Epaggelia

v1, Christ sitting at the right hand of God, shows as much terror to his enemies as happiness to his people. The power of this victory will be the utter ruin of his enemies. We have here the Redeemer saving his friends, and comforting them. Matthew 22:44, 28:18

v2, We need to pray for the continued use of the rod of divine strength. It was by his rod that Moses beat the Egyptians, and made miracles for Israel, and whenever the Lord Jesus sends forth the rod of his strength, our spiritual enemies are overcome today. There is an allusion here to Aaron’s rod which budded and so proved his power; stored in the ark, but our Lord’s rod is sent forth to subdue his enemies. This promise began to be fulfilled at Pentecost, and it continues even to this day, and will have a grander fulfilment, Revelation 6:2

v3, This work of grace in our regeneration is here described, for it is a spiritual resurrection. Even as the holy dead rise gladly into the lovely image of our Lord, so do our enlivened souls put on the glorious righteousness of Christ. We stand before the Lord and serve him. How truly beautiful is holiness! God himself admires it. How wonderful also is the eternal youth of the mystical body of Christ! As the dew is new every morning, so is there constant growth to give to the church perpetual youthfulness, 2nd Corinthians 8:5.

v4, Melchizedek is an eternal glimpse through our history that shows Jesus is sworn in to be the priest of his people, and he indeed lives on, because his commission is sealed by the unchanging oath of the immutable Jehovah. If his priesthood could be revoked, and his authority removed, it would be the end of all hope and life for the people he loves; but this sure rock is the basis of our security, Hebrews 7:11-24.

v5,  In the last days all the kingdoms of the earth shall be overcome by the kingdom of heaven, and those who dare oppose him will meet with overwhelming ruin. What are kings when they dare oppose the Son of God? A single stroke is enough for their destruction. When the angel of the Lord hit Herod Agrippa there was no second blow; he was eaten by worms and died, Acts 4:26 & 12:1. Pilate too met an embarrassing end, as well as Herod the Great, about whom Josephus records, “a loathsome disease descended upon the ruler as a judgment from God on account of his sins. He describes the horrible details —burning fever, ulcerated entrails, foul discharges, convulsions, stench, etc. (Antiquities 17.6.5).

v6, This doesn’t need to be understood literally, but as a poetical description of the overthrow of all rebellious powers and the defeat of all unholy principles. But if kings oppose the Lord with weapons of war, the result is their overwhelming defeat and the entire destruction of their forces, 2nd Thessalonians 2:8

v7, Expressing the joyous comfort, which Christ, as man, has in the presence of God, and at his right hand, having finished the work of our salvation; he then drinks to his refreshment of the river of divine pleasure, when God showed him the path of life, and raised him from the dead, and gave him glory, and introduced him into his presence; wherein is our fullness of joy, and pleasures for evermore, Psalm 16:11 & Revelation 22:1-2.

This psalm is more like a prayer attempting to invoke God to curse, judge and punish our enemy. This thought in prayer is usually based on a covenant, not just our own human desire for vengeance or justice, see Genesis 12:3 & Deuteronomy 28:1-2 & 15. When David wrote this Psalm by inspiration, he wrote it as a king, being responsible for the welfare and protection of God’s children. David was also responsible for the justice system, the prosecution and execution of capital crimes. This kind of prayer is truly personal, but coming from a King, also has a public aspect towards matters of injustice to the throne of God, not acts of vengeance. David always recognized the truth of Romans 12:19, “Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY,’ says the Lord.” See Deuteronomy 32:35.  It is our prerogative to pray for God to avenge wrongs, because vengeance belongs to Him (Deut 32:35; Romans 12:19–21). These prayers are a divinely appointed source of power for believers in their powerlessness. In the face of sustained injustice, hardened enmity, and gross oppression, they are the Christians’ hope that divine justice will indeed be realized—not only in the long term future (2 Thess. 1:6– 10) but also in “the land of the living” (Ps. 27:13). This psalm is not contrary to the New Testament teaching to love and forgive our enemies, see Luke 18:7–8. Forgiveness is often prayed for, but it is never realized without repentance and if our enemy will not repent and seems bent on evil, then they will indeed perish!

