03/17/2022 – Day 018 – Psalm 6 – 8 commentary – A Prayer for Mercy / Prayer for Justice / “God’s Glory, Man’s Dignity”, respectively.
Some of y’all might want to double back , even for just a few select verses, on John Gill’s commentary for every single verse of the bible. My link below starts with the beginning of our reading today:
https://www.christianity.com/bible/commentary/john-gill/psalm/6
But my go to here is myApologetics Study Bible footnotes by verse. I will fully quote a chapter summary or two, along with some excepts from single verses:
“Psalm 6: Psalms in which the speaker deals with his sin are often called penitential psalms. (The seven ‘Penetential Psalms’ are 6; 32; 38; 51; 69; 102; 130.) Here David pleaded with God to bring an end to his suffering at the hands of the enemies, a suffering tht was the Lord’s chastening for his sin. “
“6:1 The divine discipline was severs; … During the discipline it seems that God is angry; but this is a temporary state in comparison to the lifetime in His favor (2 Samuel 7:14; Psalm 30:5; 94:1; Proverbs 3:12)”
“6:4 The basis for the worshipper’s appeal for help is the Lord’s faithful love. The Hebrew word hesed is an important term in the psalms and throughout the OT. It refers to Yahweh’s loyalty to His people because of the covenant He has granted them. …
To be able to appeal to the Lord on the basis if His hesed, the worshipper must make a corresponding commitment, calling himself the Lord’s ‘servant’ (31:16; 69:17; 143:12) and affirming his loyalty (e.g. ‘You are my God.’ 31:14; 63:1; 86:2; 118.28)”
“6:5 Psalms of petition include a section presenting the reasons why God should answer the worshipper’s prayer. These appeals are not crass bargaining; they testify to the believer’s covenant faith. If David died, he would not be able to praise God for delivering him from death; if God wanted the king’s worship — his first obligation under the covenant — God would have to save him.” *
- Jimmy insert: The bible notes that “David had a heart for God!”. I like David’s from the heart approach, to what indeed, many would call “crass bargaining”. We all need to take note, God honors it!
And high level note: Let us not forget the “ACTS” prayer acronym: Adoration / Confession / Thanksgiving / Supplication. And I believe, so much the better in that order, supplication last and the shortest. Through the indwelling Holy Spirit, by God’s grace I am led through that process.
“7: 9 – 13 The weapons of God — the sword, the bow, and the flaming arrorws — are poetic images that may be interpreted in one of two ways. They are implied comparisons for God’s word of judgment (see Rv 19:15), or metonymies— that is, God will use David’s armies with their weapons to defeat the enemies.”
“7-15-16 The Psalm writers often followed the principle of lex talionis (see Leviticus 24: 19-20) or measure-for-measure justice. The evil that the wicked plan for others will come back on them. The best biblical example is the fate of Hamian (Esther 7: 9 – 10) who was hanged on the gallows he built for Mordecai.”
Note – If you weren’t aware of the footnote below, it could be unnecesarily confusing:
“8:5 God made humans a little lower than “God” This is an allusion to creation in which humans were made to be the image of God on earth (Genesis 1: 26-27). The alternate reading ‘heavenly beings’ comes from the Hebrew word ‘elohim commonly used of God, although a plural form. However, it can also be used for false gods (Psalm 86:8; 97:7), angels or human judges (Psalm 82:1, 6-8 could be interpreted either way), and in some cases human rulers who represent God (Exodus 7:1). Here the context would suggest either “God” or “angels,” for the verb “made less” includes the idea of not quite conferring upon people the abilities of the higher powers, either God or angels.
The Septuagint (Greek OT) translated the word as “angels,” the reading followed in Hebrews 2:7-9. The writer of Hebrews was applying the passage specifically to Jesus the Messiah, who in His incarnation was “made lower than the angels for a short timne.” Psalm 8 is not, strictly speaking, a messianic prophecy, but since Jesus Christ was fully human and the second Adam, it had a perfect application to Him. We do not yet see all things under the dominion of mankind, the writer says, but we see Jesus who will have that absolute dominion (1 Corinthians 15:27; Ephesians 1:22; Hebrews 2: 6-9).”
In order to really ramp up one’s lifetime deeper understanding of the Bible, I believe you reach a point of needing to learn Hebrew and Old Greek.
Soli Deo Gloria!