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Psalms 65-67; 69-70     Listen Podcast

 

Let's praise God for his blessings to us (Psalm 65)

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. A Song.
1 ¶ Praise is awaiting You, O God, in Zion;
And to You the vow shall be performed.
2 O You who hear prayer,
To You all flesh will come.
3 Iniquities prevail against me;
As for our transgressions,
You will provide atonement for them.
4 Blessed is the man You choose,
And cause to approach You,
That he may dwell in Your courts.
We shall be satisfied with the goodness of Your house,
Of Your holy temple.
5 By awesome deeds in righteousness You will answer us,
O God of our salvation,
You who are the confidence of all the ends of the earth,
And of the far-off seas;
6 Who established the mountains by His strength,
Being clothed with power;
7 You who still the noise of the seas,
The noise of their waves,
And the tumult of the peoples.
8 They also who dwell in the farthest parts are afraid of Your signs;
You make the outgoings of the morning and evening rejoice.
9 You visit the earth and water it,
You greatly enrich it;
The river of God is full of water;
You provide their grain,
For so You have prepared it.
10 You water its ridges abundantly,
You settle its furrows;
You make it soft with showers,
You bless its growth.
11 You crown the year with Your goodness,
And Your paths drip with abundance.
12 They drop on the pastures of the wilderness,
And the little hills rejoice on every side.
13 The pastures are clothed with flocks;
The valleys also are covered with grain;
They shout for joy, they also sing.

This is a Psalm that recounts the blessings of God. David writes this one, and he makes particular reference to the blessings of God on Zion (Jerusalem). Getting a fix on the exact period of this writing is difficult. David's reference to the "temple" in verse 4 would indicate that, at the very least, David was anticipating the building of the temple in Jerusalem at the time of this writing. David lists the great blessings and works of God.

Verse 3 is particularly noteworthy: "Iniquities prevail against me; As for our transgressions, You will provide atonement for them." David acknowledges the remedy for sin - then and now; it is purged away by God himself. For us, that's I John 1:9 (see notes), "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

How awesome are your deeds (Psalm 66)

To the Chief Musician. A Song. A Psalm.
1 ¶ Make a joyful shout to God, all the earth!
2 Sing out the honor of His name;
Make His praise glorious.
3 Say to God,
“How awesome are Your works!
Through the greatness of Your power
Your enemies shall submit themselves to You.
4 All the earth shall worship You
And sing praises to You;
They shall sing praises to Your name.”
Selah
5 Come and see the works of God;
He is awesome in His doing toward the sons of men.
6 He turned the sea into dry land;
They went through the river on foot.
There we will rejoice in Him.
7 He rules by His power forever;
His eyes observe the nations;
Do not let the rebellious exalt themselves.
Selah
8 Oh, bless our God, you peoples!
And make the voice of His praise to be heard,
9 Who keeps our soul among the living,
And does not allow our feet to be moved.
10 For You, O God, have tested us;
You have refined us as silver is refined.
11 You brought us into the net;
You laid affliction on our backs.
12 You have caused men to ride over our heads;
We went through fire and through water;
But You brought us out to rich fulfillment.
13 I will go into Your house with burnt offerings;
I will pay You my vows,
14 Which my lips have uttered
And my mouth has spoken when I was in trouble.
15 I will offer You burnt sacrifices of fat animals,
With the sweet aroma of rams;
I will offer bulls with goats.
Selah
16 Come and hear, all you who fear God,
And I will declare what He has done for my soul.
17 I cried to Him with my mouth,
And He was extolled with my tongue.
18 If I regard iniquity in my heart,
The Lord will not hear.
19 But certainly God has heard me;
He has attended to the voice of my prayer.
20 Blessed be God,
Who has not turned away my prayer,
Nor His mercy from me!

This unknown author expresses that, while God has allowed him to go through trial, he answers his prayers for deliverance and blessing. Look at verse 18, "If I regard iniquity in my heart, The Lord will not hear." The author understood that harbored sin interfered with his fellowship with God.

A brief overview of this Psalm is:

Incidentally, the multiple occurrences of the transliterated Hebrew word "Selah" here are unusual. While the word of unknown meaning is used 72 times in Psalms and two times in Habakkuk, it is usually found once at the end of a Psalm. Here it is used three times. Perhaps the word meant "rest," having something to do with the presentation of the song itself.

