. But who are to be arraigned before this awesome court? When God speaks it is to indict the judges themselves” (LGS). Indications in Isa of corrupt government by the princes, who should have been able to steer the nation competently when Hezekiah was laid aside with mortal sickness. See Isa 3:12-15: esp close to this psalm. For the same background, consider also Isa 28:14 and finally, Mic 3:1-3,9-11. In this psalm we see Isa (or poss Hezekiah) once again taking up the reins of government on God’s behalf. The idiom of speaking about God’s representatives by the name of God is common in Scripture: Exo 7:1; 21:6; 22:8,9,28; 23:20,21; Psa 58:1(?); 97:7; 138:11; 1Sa 2:25; 28:13.

MESSIANIC: Application of this psalm to Christ in encounters with his adversaries springs not only from the Hezekiah type but more specifically from the use of this psalm in Joh 10:33-38. The same idiom of speaking about God’s representatives by the Name of God is equally appropriate when referring to the Messiah: Psa 45:6 (Heb 1:8); Isa 8:13,14; 9:6,7; 40:3,9; 61:1,6; 64:4 (where “he” = the Almighty, and “thee… O God” = the Messiah); Isa 65:16; Zec 12:10; Mal 3:1; Joh 14:7-10; 20:28; 1Ti 3:16. “We do not recommend the use in ordinary speech of the word ‘God’ in ref to Jesus; but it is well not to lose sight of such a use occasionally in Scripture, and by so doing fail to grasp the claims made for Jesus Christ our Lord, who has been ‘highly exalted’ by the Father, and ‘given a Name that is above every name’ (Phi 2:9)” (CRom 102; cp also Psalms 1:258,262).

Psa 82 was prescribed reading (according to the synagogue “Bible Companion”) for the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles (cp Joh 7:37 and its context, including Joh 8).

V 1: “God standeth in the congregation of the mighty; he judgeth among the gods” (AV). This Heb word “standeth” always has a special religious or royal reference. Here, it has both: a prophet (or poss a king) in the midst of princes. Thus v 1 may read: “God (Elohim) standeth in the assembly (eduth) of the mighty; in the midst God (Elohim) judgeth.” (Such a translation does not evade — nor is it intended to evade — the fact that even the wicked rulers of Israel may be called elohim; that is plainly the case in v 6 and its NT quotation. However, this proposed translation does a bit better at preserving the // of the v.)

Or — less likely — v 1 might read: “The elohim (judges) stand (ie respectfully) in the congregation of the EL (God Himself); He (ie EL) judgeth among the elohim (judges).” Either way, God Himself (or in the person of His special prophet or king, the Messiah) is formally judging the rulers of Israel.

(NT) Christ face to face with the evil men of the temple. The one who was being judged had all the bearing and manner of a judge himself — even to the pronouncing of sentence upon his “judges” (Mat 26:64)!

Psa 82:2

Mic 3:11 (already cited in v 1) also refs this taking of bribes. To “accept the person of” is, lit, “to lift up the face of” — by summoning a man to rise who has prostrated himself before the judgment seat. Cp the similar exhortation in Jam 2:1-6, warning against showing respect of persons.

(NT) The Sanhedrin was doing precisely this — not only against Jesus himself (Joh 7:47,48; 5:43), but against the common people as well (Joh 7:49); for this they earned the rebuke of one of their own number, Nicodemus (v 51). And so Jesus also reproved them repeatedly: “Ye judge after the flesh” (Joh 8:15; cp Joh 9:39-41).

See Lesson, Selah.

Psa 82:3

Vv 3,4: A serious decay in the administration, due to Hezekiah’s loss of control of affairs during the time of his illness. Unscrupulous ambitious princes — men like Shebna (Isa 22:15-19) — had oppressed the poor and godly.

Psa 82:5

But all of God’s appeals to these elohim are in vain. Therefore they — the judges of Israel — are themselves to be judged. This would certainly have happened when Hezekiah recovered.

THEY KNOW NOTHING, THEY UNDERSTAND NOTHING: (NT) These words are the equivalent of the Greek text of Joh 10:37,38. The only difference is that the negative here (ie in Psa 82:5) foretells Christ’s failure to rouse their sleeping consciences.

THEY WALK ABOUT IN DARKNESS: Even while they have the “Light of the world” in their presence (Joh 8:12). See Jesus in Joh 9:39-41; cp Joh 3:19; 12:35,46; 1Jo 2:11). Also, cp Pro 2:13.

ALL THE FOUNDATIONS OF THE EARTH ARE SHAKEN: This is figurative language for misgovernment, but it also may be taken literally. The last phrase means an earthquake: Isa 29:6; 24:18-20; Psa 46:3; Joe 3:16, all with ref to Hezekiah’s reign and the great theophany which destroyed Sennacherib’s army (this is not to discount a further Messianic fulfillment, of course). Note also the special significance of the ct in Isa 28:16: the sure foundation of God’s altar-stone (Messianically, of God’s Son!) — that shall not be shaken even by the severest earthquake.

(NT) An earthquake. The immediate effect of Christ’s appeal to the leaders of the nation was a renewal of their efforts to arrest and crucify him (Joh 10:39). This they shortly accomplished, and the resultant earthquake (Mat 27:51) was one expression of the wrath of God against them. (Earthquake is often expressive of the wrath of God: cp context of Psa 18:7; Job 9:5,6; Isa 2:19,21; Eze 38:18-20; Hag 2:6,21; Heb 12:26; Act 16:25,26.)

Psa 82:6

YOU ARE “GODS”: A reminder that to whom much is given, of them is much required. They were judging, not on behalf of men, but of God (Deu 1:15-17; Num 11:16-30; 2Ch 19:5-7), as His mortal representatives. Thus their designation as “elohim”. In like manner, mortal men may also be called “angels” — ie messengers or representatives of God — who act and speak, in some degree, with divine authority (Mat 11:10; Luk 7:24,27; 9:52; Jam 2:25). When Korah, Dathan, and Abiram presumed to elevate themselves to the positions of priests and rulers in Israel, and were summarily destroyed because of their pride, then they became both “angels that kept not their first estate” (2Pe 2:4; Jud 1:6; see WS 179-181) and “gods” (elohim) who died like men!

(NT) These men were rulers and judges, and above all — in their mistaken pride — sons of Abraham (Joh 8:33,41), so the terms were appropriate.

YOU ARE ALL SONS OF THE MOST HIGH: Those now being denounced were men of great religious privilege. Cp Joh 1:12 and 1Jo 3:1,2.

Psa 82:7

BUT YOU WILL DIE LIKE MERE MEN: Or like Adam, having failed the test as he did. Or — more precisely — having sought for higher position than God permitted. Likewise, Psa 49:12-20 — men dying like beasts — is probably about Shebna (Isa 22:15-19).

(NT) “I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins” (Joh 8:24; cp v 21).

YOU WILL FALL LIKE EVERY OTHER RULER: Shebna again? This would explain the use of “one of”. His pride and seizure of power guaranteed a calamitous crash, which when it came would be known to the entire nation (Isa 22:17-19). So also it would be with these princes (Isa 30:16,17).

(NT) Could this be an anticipation of the fate of Judas — who at last abandoned his Lord to cast in his lot with the princes? “Now this man purchased a field with the reward of iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out” (Act 1:18). An equally disastrous end was foretold for the Jewish rulers who collaborated with him: Psa 69:25 — quoted by Peter and applied in the singular to Judas in Act 1:20 — is in fact plural in the original: “Let their habitation be desolate; and let none dwell in their tents.”

Psa 82:8

RISE UP, O GOD, JUDGE THE EARTH: Or Land. Hezekiah did this very thing after his sensational recovery. Reminiscent of Israel’s ancient battle-cry, when the Ark went forth (Num 10:35).

FOR ALL THE NATIONS ARE YOUR INHERITANCE: A purely Messianic phrase. Yet in a lesser sense true also of Hezekiah: “And many brought gifts [ie, tribute] unto the Lord to Jerusalem, and presents to Hezekiah king of Judah: so that he [God certainly, but also — in some measure — Hezekiah as His agent] was magnified in the sight of all nations from thenceforth” (2Ch 32:23). There are also signs in Isa that Hezekiah asserted his authority over some Gentile neighbors (Isa 18:7; 49:23; 55:5; 60:1-13; 62:2).

Psa 83:1

SUPERSCRIPTION: “A SONG. A PSALM OF ASAPH”.

See Lesson, Beasts, heads, and horns.

HISTORICAL CONTEXT: Hezekiah and Sennacherib, as all the Asaph psalms. Or… an alternative view suggests that the psalm has its origins in the times of Jehoshaphat — when an “Arab” invasion of Judah was repelled (2Ch 20; see Tes 46:335-340). 2Ch 20 describes an invasion of the land of Judah by Moab, Ammon, and — with them — “other beside the Ammonites” and “the children from mount Seir” (2Ch 20:1,10). There seems to have been a confederacy led by Moab and Ammon. In Psa 83 five nations seem to be linked with Moab and with Ammon. These are Edom, the Ishmaelites, the Hagarenes, Gebal, and Amalek. These might correspond to the “others” of 2Ch 20:1. No mention of Tyre and Philistia is made in 2Ch 20. Poss they did not take an active part in the initial attack, but planned to intervene later, and were deterred from doing so by the destruction of the eastern part of the alliance. An identifying link lies in the ascription of the psalm to the sons of Asaph. In 2Ch 20:14,15 a prophet Jahaziel, a Levite and a descendant of Asaph, spoke to the Israelites, telling them not to be afraid of the great multitude… “For the battle is the Lord’s.” Poss Jahaziel may have written the psalm for posterity as a record of Israel’s victory.

