Psalm 107 - 109 (with 4 topics)

Psalm 107 Beginning of Book 5 of the Psalms (Psalms 107-150); author anonymous; said to address being distressed:

  Give thanks to the LORD, for HE is Good; HIS Love endures forever. Let the redeemed of the LORD say this-- those HE redeemed from the hand of the foe, those HE gathered from the lands, from east & west, from north & south (the sea-- see below, 1. Pattern Seafarers).

• Some wandered in the desert wastelands, finding no way to a city where They could resettle. They were hungry & thirsty, & Their lives ebbed away. Then They cried out to the LORD in Their trouble, & HE delivered Them from Their distress. HE led Them by a straight way to a city where They could settle. Let Them give thanks to the LORD for HIS Unfailing Love & HIS Wonderful Deeds for men, for HE satisfies the thirsty & fills the hungry with good things.
• Some sat in darkness & the deepest gloom, prisoners suffering in iron chains, for They had rebelled against the Words of GOD & despised the Counsels of the MOST HIGH. So HE subjected Them to bitter labor; They stumbled & there was no one to help. Then They cried to the LORD in Their trouble, & HE saved Them from Their distress. HE brought Them out of darkness & the deepest gloom & broke away Their chains. Let Them give thanks to the LORD for HIS Unfailing Love & HIS Wonderful Deeds for men, for HE breaks down gates of bronze & cuts through bars of iron.
• Some became fools through Their rebellious ways & suffered affliction because of Their iniquities. They loathed all food & drew near the gates of death.

  This last is about the assumed/erroneous motive for fasting some had, as opposed to the kind of fasting I have chosen (see Isa 58:3ff). Just prior to discussing the redeemer, Elihu (the young man who spoke to Job after Job's 3 "friends' did) said (in Job 33:19-20) a man may be chastened on a bed of pain with constant distress in his bones, so that his very being finds food repulsive & his soul loathes the choicest meal. This is a picture of what we just saw-- Some became fools through Their rebellious ways & suffered affliction because of Their iniquities. They loathed all food & drew near the gates of death.

  Then They cried to the LORD in Their trouble, &

• HE saved Them from Their distress.
• HE sent forth HIS Word & healed Them;
• HE rescued Them from the grave.

1. Let Them give thanks to the LORD for HIS Unfailing Love & HIS Wonderful Deeds for men.
2. Let Them sacrifice thank offerings & tell of HIS Works with songs of joy.

Others went out on the sea in ships-- again see below, 1. Pattern Seafarers; They were merchants on the mighty waters.

1. They saw the Works of the LORD, & HIS Wonderful Deeds in the deep. For HE spoke & stirred up a tempest that lifted high the waves.
2. They mounted up to the heavens & went down to the depths; in Their peril Their courage melted away.
3. They reeled & staggered like drunken men; They were at Their wits' end.

  Then They cried out to the LORD in Their trouble, & HE brought Them out of Their distress. HE stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed. They were glad when it grew calm, & HE guided Them to Their desired haven.

• Let Them give thanks to the LORD for HIS Unfailing Love & HIS Wonderful Deeds for men.
• Let Them exalt HIM in the assembly of the people & also praise HIM in the council of the elders.

1. HE turned rivers into a desert, & flowing springs into thirsty ground, & fruitful land into a salt waste, because of the wickedness of those who lived there. But the flip side of the coin is:
2. HE turned the desert land into pools of water (a land with churches, today) & the parched dust of the ground into flowing springs from the hearts of Christians today; there
3. HE brought the hungry to live, to witness the great light, & They founded a city where They could settle & mature in the faith. They sowed fields & planted vineyards that yielded a fruitful harvest;
4. HE blessed Them, & Their numbers greatly increased, & HE did not let Their herds diminish. Then Their numbers decreased, & They were humbled by oppression, calamity & sorrow;
5. HE who pours contempt on nobles made Them wander in a trackless waste. But HE lifted the needy out of Their affliction & increased Their families like flocks.

  The upright see & rejoice, but all the wicked shut Their mouths. Whoever is wise, let him heed these things & consider the Great Love of the LORD.

