Psalms 139 - 140 (with 3 topics)

HOMEPAGE O.T. (PSALMS) Psalm Topics Psalms 1 - 6 Psalms 7 - 11 Psalms 12 - 18 Psalms 19 - 24 Psalms 25 - 27 Psalms 28 - 35 Psalms 36 - 41 Psalms 42 - 50 Psalms 51 - 59 Psalms 60 - 68 Psalms 69 - 72 Psalms 73 - 77 Psalms 78 - 79 Psalms 80 - 83 Psalms 84 - 85 Psalms 86 - 88 Psalms 89 - 90 Psalms 91 - 92 Psalms 93 - 94 Psalm 95 Psalms 96 - 98 Psa 99 - 102 Psa 103 - 104 Psa 105 - 106 Psa 107 - 109 Psa 110 - 113 Psa 114 - 116 Psa 117 - 118 Psalm 119A Psalm 119B Psa 120 - 126 Psa 127 - 132 Psa 133 - 134 Psa 135 - 136 Psa 137 - 138 Psa 139 - 140 Psa 141 - 144 Psa 145 - 150 QuotesFromOT 1 QuotesFromOT 2 N.T. (GOSPELS) Feasts/Loc's Late Life John BeforeMinistry Ministry Itin'ry Ministry Chro1 Ministry Chro2 Ministry Chro3 Ministry Chro4 MinChroAltern Min'tryBegins Cana/Nazareth Capernaum1 Capernaum2 SeaOfGal 1 Parable1 Parable2 Parable3 Sermon1 Sermon2 Sermon3 Sermon4 Sermon5 SeaOfGal 2 PerMtMkLk1 PerMtMkLk2 PerMtMkLk3 PerMtMkLk4 *PerMtMkLk5 *PerMtMkLk6 *PerMtMkLk7 *PerMtMkLk8 *PerMtMkLk9 *PerMtMkLk10 *PerMtMkLk11 *PerMtMkLk12 *PerMtMkLk13 *PerMtMkLk14 *PerMtMkLk15 *PerMtMkLk16 *PerMtMkLk17 *PerMtMkLk18 *PerMtMkLk19 *PerMtMkLk20 *PerMtMkLk21 *PerMtMkLk22 *PerMtMkLk23 *PerMtMkLk24 *PerMtMkLk25 *PerMtMkLk26 *PerMtMkLk27 *PerMtMkLk28 *PerJohn1 *PerJohn2 *PerJohn3 *PerJohn4 *PerJohn5 *PerJohn6 *PerJohn7 *PerJohn8 *PerJohn9 N.T. (REST) *Acts 1 & 2 *Acts 3 & 4 *Acts 5 & 6 *Acts 7 *Acts 8 & 9 *Acts 10 & 11 *Acts 12 & 13 *Acts 14 & 15 *Acts 16 & 17 *Acts 18 & 19 *Acts 20 & 21 *Acts 22 & 23 *Acts 24 - 26 *Acts 27 & 28 *Roma 1 - 3 *Roma 4 - 6 *Roma 7 - 9 *Roma 10 - 13 *Roma 14 - 16 *1stCor 1 - 4 *1stCor 5 - 8 *1stCor 9 - 11 *1stCor 12 - 14 *1stCor 15 & 16 *2ndCor 1 - 4 *2ndCor 5 - 8 *2ndCor 9 - 11 *2ndCor 12 - 13 *Gala 1 - 3 *Gala 4 - 6 *Ephe 1 - 3 *Ephe 4 - 6 *Phlp 1 - 4 *Colo 1 - 4 *1stThe 1 - 5 *2ndThe 1 - 3 *1stTim 1 - 6 *2ndTim 1 - 4 *Titu 1 - 3 *Phlm *Hebr 1 - 3 *Hebr 4 - 7 *Hebr 8 - 10 *Hebr 11 - 13 *Jame 1 - 5 *1stPet 1 - 3 *1stPet 4 & 5 *2ndPet 1 - 3 *1stJoh 1 - 5 *2ndJoh *3rdJoh *Jude *Reve 1 - 3 *Reve 4 - 8 *Reve 9 - 13 *Reve 14 - 17 *Reve 18 - 20 *Reve 21 & 22 ++ Greek (Intro.) *VI (Ephe) *XI (1stTim) *XII (2ndTim) *XIII (Titu) *XIV (Phlm) *XV (Hebr) *XVI (Jame) *XVII (1stPet) *XVIII (2ndPet) *PART I, A-C *PART I, D *PART I, E *PART I, F *PART II O.T. (PART I) *FrontCover *BackCover *Preface *PerspectivesA *PerspectivesB *PerspectivesC *CommentsOLD *CommentsNEW LinksScripture Links1ChuMin Links2ChuMin LinksMusCam Links1Green Links2Green LinksJewish LinksOther