Psa 83:2

YOUR ENEMIES: That is, the enemies of God. Sennacherib’s invasion of Judah was not just one more exercise in empire-building, but also and particularly an open expression of hostility to the name of Jehovah (Isa 36:13-20; 37:10-13).

ARE ASTIR: Sw in Psa 46:3 (a Hezekiah psalm) and in Isa 17:12 (a prophecy about the Assyrians).

YOUR FOES: Sw Psa 81:15 (another Hezekiah psalm).

REAR THEIR HEADS: In pride, arrogance, and rebellion.

Psa 83:3

THEY CONSPIRE: (NT) The LXX has the same very unusual word as in Rev 17:13,17, which describes ten kings giving their resources to a leader — the Beast — to make war with the Lamb. Cp the ten toes in Dan 2, the ten horns in Daniel’s fourth beast (= Rev 13; 17), and the ten nations of Canaan (Gen 15:19-21) with the ten nations of Psa 83.

THOSE YOU CHERISH: “Thy hidden ones” (AV) is a mysterious phrase, with poss ref to: (a) the angels of the Lord operating on Israel’s behalf (Isa 37:36); (b) the cherubim of glory in the holy of holies (the Assyrian religion had adopted the idea of cherubim in their temples); (c) most of the nation, shut up behind the walls of Jerusalem (RSV has “protected ones”; LXX “saints”); or (d) an intensive plural with ref to the great king Hezekiah, secluded in his desperate illness.

Psa 83:4

The name of Israel IS the name of God: “Isra-EL”. A campaign of hatred against Israel and Israel’s God.

Psa 83:5

THEY FORM AN ALLIANCE: “They are confederate” (AV) is, literally, “they have cut a covenant” (cp RSV) — a Middle Eastern custom alluded to in Gen 15:10,17 and Jer 34:18,19, a solemn “agreement of blood” binding upon the participants under pain of death.

Psa 83:6

Vv 6-8: Assuming that the Hagrites are amalgamated with the Ishmaelites, then all four peoples mentioned in this v come in for bitter censure in Isa in connection with Sennacherib’s campaign: Edom (Isa 34; 63:1-6); the Ishmaelites (Isa 21:13-17); and Moab (Isa 15; 16). This confederacy is plainly different from the one described in Eze 38. The conspirators of Psa 83 are mostly Semitic (with some from Ham), and for the most part closely related — by blood and past history — to Israel. They are also located immed adjacent to the land of Israel (cp Joe 3:12 — “all the nations on every side”). On the other hand, the hostile powers of Ezekiel’s vision (Meshech, Tubal, Gomer, Libya, Persia, Ethiopia, etc) are all of Japheth (cp Gen 10:1-4), and altogether unrelated to the Jews. They form an outer ring around Israel, at some considerable distance, and therefore seem to represent a “second wave” of heathen attack upon God’s Land and God’s People.

EDOM: The Edomites were descendants of Esau. When Esau was forty years old he married two Canaanite women; later he married a daughter of Ishmael (Gen 26:34; 28:9). The land first occupied by his offspring was called the land of Seir. The Edomites were frequently involved in conflicts with the Hebrews. In Greek times they were known as Idumeans. Eze 35 and Oba record the future victory of Israel over Edom, through divine intervention.

THE ISHMAELITES: Descendants of Ishmael. Abraham was his father and Hagar, an Egyptian, was his mother (Gen 16). Ishmael married an Egyptian (Gen 21:21) and had twelve sons who became princes (Gen 17:20). They dwelt in settlements and movable camps in the desert north of Arabia. Midianite merchants sometimes traveled with them. Ishmael was to have no territory of his own, but was to be a sojourner in the presence of his brethren (Gen 16:12). The Bedouin tribes today proudly claim descent from Ishmael. In fact, all the Arabs, after the example of Mohammed, claim descent from Ishmael.

MOAB: The Moabites were descendants from Lot through his eldest daughter (Gen 19:37). They took possession of the land east of the Dead Sea and north of Edom.

THE HAGRITES: Presumably other children of Hagar (Gen 16:1,3) — also called Hagarites and Hagarenes. A nomad people who dwelt throughout all the land east of Gilead, and were allied with the other Ishmaelites (see Gen 25:16-18).

Psa 83:7

GEBAL: A nomad people who dwelt in the north portion of the mountains of Edom, known also as Teman (Josephus, Ant. ii. 1,2; ix. 9,1). They allied themselves with Moab and the Arabian nomads against Israel.

AMMON: The Ammonites were descendants from Lot through his younger daughter (Gen 19:38). They occupied a territory north of Moab. There is a long history of warfare between the Israelites and the descendants of Lot.

AMALEK: The Amalekites were descendants of Esau (Gen 36:12). For a long time they were centered about Kadesh-barnea, in northern Arabia. They fought the Israelites at Rephidim soon after the Israelites left Egypt. The territory they finally occupied was north central Arabia. They suffered a crushing defeat by Saul, but were not totally destroyed, contrary to what God had commanded. During the reign of Hezekiah the sons of Simeon “smote the remnant of the Amalekites that escaped” and dispossessed them of mount Seir (1Ch 4:41-43).

See Lesson, Amalek.

PHILISTIA: The Philistines were descendants of Mizraim, a son of Ham (Gen 10:13,14). They settled along the coast of Canaan, including the area today called the Gaza Strip. They often invaded the land of Canaan, and have been perpetual enemies of the Israelites. This land was overrun by the Assyrians (Taylor Prism). Its people, from being (early in Hezekiah’s reign) tributary to Judah, were prob forced to change sides. See Lesson, Philistia in prophecy.

THE PEOPLE OF TYRE: Tyre was an important city of Phoenicia. It was a great commercial center — located near the border of the territory occupied by the tribe of Asher. During the time of David and Solomon, Hiram king of Tyre was friendly to Israel. This friendliness evaporated later on. The prophets denounced the Tyrians for delivering the Israelites to the Edomites (Amo 1:9) and spoiling their goods, and selling them as slaves to the Greeks (Joe 3:5,6). The classic prophecy of Ezekiel (Eze 27; 28) against the city of Tyre is well-known. Tyre also forsook the ancient friendship with the line of David and gave support to the Assyrians; hence the denunciations of Isa 23 and the prophecy of Psa 48:7 (Tarshish = Tyre?).

Psa 83:8

ASSYRIA: “Assur” (AV) was a descendant of Shem (Gen 10:22). Actually, the Assyrians were prob not purely Semitic, and some of their history is not well-known. They became a powerful nation, with Nineveh its capital. They waged many wars and were for several generations a constant threat to the small nations of the Middle East. The northern kingdom of Israel (the ten tribes) were taken into captivity by the Assyrians (2Ki 17), and much of the southern kingdom of Judah was overrun by them in the days of Hezekiah.

See Lesson, Selah.

Psa 83:9

Vv 9-12: Psalmist appeals to God for help, citing — as justification for such a request — the Israelite victories over the Midianites and the Canaanites in the days of the judges.

DO TO THEM AS YOU DID TO MIDIAN: Descendants of Midian, a son of Abraham by Keturah (Gen 25:1,2), a people of the desert. In their early history they occupied a region in the Arabian desert near Aqaba. About the time of the Exodus, Midian controlled the pasture lands east of Horeb in the peninsula of Sinai. Later they occupied an area adjacent to Moab and near the Amorite kingdom whose capital was Heshbon. The Midianites who attacked Israel were the subject of a divinely-arranged mutual destruction (cp to those described in Zec 14:13 and Eze 38:21) in the days of Gideon (Jdg 7:19-23; Isa 9:4,5; 10:26).

SISERA: A commander of a Canaanite army which held northern Israel in subjection. He was defeated by Barak by the Kison, or Kishon River. Sisera fled and sought refuge with Heber the Kenite, where he was killed by Jael, Heber’s wife, as he slept (Jdg 4).

JABIN: Two Canaanite kings by this name. The first one was Jabin king of Hazor in Galilee in the time of Joshua; he headed a confederacy of kings in the north and central part of Palestine and was defeated by Joshua (Jos 11). The other Jabin king of Hazor oppressed the Israelites for twenty years during the time of the Judges. Sisera was the commander-in-chief of his army, which was defeated by Barak.

Psa 83:10

ENDOR: A town belonging to the tribe of Manasseh (Jos 17:11), which was evidently near the site of the great battle.

REFUSE ON THE GROUND = Isa 25:10, in ref to Moab.

Psa 83:11

MAKE THEIR NOBLES LIKE OREB AND ZEEB: Two Midianite princes who were defeated, captured and put to death by Gideon. These were slain, respectively, at a rock called the rock of Oreb (Isa 10:26), and at a winepress which was afterward called by the name of Zeeb (Jdg 7:25). Thus these hostile generals — like Sennacherib (Isa 37:38) — escaped the immediate destruction of their armies only to be slain later!