v. 8 “Let another take his office.” This statement is understood by Luke as divinely inspired prophecy in the promised Messiah’s establishment of justice, see Acts 1:20 which cites this statement from Psalm 109 as fulfilled with the death of Judas and the appointment of Matthias to the vacated apostleship. Just as David prayed that his chief enemy might be removed from his position of authority, so also Judas, the enemy of David’s greater Son – Jesus Christ, must  have Judas removed from his position.

v14, sounds inappropriate from a Christians perspective but “Fathers” have a certain specific responsibility for the sin of their children. The sweetness of vengeance lay in its completeness. The curse must strike backwards as well as forwards, and the root as well as the branch should be destroyed. Undoubtedly the Mosaic Law, Ex. 20:5, which proclaimed that the “iniquity of the fathers should be visited on the children,” suggested this form of punishment. The fact of the matter is that children and children’s children often suffer from the errors, the crimes of their parents, as in the case of alcoholism, drug addiction and even murder (compare Romans 5:12) and the prayer here is, that this regular effect of sin might follow in this instance; that these consequences might not be stopped by divine intervention.

v20 is most likely an appeal to the Mosaic law regarding false witnesses (Deut 19:15–21).

v23, David was not experiencing God’s blessings while writing this Psalm. This made other people question God’s justice and faithfulness. If God would again bless David and curse his enemy, this would show onlookers that God’s promises are trustworthy. In these verses, David described how he felt in his downtrodden condition. “The locust or grasshopper is proverbial as being a defenseless inoffensive little creature that is soon driven away, Job 39:40

v25,  Shaking the head can signify rejection or astonishment (Psalm 64:8: Lam. 2:15). The Lord Jesus’ enemies spoke these very words as He hung on the cross (Matt. 27:42-43).

A Christians lesson from this Psalm is this: When attacked, be a prayer first responder.  When tempted to sin, look to God and consider the impact upon your family. Be characterized by prayer and praise Christ, regardless of your circumstances. God is faithful!

v1, A joyful noise can not be noise, unless it has a level of decibels in sound which is more than just audible, it should be a considerable volume. Sadly, some Christians sing every song, like a funeral dirge that barely registers decibels. We should understand volume as a virtue in singing. Do not keep your gratitude in a corner, put it on the rooftop! When people praised Jesus (Luke 19:37) their praise was filled with noise because of the hope they had in Jesus. This would have been reminiscent of Psalm 47:1. While his people praised him, the earth had no need to rejoice with a noise, but Jesus reminded his enemies that if they didn’t praise Him, the very rocks would cry out, Luke 19:40, which is not a poetic reference to his creation, but rather a literal promise, because when Jesus was crucified while his disciples ran in silence, the resurrection did cause rocks to split and indeed noises were heard, Matthew 27:51.

v2, Singing as a service is serving with gladness. Psalm 22:3 tells us that our praise gives God’s rule a close proximity to our heart, that is, if your praise is truly coming from our heart and not just our vocal chords. Jesus himself rejoiced in the Spirit, Luke 10:21. If we are to follow him, how should we sing?

v3, We should want to acknowledge Jesus as God in this creation every day of the week, not just Sunday. To “Laud” his power in creation daily should never lead us to think we can live anyway we want and then go on Sunday to worship and turn it on, This creation we live in daily is his, and this should affect our daily praise, 1st Corinthians 6:19-20

v4, The gates and courts of God’s Temple, is only the introduction to the presence of his holiness. This is a significant and appropriate place for Jews to praise God with gratitude, BUT, we Christians are IN His Temple. According to the faith of the Hebrew Christian writer, when we gather on Sunday, where exactly are we? See Hebrews 12:22-23. Therefore we should always be looking for ways to express gratitude. We should be grateful to God for his Son, not for music itself. We should not love the music, but rather we should love God who gave us the music. Music can assist our heart to worship but music can not make a non-worshipping heart into a worshipping heart. Only God’s powerful love does that. We should not use music to manufacture our praise, we should use music to help us deliver praise.

