First, we see that it is a psalm of deliverance & is very positive and full of thanksgiving. The first 2 verses strike a high note of praise. Joy and gratitude pours from the heart of David. [And observe, he is still undergoing trials & afflictions, v. 13.]

When we go through trials we find it very hard to praise God. How could David be so positive and so full of praise?  I believe he was in the habit of praising God repeatedly every day; see Psalm 119.164. We pray more than we praise God. We moan & complain instead of magnifying God through praise & worship.

Secondly, the psalm is full of faith. As we have said, deliverance has been accomplished (vv 3-4); God has pleaded David’s cause & vindicated him; as a consequence, his enemies are routed. But David continues to go through afflictions, v.13.

The approach of the man of God is: ‘God who delivered me in the past, will deliver me even now and in the future.’ Was that not Paul’s attitude also, as we see in 2 Corinthians 1.10? Both David and Paul are strong in faith, because they have passed through many trials, many experiences of death, and they have come on to resurrection ground. Compare 9.13b and 2 Cor 1.9. If we want strong & unshaken faith, we must go through deep experiences of the cross. It is the cross that brings us to the higher ground of a deeper knowledge of Christ and a more steadfast mustard-seed faith.

Thirdly, we observe that David is not complacent about God. He knows that God who has delivered him in the past will continue to deliver him. But He is not passive or resigned to the situation; he keeps crying out for help and mercy, v.13. The psalms reflect the continuous outpouring of prayers from the heart of the man of God. May we also learn to pour out our heart to God in prayers and praises. This is daily devotional exercise that we must cultivate.

Fourthly, we see how David through his deep personal experiences has proved the faithfulness & righteousness of God, that ‘God is faithful’. The Lord will never forsake those who seek Him, v.10. God never forgets the cry of the afflicted, the humble, v.12. Are we longing for God? Are we crying out to Him?

Now David as one who represents the righteous, seeing how God has obtained the victory for him, in him and through him in a personal level, brings out the faithfulness and righteousness of God on to the general  & universal level, vv. 5-6. You, O Lord, who have dealt righteously and mercifully in my case, have always done so in the history of the nations. How did God deal with the seven ungodly nations in Canaan? Deut 7.1. How did God deal with Pharaoh and Egypt? How terrible were His judgments in Egypt! We know how God dealt with Babylon, Egypt, Edom & Tyre. When God passes a final judgment, it is final, irrevocable. Therefore let the rebellious & ungodly nations tremble before Him.

The ungodly are like the chaff which the wind blows away. Does that not remind you of Dan 2.35? Is that not what David is saying in vv. 5b, 6c? ‘Their names have been blotted out forever; their very memory has perished.’ Has not Babylon the great empire become a desolation? Jer 51.29, 37. Very shortly the Babylon of modern civilization (the political, religious and commercial ‘Babylon’) will be judged & condemned forever. Read Revelation 18.

Fifthly, we see the God of retribution. Those who dig a pit will fall into it; those who hide a net will be snared by it. The Lord will avenge His saints, Rev 16.6. For all the blood of the martyrs spilt throughout history, there is going to be a terrible carnage. O you godless ones, read the Book of Revelation and tremble. We are warned in the Old Testament by  the instances of proud & wicked individuals who met God’s dreadful retribution. Haman hung from his own gallows, Saul who threw his spear at both David & Jonathan, was killed by an Amalekite with his own spear. (Though he fell on his sword, he did not die. I believe the Amalekite killed him with his spear.) And do we not know the fate of Adonibezek, Agag, Ahithophel? Perhaps the most dreadful example of God’s retributive justice is Pharaoh of Egypt. There is a divine principle: ‘as you sow, you will reap’. Gal 6.7-8; Hos 8.7. Sow to the flesh, and you will reap corruption. Sow the wind, and you will reap the whirlwind.

Sixthly, and most importantly, in this Psalm we see God’s throne, vv. 4, 7. It is a throne of grace for all the saints, or as the O.T. puts it, for the ‘poor & needy’, v.18. There are several comforting verses in this Psalm: 9-10, 12, 13c, 14c, 18. But while the throne is a throne of grace, it is also a throne of judgment. And God’s judgment & justice predominate in this psalm, vv. 4, 5-6, 7-8, 16 & 19. The throne means that God is in full control. The wicked cannot escape. And neither can we, if we take God lightly and harbour casual & indifferent thoughts about God. We live in an age of sentimentality, shallowness & spurious faith.