ALL THEIR PRINCES LIKE ZEBAH AND ZALMUNNA: Two kings of Midian who were pursued and slain by Gideon (Jdg 8:4-28).

Psa 83:12

WHO SAID: Must surely look back to vv 5-7, not to vv 9-11; this v 12 is irrelevant to the Midianite and Canaanite oppressions in Jdg 4; 6.

Psa 83:13

TUMBLEWEED = “Wheel” (galgal) in AV; the wild artichoke, which, when ripe and dry, breaks off at the root and is carried by the wind, rolling like a wheel over the plains. The RSV margin has “tumbleweed”. The Assyrian power is so described in Isa 17:12,13: “…like a rolling thing [galgal, sw Psa 83:13] before the whirlwind.”

LIKE CHAFF BEFORE THE WIND: (NT) For the same figure describing judgment against the enemies of God’s people in LD, see Dan 2:35; Isa 29:5.

Psa 83:14

Vv 14,15: Cp similar language in Isa 30:27, 30,33.

Psa 83:16

Fulfilled in 2Ch 32:23. Esp is this true of Tyre (v 7 here; Isa 23:18).

Psa 83:18

The honor and authority of Yahweh was in question (see on v 2); therefore there had to be drastic action against the invaders.

SUBSCRIPTION: “FOR THE DIRECTOR OF MUSIC. ACCORDING TO GITTITH”: “The winepress” (as in Psa 7; 80; 83; Jdg 6:11; Neh 13:15). The “winepress” psalms were to be sung in the autumn, in connection with the Feast of Tabernacles (Lev 23:39-43). The treading of grapes was a figure of harvest joy (Isa 16:10) and a sym of divine judgment (Isa 63:3-6).

Psa 84:1

SUPERSCRIPTION: “OF THE SONS OF KORAH. A PSALM.” This psalm is one of four Korah psalms (Psa 84, 85, 87, 88) which supplement the eight found in Book Two (Psa 42-49) — for a total of twelve. Ref to “Korah” suggests Num 16. Evidently when Korah died because of his rebellion, his family did not perish (in ct with the family of Achan: Jos 7:15,24). Instead, they departed from his tent at the last moment (Num 16:26; 26:11). This suggests a deliberate and public disowning of their father’s sin. In later times Korah’s descendants became famous in Israel: Samuel was a Korahite (1Ch 6:22-28,33-38: “Shemuel” = Samuel); his grandson was Heman the singer (vv 31-48). The Korahites were keepers of the temple gates (1Ch 9:19; cp Psa 84:10) and singers (2Ch 20:19). The psalms for the sons of Korah reflect a serious interest in the affairs of God’s temple and formal worship.

All the Korah psalms seem to belong to the time of Hezekiah, when estranged brethren of the northern kingdom were encouraged to renew loyalty to the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem. One of the leading Levites in Hezekiah’s reformation was another Korah (or Kore) (2Ch 31:14) — and poss his name, and that of his sons, is preserved in the psalms titles. Among the Korah psalms, Psa 84 is outstanding in its title allusions (a) to the Korah rebellion (Num 16:19,21,26), and (b) to the appointment of the sons of Korah as sanctuary keepers (v 10; 1Ch 9:19).

HOW LOVELY: This Heb word is a play on the name David.

IS YOUR DWELLING PLACE: Not an allusion to the Feast of Tabernacles (the wrong word), but to the Great Tent of the Congregation which David had established on mount Zion (v 7).

(NT) Joh 7 presents an interesting picture of the tension in the mind of Jesus, between eagerness to be present at a Feast of the Lord and distaste for a sustained encounter there with his adversaries.

Psa 84:2

Cp Psa 42:1,2; 63:1. Several other psalms (Psa 3, 4, 55) stress David’s eager longing to join in worship on the Day of Atonement. His flight seems to have taken place at that time of the year (2Sa 16:1; 17:28,29).

(HEZEKIAH) These words of deep yearning, for personal access to the sanctuary of the Lord, describe perfectly the king’s frustrated desire for communion with God at the time of his leprosy: see Isa 38:11,19,22; cp Psa 42:1-4; 102:1-7,11).

MY SOUL YEARNS, EVEN FAINTS, FOR THE COURTS OF THE LORD: “We must supply the desire — the intense, consuming, overwhelming desire, the desire for God that overshadows all else, that blots all else out, the recognition of need and helplessness and uselessness and insignificance, the yearning and the longing, the sense of utter natural emptiness — and God will supply the rest: richly, abundantly, increasingly, bountifully, as we are able to receive it, as we empty ourselves and prepare ourselves for it, as we appreciate it and lay hold on it and use it” (GVG).

FAINTS: At the time of his flight David was a sick man (Psa 38n).

MY HEART AND MY FLESH CRY OUT FOR THE LIVING GOD: “Use every failure on the way of life as a tremendous incentive to get closer to God, and to deepen your love for Him, and sense of dependence upon Him. Love for Him is the only power that can possibly save us, and anything that helps us realize that, and makes us strive harder for it, is a benefit. Let failure teach you to recognize and accept that you are — naturally speaking — weak, stumbling, hopeless. And that — naturally speaking — you will never be anything but weak, stumbling and hopeless. There is only one hope: God’s help. But God’s help comes only on one condition: total devotion and total service. Try it any other way you wish — but you will be wasting time you can ill afford to lose. What if no one else around you is going all the way God requires? Never measure yourself by others; it’s fatally deceptive. God can destroy all mankind, and save but eight, if He sees fit. He has done it. Don’t take chances with eternity. Be sure you’re part of the eight: whatever others do” (GVG).

THE LIVING GOD: ‘The God of the living creatures’, ie the God that inhabits the cherubim (Isa 37:4,16; Psa 42:2r).

Psa 84:3

The sentimental pictures of sparrow or swallow nesting upon the altar of God is obviously wide of the mark; this could only be so if the altar were abandoned — and that is plainly not the case here (v 4). (Of course, nothing would hinder the small birds from nesting in the confines and precincts of the temple — in its many nooks and crannies.) But if this phrase is put in parenthesis, all is quite clear: The psalmist (David in exile? Hezekiah in illness? cp Isa 38:14!) yearns for a settled home close to the living God, in the same way as the mother bird longs for a safe nest for her young (cp Mat 10:29).

Nevertheless, in a figurative sense, this reminds us of the mother Hannah bringing her young child Samuel (a son of Korah!) (the one whom she asked of the Lord) to leave him in the Lord’s house: 1Sa 1:27,28.

And in like manner also, we see another “sparrow” (Luk 12:6), the young mother Mary, bringing her young Jesus to lay him in the arms of the priest in the Lord’s house (Luk 2:21,22).

Psa 84:4

David sent the high priests and the ark of the covenant back into Jerusalem (2Sa 15:24-29), and rightly so. It was a fine act of faith: “If I find favor in the LORD’s eyes, he will bring me back and let me see it and his dwelling place again.”

See Lesson, Selah.

Psa 84:5

BLESSED ARE THOSE WHOSE STRENGTH IS IN YOU: An expression of the (almost justified?) envy which David felt for those able to make a Day of Atonement / Feast of Tabernacles pilgrimage to Zion.

WHO HAVE SET THEIR HEARTS ON PILGRIMAGE: That is, who is always thinking of a pilgrimage to Zion. “In whose heart are the highways to Zion” (RSV).

Psa 84:6

The Jordan valley was now for David a vale of tears, yet in due time it would become the scene of great blessing. Baca (tears) would become Berachah (blessing)! The baca was a balsam tree; its name (“the weeping one”) was prob derived from the “tears” of gum or resin which it exuded. The valley of Rephaim, where David defeated the Philistines with the help of God’s “army” (2Sa 5:22-25), was filled with mulberry, or balsam, trees (sw baca), in which David heard a “marching” as a signal to go forth himself. It was in this same place that the thirsty and dispirited David was refreshed by the devotion and love of his friends, who broke through the line of the enemy to secure him water from the well of Bethlehem (2Sa 23:13-17)!

Comfort does not come to the light-hearted and the merry. We must go down into the “depths” if we would experience this most precious of God’s gifts — comfort, and thus be prepared to be co-workers together with Him. When, in the night, “night” gathers over the garden of our souls, when the leaves close up and the flowers no longer hold any sunshine within their folded petals, comfort shall never be wanting, even in the thickest darkness, because of the drops of heavenly dew — dew which falls only when the sun has gone.

(HEZEKIAH) The valley of Baca suggests the Beqah valley in modern Lebanon/Syria, by which Sennacherib’s 200,000 Jewish prisoners would be marched away from their homeland. So it was for them a valley of tears. But in their unexpected return along the “highways of Zion” (cp v 5 here; ct Isa 33:7,8), after the destruction of the Assyrian army, they would find it a valley of rain and pools because, in this special Year of Jubilee, God “opened the windows of heaven” and gave lavish blessing on the Land (cp Isa 35:8,9; 40:3; 2Ch 32:27-29).

“I have been through the valley of weeping, The valley of sorrow and pain; But the God of all comfort was with me, At hand to uphold and sustain.

“As the earth needs the clouds and sunshine, Our souls need both sorrow and joy; So he places us oft in the furnace, The dross from the gold to destroy.

