The End of This Blog

I originally started this blog to answer biblical and theological questions friends and church members were asking me. Instead it became a way to force my self to attempt to do a daily bible study by having to post every day, and the answers to questions became less and less. Since using this as a tool for personal bible study obviously has not worked, I am ending this blog and have started a new one that goes back to my original intent, thatcrazybaptist@blogspot.com this one will stay up while I transfer the stuff I intend to keep to the new blog or other places, but I will not be posting anything else here, so go and read the new one!

Bible Reading: Psalms 18

I'm sorry its been such a long time since our last study, both my wife and I have been having problems with our computers which has severely limited my internet access. I hope to be able to come back to this on the daily/semi-daily basis as before, but life keeps interfering. Anyway, back to the bible study.

 Psalms 18 HCSB

Praise for Deliverance

For the choir director. Of the servant of the Lord David, who spoke the words of this song to the Lord on the day the Lord rescued him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. He said:

1 I love You, Lord, my strength.

2 The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer,my God, 

my mountain where I seek refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.  

3 I called to the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and I was saved from my enemies.

4 The ropes of death were wrapped around me; the torrents of destruction terrified me. 

5 The ropes of Sheol entangled me; the snares of death confronted me.

6 I called to the Lord in my distress, and I cried to my God for help.

From His temple He heard my voice, and my cry to Him reached His ears.

7 Then the earth shook and quaked; the foundations of the mountains trembled; 

they shook because He burned with anger.  

8 Smoke rose from His nostrils, and consuming fire [came] from His mouth;
coals were set ablaze by it. 

9 He parted the heavens and came down, a dark cloud beneath His feet. 

10 He rode on a cherub and flew, soaring on the wings of the wind.  

11 He made darkness His hiding place, dark storm clouds His canopy around Him.  

12 From the radiance of His presence, His clouds swept onward with hail and blazing coals.  

13 The Lord thundered from heaven; the Most High projected His voice. 

14 He shot His arrows and scattered them; He hurled lightning bolts and routed them.  

15 The depths of the sea became visible, the foundations of the world were exposed, 

at Your rebuke, Lord, at the blast of the breath of Your nostrils. 

16 He reached down from on high and took hold of me; He pulled me out of deep waters.  

17 He rescued me from my powerful enemy and from those who hated me, 

for they were too strong for me.  

18 They confronted me in the day of my distress, but the Lord was my support.  

19 He brought me out to a wide-open place; He rescued me because He delighted in me.  

20 The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness;

He repaid me according to the cleanness of my hands. 

21 For I have kept the ways of the Lord and have not turned from my God to wickedness. 

22 Indeed, I have kept all His ordinances in mind and have not disregarded His statutes. 

23 I was blameless toward Him and kept myself from sinning.  

24 So the Lord repaid me according to my righteousness, 

according to the cleanness of my hands in His sight.  

25 With the faithful You prove Yourself faithful; 
with the blameless man You prove Yourself blameless; 

26 with the pure You prove Yourself pure, but with the crooked You prove Yourself shrewd.  

27 For You rescue an afflicted people, but You humble those with haughty eyes.  

28 Lord, You light my lamp; my God illuminates my darkness.

29 With You I can attack a barrier, and with my God I can leap over a wall.  

30 God-His way is perfect; the word of the Lord is pure. 
He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.  

31 For who is God besides the Lord? And who is a rock? Only our God. 

 32 God-He clothes me with strength and makes my way perfect.

33 He makes my feet like the feet of a deer and sets me securely on the heights.  

34 He trains my hands for war; my arms can bend a bow of bronze.  

35 You have given me the shield of Your salvation; 

Your right hand upholds me, and Your humility exalts me.  

36 You widen [a place] beneath me for my steps, and my ankles do not give way.

37 I pursue my enemies and overtake them; I do not turn back until they are wiped out. 

38 I crush them, and they cannot get up; they fall beneath my feet. 

39 You have clothed me with strength for battle; You subdue my adversaries beneath me. 

40 You have made my enemies retreat before me; I annihilate those who hate me.

41 They cry for help, but there is no one to save [them]- 

[they cry]to the Lord, but He does not answer them.  

42 I pulverize them like dust before the wind; I trample them like mud in the streets.

43 You have freed me from the feuds among the people; 

You have appointed me the head of nations; a people I had not known serve me. 