Psalm 139 A psalm for the director of music (chief musician); said to: address being lost & unimportant; deal with illness; provide acceptance:

Oh LORD, YOU have searched Me & YOU know Me. YOU know Me when I sit & when I rise; YOU perceive My thoughts from afar. YOU discern My going out & My lying down; YOU are familiar with all My ways. Before a word is on My tongue YOU know it completely, O LORD. YOU hem Me in-- behind & before; YOU have laid YOUR Hand upon Me Such knowledge is too wonderful for Me-- e.g., how HE can know the choices we're going to make (the many choices we're going to make in a lifetime-- all before we make them). Our frame-of-reference does not include the dimension of time; our choices are not memory until we experience them; but from the stance of eternity-- just amazing, too lofty for Me to attain.

Where can I go from YOUR Spirit? How long can I deny reality? Where can I flee from YOUR Presence? If I go up to the heavens, YOU are there; if I make My bed in the depths, YOU are there. If I arise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there YOUR Hand will guide Me, YOUR Right Hand will hold Me fast. YOU truly are My daily bread, My rock, My portion; a distant light to My path, a near lamp to My feet. If I say, 'Surely the darkness will hide Me & the light become darkness around Me,' even the darkness will not be dark to YOU; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to YOU. The older I get, the more I fathom the foolishness of my youth. For YOU created My inmost being; YOU knit Me together in My mother's womb. Why do I hold-on-to/retake grudges? 1x again, I relinquish them to YOU.

I praise YOU because I am fearfully & wonderfully made; as for YOU, YOUR Works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from YOU when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, YOUR Eyes saw My unformed body. Wherever I am now, I know: All the days ordained for Me were written in YOUR Book before 1 of them came to be. How precious to (concerning) Me are YOUR pure thoughts, O GOD! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand. When I awake from stupor, I am still with (near) YOU. I know that then I can reconnect-- please let me not die disconnected! If only YOU would slay the wicked, O GOD! But take YOUR time-- away from Me, you bloodthirsty men! They speak of YOU with evil intent; YOUR Adversaries misuse YOUR Name. Do I not hate those that hate YOU, O LORD, & abhor those who rise up against YOU? I have nothing but hatred for them; I count them My enemies.

Several times in earlier psalms I referred to songs/prayers having curses/blessings probably pronounced or possibly requested "within/without the radar"-- depending on whether the singer/prayer was referring to God in the 3rd person or addressing HIM in the 2nd person. This was covered in Psalms 69 - 72 Psalm 69 2. "Within/without the radar"-- but at that time I didn't give any specific examples of why I used the expressions, probably & possibly delegating or not delegating to God's authority (although I did mention that it hinged upon the understanding by O.T. characters of God' authority then). Well, we just saw here David singing always to God in the 2nd person-- but yet expressing hatred-for-enemies. This is a good example of why I said probably or possibly, as who even suspected we should love our enemies until Jesus said so? BTW, the word of GOD being called the offensive sword of the Spirit (Ephe 6:17) does not mean we are to hate HIS enemies-- it means we are to aggressively resist temptation. HE wouldn't tell us to conform to HIS Image-- and then to violate GOD is Love.

Search Me, O GOD, & know My heart; test Me & know My anxious thoughts. See if there is any fervent/effectual offensive way in Me, & lead Me in the way everlasting.