“When he leads through some valley of trouble, His omnipotent hand we trace; For the trials and sorrows He sends to us, Are part of His lessons in grace.

“Oft we shrink from the purging and the pruning, Forgetting the Husbandman knows That the deeper the cutting and paring, The richer the cluster that grows.

“Well He knows the affliction is needed; He has a wise purpose in view, And in the dark valley He whispers, ‘Hereafter you’ll know what I do.’

“As we travel through life’s shadow’d valley, Fresh springs of His love ever rise; And we learn that our sorrows and losses Are blessings just sent in disguise.

“So we’ll follow wherever He leadeth, Let the path be dreary or bright; For we’ve proved that our God can give comfort — Our God can give songs in the night!”

(NT) Baca (sig weeping). Gethsemane was a place of tears for Jesus: “strong crying and tears” (Heb 5:7). Yet that same experience became a well, with rain and pools — that is, a source of indomitable strength (v 5; Luk 22:43; cp Psa 42:5,11; Isa 35:10; Jer 31:9).

“Who passing through the valley of Baca make it a well; the rain also filleth the pools” (AV). “This teaches us that the comfort obtained by one may often prove serviceable to another; just as wells would be used by the company who came after… Travellers have been delighted to see the footprint of man on a barren shore, and we love to see the waymarks of pilgrims while passing through the vale of tears.

“The pilgrims dig the well, but, strange enough, it fills from the top instead of the bottom. We use the means, but the blessing does not spring from the means. We dig a well, but heaven fills it with rain. The horse is prepared against the day of battle, but safety is of the Lord. The means are connected with the end, but they do not of themselves produce it. See here the rain fills the pools, so that the wells become useful as reservoirs for the water; labour is not lost, but yet it does not supersede divine help.

“Grace may well be compared to rain for its purity, for its refreshing and vivifying influence, for its coming alone from above, and for the sovereignty with which it is given or withheld” (CHS).

Psa 84:7

THEY GO FROM STRENGTH TO STRENGTH: They renew their own strength (Isa 40:31), because they are transformed from depending on their own strength to depending on God’s. This was the lesson learned by Paul: see 2Co 12:9,10; cp Isa 40:29.

“That is, they grow stronger and stronger. Usually, if we are walking, we go from strength to weakness; we start fresh and in good order for our journey, but by-and-by the road is rough, and the sun is hot, we sit down by the wayside, and then again painfully pursue our weary way. But the Christian pilgrim having obtained fresh supplies of grace, is as vigorous after years of toilsome travel and struggle as when he first set out. He may not be quite so elate and buoyant, nor perhaps quite so hot and hasty in his zeal as he once was, but he is much stronger in all that constitutes real power, and travels, if more slowly, far more surely. Some gray-haired veterans have been as firm in their grasp of truth, and as zealous in diffusing it, as they were in their younger days; but, alas, it must be confessed it is often otherwise, for the love of many waxes cold and iniquity abounds, but this is their own sin and not the fault of the promise which still holds good: ‘The youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall, but they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles, they shall run and not be weary, and they shall walk and not faint’ [Isa 40:29-31]” (CHS).

In similar fashion, “The path of the righteous is likened to the light of dawn, which goes on increasing in brightness and intensity as the day advances, until at length it reaches its full splendour” (Pro 4:18; cp 2Sa 23:4) (CPro 1:101).

And again, Paul uses similar expressions when he speaks of believers receiving the righteousness of God “from faith to faith” (Rom 1:17; cp v 12 here), and being “changed into the same image from glory to glory” (2Co 3:18; cp v 11 here).

TILL EACH APPEARS BEFORE GOD IN ZION: This might read: (1) he (the High Priest?) hath looked upon God — Day of Atonement language; or (2) he (the Christ) hath looked unto God.

IN ZION: The ultimate experience: see Rev 14:1-4.

Psa 84:8

In this allusion David compares his own flight with that of Jacob (Gen 28). He knew that after that flight Jacob returned, blessed and prosperous; so David hoped likewise for himself.

See Lesson, Selah.

Psa 84:9

LOOK UPON OUR SHIELD, O GOD: Or, “Behold, O God our shield” (AV). It is not the beauty of the place that attracts the psalmist to Zion, but the beauty of the Person of the God who dwells there. As God was a shield to Abraham when he made an enemy of the king of Sodom (Gen 15:1), so now Hezekiah, in dire straits from the Assyrian siege, needed God as his shield. “Shield” here is Heb “magen” (translated “defence” in Psa 89:18), where // with “king” (cp NIV mg rendering of “sovereign”).

Psa 84:10

ONE DAY IN YOUR COURTS: (NT) The LXX has Day One, as in Joh 20:1; consider also v 17 there: The day of Christ’s resurrection was undoubtedly the day on which, as the true High Priest on the true “Day of Atonement”, he ascended to heaven to present the tokens of his perfect sacrifice in the presence of his Father, from thence to return to his waiting brethren with the great blessing of the High Priest: “Peace be unto you” (Joh 20:26).

A THOUSAND: Is it significant also that Christ’s total public ministry would have been just over a thousand days?

A DOORKEEPER IN THE HOUSE OF MY GOD: Not an office of humility and servitude, as some suppose — but an office of high authority and control: The doorkeeper, at the last, will decide who shall enter the Temple of the Lord and who shall be turned aside (Mar 11:16; Mat 25:10-12; Luk 13:25; Joh 10:7,9).

THE TENTS OF THE WICKED: The rebel army of Absalom, encamped in the field in pursuit of David and his band.

(HEZEKIAH) The Assyrian encampments around the city of Jerusalem.

Psa 84:11

THE LORD GOD IS A SUN AND SHIELD: (HEZEKIAH) In Exo 14:20 the angel of the Lord was brightness and light and protection to Israel; but he was cloud and darkness and destruction to the Egyptians. And now, in a scene reminiscent of the first Passover, the same angel gives both overshadowing care to Jerusalem and judgment upon the camp of the enemy (Isa 37:36).

A SUN: (NT) (1) The transfiguration (Mat 17:1-13; Mar 9:2-13; Luk 9:28-36)? (2) The crucifixion? While darkness enshrouded Golgotha, God’s Glory shown upon and encouraged Christ (see notes, Psa 22:22-31).

A SHIELD: (NT) Always protecting the Lord Jesus from his enemies and those who would kill him — until the time when he was ready to be offered; the gospels contain numerous examples of this.

NO GOOD THING DOES HE WITHHOLD FROM THOSE WHOSE WALK IS BLAMELESS: David is withheld from the worship he yearns to express; nevertheless God’s blessing and forgiveness are not withheld from him even in exile. “Here we have a most encouraging picture of the kindness of Him with whom we have to do. This character is the central glory of revelation. We fail, perhaps, at all times to remember it sufficiently. Many things help to cloud it from our view. Our weakness, our shortcomings, our preoccupations in other directions, the weariness of the constant fight of faith, and other things, prevent us from realising as constantly as we might, that the Eternal Father, who invites us to Himself by Christ, is full of tenderness and compassion, and overflowing with lovingkindness to such as keep His covenant, and even abounding in longsuffering and goodness towards those who are far from Him” (SC 20).

Psa 84:12

SUBSCRIPTION: “FOR THE DIRECTOR OF MUSIC.”

Psa 70:1

SUPERSCRIPTION: “OF DAVID. A PETITION”. Or, as AV, “to bring to remembrance”: (a) To bring to remembrance Psa 40, with which Psa 70 is so closely linked. (b) To call to mind the difficult circumstances of David’s experience when these words were written. (c) The Day of Atonement — bringing iniquity to remembrance (Num 5:15). Here is a poss link with Psa 69 (see Psa 69:10,13,22,25nn). David pictures the High Priest returning from the Most Holy: the iniquities of David and his men have been put away (vv 4,5), but the iniquities of his enemies are remembered (vv 2,3)!

Psa 70:

1. These five vv are virtually the same as Psa 40:13-17 (see notes there). There are slight verbal variations and a couple of omissions, which heighten the urgency of this brief prayer. There are also some changes in the names of God. The duplication (as with Psa 14/53) prob came about through the orig compiling of separate collections of psalms.
2. There is also a very close similarity to Psa 35:10,25-27.
3. V 5 (cp v 1 also) = Psa 71:12 (= Psa 40:13).

These details suggest that Psa 35, 40, 70, 71 were all written at about the same time, and with ref to the same experiences of David.

HASTEN, O GOD, TO SAVE ME: A sense of personal helplessness: cp 2Sa 16:11,12.

Psa 70:2

Vv 2,3: These imprecations can also be read as future indicative: ie this is what will happen to them. When the rebellion collapsed, this turning of the tables duly took place (2Sa 19:16-40).

PUT TO SHAME AND CONFUSION… TURNED BACK IN DISGRACE: This happened literally at his arrest in Gethsemane (Joh 18:6; see Psa 27:2n).

Psa 70:4

ALL WHO SEEK YOU: David’s supporters were, of course, those who shared his godliness. Loyalty to David and loyalty to David’s God were inseparable.

LET GOD BE EXALTED: Here David is encouraging his supporters to emulate his example, and to depend not so much on military resistance as on faith in God.

Psa 70:5

YET I AM POOR AND NEEDY: Notice the link with Psa 69:29. Here is a man who had been a powerful king for years — now brought to the brink of destitution.

