Psalms (Program #20) – The Psalmist’s Intensified Enjoyment of God in His House and City Through the Suffering, Exalted, and Reigning Christ (1)

The Old Testament book of Psalms includes 150 individual Psalm. Well, majority of these were written by David, others contributed to this wonderful portion of the Scripture.  Bible scholars throughout the centuries have realized that by virtue of how the Psalms are arranged, they are broken into five distinctive groups or books.  Book one of the Psalms for example include Psalms 1 through Psalms 41.   The second book begin with Psalms 42.  But what is critical to realize in this divine arrangement is that each successive book takes us to a higher spiritual plain than the previous one.  So that at the end of Psalms we are brought to the highest peak in the experience and enjoyment of God.

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Psalms (Program #12) – David’s Concept Concerning David’s Kingship Before God Based upon the Keeping of the Law and the Principle of Good and Evil

Psalms 19:7 says, “The law of Jehovah is perfect, Restoring the soul; The testimony of Jehovah is faithful, Making the simple wise;” In the whole Bible there is no other portion which uplifts the law as highly as Psalms 19:7-11. Many Christians today also uplift this portion in Scripture; yet even if we could fulfill the law in the prayer expressed here about being clear of secret faults and presumptuous sins, God would still not be happy.

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Psalms (Program #8) – David’s Concept Concerning God’s Judgment on David’s Enemies Among the Nations and Concerning Man’s Condition Before God

The Psalms beloved by all of God’s people are composed of the expression of the sentiments, feelings, impressions and experiences of godly men. Many of the psalms express primarily the concept of the writer. David, for example, in a number of the psalms was frequently in grave danger being pursued by his enemies those who were desiring even to do away with him. And so we see his crying out to Jehovah for safety and deliverance. Other of the psalms exult and uplift the law of God connecting God’s blessing with our ability to keep the law. There are however, many psalms that express a much higher thought, even the divine thought. Psalms which present the very Christ of God maybe not in direct reference but in unmistakable clarity. These are psalms which convey God’s deepest feeling and His heart’s desire for man that Christ would occupy the center in our lives as He occupies the center of God’s own economy.

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Psalms (Program #7) – David’s Concepts Concerning a Godly Life in Comparison a Godly Life in Comparison with His Inspired Praise of the Excellency of Christ (2)

The psalmist David had a particular perspective or point of view when he wrote the 8th psalm. After being intensely occupied with his own desperate messy situation in Psalms 3 through 7, his gaze turns to the heavens and his language and his psalm becomes equally heavenly. “When I see the heavens”, he writes in verse 3, “the works of Your fingers – the moon, the stars which You have ordained…”. Well at this point, David utters one of the great lines in all of Scripture, “What is mortal man that You remember him? And the Son of Man that You visit him?” This is a line so central to God’s eternal plan that Paul quotes it in the New Testament.

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Psalms (Program #6) – David’s Concepts Concerning a Godly Life in Comparison a Godly Life in Comparison with His Inspired Praise of the Excellency of Christ (2)

The early Psalms, many of which were written by David, present us with two very strikingly different concepts; Psalm such as 3 through 7 give us David’s idea of what it is to live a godly life. But the language, the content and surely the inspiration expressed in Psalm 8 is altogether different. “Oh Jehovah our Lord, how excellent is Your name in all the earth, You who have set Your glory over the heavens!” Here the language is heavenly and the thought does not convey the human concept of godliness but rather brings us to the divine concept and the divine thought where Christ is exulted and uplifted to the uttermost. Clearly though this Psalm was also penned by David, it was initiated by God Himself and full of His heart and thought.

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Psalms (Program #5) – David’s Concepts Concerning a Godly Life in Comparison a Godly Life in Comparison with His Inspired Praise of the Excellency of Christ (1)

In Psalms chapter 1, David, the beloved King of Israel, extols the value of God’s law and exults the law to the uttermost. This is wonderful. But, recall the story of 2 Samuel when the same King David so grossly abuses his kingly authority to have an innocent man, even one of his generals murdered, so that he could steal away his beautiful wife, Bathsheba. In the span of this one sin, David breaks two of the most serious commandments, those which he exulted – murder and fornication. How could this happen, we ask? Well the answer comes from the apostle Paul in the New Testament – where the Bible reveals that although the law is good and holy and righteous, it is also powerless to help us because though it may motivate us to keep it, it cannot supply us with the life supply to meet its demands. So its demands fall upon the flesh for their strength. Both David in the Old Testament and Paul in the New Testament discovered this harsh reality the hard way. The question is, have we?

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1 & 2 Kings (Program #2) – The Reign of Solomon (1)

After the death of the great king David in Israel, his son Solomon assumed the throne.  Solomon achieved much glory and splendor during his reign and there is no doubt this was a high peak in the history of Israel.  But Solomon’s ending, like that of his father was not so glorious.   To read the account of the events in the Old Testament book of Kings is interesting to be sure, but if God is merciful and grant us a spirit of wisdom and revelation, we can realize much more from these accounts than just the great stories and historical events.   We can perceive that behind all, is a God that is on one hand full of mercy and forgiveness in grace.  But on the other hand He is righteous and holy in all His dealings with His people.  There is an encouragement in these stories but there was also a warning that should sober us to take great care in all of our doings.

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1 & 2 Samuel (Program #29) – The Unique Work of the Processed Triune God

In 2 Samuel, the Lord through the Prophet Nathan prophesied to David the king, “Moreover Jehovah declares to you that Jehovah will make you a house. When your days are fulfilled and you sleep with your fathers, I will raise up your seed after you, which will come forth from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. It is he who will build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.” Properly understood, this passage constitutes one of the greatest prophecies in the entire Old Testament.

In Matthew in the New Testament, chapter 16, the Lord Jesus makes a similar prophecy to His disciples. “I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.” This passage equally constitutes one of the greatest prophecies in the New Testament as well. God’s desire to build a dwelling for Himself and for us, from the beginning of the Bible through to the very end.

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1 & 2 Samuel (Program #28) – The History Concerning David (12)

Of all of the great figures in the Old Testament, none found more favor in the eyes of Jehovah than His beloved King David. David had a heart that matched God’s heart and therefore God was able to reveal the highest things to him. Yet in one critical area, David was weak and this weakness remains even today as a dark blemish on the light of one of God’s great servants.

Even in the divine record, the Holy Word, both in the New and Old Testament, God has reminded us of David’s fall. In 1 Kings 15:5, it says because David did what was upright in the side of Jehovah and did not turn aside from anything that He had commanded him all the days of his life except in the matter of Uriah the Hittite.

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1 & 2 Samuel (Program #26) – A Prophecy Concerning the Seed of David Being Called the Son of God

2 Samuel 7 contains ones of the great prophecies in all of scripture. When God tells King David, “I will raise up your seed after you, which will come forth from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. It is he who will build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his Father, and he will be My son.”

Well, we all realize now that this Word was prophesying concerning the first coming of Christ. Christ is the seed of David. The Lord Jesus Himself referred to this passage when speaking to the pharisees during an exchange where they were trying to trap Him. Listen to Matthew 22:41-45, “Now when the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus questioned them, saying, What do you think concerning the Christ? Whose son is He? They said to Him, David’s. He said to them, How then does David in spirit call Him Lord, saying, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at My right hand until I put Your enemies underneath Your feet’? If then David calls Him Lord, how is He his son?”

Well this question, “what do you think concerning the Christ?”, is the question in the universe and ultimately must be answered by every man.

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