THRU THE BIBLE EXPOSITION

Psalms: God's Nurture Of The Inner Man In The Life Of Faith

CVIII: Applying God's Past Written Scriptures To Our Current Needs

(Psalm 108:1-13)

I. Introduction

A. Romans 15:4 NIV claims that the Old Testament writings are valuable for us Christians today "that through the endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope" today.

B. David practiced this truth in his time, and we view Psalm 108:1-13 where he did so for our application:

II. Applying God's Past Written Scriptures To Our Current Needs, Psalm 108:1-13.

A. Verse one in the Hebrew text comprises this psalm's introductory notes in the English Bible (Kittel, Bib. Heb., p. 1071), so we stay with the English Bible's numbering system for clarity with this lesson.

B. We thus translate Psalm 108:1-13 (as follows):

1. "My heart is set, O Elohim; I will sing and make music even with the noblest part of my inner being," v. 1.

2. "Awake, harp and lyre! I will awaken the dawn," Psalm 108:2.

3. "I will praise You, O Jahweh, among the peoples; I will sing of You among the tribal peoples (clans)" v. 3.

4. "because great is Your loyal love, (it is) higher than the heavens; Your faithfulness reaches unto the clouds," Psalm 108:4.

5. "Be exalted, O Elohim, above the heavens, and let Your glory be over all of the earth," Psalm 108:5.

6. "[I have laid all this out in order that] (lema'an, Ibid., p. 1072; B. D. B., A Heb. and Eng. Lex. of the O. T., p. 775) those whom You love may be delivered, (so) save us and respond to us (to our commitment of praise and devotion to You) with Your right hand," Psalm 108:6.

7. "Elohim has spoken from His sanctuary: 'In triumph I will parcel out Shechem and measure off the Valley of Succoth,'" Psalm 108:7.

8. "'Gilead is Mine, Manasseh is Mine; Ephraim is My helmet, Judah My scepter,'" Psalm 108:8.

9. "'Moab is My washbasin, upon Edom I toss My sandal; over Philistia I shout in triumph,'" Psalm 108:9.

10. "Who will bring me to the fortified city? Who will lead me to Edom?" (Psalm 108:10)

11. "Is it not You, O Elohim, You Who have spurned us and no longer go out with our armies?" (Psa. 108:11)

12. "Give us aid against the enemy, for the salvation (help) of man is vain," Psalm 108:12.

13. "With Elohim we will gain the victory, and He (emph. pron.) will trample down our enemies," verse 13.

C. We consider significant observations regarding this psalm (as follows):

1. The Ryrie Study Bible, KJV, 1978, ftn. to Psalm 108 claims that Psalm 108:1-5 is almost identical to Psalm 57:7-11 and that Psalm 108:6-13 is almost identical to Psalm 60:5-12. The introductory notes to these psalms indicate David authored each one, so he saw the need to piece together parts of two psalms he had formerly written for needs in a later crisis. (H. C. Leupold, Expos. of The Psalms, 1969, p. 762-763)

2. In addition, David cited a verbal promise from God in Psalm 108:7-9, which promise he had also previously cited from the past in Psalm 60:6-8, so Psalm 108:7-9 records at least the third time David applied this divine promise, illustrating the timelessness of the applicability of God's Word for believers!

3. Thus, David's past praise and devotion to the Lord for His great loyal love and faithfulness to him and to Israel (Psalm 108:1-5) form the basis of God's fulfilling His previous promises to defeat specific Gentile enemies that David and Israel still faced (Psalm 108:6-13), revealing David's use of Scriptures applicable in the past for present needs in the life of Israel.

4. Romans 15:4 urges us to use O. T. Scripture in a similar fashion! When we believers in today's dispensation of the Church need to endure trials or encouragement to trust the Lord, God wants us to heed the applicable lessons of His written Scriptures to past saints to meet our spiritual needs today!

5. Of course, there are dispensational shifts as to what is fully applicable and what is applicable only in principle due to the specific set of rules God has directed a given believer to heed in his respective dispensation, so we must recall this truth correctly to apply past Scripture teaching for our dispensation.

Lesson: David combined parts to two previous psalms he had authored to form a third psalm for application in a current crisis, all under the Holy Spirit's superintendance of David as an author of Scripture, cf. 2 Peter 1:20-21. Thus, he exampled how we are to apply Romans 15:4 to use formerly written Scriptures to meet our needs today.

Application: May we apply the rich resources of past written Scripture to address our spiritual needs today.