O LORD, DO NOT DELAY: A wonderful expression of a conviction that he has a right to call God to his aid. The time comes for most believers when it appears that God is delaying His purpose, that He has turned away and forgotten His children’s needs. At one time or another we all may ask, “How long, O Lord?” (Psa 13:1; 74:10; 79:5; 89:46). It is then that we must remember that, whatever our present affliction, it is in fact — in the divine perspective — momentary and light when cpd with the eternal glory that awaits us (2Co 4:17,18). God’s “delays” are, in reality, only “a little while” (Heb 10:37) — and then He will send His Son “quickly” (Rev 22:20)!

(NT) The words are a measure of Jesus’ desperation in his agony in the garden.

Psa 71:1

The LXX has: “By David, a Psa sung by the sons of Jonadab and the first who were taken into captivity.” The ref here to the Rechabites (Jer 35) — who come in the OT record 500 years after David; perhaps it should be assumed that when the Rechabites were taken captive to Babylon, they esp sang this psalm of David as they went or when they settled there.

LINKS WI OTHER PSS: These are numerous (Psa 22, 31, 35, 40 esp). It is as though David in old age (vv 9,18) is gathering together some outstanding reminiscences of the grace of God shown to him over his 70 years, before going on to the composition of his last psalm of all (note Psa 72:18-20).

HISTORICAL SETTING: The few allusions of this kind point, like the other psalms mentioned, to memories of Absalom’s rebellion, when David was a sick man and already aging.

Psa 71:2

DELIVER ME: His flight from Jerusalem (2Sa 15:14). Trapped inside the city, David’s case would have been hopeless.

(NT) Equivalent to “Let this cup pass from me” (Mat 26:39; Mar 14:36; Luk 22:42; cp v 4 here).

TURN YOUR EAR TO ME: (NT) “Incline thine ear unto me” (AV). As one might bow down to hear the low and feeble words of an ill or dying man (cp Psa 17:6; 31:2; 116:2).

Psa 71:3

ROCK OF REFUGE… ROCK… FORTRESS: Mahanaim, to which David fled, was a defensed city (2Sa 17:24,27).

GIVE THE COMMAND TO SAVE ME: Commandment to the angels? See Psa 91:11; 44:4; this is the true meaning of Deu 8:3.

FORTRESS: “Metsudah” is a mighty fortress from which military campaigns might be launched. In Psalms, the word occurs in Psa 18:2; 31:3; 66:11; 91:2; 144:2.

Psa 71:5

MY HOPE: In Heb, “ha-tikvah” — the name of the national anthem of modern Israel. How little they know now of the true “hope of Israel” — of which Paul spoke (Act 28:20), and upon which in our own times JT wrote in “Elpis (the hope of) Israel”. For further related refs, see Col 1:27; 3:4; 1Ti 1:1; Tit 2:13.

MY CONFIDENCE SINCE MY YOUTH: The days of Goliath and the Philistine wars.

(NT) Cp v 17. Surely he was first aware of the shadow of the cross falling across his path when he visited the Temple during Passover at the age of twelve (Luk 2:42-52).

Psa 71:6

Roughly translated: ‘You cut my umbilical cord… and delivered me from the womb!’ This is how intimately God is concerned with all His children! It is a tender mercy of the Almighty that we are even born. If we should soon die without hope, we would still have had the best part of the “bargain”. This phrase corresponds to “from the belly” in Isa 46:3. Surprisingly, there are a number of other //s between Psa 71 and Isa 46: ie Psa 71:18 = Isa 46:4; Psa 71:15 = Isa 46:13; Psa 71:19 = Isa 46:9; and Psa 71:2 = Isa 46:4.

(NT) The virgin birth, surely: cp Psa 22:9,10; 69:8n; Psa 89:26,27; 132:11. See also, in the OT, Gen 3:15; Pro 30:19; Isa 7:14; Jer 31:22; Mic 5:2 — and in the NT Mat 1:23 and Luk 1:35.

Psa 71:7

A PORTENT TO MANY: Or “a wonder” (AV). “Mophet” = a sign, wonder, portent, or miracle. It was a thing for men to marvel at, that one so strongly established in his people’s affections could be overthrown — and then be restored to greatness again!

(NT) The sw in Deu 28:46. Is this Christ bearing Israel’s curse? Surely that was a wonder. But the bearing away of that same curse was the greater wonder!

YOU BROUGHT ME FORTH FROM MY MOTHER’S WOMB: The Virgin Birth in the OT: Psa 71:6; 89:26,27; 110:3, LXX; Gen 3:15; 49:1,25; Isa 7:14; 49:1; Jer 31:22; Mic 5:1,2; 2Sa 7:14.

Psa 71:9

It needed considerable faith, when all his affairs seemed to be in ruin, to believe that God was yet on his side. See Psa 37:25. The same man who was once — only a few short years before — “with a fine appearance and handsome features” (1Sa 16:12) has now grown old and gray (v 18), yet still his God is with him. From each reader of the Psalms this must evoke real praise of God, and more so with each passing year!

DO NOT CAST ME AWAY WHEN I AM OLD: Employers do this to employees who have lost some of their usefulness; husbands to wives who are no longer young; friends to other friends when they can no longer be of help to them. But God never casts off those who trust in him. Cp the sw in Psa 51:11 and Deu 29:28.

(NT) Not inappropriate to Christ’s physical condition at the end of his ministry — when the hard years and dangerous situations and cares of others and lack of rest had taken their toll, and he appeared to be a man nearer 50 than 30 (Joh 8:57).

DO NOT FORSAKE ME WHEN MY STRENGTH FAILS: (NT) The name of Gabriel, who sustained him in the garden (Luk 22:43), sig “the Strong One of God”.

Psa 71:10

MY ENEMIES SPEAK AGAINST ME: Plots, and a campaign of denigration.

THOSE WHO WAIT TO KILL ME CONSPIRE TOGETHER: The situation in 2Sa 17:1-6.

(NT) The numerous plots against his life (Joh 5:16,18; Mar 3:6; Luk 11:54; Joh 7:19-21,25; 8:59; Luk 13:31; Joh 10:31,39; 11:8,16,44-54; Luk 20:14-26; Mat 26:3-5,16). Esp the intrigue and hostility of the last week of his ministry, when it was unsafe for him even to sleep in Jerusalem.

Psa 71:11

GOD HAS FORSAKEN HIM: (NT) Jesus spoke often of rejection and suffering at Jerusalem (Mat 16:21; 20:17-19; Mar 10:32-34; Luk 9:51; 13:33; 18:31-34). It was prob this, more clearly discerned by Judas than by the rest, which led to his betrayal. But, in the absolute sense, it was not true that God ever forsook His Son (Psa 22:1; this is answered by v 9 above).

NO ONE WILL RESCUE HIM: The gist of Ahithophel’s counsel to Absalom in 2Sa 17:1,2. Humanly speaking, it was near to the truth — but how sadly wrong it really was, because God was not taken into account!

Psa 71:13

David could justifiably pray thus, for the rebellion was not just against him but also against the authority of God.

Psa 71:14

Considering the circumstances, an astonishing expression of faith!

Psa 71:15

THOUGH I KNOW NOT ITS MEASURE: Interpreted by Psa 40:5. ‘Count your blessings — name them one by one’? The psalmist says: ‘I can’t. There are simply too many of them.’ With this, too, we may cp Paul’s stunning paradox in Eph 3:19: “to know the love of God… a love which surpasses our knowledge!” (More generally, see also Psa 36:6; 139:17,18.)

Psa 71:16

Just as David returning to his capital, so Christ in his triumphant entry into Jerusalem. In the midst of suffering, the vision of the glory steadies him.

YOUR RIGHTEOUSNESS, YOURS ALONE: No man can be saved through his own righteousness, but only through the righteousness of God — activated by faith in Christ and God’s promises (Phi 3:9; Rom 1:16,17; 3:23-25; 10:3; etc).

Psa 71:18

What a wonderful aspiration! David’s own affairs and well-being are in the background. What is important, is the restoration of the kingdom as God’s kingdom.

WHEN I AM OLD AND GRAY: “The demeanour of the ‘old and greyheaded’ may be expected to reflect to some degree the accumulated results of years of spiritual growth and thereby to witness to the working of God and His Truth in their lives. No greater witness to the preciousness and eternal value of the Truth can be made than that of older brethren and sisters who in physical weakness, and sometimes great infirmity, manifest, even without expressing them, a mature love for the Truth and a cheerfulness engendered by an ever-increasing faith and trust in God. The Psalmist’s prayer for his old age reminds us of the considerable responsibility resting on us as we grow old and greyheaded and, incidentally, it also points out to the younger among us what the truth should be doing for them. ‘They took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus’ ” (BS Snelling).

TILL I DECLARE YOUR POWER TO THE NEXT GENERATION: (NT) This part of the v sums up the immense climactic preaching effort made by Jesus in the last weeks of his ministry.

Psa 71:19

YOU WHO HAVE DONE GREAT THINGS: Quoted by Mary, anticipating the redeeming work of Jesus (Luk 1:49; “and holy is his name” alludes to v 22 here).

WHO, O GOD, IS LIKE YOU?: “Michael” (cp Psa 35:10).