44 Foreigners submit to me grudgingly; as soon as they hear, they obey me.  

45 Foreigners lose heart and come trembling from their fortifications.  

46 The Lord lives-may my rock be praised! The God of my salvation is exalted. 

47 God-He gives me vengeance and subdues peoples under me. 

48 He frees me from my enemies. You exalt me above my adversaries; 

You rescue me from violent men.  

49 Therefore I will praise You, Lord, among the nations; I will sing about Your name.

50 He gives great victories to His king; He shows loyalty to His anointed,

to David and his descendants forever. 

      This Psalm appears twice in the bible, it is also recorded in 2 Samuel chapter 22. David wrote this psalm after the death of Saul and David defeating the philistines during the beginning of his reign. The psalm breaks into 6 parts reflecting Davids life and walk with God to this point. Part 1(verses 1-3) David praises God and relies on him. Part 2(verses 4-6) David asks God for help in his troubles. Part 3(verses 7-19) is Gods response and delivery of David from his enemies. Part 4(verses 20-27)David praises the lord for his deliverance. Part 5(verses 28-42) David recounts how God has blessed him. Part 6(verses 43-50) God makes David King. David went through some very dark times at this point in his life, as he was on the run and constantly under threat of death from the king. The Philistines had a personal hatred for David after his defeat of Goliath, and did their best to use the time of transition from Saul to David to destroy Israel and David Himself. 2 Samuel chapter 21 recounts several extremely difficult battles, some with giants even more powerful than Goliath that David and his warriors encountered at this time. Now that David has come through this dark and difficult journey to victory he can look back and see how the Lord protected him, provided for him, and kept his promises through it all.

Bible Reading: Psalms 17

Psalms 17 HCSB

A Prayer for Protection

A Davidic prayer.

1 Lord, hear a just cause; pay attention to my cry;
listen to my prayer- from lips free of deceit. 
2 Let my vindication come from You,
[for] You see what is right.  
3 You have tested my heart; You have visited by night; 
You have tried me and found nothing [evil]; 
I have determined that my mouth will not sin.  
4 Concerning what people do:
by the word of Your lips I have avoided the ways of the violent.
5 My steps are on Your paths; my feet have not slipped.  
6 I call on You, God, because You will answer me;
listen closely to me; hear what I say. 
7 Display the wonders of Your faithful love,
Savior of all who seek refuge 
from those who rebel against Your right hand.  
8 Guard me as the apple of Your eye; 
hide me in the shadow of Your wings 
9 from the wicked who treat me violently,
my deadly enemies who surround me.  
10 They have become hardened; their mouths speak arrogantly.  
11 They advance against me; now they surround me. 
They are determined to throw [me] to the ground.  
12 They are like a lion eager to tear,
like a young lion lurking in ambush. 
13 Rise up, Lord! Confront him; bring him down.
With Your sword, save me from the wicked.  
14 With Your hand, Lord, [save me] from men, 
from men of the world, whose portion is in this life:
You fill their bellies with what You have in store,
their sons are satisfied, and they leave their surplus to their children.  
15 But I will see Your face in righteousness; 
when I awake, I will be satisfied with Your presence.

    
      This psalm is traditionally believed to have been written by David while he was on the run from Saul before he became king, most likely at the time of 1Samuel 23:25-26. That time was very difficult in Davids life, as he was constantly fleeing from Saul's army and did not know that he would live to see another day other than the fact that God had promised him thing would get better. Sometimes in our own daily lives it can be difficult to see the hand of Gods protection and guidance even though we know the promises that he has made, and that he works on our behalf. It is usually only after the storm has passed that we can see how He guided us through it.

Bible Reading: Psalms 16

Psalms 16 HCSB

Confidence in the Lord

A Davidic Miktam.

1 Protect me, God, for I take refuge in You.

2 I said to the Lord, "You are my Lord; I have no good besides You."  

3 As for the holy people who are in the land, 

they are the noble ones in whom is all my delight.

4 The sorrows of those who take another [god] for themselves multiply; 

I will not pour out their drink offerings of blood, 

and I will not speak their names with my lips. 

5 Lord, You are my portion and my cup [of blessing]; You hold my future.  

6 The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; 

indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.

7 I will praise the Lord who counsels me- even at night my conscience instructs me.  

8 I keep the Lord in mind always. 

Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.  

9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my spirit rejoices; 

my body also rests securely.  