1. Shortly-after & well-after Jesus' ministry began-- John the Baptist: was imprisoned; communicated with Jesus from prison; was beheaded & was buried Per Matt The imprisonment was mentioned, the communication & beheading were detailed & the burial was mentioned. Matt 4:12-13; 11:1-6; 14:1-12 After a few early events (Jesus' temptations, His baptism by John & His acquiring a few disciples-- indeed, per John 4:1, soon Jesus was gaining & baptizing more disciples than John): When Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, He returned to Galilee. Leaving Nazarath, He went & lived in Capernaum, which was by the lake in the area of Zebulun & Naphtali. Later (well after Jesus began His ministry): After Jesus had finished instructing His 12 disciples, He went on from there to teach & preach in the towns of Galilee. When John heard in prison what Christ was doing, He sent 2 of His disciples to ask Him, Are You the 1 who was to come, or should We expect someone else? Recall how convinced he had been, when he baptized Jesus, when he saw the dove descend & remain? Now we have the thought that God might be punishing him, allowing him to be imprisoned, so that he doubted. We shall see that perhaps Jesus succeeded in restoring his faith-- but what about the moment before he was later beheaded? Jesus replied, Go back & report to John what You hear & see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those with leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, & the Good News is preached to the poor. Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of Me. Blessed is the man who does not cease doing good works (like charity) when he finds that Jesus paid it all. Later still, after Herod had John beheaded: At that time Herod the tetrarch heard the reports about Jesus, & he said to his attendants, 'This is John the Baptist; He has risen from the dead! That is why miraculous powers are at work in Him.' Now originally Herod had arrested John & bound Him in prison because of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, for John had been saying to him: 'It is not lawful for you to have her.' And Herod wanted to kill John, but he was afraid of the people, because They considered Him a prophet-- though we shall see below in the Mark account that later this fear became respect for John. Then: On Herod's birthday the daughter of Herodias danced for them & pleased Herod so much that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she asked for. Prompted by her mother, she said, 'Give me here-n-now on a platter the head of John the Baptist.' The king was distressed, but because of his foolish oaths & concern for his appeal in the eyes of his dinner guests, he ordered that her request be granted & had John beheaded in prison. His head was brought in on a platter & given to the girl (Philip's wife's daughter), who carried it to her mother-- the devil will not consider the tenderness of youth. John's disciples came & took His body & buried it-- the fear Herod later had, that Jesus had miraculous powers because He had risen from the dead as Jesus, is likely what motivated the Romans later to guard Jesus' tomb (because if He had miraculous powers when living, what would HE return with?-- "Let's put a stop to this now!". Then They went & told Jesus that John had been beheaded & buried.

2. Shortly-after & well-after Jesus' ministry began-- John the Baptist: was imprisoned; communicated with Jesus from prison; was beheaded & was buried Per Mark The imprisonment was mentioned, the communication was not mentioned, the beheading was detailed & the burial was mentioned Mark 1:14; 6:14-29 After John was put in prison Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the Good News of GOD. Much later (after the beheading), Sub-King (Tetrarch) Herod heard about this (the teachings & works of Jesus), for Jesus' name had become well known. Some were saying, 'John the Baptist has been raised from the dead, & that is why miraculous powers are at work in Him.' Others said, "Simple-- He is Elijah, as in, 'These are the days of Elijah'." And still others claimed, "No big deal-- He is a prophet, just like 1 of the prophets of long ago." But when Herod heard this he said, 'Oh, no, I'm responsible-- John, the man I beheaded, has been raised from the dead!' For formerly Herod himself had given orders to have John arrested, & he had Him bound & put in prison. He did this because of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, whom he (Herod) had married. For John had been saying to Herod, 'It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife.' So Herodias the wife nursed a grudge against John & wanted to kill Him. But she was not able to, because Herod feared John & protected him, knowing him to be a righteous & holy man. When Herod heard John, he was greatly puzzled, yet he liked to listen to Him. Finally the opportune time came via her daughter. On his birthday Herod gave a banquet for his high officials & military commanders & the leading men of Galilee. When the daughter of Herodias came in & danced, she pleased Herod & his dinner guests. The sub-king (tetrach) said to the girl, 'Ask me for anything you want, & I'll give it to you.' And he promised her with an oath, 'Whatever you ask (was he drunk?) I will give you, up to half of my kingdom. She went out & said to her mother, 'What shall I ask for?' 'The head of John the Baptist,' she answered-- gesturing a platter with her hands. At once the girl returned in to the king with the request: 'I want you to give me right now the head of John the Baptist on a platter. The sub-king was greatly distressed, but because of his oaths & his dinner guests, he did not want to refuse her. So he immediately sent an executioner with orders to bring John's head. The man went, beheaded John in the prison, & brought back His head on a platter. He presented it to the girl, & she gave it to her mother. On hearing of this, John's disciples came & took His body & laid it in a tomb.

