Eight Studies in Psalms The Eight Last Davidic Psalms 138 to 145

Eight Studies in Psalms The Eight Last Davidic Psalms 138 to 145 By David Legg, Lee Mill, 2016 Psalm 138 - God s Goodness to the Lowly Psalm 139 - The Omni-God Psalm 140 - The Just God Psalm 141 - Lead me not into Temptation Psalm 142 - A Cave Prayer Psalm 143 - Meditation and Prayer Psalm 144 - Part Your Heavens, LORD Psalm 145 - The ABC of Praise

Psalm 138 God s Goodness to the Lowly LMCC 2016 Sing CMP 990 I will offer up my life

Psalm 138 God s Goodness to the Lowly It is possible that King David wrote around half of the poems in the collection we now know as Psalms. Certainly, this last collection of 8 psalms, 138 to 145, are all attributed to him. Read Psalm 138:1-8. Q1. One mark of Davidic psalms is how personal they seem to be. What signs are there that this psalm is very personal to the author? Psalm 138 Of David. 1 I will praise you, LORD, with all my heart; before the gods I will sing your praise. 2 I will bow down towards your holy temple and will praise your name for your unfailing love and your faithfulness, for you have so exalted your solemn decree that it surpasses your fame. 3 When I called, you answered me; you greatly emboldened me. 4 May all the kings of the earth praise you, LORD, when they hear what you have decreed. 5 May they sing of the ways of the LORD, for the glory of the LORD is great. 6 Though the LORD is exalted, he looks kindly on the lowly; though lofty, he sees them from afar. 7 Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve my life. You stretch out your hand against the anger of my foes; with your right hand you save me. 8 The LORD will vindicate me; your love, LORD, endures for ever do not abandon the works of your hands. - NIV2011 Q2. Try putting rings around all the personal pronouns and possessive pronouns (I, me, my).

Does this help us to divide the psalm into pieces (stanzas) for study? The Sir Nigel Gresley passing Staines, a 4-6-2 configuration engine Q3. In verses 1 to 3, who is being compared with what (or whom)? Q4. In what four ways is the LORD1 greater? v2 v2 v2 v3 [Note that it is not completely obvious how the end of verse 2 should be translated.] Q5.So what does God s greatness make David want to do and how does he feel? Q6. How do verses 4 and 5 suddenly change what the psalm is saying? How might this change help us with telling others about the LORD? 1 Although the LORD is not mentioned in the MT, he is in the LXX, and the context makes it obvious who is being referred to anyway.

Q7. What ongoing challenges does the psalmist seem to be facing in verses 7 and 8? Q8. Can we infer what kinds of people the LORD saves, looks after and helps, from verses 6 to 8? Q9. Match these new testament passages to verses 6, 7 and 8 in the psalm. NT passage 1 Peter 5:5-7 Philippians 1:6 Philippians 1:27-29 Verse in Application to Us Nowadays Psalm 138

Psalm 139 The Omni-God LMCC 2016 Sing CMP 587 Search me, O God

Psalm 139 The Omni-God Psalm 139 is the second in this last collection of 8 Davidic psalms, 138 to 145. It is perhaps tempting to take one look at verse 14, 14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made, and to think, this psalm is all about how wonderful I am. Nothing could be further from the psalmist s mind! Read Psalm 139:1-6. Q1. Summarise the main thought in the first stanza, verses 1 to 6. Q2. How does David compare the LORD with himself in verses 6? Read verses 7 to 12. Q3. What is David pretending he wants to do in this second stanza? Q4. Summarise the main thought in verses 7 to 12. In the first two stanzas, God s omnipresence and and omniscience are involved. Omni just means all ; science means knowledge. However, the way David writes the psalm is altogether more intimate than mere omnipresence and and omniscience. Q5. How does David make the psalm much more intimate and personal?

Read verses 13 to 18. Q6. Does the third stanza explain how it is that God is everywhere and knows everything about David? If so, what is the main thought in verses 13 to 18? In verses 17 and 18, David appears to nod off whilst counting the LORD s thoughts. Well, it seems to work better than counting sheep! From The Creation of Adam by Michelangelo Q7. However, could David s falling asleep and waking up be more than just a though about sleep? The last trumpet? Read verses 19 to 24. The first three stanzas told us how God is knows everything (his omniscience), is everywhere (his omnipresence) because he is the creator of everything to do with David, his body, his life history; we would now expect another omni or everything concept. Q8. But first, which words describe how the psalm changes style in the fourth stanza? PHILOSOPHICAL PERSONAL PRAYER IMPRECATORY (CURSING) EMOTION GUILT SUPERIOR PANIC DESPERATION Others: Q9. So, is there an omni- or every- or all- thought that summarises this last stanza? Q10. How does David s concern with God s enemies affect his final prayer in verses 23 and 24?