Psa 71:20

TROUBLES, MANY AND BITTER: In both family and kingdom.

FROM THE DEPTHS OF THE EARTH YOU WILL AGAIN BRING ME UP: An allusion to David’s flight to the Jordan valley (2Sa 17:22). But this seems quite trivial cpd with his firm belief in personal resurrection: the new life when all problems will be set right (Psa 16:8-11; 17:15; 2Sa 7:16: “before thee”).

(NT) Christ’s resurrection. The “depths of the earth” = the grave (Gen 49:25; Isa 63:13; Rom 10:7; Rev 9:1,2,11; 20:1,3).

Psa 71:21

YOU WILL INCREASE MY HONOR: In the situation, an amazing thing to say. But David knew that his honor meant God’s greater honor.

AND COMFORT ME ONCE AGAIN: (NT) The work of the “Comforter” (Joh 14:26; 16:7-11) in bringing Gentiles from all parts to swear loyalty to Christ.

Psa 71:23

I, WHOM YOU HAVE REDEEMED: David’s words in 1Ki 1:29 ref back to Absalom’s rebellion particularly: “The Lord liveth, that hath redeemed my soul out of all distress.”

Psa 71:24

MY TONGUE WILL TELL OF YOUR RIGHTEOUS ACTS ALL DAY LONG: (NT) The 40 days between resurrection and ascension.

Psa 72:1

SUPERSCRIPTION: “OF SOLOMON”. This title simply means “Solomon’s”, just as the title of Psa 69 means “David’s”. But the contents of the psalm rule out Solomon as author (vv 1,20). The title simply means “A psalm about or belonging to Solomon”. It is written by David (“the king”: v 1) re, in the first instance, Solomon (“the king’s son”), and, in the last instance, the king who is “greater than Solomon” (Mat 12:42). David’s prayer was that Solomon would prove to be the great Messiah already promised to David, or at least a fitting forerunner of the Messiah (as the great Hezekiah proved to be). Time after time the language of that promise (2Sa 7:12-16; 1Ch 17:11-14) had been repeated with evident ref to Solomon, but always linked with the all-important word IF (1Ch 22:10,13; 28:6, 7,9; 1Ki 2:4,5; 5:5; 6:12; 8:17-20; 9:4,5; Psa 132:11,12). The psalm’s links with Solomon are easy to identify: * 1-4. Judging in righteousness: 1Ki 3:9; 4:29; 1Ch 28:7; 29:19. * 3,7. Peace: 1Ki 4:21,25 (cp the name Solomon). * 4. Supplication for the people: 1Ki 8:28. * 8. Dominion: 1Ki 4:24. * 10. Sheba, gifts, gold: 1Ki 10:1,2,10; 2Ch 9:1-9. * 19. Praise to the name of God: 1Ch 29:13; also see 1Ki 4:20-25.

But note that v 17 was definitely not true of Solomon. In fact, his abysmal failure in spite of enjoying unparalleled advantages and blessings (arguably the greatest failure in Bible history) only serves to emphasize the need for a Greater King.

“This psalm of David was not fulfilled in either David’s day or his son Solomon’s or in the life of any other king of Israel or Judah. It will come to pass when Jesus returns and is king. But to share in that time described here will not happen because we are just lucky. Our life now is the time to get ourselves right with God and to prepare for the kingdom.

“This glimpse we have of the wonderful time when Jesus is king, describes what his personal reign will be like. It will be like nothing we have ever experienced before from any other ruler — any place or any time.

“He will judge the people in righteousness and justice. He will defend the needy and afflicted and he will care for his people. All the decisions he makes will be the right ones. Not only will he be the best ruler ever, but his reign will last forever and ever. It will be refreshing to have Jesus as king. The righteous will flourish and prosperity (the ‘economy’ will boom.) There will even be changes in nature when food grows freely on the tops of the mountains. All the earth will be filled with his glory.

“Now is the time to decide whether we will be there or not. Luck has nothing to do with it” (RP).

MESSIAH?: The two-fold application of this psalm, to Solomon and to Christ, is delightfully anticipated in Psa 71:18: “…till I declare your power to the next generation, your might to all who are to come.” Marked resemblances to Isa 60.

ENDOW THE KING WITH YOUR JUSTICE: This first v is a prayer. All the rest of the psalm depends on it. Vv 2-17 are all future tenses: “he shall”! (It is to be regretted that the NEB cuts the “shall’s” down drastically, substituting “may’s” in the form of appeals: ie ‘May he hold sway…’; ‘May he have pity’; etc — thus diminishing the psalm’s prophetic power.)

YOUR RIGHTEOUSNESS: The parallelism here prob means “Your righteous judgment”. But it stands true that even this divine King needed the righteousness of his Father, since he was afflicted with a nature of “sin” (Psa 18:23; 25:11,15; 38:1,3,5,20; 40:8,10,12; 41:12,14; 51:5).

Psa 72:3

THE MOUNTAINS WILL BRING PROSPERITY: Prob means ‘those who come from the mountains’: see Isa 52:7.

PEACE: “Shalom”: See also Psa 85:8,10; Isa. 2:2-4; 9:6,7; 26:12; 32:17; 54:13; 66:12; Eze 34:25.

Psa 72:4

HE WILL DEFEND THE AFFLICTED: Ct Isa 1:23; Mic 3:1-3. Cp Isa 11:1-10; 32:1,17; Jer 23:5,6; 33:15,16.

HE WILL CRUSH THE OPPRESSOR: Cp Isa 11:4, which should read “smite the oppressor with the rod of his mouth”.

Psa 72:5

AS LONG AS THE SUN… MOON: Verses 7,17. Lit? Or used, as elsewhere (Gen 37:9,10; Isa 60:20; Joe 2:30,31; 3:15; Jer 31:35,36), as figures of Israel?

Psa 72:6

LIKE RAIN FALLING: Also used by David in 2Sa 23:4. “The new grass of humanity, no longer mown down by Time’s ruthless scythe, but allowed growth unto fruition to be gathered into the garners of eternity; full, fresh, and upspringing, a glistening greenery over the whole earth reflecting the glory of the Eternal King and the righteousness of the King’s Son” (NPH). See Hos 6:3, also be an allusion to this place. See also Isa 55:10,11; Eze 34:26.

ON A MOWN FIELD: Sw translated “fleece” in Jdg 6:36-40 (Heb gizzah), lit “that which is cut” — whether it be wool, grass, or hair (root “gahzaz” = to cut or shear). Is this Messianic psalm of the kingdom in some way related to the time of Gideon?

The aspects of nature that bring about plant growth — mainly water and light — are used throughout scripture as metaphors for the way that God cares for us and deals with us, and for what He makes available to us to enhance our growth in Him (Deu 32:2; 2Sa 23:4; Pro 16:5; Hos 14:5-7), or what He withholds as a punishment for willful faithlessness (Isa 5:6). Eze 34:23-26 paints a picture of the kingdom using the same language.

Psa 72:8

HE WILL RULE: As in, all things put under his feet (Zec 14:9; Heb 2:6-9; 1Co 15:25,26; Eph 1:22).

FROM SEA TO SEA: That is, from the Mediterranean to the Dead Sea — the western and eastern boundaries of the land of promise. Or, as JT suggests: ‘the Mediterranean to the Persian Gulf’ (Elp 236).

FROM THE RIVER (THE EUPHRATES) TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH (ERETZ = LAND): Zec 9:10 is a quotation of this v. These are the northern and southern boundaries as foretold to Abraham (Gen 15:18).

Psa 72:9

THE DESERT TRIBES WILL BOW BEFORE HIM: The Arab Bedouin, who have been the age-long implacable enemies of His people.

AND HIS ENEMIES WILL LICK THE DUST: Ref back to Gen 3:14, where the serpent is cursed to “eat” dust all the days of its life. The Messianic context here, about the One who will subdue the “serpent” and all his works (ie sin), is picked up in Isa 65:25 and also in Mic 7:17.

Psa 72:10

Biblical geographical identifications should be sought locally and not in the furthest corners of the world:

TARSHISH (Psa 48:7) was a son of Javan (Gen 10:4); it is a name which came to ref to the Phoenicians, a seafaring and trading people (hence such refs as Jon 1:3; Eze 27:12; 1Ki 9:26; 10:22; 2Ch 9:21). That Tarshish repr a latter-day power is evident both here and in Eze 38:13 (where it appears as an ally of Sheba and Dedan). In Isa 23 — a prophecy concerning Tyre, there is plainly a strong link with “the daughter of Tarshish” and “the ships of Tarshish” (vv 1,6,10,14) — this leads to the reasonable conclusion that Tarshish is another name for Tyre. (The proposed identification of Tarshish with England merely on the basis that the latter is — or rather was — a significant sea power is extremely tenuous at best.) See Lesson, Tarshish.

DISTANT SHORES: The coastlands, or maritime cities, associated with Tyre.