10 For You will not abandon me to Sheol; 

You will not allow Your Faithful One to see the Pit.  

11 You reveal the path of life to me;

in Your presence is abundant joy;

in Your right hand are eternal pleasures.

      

     "Miktam" Means "a writing", and so was probably meant as a spoken psalm as opposed to a song put to music. Both Peter ( Acts 2:25) and Paul  (Actsr13:35) refer to this psalm as being representative of Christ and a prophecy about the Messiah, as this Psalm being Christ's viewpoint on his life and Mission of Salvation.
Peter refers to it as a Psalm by David about Christ, and Paul argues that the passage could not be about David himself because of verse 10,  See the pit, can also be translated as see decay or see corruption. Which is how Paul translates the passage in Acts. David did die, and his body did decay, so the passage is then referring to Jesus, who did not decay.

will post again soon

Its been a rough couple of weeks, with my son being born and then being in the hospital in ICU for a few days, He is home and well now, as is my wife, I will post again when things get settled down.

Bible Reading: Psalms 15

As the due date for our son gets closer it becomes more difficult to do this on a consistent basis, and truthfully consistency has never been my strong suite, however I promise to try to do better in the future.

Psalms 15 HCSB

A Description of the Godly

A Davidic psalm.

1 Lord, who can dwell in Your tent?
Who can live on Your holy mountain?
2 The one who lives honestly, practices righteousness, 
and acknowledges the truth in his heart-  
3 who does not slander with his tongue,
who does not harm his friend or discredit his neighbor, 
4 who despises the one rejected by the Lord, 
but honors those who fear the Lord, 
who keeps his word whatever the cost, 
5 who does not lend his money at interest 
or take a bribe against the innocent- 
the one who does these things will never be moved. 




     The place of worship in Jerusalem was a tent in which The Ark of the Covenant was housed, as it had been since Moses and Joshua first brought the people into the land. Mount Sinai, where God gave the Ten commandments to Moses was believed by many to be the place where God dwelled, and he was commonly worshiped there as well. The places were known for there holiness and purity, people who were not pure had actually been struck dead by the presence of God at the Ark, and Moses face shown so bright people could not look at him after he met with God on the mountaintop.  This is a psalm of instruction of how to live rightly before the Lord.

Bible Reading : Psalms 13 and 14

Psalms 13

A Plea for Deliverance

For the choir director. A Davidic psalm.

1 Lord, how long will You continually forget me?

How long will You hide Your face from me?  

2 How long will I store up anxious concerns within me, 

agony in my mind every day? How long will my enemy dominate me?  

3 Consider me and answer, Lord, my God.

Restore brightness to my eyes; otherwise, 

I will sleep in death,

4 my enemy will say, "I have triumphed over him,"

and my foes will rejoice because I am shaken.  

5 But I have trusted in Your faithful love; 

my heart will rejoice in Your deliverance. 

6 I will sing to the Lord because He has treated me generously.

    

     David Most likely wrote this Psalm Right after Saul first attempted to kill him and he was forced to flee for his life.  I love that David sings God's praises at the end not because God has answered his prayers, but because David believes that God will answer his prayers.

Psalms 14

A Portrait of Sinners

For the choir director. Davidic.

1 The fool says in his heart, "God does not exist." 

They are corrupt; their actions are revolting. 

There is no one who does good.  

2 The Lord looks down from heaven on the human race to see if there is one who is wise, 

one who seeks God.  

3 All have turned away; all alike have become corrupt.

There is no one who does good, not even one. 

4 Will evildoers never understand? 

They consume my people as they consume bread;

they do not call on the Lord. 

5 Then they will be filled with terror,

for God is with those who are righteous.  

6 You [sinners] frustrate the plans of the afflicted,

but the Lord is his refuge.  

7 Oh, that Israel's deliverance would come from Zion!

When the Lord restores His captive people, Jacob will rejoice; Israel will be glad.

     David wrote this Psalm after hearing of the death of Nabal in 1 Samuel 25. Nabal was a foolish man who treated David badly after David and his men had shown his servants aid and kindness. It was only the Quick actions of Nabals wife Abigail that prevented David from Killing Nabal and all his men in response. David was so impressed with her that after Nabal's death he asked her to be his wife.

Bible Reading : Psalms 11 and 12

For the choir director. A Psalm of David.