And how should we use this psalm on ourselves? Proverbs 4:18 The path of the righteous is like the morning sun, shining ever brighter till the full light of day. 19 But the way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know what makes them stumble.

Psalm 140 The Just God LMCC 2016 Sing Begone unbelief (on back)

Psalm 140 The Just God Psalm 140 is the third in this last collection of 8 Davidic psalms, 138 to 145. As usual, King David is in trouble. Read Psalm 140:1-3, the first stanza. Q1. What kind of trouble is David in this time? What kind of poison is he referring to in verse 3? Q2. What kind of things happen to us nowadays that are similar to David s trouble in verses 1 to 3? [Clue: Look up 1 Timothy 5:17-21.] Read verses 4 and 5, the second stanza. Q3. What extra things do we learn about the evildoers? Read verses 6 to 8, the third stanza. Q4. Identify all the body parts mentioned in verses 1 to 8, the first three stanzas. Also, Hear in v6 is Give ear. Q5. What are David s three main prayers in verses 1 to 8 concerning his reputation, his body and his own plans?

v1 (reputation) v4 (body) v8 (plans) Q6. What reasons does David give (and not give) for God to help him in verses 6 to 8? Read verses 9 to 11, the fourth stanza. Q7. How is David s prayer different in this stanza from previously? Would we ever pray like this nowadays? Q8. How do verses 10 and 11 seem to look beyond this present life? [Matthew 5:5, Luke 12:5] Read verses 12 and 13. Q9. Again, how is this final stanza different from the previous four? Q10. What four things does David say about himself, using four, perhaps surprising, words? v12a v12b v13a v13b

Q11. Discuss how words such as poor and needy, righteous and upright, can be true of King David who was both rich and adulterous. Make sure you talk about Jesus. Luke 6:20, Hebrews 11:26 and Mark 12:43 may help. Notes: Q12. Looking at the names and pronouns in verses 12 and 13, what is the main thrust? Q13. How then do we apply the four prayer stanzas and the final confident stanza to ourselves nowadays? 1. Begone, unbelief, My Saviour is near, And for my relief Will surely appear; By prayer let me wrestle, And He will perform; With Christ in the vessel, I smile at the storm. 2. Though dark be my way, Since He is my Guide, Tis mine to obey, Tis His to provide; Though cisterns be broken, And creatures all fail, The word He hath spoken Shall surely prevail. 3. His love, in time past, Forbids me to think He ll leave me at last In trouble to sink: Each sweet Ebenezer I have in review Confirms His good pleasure To help me quite through. 4. Why should I complain Of want or distress, Temptation or pain? He told me no less; The heirs of salvation, I know from His Word, Through much tribulation Must follow their Lord. 5. How bitter that cup No heart can conceive, Which He drank quite up, That sinners might live! His way was much rougher And darker than mine; Did Christ, my Lord, suffer, And shall I repine? 6. Since all that I meet Shall work for my good, The bitter is sweet, The medicine, food; Though painful at present, Twill cease before long, And then, oh, how pleasant The conqueror s song! John Newton

Psalm 141 Lead me not into Temptation LMCC 2016 Sing CMP1078 Jesus is Lord

Psalm 141 Lead me not into Temptation Psalm 141 is the 4th in this last collection of 8 Davidic psalms, 138 to 145. As usual, King David is in trouble, Cf. Psalm 140. Read Psalm 141, verses 1 to 4. Q1. What kind of trouble is David in this time? Q2. What is David s urgent response to trouble (verses 1 and 2)? Q3. Why might David s prayers need some incense? For the background to verse 2, look up the evening sacrifice in Exodus 30:7-10. Q4. Do the mentions of altar, atonement, blood and sin give us any clue as to what the modern equivalent to incense is when we pray to God nowadays? Read verses 5 to 10. Q5.With the help of the table below, identify each of the stanzas in the psalm.

