He disciplines

Posted on March 24, 2023 by Jefferson Vann

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He disciplines

Psalm 94:8-11 (JDV)

Psalm 94:8 Pay attention, you stupid people! Fools, when will you be wise?
Psalm 94:9 Can the one who shaped the ear not hear, the one who formed the eye not see?
Psalm 94:10 The one who instructs nations, the one who teaches Adam knowledge – does He not discipline?
Psalm 94:11 Yahveh knows the thoughts of Adam; they are temporary.

He disciplines

Alexander points out that the Hebrew word for stupid in verse 8 is a “participle, denoting habitual conduct or a permanent condition” (399).

The violent oppressors of the marginalized just cannot understand that a God in heaven sees and hears what they are doing and will hold them accountable.

Alexander, Joseph A. The Psalms: Translated and Explained. Grand Rapids, Mich: Zondervan Publishing House, 1864.

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God who avenges

Posted on March 23, 2023 by Jefferson Vann

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God who avenges

Psalm 94:1-7 (JDV)

Psalm 94:1 Yahveh, God who avenges – God who avenges, shine!
Psalm 94:2 Rise up, Judge of the land; repay the proud what they deserve.
Psalm 94:3 Yahveh, how long will the wicked – how long will the wicked celebrate?
Psalm 94:4 They pour out arrogant words; all the troublemakers brag.
Psalm 94:5 Yahveh, they crush your people; they oppress your hereditary possession.
Psalm 94:6 They kill the widow and the resident alien and murder the fatherless.
Psalm 94:7 They say, “Yah doesn’t see it. The God of Jacob doesn’t pay attention.”

God who avenges

Alexander sees the first part of this psalm as a complaint that God has absented himself and as a result, his enemies are winning (398) They stomp all over the orphans, widows, immigrants, and other marginalized people, because there seems to be no one to stop them. It calls on the God of vengeance to shine and put these arrogant evildoers down.

Our prayers should look deep at the problems we are facing and call on our omnipotent God to make a difference.

Alexander, Joseph A. The Psalms: Translated and Explained. Grand Rapids, Mich: Zondervan Publishing House, 1864.

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his holy house

Posted on March 22, 2023 by Jefferson Vann

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his holy house

Psalm 93:5 (JDV)

Psalm 93:5 Yahveh, your testimonies are completely reliable; holiness makes your house lovely for all the days to come.

Alexander says that the holiness spoken of here is “sacredness, the immunity from profanation, and of course from violent intrusion” (398).

God’s house is safe from the world’s influence. We should seek to dwell in his house — away from the world — to learn from him, and therefore we will be better able to live in the world as he wishes.

Alexander, Joseph A. The Psalms: Translated and Explained. Grand Rapids, Mich: Zondervan Publishing House, 1864.

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they shall not prevail

Posted on March 21, 2023 by Jefferson Vann

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they shall not prevail

Psalm 93:1-2 (JDV)

Psalm 93:3 The rivers have lifted up, Yahveh, the rivers have lifted up their voice; the rivers lift up their pounding waves.
Psalm 93:4 Greater than the roar of much water – the mighty breakers of the sea – Yahveh on high is majestic.

they shall not prevail

Luther continues, “But against (Christ’s) kingdom, as the Psalmist saith, the ‘waves and ‘mighty waters’ will swell and lift up themselves; that is, the kingdoms and peoples of the world will roar against the Lord and against his
Anointed; and will rage against the godly with sword and fire; but they shall not prevail: for, as Daniel saith, ‘this kingdom shall break in pieces all other kingdoms beneath it, and shall stand forever’ Daniel ii. 44″ (247).

The majesty of God will not allow his Son’s kingdom to be shaken. The usurpers shall not prevail.

Luther, Martin. A Manual of the Book of Psalms, Or, the Subject-Contents of All the Psalms. London: R.B. Seeley & W. Burnside, 1837.

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He wears the majesty

Posted on March 20, 2023 by Jefferson Vann

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He wears the majesty

Psalm 93:1-2 (JDV)

Psalm 93:1 Yahveh reigns! He wears majesty; Yahveh wears it, enveloped in strength. The world is firmly established; it cannot be shaken.
Psalm 93:2 Your throne has been established since the beginning; you are from that age.

He wears the majesty

Martin Luther says, “This is a prophecy concerning the spread of the kingdom of Christ, as far and wide as the earth is extended, and its establishment forever”(247). These first two verses establish that Yahveh’s reign has been established since the beginning. Whatever kingdom goes against that reign will not succeed, whether a kingdom of a tyrant or a republic. He wears the majesty, not us.