3. Shortly-after & well-after Jesus' ministry began-- John the Baptist: was imprisoned; communicated with Jesus from prison; was beheaded & was buried Per Luke The imprisonment was mentioned, the communication was detailed, the beheading was mentioned & the burial was not mentioned Luke 3:1-2, 19-22a; 7:18-23; 9:7-9 This 1st part is here just to define tetrarch (sub-king)-- but this "15th year" was before Jesus was even baptized. In the 15th year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar-- when Pontus Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Ituria & Traconitis, & Lysabias tetrarch of Abiline --during the high priesthood of Annas & Caiphas, the Word of GOD came to John son of Zechariah in the desert. This was well before the mentions above of Herodias wife of Philip during the accounts of John's beheading: But when John rebuked Herod the tetrarch because of Herodias, His brother's wife, & all the other evil things he had done, Herod added this to them all: He locked John up in prison-- but as mentioned above, he eventually came to respect John (indeed, he came to like him). When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as He was praying during or after the baptism, Heaven was opened & the Holy Spirit descended on Him in bodily form like a dove. After this baptism; after John was imprisoned: John's disciples told Him these things (what all Jesus had been doing). Calling 2 of Them, He sent Them to the Lord to ask, 'Are You the 1 who was to come, or should We expect someone else?' When the men came to Jesus, They said, John the Baptist sent Us to You to ask, 'Are You the 1 who was to come, or shoud We expect aomeone else?' At that very time Jesus cured many who had diseases, sicknesses & evil spirits, & gave sight to many who were blind. So He replied to the messengers, Go back & report to John what You have seen with your own eyes & heard: the blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hesr, the dead are raised, & the Good News is preached to the poor. Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of Me-- including you, John. Later still: Now Herod the tetrarch heard about all that was going on that Jesus did. And he was perplexed, because some were saying that John had been raised from the dead, others were saying that Elijah had appeared, & still others that 1 of the porophets of long ago had come to life. But Herod said, 'I beheaded John. Who then is this I hear such things about?' And he tried to see Him.

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Psalm 140 A psalm for the director of music; said to deal with evil people; texted in grape is the passage (v. 3b) that is quoted in the N.T. (see Psalms 12 - 18 Psalm 15 2. N.T. Quotes from Psalms B.):

Rescue Me, O GOD, from evil men in general-- no 1 in particular, protect Me from men of violence, who devise evil plans in their heart & stir up war every day. They make their tongues as sharp as a serpent's; the poison of vipers is on their lips. Selah Keep Me, O LORD, from the hands of the wicked; protect Me from men of violence who plan to trip My feet. Proud men have hidden a snare for Me; they have spread out the chords of their net & have set traps for Me along My path. Selah O LORD, I say to YOU, 'YOU are My GOD.' Hear, O LORD, My cry for mercy. O Sovereign LORD, My strond deliverer, who shields My head in the day of battle-- do not grant the wicked their desires, O LORD; do not let their plans succeed, or they will become proud. Selah Let the heads of those who surround Me be covered with the trouble their lips have caused. Let burning coals fall upon them; may they be thrown into the fire, into miry pits, never to rise. Let slanderers not be established in the land; may disaster hunt down men of violence. I know that the LORD secures justice for the poor & upholds the cause of the needy. Surely the righteous will praise YOUR Name & the upright will live before YOU.