SHEBA: Mentioned as a trading partner of Tyre in Eze 27:23, apparently in close proximity to Arabia, Kedar, Haran, and Asshur. This would suggest an area south and east of Palestine. The Sabeans (or men of Sheba) raided Job’s oxen and asses (Job 1:15) — which suggests a land fairly close to Uz, in Edom (Lam 4:21). Since Sheba and Dedan are often linked (Gen 10:7; 25:3; Eze 38:13), and since Dedan is even more plainly connected with Edom (Jer 49:7-22; Eze 25:12-14), the identification of Sheba with Edom seems fairly strong. Now Sheba may be seen as // to “those of the wilderness” (v 9). (The proposed link of Sheba with Yemen, on the far southern edge of the Arabian peninsula, would seem therefore to be several hundred miles in error!)

THE KINGS OF SHEBA: “Kings of Sheba” here — together with Isa 60:6,7 (about the Arabian peoples) — suggests that the “wise men” of the east who brought presents to the child Jesus (Mat 2:1-12) were not from Babylon or Persia, but from Edom and Arabia. Popular opinion has generally favored those regions further east, where “magi” or wise men were well-known; but the Scriptural evidence all points in another direction. One cannot refrain from musing that wise men from the same areas today would bring the precious gift (at least to the industrialized world) of oil. On further reflection, such a thought might not be so far-fetched after all. History could well repeat itself in the twentieth century, when the King of the Jews returns to Israel. Both Psa 72 and Isa 60 mention that the Gentiles were kings. In this case, the common Xmas tradition has some basis in Scripture.

SEBA: There are several poss identifications of Seba given in various commentaries, but there is a lot of guesswork and no real agreement among them. “Seba” is prob no more than a variation of “Sheba” — as if to say ‘Sheba, even Seba’.

WILL PRESENT HIM GIFTS: Cp Psa 45:12; 68:29; Isa 60:3-11. To ‘bring presents’, in Bible vernacular, is to ‘pay tribute’ (1Ki 4:21; 2Ki 17:4; etc).

Psa 72:11

ALL KINGS… ALL NATIONS: Goyim = Gentiles; sw v 17. Whereas in v 8 Jesus is King of the Jews, here he is now King of the World (Rev 5:8-14; 11:15; 12:10; Phi 2:8,10; Dan 4:17,25; Isa 24:23; 45:23; etc). Dominion, begun in Palestine (v 8), becomes at last worldwide dominion — in fulfillment of Gen 1:28.

Psa 72:12

THE AFFLICTED WHO HAVE NO ONE TO HELP: Even a poor and needy man, if he can find a friend at court or an influential benefactor, can expect to receive some justice or consideration for his cause. But, naturally speaking, a poor man who has no “helper” at all is truly without hope. Christ and his saints, however, not being burdened by mortal weakness, will be able to help all men — even those who have no friends or helpers at all!

Psa 72:14

HE WILL RESCUE THEM: The verb “ga’al” (rescue) implies kinship. In an Israelite family it was the duty of the firstborn to redeem those in debt, slavery, difficulty or danger. Cp, and ct, the usage in Psa 69:18.

PRECIOUS IS THEIR BLOOD: Because a very precious price has been paid for it (1Pe 1:18,19; Heb 10:22,29; 12:24). Cp also Psa 49:8; 116:15; Rev 6:9,10.

Psa 72:15

LONG MAY HE LIVE!: Cp 1Sa 10:24; 2Sa 16:16; 1Ki 1:25,34,39 and also the Coronation Psa 21:4.

MAY PEOPLE PRAY FOR HIM… ALL DAY LONG: The Heb text here allows more than one poss. Rather, read thus: ‘And he shall make intercession, he especially, and shall bless them.’ A Melchizedek king-priest, as in Psa 110! (See also Heb 6:19,20; 10:19,22; Joh 16:23,24.)

Psa 72:16

MAY IT WAVE: “Handful” (AV). The Heb “pasach” occurs nowhere else. The translation is a guess. But, if read as “pasah” (a negligible difference), the meaning is: Passover grain, with ref to the wave-sheaf of Lev 23:10,11. Further, the wave-sheaf of Pentecost (Lev 23:15-17), reltd “firstfruits” of 1Co 15:23,24.

ON THE TOPS OF THE HILLS: Or “mountains” (AV): the temple at Jerusalem (Isa 2:2; Eze 40:2). Also cp Rev 14:1.

LET ITS FRUIT FLOURISH LIKE LEBANON: That wave-sheaf representing Christ will become a multitude dedicated to the Lord. The word “shake” is used with ref to the wave-sheaf. More generally, this v most certainly does suggest the absence of famine in the Kingdom of God, through increased fertility (Isa 35:1,6,7; Amo 9:13; Joe 3:18; Eze 36:30).

LET IT THRIVE LIKE THE GRASS OF THE FIELD: A link with the grass of v 6.

Psa 72:17

MAY IT CONTINUE AS LONG AS THE SUN: Better read: “His name shall be as a Sun to continue his Father’s Name for ever.” It was the desire of Christ’s enemies that he would die and his name would perish (Psa 41:5). The first, of course, happened — but the second, never! Cp Luk 1:30-33. The sun is used elsewhere of the Messiah: Psa 19:4,5; Mal 4:2; Isa 60: 1-3; cp Joh 8:12; Rev 22:16.

ALL NATIONS WILL BE BLESSED THROUGH HIM: ‘Men shall bless themselves [RV mg] in him’ — conscious effort is necessary on the part of the recipients of blessing — ie, faith and baptism! The blessing in general alludes back to Gen 22:18; 26:4; and forward to Isa 65:16; Jer 4:2; Act 3:25,26; and Gal 3:8,9. It suggests the benediction of the High Priest in Num 6:23-27; the king who brings blessing here is a King-Priest (Psa 110:1-4; cp v 15 here).

Psa 72:18

Quoted by Zacharias the father of John the Baptist, in his song of praise (Luk 1:68).

Psa 72:19

MAY THE WHOLE EARTH BE FILLED WITH HIS GLORY: Not only does this “doxology” appropriately close Book 2 of the Psalms, but it is also beautifully fitting to conclude this individual psalm. See Num 14:21; Hab 2:13,14; Isa 6:3; 11:9. And how will this be accomplished… forever? By the everlasting praise of everlasting men!

AMEN AND AMEN: “Verily, verily”!

Psa 72:20

THIS CONCLUDES: That is, for the purposes of this immediate compilation. The presence of psalms beyond Psa 72 that clearly belong to David merely demonstrates that several different compilations of psalms were made, prob at different times, and that the whole was only later put together in the form we possess today.

THE PRAYERS OF DAVID: Who composed at least 60 of the 72 psalms in Books 1 and 2.

SON OF JESSE: A lovely note of humility in this kingly man, who despite his wealth and power still spoke of himself as the lowly son of a lowly family in Israel (cp the sense of 2Sa 23:1; Isa 11:1,10).

Psa 73:1

PSALM 73: SUPERSCRIPTION: “A PSALM OF ASAPH”. Apart from the isolated Psa 50, Psa 73 is the first Asaph psalm. Psalms 73-83 all have this title. It has been suggested that Psalms 42-50 (8 “Korah” and then one “Asaph”) originally came immed after Psa 72. (Thus Psa 73 would be closely associated with Psa 49 — with which it shares a common theme.) With this arrangement, there would then be 8 “Korah” (42-49), then 12 “Asaph” (50, 73-83), and then 4 more “Korah” (84,85,87, and 88).

ASAPH: A chief musician in the sanctuary in the days of David and Solomon (1Ch 16:4,5; 2Ch 5:12; Neh 12:46). But there was also a Korah prominent in connection with the temple in Hezekiah’s reign (2Ch 31:14), and also a Joah, the recorder, son of Asaph, in the same reign (2Ki 18:18). Prob all 24 Korah/Asaph psalms belong to Hezekiah’s reign.

PURE IN HEART: A good definition of the true Israel: cp Jer 12:1-3; Psa 24:3-6 (ct vv 4-7 here); Mat 5:8.

Psa 73:2

Hezekiah’s terrible disease and the overpowering Assyrian invasion happened at the same time, and just about devastated him: Isa 38:5,6; 2Ki 20:5,6.

(NT) Surely Jesus in Gethsemane. Perhaps it is also Peter, when he attempted to walk on the sea (Mat 14:30,31). But his Saviour held his hand (cp v 23 here) to keep him from sinking.

Psa 73:3

I ENVIED: Envy is the natural bent of man (Jam 4:5), but it is a sure killer (Job 5:2). Envy is absolutely incompatible with true Scriptural love (1Co 13:4).

PROSPERITY: Lit “peace”: see Psa 72:3; Isa 57:20; Deu 29:19.

Psa 73:4

THEY HAVE NO STRUGGLES: “There are no bands (‘pangs’: RV, RSV) in their death.” [The translations vary considerably on this phrase. For “bands”, the LXX has a word (ananeo) meaning “renewal” (lit, ‘to make young — or new — again’): sw Eph 4:23 only. Does this mean: ‘When they die, they have no hope of a resurrection’?] Hezekiah rightly saw himself as a sacrifice on behalf of his people (hence the “Messianic” language of Isa 53, applied firstly to him). In his sufferings on account of the sins of the nation, it was as though he were bound with cords to the horns of the altar (Psa 118:27).

Psa 73:5

THEY ARE NOT PLAGUED BY HUMAN ILLS: Allusion to Hezekiah’s “plague” of leprosy (sw in Isa 38:21 as in Lev 13:18-23). Here the word is “pega”, used over 50 times for leprosy, esp in Lev 13; 14.