Stanza Psalm 141 A psalm of David. _ 1 I call to you, LORD, come quickly to me; hear me when I call to you. 2 May my prayer be set before you like incense; may the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice. _ 3 Set a guard over my mouth, LORD; keep watch over the door of my lips. 4 Do not let my heart be drawn to what is evil so that I take part in wicked deeds along with those who are evildoers; do not let me eat their delicacies. _ 5 Let a righteous man strike me that is a kindness; let him rebuke me that is oil on my head. My head will not refuse it, = כ kiy = but(?)] my prayer will still be against the deeds of evildoers. for [ כי _ 6 Their rulers will be thrown down from the cliffs, and the wicked will learn that my words were well spoken. 7 They will say, As one ploughs and breaks up the earth, so our bones have been scattered at the mouth of the grave. _ 8 But my eyes are fixed on you, Sovereign LORD; in you I take refuge do not give me over to death. 9 Keep me safe from the traps set by evildoers, from the snares they have laid for me. 10 Let the wicked fall into their own nets, while I pass by in safety. Q6. What do you notice about its textual structure? Does this help us to spot the main lesson in the psalm?

Q7. Summarise briefly what each stanza says. Stanza Brief Summary of Stanza Clues 1 Revelation 8:3-4 2 Matthew 6:13 3 Proverbs 27:6 4 Revelation 6:15-17 5 John 14:1 Q8. Discuss how we tend to respond when some-one tells us off, corrects us, or rebukes us. Notes: Q9.How does verse 5 of the psalm (stanza 3) help us? Read Mark 12:9-12. Q10. How did the priests et al respond to Jesus criticism of them? How well do we cope with Jesus hard teachings in the Bible?

Psalm 142 A Cave Prayer LMCC 2016 Sing CMP 825 Faithful One

Psalm 142 A Cave Prayer Psalm 142 is the 5th in this last collection of 8 Davidic psalms, 138 to 145. As usual, King David is in trouble, Cf. Psalms 140, 141. Read Psalm 142:1-7. Psalm 142 A maskil of David. When he was in the cave. A prayer. 1 I cry aloud to the LORD; I lift up my voice to the LORD for mercy. 2 I pour out before him my complaint; before him I tell my trouble. 3 When my spirit grows faint within me, it is you who watch over my way. In the path where I walk people have hidden a snare for me. 4 Look and see, there is no one at my right hand; no one is concerned for me. I have no refuge; no one cares for my life. 5 I cry to you, LORD; I say, You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living. 6 Listen to my cry, for I am in desperate need; rescue me from those who pursue me, for they are too strong for me. 7 Set me free from my prison, that I may praise your name. Then the righteous will gather about me because of your goodness to me. NIV2011 Q1. Who was David hiding from when he was in the cave? See 1 Samuel 22:1; 24:3. What might be our equivalent situations to David s? Q2. What sort of psalm is this one? PRAISE PRAYER WORSHIP TEACHING WISDOM REPENTANCE

Q3. How many different ways does David describe his praying in verses 1 and 2? Q4. Count or ring all the I s me s and my s. Is David right to be so self-absorbed? Q5. Look at verse 4. What does David mean? Is this verse true? Q6. What evidence is there that David is trusting the LORD from inside the cave? Underline the words and phrases. Q7. Write down all the words and phrases that David uses to describe his plight.

Q8. Summarise the actual request of David s prayer, mainly in verses 6 and 7? Q9. What arguments does David advance to persuade the LORD to hear him? v1 v3 v5a v5b v6 v7a v7b Q10. Was verse 7b fulfilled at all? 2 Samuel 2:4; 5:1-3. Q11. Discuss what the relationship is between praying about our own needs and God s glory? Notes:

Psalm 143 Meditation and Prayer LMCC 2016 Sing CMP 1127 When I was lost

Psalm 143 Meditation and Prayer Psalm 143 is the 6th in this last collection of 8 Davidic psalms, 138 to 145. As usual, King David is in trouble, Cf. Psalms 140-142. Psalm 143 is quite similar to 142 but the differences are instructive to us... Read Psalm 143 verses 1 and 2. Q1. What kind of psalm is this? THANKSGIVING PRAYER PRAISE TEACHING REPENTANCE WISDOM Illustration 1: One David Before Brexit Q2. Verse 2 contains a profound statement about David s righteousness. What are its implications for us? Q3. Given the answer to Q2, how can the LORD possibly listen to David? 1 John 1:9,10 throws some more light on this important subject, i.e. the gospel. Read verses 3 to 6. Q4. In the previous psalm, 142, David s immediate reaction to trouble was to pray. In this psalm, 143, he does more than just pray. What else? Why does David do this? Read verses 7 to 10.