v5,  Praise based upon knowing God is GOOD, LOVING and FAITHFUL is always helpful, no matter what day of the week it is sung on. Having experienced the goodness, love and faithful providence of God, is what is often a springboard of praise. He is Good because he never lies, Titus 1:2. He is Loving in what he has done and does today, His love is resilient, Psalm 118:1-4. God is faithful because he has always kept his promises, and will return in fulfillment of the only promise yet to be fully realized, Matthew 16:27

v1-4, God is the Lord of vengeance, which is why we should leave vengeance to Him, and bless our enemies, instead of curse them. Using the words of Jesus, benefits The Lord, and will ultimately bring rewards, even in this life, Luke 6:27-38. This is not the modern false-gospel of prosperity, but rather a dependence on God to provide a cup that overflows with blessings in the face of our enemy. The Jews were promised the same type of justice in Deuteronomy 32:3-5. Blessings are rarely seen as monetary.

v5, We may marvel at persecution and wonder why God allows it to this day, but it’s nothing new, our victory is secured in our faith of Christ’s resurrection. Remember John during his persecution had this to hold on to when he saw the vision of the bloody prostitute, Rev. 17:6.

V6-10, Because our Lord is both Ruler & Creator, then everything God’s creation does, He both understands and judges. His rule does not necessitate arbitrary authority, but rather a power that controls our consequences, not our choices. If God controlled our choices, then His power & authority would be motivated by fear, not love. Love allows freedom and liberty to make serious mistakes, but powerful justice demands the perfect consequence!

V11-13, see 1st Corinthians 3:20.

v14-15, see Romans 11:1. This passage contains one of the most comforting promises in the entire Bible, v14 is the preface for Hebrews 13:5.

v16-18, Both the Psalmist and Paul, had a connection with Daniel’s victory over the lions, see 2nd Timothy 4:16-17. God protected them and he will protect us to do His will, not our own. The phrase “living in the Land of Silence”, is a clear reference to the Psalmists faith in God’s powerful protection even AFTER death. Even when we as Christians are convinced we are going to receive the death sentence, it happens, because God wants us to rely on Him for life itself, 2nd Corinthians 1:9. God did not kill the lions for Daniel, he merely shut their mouths. He leaves the threat of physical persecution very real in our life, but secures us safely in spirit. Why? So that even our enemies can see our faith in God’s goodness even in the face of what they call the worst case scenario.

v19, If we want to be really happy, deep down inside, we need to first rely on God’s encouragement. Philippians 4:4 is a command which necessitates faith in God’s fulfilled promises, personally! Then and only then can we efficiently cast our anxieties upon the Lord because, we not only believe he cares, but from experience, we KNOW he cares.

v20-23,   Wicked rulers can not be allied with God, but God can indeed appoint governments that allow evil people to lead in the work of making & enforcing laws that affect Christians, see Romans 13:1-3. Ultimately, the following comes true for every governing ruler that is evil, “But the LORD has become my stronghold, and my God the rock of my refuge. He will bring back on them their iniquity and wipe them out for their wickedness; the LORD our God will wipe them out.~ Psa. 94:22-23

v1, So many of God’s children have experienced this intimate residence with our God as a providential Father, but none of us have enjoyed the ultimate protection that this Psalm proclaims. Being faithful to our God is at best, risky and at worst, dangerously painful. The Apostle John best described this paradox in 1Jn. 4:15-16. Love as God can be both tender and a torment, almost simultaneously.

v 2-3, Who in the world, could ever boast and sing about such safe protection? Only Christ, and yet even he suffered agony & death. Jesus Christ experienced his life being put through the wringer of death, and proclaimed in advance that our God is not the God of the dead, but of the living, Luke 20:38.

v4-5, This picture within the praise of the Psalmist is exactly how Jesus felt and looked upon Jerusalem with all his enemies, Mat. 23:37. The courage of faithful children of God is modeled on the bravery of Jesus, with stories like Joshua being told by God to be courageous, Joshua 1:6-9. We too can shove fear aside, with the experience of living with the Spirit of Christ, Ephesians 6:10-20.