David is conscious of the throne of God; though it is not recorded that he had a vision of God’s throne like Isaiah and John. Now we believers must also be conscious of  and in touch with the throne of God. We see the altar, but not the throne. Acts of the Apostles shows clearly that the early church was in constant touch with the throne of God, and that throne was brought to bear upon every conspiracy and onslaught of the wicked against the children of God.

Finally, the Psalm ends with a homily against man. Let not man prevail, v.19a. Let the nations realize that they are ‘but men’, v.20b. We live in an age where ungodly man is constantly being glorified. Who is man? He is a mere breath, Ps.39.5, a vain show, Ps.39.6; lighter than breath, Ps. 62.9. What are the nations? They are a drop in a bucket, Isa. 40.15; they are dust on the balances, Isa. 40.17. The believer too must realize that he like Jacob is a ‘mere worm’, Isa 41.14. David is not impressed by outward show, by man’s false glory or his splendid talents & gifts. How much we idolize man! Humanism and modern science are reprehensible to God. David is not afraid of Goliath, even as Elijah was not afraid of Ahab. The man of God stands in the presence of God, and he knows that his God is a living God, an almighty God, who alone is worthy to be worshipped forever & ever. How dare man exalt himself before the living & awesome God!

Why does David refer to the nations as the wicked, the ungodly? We observe that the wicked have (i) no fear of God, v.20a; (ii) they forget God; ie. God is not at all in their thoughts, v.17; (iii) and they constantly plot against and persecute the children of God,v.15. Will not God, for the honor of His name, judge them for this? He will surely do so.

Usually the custom during the Watchnight Service on 31st December and the New Year’s Day service on 1st January  is to speak on the three Promises given to the Church. But I had already spoken on two Promises – one in the Final Message of the Watchnight Service on 31st December 2011; the other in the Table Message of the Sunday service on 1st January 2012. Now, instead of speaking on a Promise, the Lord opened the door for me to speak in a new way on Psalm 128.

The Psalm begins with: “Blessed is every one that fears the Lord.” The subject:  the fear of the Lord. Right there on the wall in front of me were three verses, all talking about the fear of God. God speaks in marvellous ways! He showed me that it was alright to speak on a different subject, instead of the conventional one. His ways are often ways of surprise and wonderment. The entire Psalm was read, along with other portions of Scripture which explain the fear of the Lord – such as Psalm 111.10, Eccles 12.13, Job 28.28.

Psalm 128.1b shows how fear of the Lord means ‘walking in God’s ways, i.e. the way of righteousness, the narrow way, the way of holiness, the way of the Cross. I also showed how the sevenfold Spirit of the Lord upon Jesus, in Isaiah 11.2, included the spirit of the fear of the Lord. (And how this spirit of the fear of God gave spiritual sensitivity to the one who had such fear, Isaiah 11.3)  I also read Luke 1.50 where Mary sings of God’s mercy being on them that fear Him from generation to generation.

Then I spoke of the fourfold blessing that God gives to the one who has the fear of the Lord. First, the blessing is Personal. “You shall eat the fruit of your hands; you shall be happy, and it shall be well with you.”  I spoke of how the righteous man (who has the fear of the Lord) prospers in all that he does, Psalm 1.3. And I gave the example of Joseph in Gen 39.3, 23. “The Lord made all that Joseph did to prosper in his hand.” Joseph had the fear of God, which is why he resisted the temptation of Potiphar’s wife.

The blessing then passes on to the Family. Your wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of the house. She is a blessing to the home and to the neighbours. Your children shall be like olive plants around the table. Olive plants speak of health and strength. What a blessed home  God grants to the one who fears Him!

Then the blessing passes on to the Church. It says: “The Lord shall bless you out of Zion, and you shall see the good of Jerusalem all the days of your life.” You will have the blessings of the Church. And why? Because the one who fears God is himself a blessing to the Church! Oh, how the Lord is seeking for such God-fearing and righteous men to fill His church! And what blessings are in store for them. They themselves shall be a blessing to many!