Q5. From your knowledge of the life of David in 1 and 2 Samuel, try to construct a brief scenario that accounts for all the things he writes in these first two stanzas? Notes: Q6. What have been the benefits of David s meditation in verse 5? v8 v9 v10a v10b Read verses 11 and 12, the final stanza. Q7. In what way is Psalm 143:11 quite like Psalm 142:7? Q8. Now review the whole psalm and list the reasons that David gives the LORD as to why he should hear his prayer and rescue him from the enemy. v1 v2 v3 v6 v7

v8 v9 v10 v11 v12 Illustration 2: King David Praying Q9. What is the main idea behind why David expects God to hear him and save him? Does this help us with our praying at all? Notes:

Psalm 144 Part Your Heavens, LORD LMCC 2016 Sing CMP 193 God moves in a mysterious way

Psalm 144 Part Your Heavens, LORD Psalm 144 is the 7th in this last collection of 8 Davidic psalms, 138 to 145. As usual, King David is in trouble, Cf. Psalms 140-143, but perhaps in less trouble than previously! Read Psalm 144:1-8 Q1. What kind of psalm is this? THANKSGIVING PRAYER PRAISE IMPRECATION TEACHING REPENTANCE MEDITATION WISDOM Q2. What indications are there that David is perhaps in less trouble this time? See verses 1-3. Q3. What is the big comparison in verses 1 to 4? Q4. Why would the mountains smoke in verses 5? Q5. Although David now seems to have some military victories behind him, what trouble is there still out there? Pick out the key words from verses 5 to 8. v6 v7 v8 Read verses 9 to 11. Q6. What is the main prayer here, and in the psalm?

Q7. What reasons does David give to his God to answer his prayer? v9 v10 v11 Read verses 12 to 15. Q8. List the other blessings that God will give when he answers David s prayers. Blessings Modern Equivalents v12 v13 v14 v15 Q9. What are the modern equivalents of the blessings that David expects in verses 12 to 15? Q10. How many of these might we expect to receive in this life on this earth?

Q11. What are the dangers of believing a kind of health, wealth and prosperity version of the gospel? Notes:

Psalm 145 The ABC of Praise LMCC 2016 Sing CMP 564 Praise to the Lord

Psalm 145 The ABC of Praise Psalm 145 is the 8th in this last collection of 8 Davidic psalms, 138 to 145. For a change, King David is not in trouble. In fact, with the order in which the psalms are arranged, it seems that David s prayers for help and mercy have now been answered. Q1. Before reading the psalm, take a look at 140:13 and 142:7. Then see if in Psalm 145 David keeps his promises to the LORD. Read Psalm 145. Q2. What kind of psalm is this? THANKSGIVING PRAYER TEACHING WISDOM PRAISE REPENTANCE IMPRECATION ACROSTIC MEDITATION EVANGELISTIC Q3. How many verses in the psalm praise, or are about praising, the LORD? Why is the answer not 22 (the number of letters in the Hebrew alephbet)? [Clue: Check the footnotes.] Q4. How many different words does the psalmist use to refer to God? List them: Notice how the psalm alternates between talking to God and talking about God. This is quite normal in Hebrew poetry.

Q5. Read verses 1 to 8 again, list and discuss all the separate things for which the LORD is being praised. v1 v2 v3 v4 v5 v6 v7 v8 Q6. Verses 9 to 21 have a new emphasis in them. What is it? [Clue: Look for the words all and every.] Q7. In what ways is the LORD good to all he has made? V9 Q8.What indications are that God s kingdom is actually global, universal and certainly not limited to the Jews? Verses 9 to 21.

Q9. What is the connection between praise and evangelism? vv. 4,12,21 How should this affect our meetings and services, and how we pray for them? Q10. What important wisdom do verses 18, 19 and 20 add to our understanding of who can and does praise the LORD? Q11. How is it possible for every creature to praise God? v21b [Clue: Look in Psalm 19:1.] ----------------------------------------------------- END --------------------------------------------------------------