v6-10, The thought of God’s judgement  wreaking punishment upon our enemies, might make us wonder about being caught in the crossfire or consequence of such destruction, but safety is real. The law of Moses predicted His enemies would suffer defeat in military terms such as this; Deuteronomy 32:23-35, closely associates military attacks with deadly disease. Alluding to one of the effects of siege warfare on the population of an entrapped city, which was especially vulnerable to the outbreak of epidemics. This reminds us of the words of the Hebrew Christian writer, “For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?” Hebrews 2:2-3. ONLY IN CHRIST!

v11-12, The devil himself knew this Psalm was prophetically pointed to the Christ in Jesus, and even when satan quotes it, Jesus rebukes him, as if to say, it may be true, but your the last person on earth with a right to quote it & test it’s authenticity, Luke 4:10-11. As a word of warning: It is dangerous for Christians to use these words from this Psalm, as some have historically in amulets designed to function as magical protection. Moreover, the promise of angelic protection in verse 11 was the basis for the belief in personal angels who protected individual believers with the result that angels became objects of veneration. Christians should not use Psalm 91 as a magical guarantee against the various deadly threats that they encounter on life’s journey. Instead, the security that Psalm 91 promises should be accepted in humble trust as belonging to Christ and in Christ alone. It is this humble acceptance of these promises that enabled Jesus to use the words of Psalm 31:5 from the cross, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.”

v13-16, Some of this Psalm sounds like it is written in the third person, as if the Psalmist is talking to himself, with God as his audience. Kind of like the words of the Lord’s prayer in John 17:1-4. Part of our human experience which both Jesus and the Psalmist used is what modern researchers and doctors have found, which is that people create distance between themselves and whatever is causing negative emotions, like fear or anxiety, when they self-talk in the third person. It kind of switches you to a different mode of experiencing negative emotions when you use your name rather than the word, ‘I,’ It’s like your viewing it from an outsiders perspective. Observed by Jason Moser, an associate professor in the department of psychology neuroscience program at Michigan State University.

Asaph is identified with twelve Psalms and is said to be the son of Berechiah who is said to be an ancestor of the Levitical Asaphites. He is also known as one of the three Levites commissioned by King David to be in charge of singing in the house of The LORD. In 1Chronicles 6:39, David appoints a man named Heman as the main musician or singer and Asaph as Heman’s right hand assistant and the Merarites at his left hand.  Asaph is also credited with performing at the dedication of Solomon’s Temple in 2Chronicles 5:12. During his long term, Asaph saw the best and worst of officials. His complaint against corruption among the rich and influential, recorded in Psalm 72 & 73, might have been directed towards some of the officials or rulers in Psalm 82.

The most reasonable explanation of v6, is the view most widely held over the centuries. The “gods” referred to in Psalm 82:1 and v6 are the rulers of Israel, who have failed to carry out their responsibilities as God’s representatives in the ruling of the nation. There are O.T. verses to support this interpretation: The way elohim (gods) is used elsewhere in the Old Testament, shows that the term elohim almost always refers to the one and only God, the God of Israel (Deut. 4:35,39). It sometimes refers to the so-called “gods” of the paganistic gentiles (Judges 11:24; 1Kings 18:24). The term also occasionally identifies “… rulers and/or judges as divine representatives at sacred places…”. Several passages may use elohim in this sense: “Moreover, he [Aaron] shall speak for you [Moses] to the people; and it shall come about that he shall be as a mouth for you, and you shall be as God [elohim] to him” (Exod. 4:16). Also, Then the Lord said to Moses, “See, I make you as God [elohim] to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron shall be your prophet” (Exod. 7:1). “Then his master shall bring him to God [elohim, or, the judges who acted in God’s name, margin, NASB], then he shall bring him to the door or the doorpost. And his master shall pierce his ear with an awl; and he shall serve him permanently” (Exod. 21:6).