1. Pattern Seafarers As with the other topics (e.g., Woman #1 used-of-God, this is hardly the 1st & only noteworthy pattern. As we saw in the above psalm, some had their livelihood as seafarers. It is mentioned here to underscore the shift from the O.T. focus on the Israelites to the N.T. worldwide spotlight on all humanity (Israelites & Gentiles). But before we look at a particular encounter with some Gentile seafarers that Paul had, consider an experience Peter had. This comprehensive expanse was illustrated to Peter in a vision (Acts 10:10-16): He became hungry; He fell into a trance. He saw Heaven opened & something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its 4 corners. It contained all kinds of 4-footed animals, both those considered ceremoniously clean & unclean, as well as reptiles & birds. Then a voice told Him, 'Get up, Peter. Kill & eat.' Note nothing was said even about removing the fat from clean animals. This happened 3x, & immediately the sheet was taken back to heaven. The significance of this occurring 3x-- recall the 3 Prophetic Periods/Eras used throughout this work: Near prophecies about the latter part of the O.T.; Distant prophecies about Jesus incarnation & crucifixion (i.e., not ending until He ascended); & Far Distant prophecies, beginning in Acts (perhaps at Pentecost). Also note that while Jesus' crucifixion-resurrection took place during the course of 3 days, the sheet descended 3x & immediately was taken back. Finally let's look again at the 3 prophetia periods/eras. The O.T. Near period, relatively lengthy, was hallmarked by differentiating clean & unclean animals; the Distant period, relatively brief, was hallmarked by the introduction to the time of the Gentiles-- as well as the clarity as to just how we/they should be "ceremonial"; the Far Distant period, thus-far short in comparison to the latter part of the O.T., is all about how it's open to all peoples to be clean. Now about the seafarers: Dozens of times in Isa alone, God spoke to/about the islanders-- 1 such time was Isa 23:2, were we find, Be silent, you Gentile people of the island (Cyprus-- Heb. Kittim) & you merchants of Sidon, whom the Jewish seafarers have enriched. Now as mentioned, the spotlight was on all peoples of the world, including the islanders-- eventually, but 1st the seafarers, as we find in Acts 27 & 28.

Psalm 108 A psalm, a song; these 1st 5 verses are a repeat of Psalm 57:7-11:

  My heart is steadfast, O GOD; I will sing & make music with all My soul. Awake, harp & lyre! I will awaken the dawn. I will praise YOU, O LORD, among the nations; I will sing of YOU among the peoples. For Great is YOUR Love, higher than the heavens; YOUR Faithfulness reaches to the skies. Be exalted, O GOD, above the heavens, & let YOUR Glory be over all the earth. The remainder of this psalm is a repeat of Psalm 60:5-12.

  Save Us & help Us with YOUR Right Hand, that those YOU love may be delivered. GOD has spoken from HIS Sanctuary: In triumph I will parcel out Shechem & measure off the Valley of Succoth. Gilead is MINE, Manasseh is MINE; Ephraim is MY Helmet, Judah is MY Scepter (Lawgiver, per KJV-- see below, Time Period #3). Moab is MY Washbasin, upon Edom I toss MY Sandal; over Philistia I shout in triumph. Who will bring Me to the fortified city? Who will lead Me to Edom? Is it not YOU, O GOD, YOU who have rejected Us & no longer go out with Our armies? Give Us aid against the enemy, for the help of man is worthless. With GOD We will gain the victory, & HE will trample down Our enemies.

1. Time Period #3

A. Mankind's dominion Gen 1:26 says that when God 1st created man (on the 6th day, having already created everything else), God the Father said, Let US (the Trinity) make mankind in OUR Image, in OUR Likeness, & let them rule over the fish of the sea & the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth (Syriac, wild animals), & over all the creatures that move along the ground. After 10 generations (after the flood-- see PART I,A-C C.2.), Gen 9:6 says God said, Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the Image of GOD has GOD made mankind. Jame 3:9 says, All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles & creatures of the sea are being tamed & (or) have been tamed by mankind, but no man (human) on earth can tame the tongue-- nor eliminate false conclusions/teachings.

B1. Judah's short dominion as a son Judah was physically the son of Jacob (renamed Israel, per Gen 35:10-- see PART I,D D.3.ix.). He was the 4th son of Jacob, per Gen 29:32-35. All the sons were listed in PART I,D D.2.b.iii.; all the children & grandchildren of Israel are listed in Gen 46:8-25. Now Judah was still referred to as the son of Jacob when, in Gen 49:1-27, Jacob said to his sons in his old age, Gather around so I can tell you what will happen in days to come, but he was really also distantly & far-distantly prophesying when he said to Judah (Gen 49:8-12), Judah, Your brothers will praise You, Your hand will be on the neck of Your enemies; Your fathers' sons will bow down to You. You are a lion's cub, O Judah; You continually return from the prey, My son. Like a male lion He crouches & lies down, like a female lioness-- who dares to rouse Him? The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between His feet, until He comes to whom it belongs & much later the obedience of the nations is HIS. He will tether His donkey to a vine, HIS Colt to the choicest branch; He will wash His garments in wine, HIS Robes in the blood of grapes. His eyes will be darker than wine, HIS Teeth whiter than milk.