God be merciful unto us, and bless us (Psalm 67)

To the Chief Musician. On stringed instruments. A Psalm. A Song.
1 ¶ God be merciful to us and bless us,
And cause His face to shine upon us,
Selah
2 That Your way may be known on earth,
Your salvation among all nations.
3 Let the peoples praise You, O God;
Let all the peoples praise You.
4 Oh, let the nations be glad and sing for joy!
For You shall judge the people righteously,
And govern the nations on earth.
Selah
5 Let the peoples praise You, O God;
Let all the peoples praise You.
6 Then the earth shall yield her increase;
God, our own God, shall bless us.
7 God shall bless us,
And all the ends of the earth shall fear Him.

We aren't given the authorship of this Psalm, but it seems to fit into the same group as Psalm 66. The multiple occurrences of the transliterated Hebrew word "Selah" here are unusual, used twice here and three times in Psalm 66 (see above). With regard to the subtitle, The subtitle says, "To the Chief Musician. On stringed instruments." That refers to the leader of that part of the temple choir which played on stringed instruments. Let the people praise God. I can picture the people singing this one in the fields as they harvest their crops.

David or Christ? (Psalm 69)

To the Chief Musician. Set to “The Lilies.” A Psalm of David.
1 ¶ Save me, O God!
For the waters have come up to my neck.
2 I sink in deep mire,
Where there is no standing;
I have come into deep waters,
Where the floods overflow me.
3 I am weary with my crying;
My throat is dry;
My eyes fail while I wait for my God.
4 Those who hate me without a cause
Are more than the hairs of my head;
They are mighty who would destroy me,
Being my enemies wrongfully;
Though I have stolen nothing,
I still must restore it.
5 O God, You know my foolishness;
And my sins are not hidden from You.
6 Let not those who wait for You, O Lord GOD of hosts, be ashamed because of me;
Let not those who seek You be confounded because of me, O God of Israel.
7 Because for Your sake I have borne reproach;
Shame has covered my face.
8 I have become a stranger to my brothers,
And an alien to my mother’s children;
9 Because zeal for Your house has eaten me up,
And the reproaches of those who reproach You have fallen on me.
10 When I wept and chastened my soul with fasting,
That became my reproach.
11 I also made sackcloth my garment;
I became a byword to them.
12 Those who sit in the gate speak against me,
And I am the song of the drunkards.
13 But as for me, my prayer is to You,
O LORD, in the acceptable time;
O God, in the multitude of Your mercy,
Hear me in the truth of Your salvation.
14 Deliver me out of the mire,
And let me not sink;
Let me be delivered from those who hate me,
And out of the deep waters.
15 Let not the floodwater overflow me,
Nor let the deep swallow me up;
And let not the pit shut its mouth on me.
16 Hear me, O LORD, for Your lovingkindness is good;
Turn to me according to the multitude of Your tender mercies.
17 And do not hide Your face from Your servant,
For I am in trouble;
Hear me speedily.
18 Draw near to my soul, and redeem it;
Deliver me because of my enemies.
19 You know my reproach, my shame, and my dishonor;
My adversaries are all before You.
20 Reproach has broken my heart,
And I am full of heaviness;
I looked for someone to take pity, but there was none;
And for comforters, but I found none.
21 They also gave me gall for my food,
And for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.
22 Let their table become a snare before them,
And their well-being a trap.
23 Let their eyes be darkened, so that they do not see;
And make their loins shake continually.
24 Pour out Your indignation upon them,
And let Your wrathful anger take hold of them.
25 Let their dwelling place be desolate;
Let no one live in their tents.
26 For they persecute the ones You have struck,
And talk of the grief of those You have wounded.
27 Add iniquity to their iniquity,
And let them not come into Your righteousness.
28 Let them be blotted out of the book of the living,
And not be written with the righteous.
29 But I am poor and sorrowful;
Let Your salvation, O God, set me up on high.
30 I will praise the name of God with a song,
And will magnify Him with thanksgiving.
31 This also shall please the LORD better than an ox or bull,
Which has horns and hooves.
32 The humble shall see this and be glad;
And you who seek God, your hearts shall live.
33 For the LORD hears the poor,
And does not despise His prisoners.
34 Let heaven and earth praise Him,
The seas and everything that moves in them.
35 For God will save Zion
And build the cities of Judah,
That they may dwell there and possess it.
36 Also, the descendants of His servants shall inherit it,
And those who love His name shall dwell in it.

