09/18/2024 – Day 088 – Psalm – Chapters 36 – 38 / Comment: David, the quintessential superstar hero figure in his youth, then a terrible fall with Bathsheba. He repented and continually grew in his personal relationship with the Lord from there, a mess but a redeemed mess by His grace!
This is going to be different personally for awhile: I kept up on the daily readings while we were on our two week vacation, but I’m glad I pushed the daily schedule back 2 weeks as I didn’t have time or in many cases the wifi to complete a commentary on the reading. So, here I am articulating a commentary two weeks after the reading.
Firt, let me note we have a commentary on 05/26/2022 in a previous cycle that covered the following verses: 36:1 / 36:5 – 36:8 / 38:15 . I am not going to cover these verses from that post again, but of course it is wide open to y’all. I could go through the cycle 25 more times, one for each year, presuming I were to live to a ripe old age, and still have significant uncovered material in this one reading.
I will start by sharing with you from Halley’s Bible Handbook the summary commentary from these chapters, before we drill down into specific verses:
“Psalm 36, 37 // Psalm 36. Wickedness of Men. Mercy and Faithfulness of God./ Psalm 37. This is one of the best loved Psalms. David, always puzzled by the Prevalence of Wickedness, here states his philosophy as to how to live in the midst of Wicked People: Do Good; Trust God; Don’t Worry.”
“Psalm 38. A Psalm of Bitter Anguish //. ‘One of the Penitential Psalms (see *A – below). It seems that David was suffering from a loathsome disease, caused by his sin, on account of which is closest friends and nearest relatives had become estranged, and enemies had multiplied and become very bold. It shows how the ‘man after God’s own heart’ sometimes went to the depths in Sorrow and Humiliation for his sin.”
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*A – Other Penitential Psalms listed by Chapter: 6; 25; 32; 38; 51; 102; 130; 143. / Jimmy comment – remember the “ACTS” acronym on prayer, a suggested order by category: Adoration; Confession (or “Penitential”); Thanksgiving; and, Supplication.
Other Jimmy comment: I suppose if I had been Henry H. Halley’s English teacher in primary school, I would have dinged him for his “over-capitalization” tendencies. haha
Ok, let’s get started with the verses. Please share with us verses that seemed to jump out at you.
“For with you is the fountain of life ; in your light we see light.” Psalm 36:9
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“Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret – it only leads to evil.” Psalm 37: 8
I had to pause by replacing “fret” with key words in the definition: “… do not be nervous or worry – it only leads to evil.” Reflecting on it further, I see it for we can’t be taken out of God’s hand, therefore trust and obey always should be an imperative! No? Thoughts?
And, I the next verse I highlighted happens to complement 37:8 :
“The Lord make firm the steps of the one who delights in him; though he may stumble, he will not fall.” Psalm 37: 24
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Let’s take another look at the introduction of this pleading petitionary prayer of David:
“Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger or discipline me in your wrath. Your arrows have pierced me, and your hand has come down on me. Because of your wrath there is no health in my body; there is no soundness in my bones because of my sin. My guilt has overwhelmed me like a burden too heavy to bear.” Psalm 38: 1 – 4
It is not about religion but a personal relationship with Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, our amazing all-powerful and all-loving God. God is love. This is raw honesty from David in these opening verses, is it not. God desires “real” from us. Look at 38:15: “Lord, I wait for you: you will answer Lord, my God.” Now, that is faith!, a man of God’s own heart indeed by the grace of God! A mess but a redeemed mess!
Soli Deo Gloria!