The teaching of the Bible is that man was created in God’s image to reign and to rule as a vice regent over the earth (Gen. 1:26,28; Rom. 8:17-21; 2 Tim. 2:12). Rulers are appointed by God to carry out His purposes of restraining evil and rewarding those who do what is good (Rom. 13:1-4). In this sense rulers not only act for God; they, in a sense, act as god or as “gods”. In view of this, consider the warning; “And he said to the judges, Consider what you are doing, for you do not judge for man but for the Lord who is with you when you render judgment. Now then let the fear of the Lord be upon you; be very careful what you do, for the Lord our God will have no part in unrighteousness, or partiality, or the taking of a bribe” (2 Chron. 19:6-7).

Jesus used this Psalm to warn hypocritical leaders, that God is their Judge of judges. See John 10:32-39. He referred to himself as the “son of God” and a God, because of his miracles being genuinely from God. A fact, which his enemies could not dispute, but they could not accept his divinity based on the miracles, even in the face of God’s Psalms referring to God calling the judges of Israel, “gods”.  This led Jesus to pronounce the harshest judgment & rebuke upon anyone, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and love respectful greetings in the market places, and chief seats in the synagogues, and places of honor at banquets, who devour widows’ houses, and for appearance’s sake offer long prayers; these will receive greater condemnation” (Luke 20:46-47). This kind of cruel sin, can lead God’s children to sing about God sentence of wrath upon irresponsible hypocritical religious leaders. It leads Jesus to command us to pray for our enemies and do good to them, because if they don’t repent now, there is coming a day for the worst punishment of all.

Both of these Psalms sound alike. As we read all the Psalms, we start to recognize certain phrases being repeated and many of the words in Psalm 67 & 80 are very much alike. This is a reminder that whenever you find God repeating himself, take note! Don’t miss it’s importance.

“that your way be known on earth, your saving power among all nations” Here is the purpose of God’s blessing, which we should be desiring with all our heart. Psalm 67:2 cries out for this towards the world, and Psalm 80:19 cries out for this towards Israel. When do we pray for God’s blessing towards the lost, or restoration of our own weakest members? When Jesus arrived, this was the primary point of his ministry, “to seek & save the lost”, Luke 19:10. He made sure the blessing of his saving power was at the core of His great commission, first recorded in Matthew 28:18-20. His apostles faithfully obeyed this message to their death, with glory being reflected to this day. The same glory lay in His message commissioned in our hearts today, you are living letters being written and read by a lost world, 2nd Corinthians 3:2-3. Do you believe the light of the world is the Spirit of Christ which writes his law of faith on human hearts?

The “shining face of God” is a repetitive phrase, connected with God’s blessing upon those He shines upon! This fact appears in Numbers 6:25, Psalm 31:16, 67:1, 80:3,7,19, 119:135 and also in Daniel 9:17. Where does the full impact of this kind of blessing become so obvious? In Jesus, as Paul describes the light of the world inside the heart of Christians (2nd Corinthians 4:6), Physically it was literally seen by Peter, James & John on the mountain top when Jesus was transfigured, Matthew 17:2. This will happen for each and every faithful child of God throughout the ages, when we gather together in Heaven!

The face of God is very important to Jesus, as he describes angels always watching God’s face. Matthew 18:10. As if our angels can’t bare to watch our own foolish and dangerous ways, but that God’s face will reflect the light which is needed to turn us from our darkened ways. Our angels are peering into the revealing ways God works to spread his good news into the hearts of lost sheep. Factually, most of 2nd Corinthians 3:7-18 is all about how great the glory of God is, while this ministry of righteousness in Christ is being spread. We too, should be desirous and prayerful to look into ways we can reflect the light of the world, so that others can be freed. Why?  Because… “the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil” ~ 1st Peter 3:12.

This glorious light (which is spiritual and permanent right now for Christians) will one day be obvious. John brings the Revelation of Christ to a close with this vision in the future. Revelation 22:1-5 proclaims that people of all nations will receive healing from the leaves on the tree of life and while in near His Throne, we will see his face…and night will be no more! By His light will the nations walk and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it”, (21:23-24) where never anything accursed will enter.

This is worth praying for, singing about and repeating, everytime we meet together to worship Christ!