David is identified as the author here in the introduction.

Note what is written regarding this Psalm in the Expositor's Bible Commentary:

Because of the many references to it in the NT, this psalm has been interpreted messianically. The messianic interpretation is in the form of an application to the life of devotion to God by the Lord Jesus Christ. The primary significance is David and his suffering. He calls on the Lord to deliver him (vv.1-21) for the sake of “those who hope in you” (v.6). Moreover, he prays for the fall of the wicked (vv.22-29). The lament changes to a hymn of thanksgiving in anticipation of God’s redemption (vv.29-36).

So, what about it? Is this Psalm messianic prophecy or not? Let's look at some of the wording in Psalms 69 and see how it was quoted in the New Testament.

The New Testament quotations indicating that Psalm 69 is Messianic prophecy
Psalm 69:4 Those who hate me without a cause Are more than the hairs of my head; They are mighty who would destroy me, Being my enemies wrongfully; Though I have stolen nothing, I still must restore it. John 15:25 But this happened that the word might be fulfilled which is written in their law, "They hated Me without a cause."
Psalm 69:9 Because zeal for Your house has eaten me up, And the reproaches of those who reproach You have fallen on me. John 2:17 Then His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for Your house has eaten Me up.”

Romans 15:3 For even Christ did not please Himself; but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached You fell on Me.”

There's no question that Psalm 69:4 and 9 were definitely held by John, Paul and the rest of the disciples to be references to the Messiah.

While not specifically mentioned in Matthew 27:48, Mark 15:36, John 19:29-30 (see notes) the vinegar given to Jesus seconds before his death on the cross seems to fit nicely with the prophetic words of Psalm 69:21, "They also gave me gall for my food, And for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink."

Interestingly enough, Peter makes use of verse 25 when he quotes it as justification for replacing Judas in Acts 1:20 (see notes). It is obvious, therefore, that Peter held Judas wholly culpable for the deeds he had done by the Jewish leaders and Romans at the crucifixion. Peter's interest there seems to be to eradicate any influence Judas had in the earthly ministry of Jesus Christ.

O Lord, Do not delay (Psalm 70)

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. To bring to remembrance.
1 ¶ Make haste, O God, to deliver me!
Make haste to help me, O LORD!
2 Let them be ashamed and confounded
Who seek my life;
Let them be turned back and confused
Who desire my hurt.
3 Let them be turned back because of their shame,
Who say, “Aha, aha!”
4 Let all those who seek You rejoice and be glad in You;
And let those who love Your salvation say continually,
“Let God be magnified!”
5 But I am poor and needy;
Make haste to me, O God!
You are my help and my deliverer;
O LORD, do not delay.

This is a prayer of David. Notice that this five-verse Psalm is virtually identical to the five verses found in Psalm 40:13-17 (see notes). The primary difference is the occurrence of the word "Elohim" (translated "God") here as opposed to the rendering of "Yahweh" (translated "LORD") in Psalm 40.

Note the parallel between the two passages:

70:1 Make haste, O God, to deliver me!
Make haste to help me, O LORD!
70:2 Let them be ashamed and confounded
Who seek my life;
Let them be turned back and confused
Who desire my hurt.
70:3 Let them be turned back because of their shame,
Who say, “Aha, aha!”
70:4 Let all those who seek You rejoice and be glad in You;
And let those who love Your salvation say continually,
“Let God be magnified!”
70:5 But I am poor and needy;
Make haste to me, O God!
You are my help and my deliverer;
O LORD, do not delay.
40:13 Be pleased, O LORD, to deliver me;
O LORD, make haste to help me!
40:14 Let them be ashamed and brought to mutual confusion
Who seek to destroy my life;
Let them be driven backward and brought to dishonor
Who wish me evil.
40:15 Let them be confounded because of their shame,
Who say to me, “Aha, aha!”
40:16 Let all those who seek You rejoice and be glad in You;
Let such as love Your salvation say continually,
“The LORD be magnified!”
40:17 But I am poor and needy;
Yet the LORD thinks upon me.
You are my help and my deliverer;
Do not delay, O my God.