Finally, ”You shall see your children’s children, and peace upon Israel.” Job was one who feared God. In Job 42.16,17 we read of how Job saw his sons and his sons’ sons, ‘even four generations’. And he died, being old and full of days. The same blessing was enjoyed by Abraham, who ‘died in a good old age, an old man, and full of years’ – seeing his sons and his sons’ sons and perhaps even his great grandchildren! Gen 25.8. And I concluded by mentioning Obed-Edom – the one who kept the ark of God in his house for 3 months and was immensely blessed by the Lord. Why? Because he revered the ark, unlike the household of Abinadab. (Which is why judgment fell upon Uzzah, Abinadab’s son. Read 1 Chron 13.). The blessings on Obed-Edom are recounted in 1 Chron 26:4-8.

God is so wonderfully gracious. It is not only personal blessing, but family blessing and church blessing and blessing from generation to generation…and the blessing passes on to ‘Israel’ – the nation of the people of God. Oh, how much God wants to bless the one who truly fears Him and walks in His ways!

David had many enemies: Saul, Doeg, Ahithophel, Shimei – and even his own rebellious son, Absalom. So Mordecai had his Haman, and Daniel during the reign of Darius was plotted against by his fellow commissioners and satraps. This shows the fierce, implacable hatred of Satanic forces against the man of God. The venom of the old Serpent has been instilled in such wicked elements, and they continually nurse anger, hatred, prejudice, spite, jealousy and vengeance against the children of God. They are always plotting to trip up the feet of the saints, they hide traps and cords and nets, and those vicious snares called gins, to destroy the righteous if they can.

It is a nightmarish experience, but the Lord allows His children to go through such painful situations time and again. The enemy, moreover,  indulges in a campaign of slander against God’s children. “They sharpen their tongues like a serpent, the poison of vipers is under their lips.” So much slander and vilification – and often many (including believers and friends!)  believe these lies. That is how the people of Israel were deceived by Absalom and Ahithophel. Nothing can be worse than the weapon of the tongue. No wonder James said it was ‘the very world of iniquity’, and ‘it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison’, Jas 3.6, 8. It was Satan, through his subtle and shrewd tongue, who maligned God before Eve.

David cries out to God. God is his salvation. It is God who covers his head in the day of battle. Don’t we remember how Paul the apostle speaks of  the helmet of salvation. God is his shield; God is his deliverance. David prays for retribution. In his great distress and agony, he cries out to God for justice. And so the mischief of these wicked conspirators comes down upon their own heads. We know what happened to Saul, and to Absalom and Ahithophel; we know how Haman was hung up on his own gallows; and how those who plotted against Daniel were thrown into the lions’ den. Truly, vengeance belongs to the Lord.

We cannot fight Satan or his evil agents with the weapons of this world. We can only cry out to our Saviour and Preserver and Protector in heaven, the Lord Jesus Christ. It is God who fights our battles for us. And so David says, “I know that the Lord will maintain the cause of the afflicted and justice for the poor.” It seems so hard to believe and hold on to God when we are in the midst of a severe trial and going through great distress. But David says, “I know!” He knows how again and again the Lord has delivered him from the hands of his enemies, and finally established him upon the throne of Israel. He says confidently, “Surely the righteous will give thanks to Your name, O Lord. The upright will dwell in Your presence.”

And so David, from the initial heart-rending cry of ‘Rescue me, O Lord…’, in a scene where he is being hunted by violent men, is lifted up in the final verse of the Psalm to dwell in God’s lofty presence – away from all the evil, deceit, pollution and violence of this wicked world. It is through such painful situations – such great crises of the spiritual life – that we are brought into the heavenly realm of God’s calm and abiding presence. We are lifted up above the noxious fumes of vicious conspiracies and slander to come into the soothing presence of the just and faithful God, who will never allow His children to suffer more than they can bear – and who knows just how to deliver His saints from the day of distress in a mighty ‘last minute deliverance’!

This Psalm is truly an encouragement for suffering souls.

They say, “You must advertise, you must have publicity, you must organize, you must bring in all these things to support it, to carry it on.” If you did none of those; if you were never heard of in the press; if you never had a report; if you never had any names; if there was nothing at all that came out in a public way for people to take account of, what is the verdict of organized Christianity? “Nothing is being done. You are doing nothing. It is a-hole-in-a-corner sort of thing.”