Luther, Martin. A Manual of the Book of Psalms, Or, the Subject-Contents of All the Psalms. London: R.B. Seeley & W. Burnside, 1837.

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house plant

Posted on March 19, 2023 by Jefferson Vann

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house plant

Psalm 92:12-15 (JDV)

Psalm 92:12 The righteous thrive like a palm tree and grow like a cedar tree in Lebanon.
Psalm 92:13 Planted in the house of Yahveh, they thrive in the courts of our God.
Psalm 92:14 They will still bear fruit in old age, healthy and green,
Psalm 92:15 to declare: “Yahveh is just; he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.”

house plant

If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, you are a house plant. That is not a bad thing, because the house you are planted in is the temple of God in heaven. You thrive in the courts of our God. Old age will not be a problem, because God will keep you healthy, green, and fruitful.

The fruit you will bear is the testimony of God’s fairness, reliability, and righteousness. The testimony will come from your own experience. No one will be able to refute it.

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anointed confidence

Posted on March 18, 2023 by Jefferson Vann
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anointed confidence

Psalm 92:10-11 (JDV)

Psalm 92:10 You have lifted up my horn like that of a wild ox; I have been anointed with the finest oil.
Psalm 92:11 My eyes look at my enemies; when evildoers rise against me, my ears hear them.

anointed confidence

These are words of confidence from someone who has been called and empowered by Almighty God. He is confident not because he has no enemies, but because God has empowered him to look those enemies in the eye, and hear their words without fear.

Thank you, LORD, for the confidence that comes with your call.

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wicked weeds

Posted on March 17, 2023 by Jefferson Vann

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wicked weeds

Psalm 92:5-9 (JDV)

Psalm 92:5 How magnificent are the things you have made, Yahveh, how profound your thoughts!
Psalm 92:6 A stupid person does not know, a fool does not understand this:
Psalm 92:7 though the wicked sprout like grass and all troublemakers flourish, they will be permanently exterminated.
Psalm 92:8 But you, Yahveh, are exalted permanently.
Psalm 92:9 Yes, indeed, Yahveh, your enemies – indeed, your enemies will be destroyed; all troublemakers will be scattered.

wicked weeds

The weeds in my garden got the upper hand last year, I am embarrassed to say. But not this year. I have been working with a hoe, and I am determined to eliminate them. This psalm says that God has the same plan for the wicked weeds in his garden. They may seem to flourish for a moment, but God will destroy all his enemies.

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a thanksgiving sandwich

Posted on March 16, 2023 by Jefferson Vann

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a thanksgiving sandwich

Psalm 92:1-4 (JDV)

Psalm 92:1 It is a good thing, giving thanks to Yahveh, singing praise to your name, Most High,
Psalm 92:2 declaring your covenant faithfulness in the morning and your reliability at night,
Psalm 92:3 with a ten-stringed harp and the music of a lyre.
Psalm 92:4 Yes, you have made me rejoice, Yahveh, by what you have done; I will shout for joy because of what your hands have made.

a thanksgiving sandwich

This section of the psalm is an “introductory thanksgiving for God’s (unspecified) deeds.” We discover as we keep reading that the main focus of the psalm is God’s “retribution upon the wicked” (Murphy, 131). What struck me as I read this again is that the psalmist encourages his readers/singers to do this praising in the morning and at night. We wake up with God’s faithfulness on our minds, and we go to bed thinking about how he has proven himself reliable during the day.

Each day for the believer should be a thanksgiving sandwich.

Thank you, LORD, for this day — an opportunity for me to have a thanksgiving sandwich.

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over, into, out of

Posted on March 15, 2023 by Jefferson Vann

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over, into, out of

Psalm 91:14-16 (JDV)

Psalm 91:14 Because he has clung to me, I will deliver him; I will make him inaccessible because he knows my name.
Psalm 91:15 When he calls out to me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble. I will pull him out and give him honor.
Psalm 91:16 I will satisfy him with a long life and show him my deliverance.

over, into, out of

Jeffrey Seif and Glenn Blank suggest that this psalm teaches “that a mighty God truly watches over His people (244).

Because he watches over us, he comes with us into our battles and promises to pull us out and give us honor.

Seif, Jeffrey L., Blank, Glenn, and Paul Wilbur. Tlv Psalms with Commentary: Hope and Healing in the Hebrew Scriptures. S.l.: Destiny Image Messianic, 2013.

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