Psa 73:6

PRIDE IS THEIR NECKLACE: “Pride compasseth them about as a chain” (AV). The Assyrians were world-class boasters (see the taunts of Sennacherib and Rabshakeh in Isa 36; 37), but they also had the destructive power to back up those boasts — to a point! They are captive to their pride, like those led away into slavery by the Assyrians. The Heb phrase reads like: ‘Pride is their Anak — ie their strength.’

THEY CLOTHE THEMSELVES WITH VIOLENCE: They wear their violent characters openly and proudly, flaunting them before all men (cp phrase in Psa 109:18,19). But the meek, and godly, cover themselves in a very different manner (Eph 4:24; Col 3:10,12,14).

Psa 73:7

FROM THEIR CALLOUS HEARTS COMES INIQUITY: “Their eyes stand out with fatness” (AV). “Their eyes gleam through folds of fat” (NEB). The besiegers of Jerusalem were well-fed by comparison with those on short rations inside the city.

THE EVIL CONCEITS OF THEIR MINDS KNOW NO LIMITS: “They have more than heart could wish” (AV) is, lit, “more than can be pictured in stone” — an allusion, perhaps, to the many vivid Assyrian bas-reliefs (as in the British Museum). The NEB has: “While vain fancies pass through their minds.”

Psa 73:8

“They speak wickedly concerning oppression” (AV). Slavery under the Assyrians was dressed up to sound like a veritable paradise, and the slave-masters like the most wonderful humanitarians: Isa. 36:16,17.

The repetition “speak… speak…. mouth…. tongue” (vv 8,9) alludes to the smooth “propagandist” (ie liar!) Rabshakeh (cp Psa 75:4,5 — where “fools” = boasters).

(NT) Vv 8,9 are a good picture of the power-drunk leaders of Israel who were hostile to Jesus.

Psa 73:9

THEIR MOUTHS LAY CLAIM TO HEAVEN: Rabshakeh repeatedly directed his tirades against the Jews’ faith in Jehovah. Cp, generally, the boasts of the builders of the tower of Babel (Gen 11:1-4), and, more specifically, that of the king of Babylon/Assyria in Isa 14:13,14.

THEIR TONGUES TAKE POSSESSION OF THE EARTH: An idiomatic way of describing Assyrian boasting of conquest, but it is also a round-about suggestion of similarity to the serpent of Gen 3:14: “You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust.” To walk with one’s tongue is surely to “eat dust”!

Psa 73:10

“Therefore his people return hither” (AV). Repeated Assyrian inroads into Palestine — eg 2Ki 17:6,18 (against Samaria) and 2Ki 18:9,13 (against the cities of Judah). Alternatively, by adding “saying” at the beginning of the v, this may read: ‘Let Him (Jehovah) bring back His people hither’, with ref to the 200,000 captives which Sennacherib had taken in Judah (Taylor prism). And the Lord did bring them back (Isa 35:7-10; 49:9-23; etc)!

(NT) “Waters of a full cup” (AV): That which was appointed for Jesus — the cup of suffering (Mat 26:39) — came (and will come again) in full measure to those who condemned him.

Psa 73:11

More railing against the God of Israel.

Psa 73:13

SURELY IN VAIN HAVE I KEPT MY HEART PURE: Hezekiah’s zealous personal and national reformation apparently brought only disaster and suffering, for himself and for his people.

(NT) Jesus shared our human nature, a nature that required cleansing — but he disciplined and subdued that nature to the ultimate glory of his Father.

IN VAIN: Cp v 21. In Gethsemane it seemed as though his entire ministry was fruitless. The frustration, remorse, and despair that he must have felt — even if only temporarily — is revealed in Isa 49:4: “I have labored in vain.” Such feelings were also reminiscent of Job’s complaint (at least as restated by Elihu): Job 34:8,9.

IN VAIN HAVE I WASHED MY HANDS IN INNOCENCE: Re Jesus this was quite lit true. Cp Psa 26:6.

Psa 73:14

PLAGUED: By his disease.

CHASTENED: By defeat and Assyrian bullying.

Psa 73:15

That is, I would have been disloyal to my own people. Hezekiah knew that he was responsible for the whole nation.

Psa 73:16

In trying to understand the seemingly mysterious ways of God, Hezekiah was coming very near to losing his faith.

Psa 73:17

TILL I ENTERED THE SANCTUARY OF GOD: This Hezekiah did, carrying the letter of his humiliation to spread before the Lord (Isa 37:14). (NT) In the temple Jesus was repeatedly reminded that there would come the judgments of God on these evil men. Also, in the “sanctuary” of prayer there would be constantly renewed a sense of true perspective. Cp, generally, Psa 27:4; 42:2; 63:1,2; 84:1-4.

THEN I UNDERSTOOD THEIR FINAL DESTINY: This v is not true of many men of faith, but it was lit true of Hezekiah: see Isa 37:21,22,29. In the sanctuary one might see the brazen plates on the altar of burnt-offering, and recall their origin: for this was all that was left of the proud presumption and rebellion of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram (Num 16:39; cp vv 18,19,27 here). See also Psa 37:9,10,20,22,28, etc. More generally, to enter the “sanctuary” is to see the unseen things (2Co 4:17,18; Heb 11:1), and to properly differentiate between transient “reality” and absolute reality!

Psa 73:18

YOU CAST THEM DOWN TO RUIN: See Isa 37:36.

Psa 73:19

Vv 19,20: A wonderful description of the devastation of the Assyrian camp. Cp Isa 29:7,8: “And the multitude of all the nations that fight against Ariel [ie Jerusalem, see v 1], even all that fight against her and her munitions, and that distress her, shall be as a dream of a night vision… so shall the multitude of all the nations be, that fight against mount Zion.”

Psa 73:20

YOU WILL DESPISE THEM AS FANTASIES: As Sennacherib and Rabshakeh despised the God of Israel, so He in turn despised their foolish trust in their “gods”, which were but images of vanity, or nothingness (see Isa 40-44 for repeated sarcastic expansions upon this theme).

FANTASIES: Heb “tselem” (sw Gen 1:26,27; 5:3; 9:6) = image (singular). God not only despised the “gods” of such men; He also despised the very “image” of such men themselves, for their “image” — now so terribly distorted by sin — was no longer His “image” (Gen 1:26)!

Psa 73:21

Vv 21,22: Reminiscences, referring back to the earlier despair that Hezekiah had felt (vv 13-16).

GRIEVED: RV: in a ferment. The Heb word is the same as for leaven.

“Holding bitterness and resentment is like a cancer which eats inside and consumes. When we are offended by someone it is important to find that piece of us which has been injured — the source of our own vulnerability — and turn it over to God for growth in that area. All conflicts bring enlightenment and growth when we learn and grow from them. If we remain stuck in the issue, then we remain as beasts. God and His counsel is the answer. He has the strength and confidence in us. If we are stuck on someone else and consumed with their every behavior and reaction, then we are giving too much power to that person… and not enough power to God. We are the only ones who allow people this power over us. Most likely, they didn’t even ask or want to be in such a position in your life. God will always be reliable for us to learn and grow. He will assist us when we give our issues to Him and give up trying to control and manipulate others” (CPv).

Psa 73:23

YOU HOLD ME BY MY RIGHT HAND: The Heb makes a play on “Ahaz”. Yahweh was Hezekiah’s true Father. Cp Isa 45:1, which makes a play on the name “Hezekiah” (this passage is not about king “Cyrus” at all, but about Hezekiah — see WIsa 393-412).

Psa 73:24

YOU GUIDE ME WITH YOUR COUNSEL: By Isaiah.

AND AFTERWARD YOU WILL TAKE ME INTO GLORY: Ref to a vision of the Shekinah Glory, which Hezekiah must have seen when he went into the sanctuary (v 17).

(NT) Christ’s ascension.

Psa 73:25

EARTH HAS NOTHING I DESIRE BESIDES YOU: A wonderful expression of Hezekiah’s renewed faith and righteousness. “Have an intimate relationship with God. You will not then need anyone else. Other relationships and companionships — based on, and in harmony with, that primary one — are desirable and helpful and enjoyable, but not essential. This one relationship is vital and indispensable. All others are secondary, and, if necessary, dispensable” (GVG).

God promises to be our portion, the supplier of all of our needs. Though we may not wear the best of clothing, or eat the finest of foods, or live in the greatest of all neighborhoods, God supplies us with our needs. Our portion is what God has deemed best for us. The psalmist concedes that there is nothing upon this earth that can satisfy his desires more than the presence of God in his life.

“There is nothing desirable save God; let us, then, desire only him. All other things must pass away; let our hearts abide in him, who alone abides for ever” (CHS).

Psa 73:26

MY FLESH AND MY HEART MAY FAIL: His disease ravaged his flesh, but his spirit rested in Yahweh. Then finally his heart (mind) and his flesh were restored.

GOD IS THE STRENGTH OF MY HEART: (NT) In Gethsemane Jesus was strengthened by an angel (Luk 22:43), almost certainly Gabriel, whose name means “the strong one of God”.

GOD IS… MY PORTION FOREVER: Of course, 15 years is not “forever”! But this great man believed in the resurrection! For the idea of portion, or “inheritance”, see Psa 16:5,6.