Is that true? What must we say about that? There was a striking absence of all that in the beginning, and a marvelous manifestation of power, of progress, of effectiveness, so that nothing could stand in the way. We must only conclude, we are driven to this extremity, that the Lord can do His own work. Evidently the risen Lord is able to carry on His own work; the Holy Ghost knows how to manage things. What a surprising discovery! Forgive my irony.

I say, this is that upon which Hebrews 12:26-28 is fixed. “I will shake the earth and the heavens”; that which can be shaken will be shaken; that which cannot be shaken will remain; and what is that? It is what God has done. “Whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever.” What God does is done in a spiritual way; it is spiritual, it is heavenly, it is eternal.

T.A.S.

*****

Popular Christianity, with its names of popular preachers and teachers – whether they be charismatic, calvinistic or evangelistic – lives by organisation and publicity. Other churches have their titles like Reverend and Minister. Some even add secular degrees to their names like Doctor. Popular Christianity is the work of man; not the work of God.

God works in a silent way, and often the press and media are not aware of what is happening. So God worked in different parts of the world, and He is still working in many unknown regions, and people are not aware of it. Because our God hides Himself. Man loves to project himself and boast about what he is doing for God. But the real work is done by God and God alone, and those who work for Him (and allow Him to work in them) are those who care not to advertise themselves. They seek no glory for themselves. All glory goes to God.

We have to learn how to live by the power of Christ’s resurrection, so that the death around us is not able so to impinge upon us as to bring us into its grip. Resurrection union with the Lord Jesus means that we are not involved in the death that is all around us. We can move in scenes of death and not be touched by death. This is a very important lesson to learn, how to be in Life in the midst of death…. In the resurrection of the Lord Jesus we are delivered from the curse – that is, from the death which works vanity – and we have been brought into the place where we can go right through to the Divine end, the full realization that vanity no longer rests upon us. We are no longer held up; no longer in the position that we live and come to a point and that is the end, and we can go no further. We can go right on now! The fruit of Life can come to perfection because the power of death in the curse has been canceled in the power of His resurrection. The condemnation has been removed.

T.A.S.
*****

Read this extract slowly and carefully. Ponder over what is written. We need to live by ‘the power of His resurrection’, Phil 3.10.

“Unto us a Child is born’. That speaks of the birth of Christ. He was born as a babe in a stable in Bethlehem. When the wise men visited, Mary and Joseph were not in the stable (as erroneously depicted in Nativity scenes), but in a house. The wise men came probably a few months later, or may be even a year after. How do we know this? Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, sent forth and slew all the children in Bethlehem and its surrounding areas, “from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men.” Matt 2.16

“Unto us a Son is given.’ The Child was born historically, but the Son is the focus of the prophecy here. God has given us His only begotten Son, John 3.16. He is the gift of God’s amazing grace. We have to receive Him, John 1.12. We can either accept the gift or spurn it.

The fourfold title is Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. (In some versions, there are five titles, but four seems to be apt according to the expression of the language.)

Wonderful Counsellor. Speaks of the Wisdom of God. Christ is our wisdom, 1 Cor 1.30. We receive wisdom and counsel from the Word of God. It is through the Word of God that we know the will of God. A born again child of God hears the voice of the Lord when he meditates on God’s Word. God’s ways are past finding out, Rom 11.33. His ways are higher than man’s ways, Isa 55.8, 9. We cannot depend on our natural wisdom – man’s wisdom is only foolishness to God. We have to learn how to walk in the Spirit, and not after the soul (man’s intellectual)

Mighty God. Speaks of the Power of God. All power belongs to Him, Psalm 62.11. Christ is the power of God. His power is released to us in our weakness, 2 Cor 12.9. We live by His mighty resurrection power. God is Almighty. Satan can do nothing to the child of God, without God’s permission. There is power in the Word of God – even a little fragment of the Word! And there is power in prayer – even in a little heart-felt cry. And there is power in the Blood of Jesus, and there is power in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ. All power and authority has been given to the Risen Christ, Matt 28.18

Everlasting Father. Speaks of the Love of God. The benediction says: ‘The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father…’. When we are born again, the heavenly Father pours His love into us through the Holy Spirit, Rom 5.5. We have the inner witness that we are the children of God, Rom 8.16. We are always the children of God – the relationship remains unbroken. The Prodigal son was always his Father’s son. The Father continually waited for his son to return. We may lose the joy of fellowship or communion, but the bond of relationship (father-son) is never broken. We have come into God’s family. The church functions as our mother, Isa 66.13; Gal 4.26. (We need however to have a revelation of the heavenly Jerusalem!)