B2. Judah's longer dominion as a "female" tribe In Jer 3:6-12 Israel was call faithless (& "she"), while Judah was referred to as the unfaithful sister (v.11 has, Faithless Israel is more righteous than unfaithful Judah). They were not called female because of their behaviors; rather they belonged to FATHER GOD-- similar to that the finished/perfected church will be the Bride of Christ the Son. Of course it was specified that the tribes were female (daughters of Zion & Jerusalem) for our benefit-- as today the church is referred to as the bride-to-be of Christ. In Matt 22:30 Jesus said: At the resurrection people will neither marry or be given in marriage; They will be like the angels in Heaven. That will be after the Far Distant time period. Mark 12:25 has it this way: When the dead rise, They will neither marry nor be given in marriage; They will be like the angel in Heaven. Luke 20:34-35 has: The people of this age marry & are given in marriage. But those who are considered worthy of taking part in that age & in the resurrection from the dead will then neither marry nor be given in marriage, & They can no longer die; for They are like the angels. Now more about the "female" tribes: in Psalms 1 - 6 Psalm 2 we saw Zion being called MY Holy Hill; in Psalms 7 - 11 Psalm 9 we saw that the LORD (YAHWEH) was enthroned in Zion, that Jerusalem was the daughter-- initially virgin, of course. You might want to read Psa 2 again: David was anointed as King on Zion-- after which he rehearsed the original decree, made before creation, when it was specified that the SON (KING) was begotten. Indeed, Heb 5:5-6 (KJV) says that Christ glorified not himself to be made (become, per the NIV) an high priest; but HE that said unto HIM, THOU art MY SON, today (now) have I begotten THEE (I have become YOUR FATHER, per the NIV). This is followed by a quote of Psa 110:4. THOU art a PRIEST forever after the order of Melchisedec. So before creation Jesus was part of the trinity as SON/KING/PRIEST. S.a. PART II F.1.a.5.; Heb 7:3. And recall we have the LAMB that was slain in effect from the foundation of the world (Reve 13:8).

Psalm 109 A psalm for the director of music (chief musician); said to address being vengeful deal with evil people & provide vindication. The entirety of this psalm can be taken as an example of how we should "pray within the radar"-- voice our grievances in God's hearing, as opposed to the way Job voiced them. Job remained "without the radar". However, the traditional take on this psalm is that the portion highlighted in apricot (indicating Jesus' words) was a prophetic prayer (as in Psa 69)-- below, v. 8b (texted in grape) was quoted in Acts 1:20c regarding Judas Iscariot (as opposed to Psalms 69 - 72 Psalm 69, which was plural-- regarding all who came against HIM). See Psalms 12 - 18 Psalm 15 2. N.T. Quotes from Psalms B. ref. that quote:

  O GOD, whom I praise, do not remain silent, for wicked & deceitful men have opened their mouths against Me; & they have spoken with lying tongues. With the words of hatred they surround Me; they attack me without cause. In return for My friendship they accuse me, but I am a man of prayer. They repay Me evil for good, & hatred for My friendship.

  Appoint an evil man (the evil one) to oppose Him; let an accuser (Satan) stand at His right hand. When He is tried let Him be found guilty, &

• may His prayers condemn Him.
• May His days be few;
• may another take His place of leadership.
• May His children be fatherless & His wife a widow.
• May His children be wandering beggars;
• may They be driven (sought) from Their ruined homes.
• May a creditor seize all He has;
• may strangers plunder the fruits of His labor.
• May no one extend kindness to Him or take pity on His fatherless children.
• May His descendants be cut off, Their names blotted out from the next generation.
• May the iniquity of His fathers be remembered before the LORD;
• may the sin of His mother never be blotted out.
• May Their sins always remain before the LORD, that HE may cut off the memory of Them from the earth. For He never thought of doing a kindness, but hounded to death the poor & the needy & the brokenhearted. He loved to pronounce a curse--
• may it (it has) come upon Him; He found no pleasure in a blessing--
• may it be (it is) far from Him. He wore cursing as His garment; it entered into His body like water, into His bones like oil.
• May it be like a cloak wrapped about him, like a belt tied forever around Him."
• May this be the LORD's payment to My accusers, to those who speak evil of Me.

  But YOU, O Sovereign LORD, deal well with Me for YOUR Name's sake; out of the goodness of YOUR Love, deliver Me. For I am poor & needy, & My heart is wounded within Me. I fade away like an evening shadow; I am shaken off like a locust. My knees give way from fasting; My body is thin & gaunt. I am an object of scorn to My accusers; when they see Me, they shake their heads. Help Me, O LORD My GOD; save Me in accordance with YOUR Love. Only let them know that it is YOUR Hand, that YOU, O LORD, have done it. Don't strike their conscience for my sake, for they may curse, but YOU will bless; then when they attack they will grasp YOUR mercy & be put to shame, but YOUR Servant will rejoice. Hopefully there will be eternal blessings when now My accusers will be clothed with disgrace & wrapped in shame as with a cloak.

  With My mouth I will greatly extol the LORD; in the great throng I will praise HIM. For HE stands at the right hand of the needy one, to save His life from those who condemn Him.