Prince of Peace. Speak of the Peace of God. When we are born again by faith in Jesus Christ and His sacrifice on the Cross, we have ‘peace with God’, Rom 5.1. We are reconciled to God. Then the peace of Christ flows into our hearts (through the Word, through prayer, through fellowship, through the Spirit). Read Phil 4.6,7; John 14.27; Isa 26.3; Col 3.15; 2 Thess 3.16. Then we have ‘peace with one another’. There are no barriers of nationality, race, class or caste. There is neither Jew nor Gentile. Finally, there is peace all over the earth at the return of Christ. We need to enjoy God’s peace continually in our hearts, for He is the God of peace, Rom 16.20. Satan will always try to rob us of our peace. Peace is a great weapon over the enemy, and it is strengthened by faith and prayer!

The second thing we notice is that David is being falsely accused. He is being slandered by many. Satan is the one who keeps accusing us falsely. If his direct attack fails, then he will try calumny and lies. He hates the children of God. David was one who was hated more than any other man of God, barring Joseph. He was neglected by his father, hated & rebuked by his brothers, pursued by Saul and cursed by Shimei.

Why was Saul so angry with David, and wanted to ‘tear his soul like a lion’? David remembers the sight of a lion dragging away a poor, defenseless lamb. The same David had come to its rescue. Now he cries out to God to rescue him from the rage of his enemies.

Thirdly, we see David pleading his innocence. He never conspired against Saul, despite Saul trying to kill him again & again. His heart was pure; his hands were clean. In fact, twice David let Saul escape (1 Sam 24 & 26).

Fourthly, David cries out to God the Righteous Judge. He calls Him, ‘LORD, my God’ (the 1st time we come across this phrase in the Psalms). Yes, Jehovah is MY God. He is my Redeemer. The Lord Jesus Christ is MY God and Savior. But He is also Judge, the Righteous Judge, seated on the Judgment Seat, 7b, surrounded by His people who cry out for justice. Yes, the Lord will vindicate His people. No weapon formed against them will prosper; and every tongue that falsely accuses them will the Lord condemn. Isaiah 54.17.

Fifthly, David takes refuge in God and sees God as his shield, his defence, 10. David has left the matter of his vindication in the hands of his Righteous Judge, 11.

And, sixthly, we see how the Righteous Judge responds. If the anger of the wicked is like a fierce lion pouncing on a poor lamb, the wrath of God is even more terrible. God is angry with the wicked every day, 11b. He is patient & longsuffering, wanting the wicked to repent, 12a. But if he does not, then the Lord’s sword & arrows (fiery shafts) will fall. That’s exactly what happened to Saul. Saul was wounded by the arrows of the Philistines (who he plotted to use to destroy David). Saul was killed by the sword of the Amalekite (whom he spared in 1 Sam 15).

God’s retribution! Haman was hanged upon the gallows he himself had prepared. Ahitophel’s cunning recoiled on himself, and he went & hanged himself. Even the Rich Man in Luke’s gospel, who did not give a crumb to the beggar Lazarus, received not a drop in return. As you sow, you shall reap, Gal 6.7

Seventhly, as God’s children, we have to go through such painful experiences. Envy, jealousy, malice, hate. It was out of envy that the chief priests accused the Lord Jesus before Pilate, and stirred up the crowd to demand our Lord’s crucifixion. Envy like a canker burns in the soul and blinds us with hate. Our greatest enemies are from within; false friends who betray us (like Judas), jealous companions. Why so? If the flesh is not completely crucified, if the cross has not dealt completely with our old nature, we too can betray the Lord and deny Him and be no better than the uncircumcised Philistines. The Philistines dwelt in Palestine along with the Israelites; but the difference was that they were ‘uncircumcised’ (the mark of the cross was lacking in them). So also in the church, there is the mixed multitude. And it takes the inward cross to separate the sheep from the goats.

The Lord in His wisdom takes His children through fiery experiences so that they can see how deceitful and wicked the human heart is, and how incorrigible the flesh remains.