1 I have taken refuge in the Lord. 
How can you say to me, "Escape to the mountain like a bird! 
2 For look, the wicked string the bow; 
they put the arrow on the bowstring to shoot from the shadows at the upright in heart.  
3 When the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?" 
4 The Lord is in His holy temple; the Lord's throne is in heaven.
His eyes watch; He examines everyone.  
5 The Lord examines the righteous and the wicked. 
He hates the lover of violence.
6 He will rain burning coals and sulfur on the wicked; 
a scorching wind will be their portion. 
7 For the Lord is righteous; He loves righteous deeds. 
The upright will see His face.

     This psalm was written by David while he was fleeing for his life from Saul, traditionally believed to be written after the events in 1Samuel: 23. David is now on the run for his life, but still trying to do what is right, protecting villages from the philistines even as Saul is hunting him down with his army. David trusts God to see him through, even in this difficult time, beset on all sides by enemies and betrayers as the very people he helped protect then attempt to turn him over to Saul.. 

Psalms 12 HCSB

Oppression by the Wicked

For the choir director: according to Sheminith. A psalm of David.

1 Help, Lord, for no faithful one remains; 
the loyal have disappeared from the human race.
2 They lie to one another; 
they speak with flattering lips and deceptive hearts. 
3 May the Lord cut off all flattering lips and the tongue that speaks boastfully.
4 They say, "Through our tongues we have power; 
our lips are our own-who can be our master?"
5 "Because of the oppression of the afflicted and the groaning of the poor,
I will now rise up," says the Lord. 
"I will put in a safe place the one who longs for it."  
6 The words of the Lord are pure words, 
like silver refined in an earthen furnace, purified seven times.
7 You, Lord, will guard us; 
You will protect us from this generation forever.  
8 The wicked wander everywhere, and what is worthless is exalted by the human race.

      It is unknown at what point in his life David wrote this psalm. The Sheminith is the lowest octave singable by the male voice, was most likely meant to be a low and contemplative song.

Bible Study : Psalms 10

Psalms 10 HCSB

1 Lord, why do You stand so far away? Why do You hide in times of trouble

 2 In arrogance the wicked relentlessly pursue the afflicted; 

let them be caught in the schemes they have devised. 

3 For the wicked one boasts about his own cravings; 

the one who is greedy curses and despises the Lord.

4 In all his scheming, the wicked arrogantly thinks: 

"There is no accountability, [since] God does not exist."  

5 His ways are always secure; Your lofty judgments are beyond his sight;

he scoffs at all his adversaries.  

6 He says to himself, 

"I will never be moved- from generation to generation without calamity." 

7 Cursing, deceit, and violence fill his mouth; trouble and malice are under his tongue. 

8 He waits in ambush near the villages; he kills the innocent in secret places;

his eyes are on the lookout for the helpless.  

9 He lurks in secret like a lion in a thicket. He lurks in order to seize the afflicted. 

He seizes the afflicted and drags him in his net.  

10 He crouches and bends down; the helpless fall because of his strength.  

11 He says to himself, "God has forgotten; He hides His face and will never see."  

12 Rise up, Lord God! Lift up Your hand. Do not forget the afflicted. 

13 Why has the wicked despised God?

He says to himself, "You will not demand an account." 

 14 But You Yourself have seen trouble and grief, 

observing it in order to take the matter into Your hands.

The helpless entrusts himself to You; You are a helper of the fatherless. 

15 Break the arm of the wicked and evil person; 

call his wickedness into account until nothing remains of it.  

16 The Lord is King forever and ever; the nations will perish from His land.

17 Lord, You have heard the desire of the humble; 

You will strengthen their hearts. You will listen carefully,  

18 doing justice for the fatherless and the oppressed,

so that men of the earth may terrify [them] no more.

     According to Jewish tradition Psalms 9 and 10 were written together after David defeated Goliath. , originally as one psalm, but separated into 2 later. Both are acrostics of the Hebrew alphabet, with each letter being the beginning of each stanza, (about every 2 verses). Psalms 9 being the first half of the alphabet and psalms 10 the second half.

Bible Study : Psalms 9

Due to the fact that none of the versions of the ESV that I have found online have the postscripts for the Psalms as a part of the translation I will be using the HCSB instead for the rest of the study.

Psalms 9 HCSB

Celebration of God's Justice

For the choir director: according to Muth-labben. A Davidic psalm.

1 I will thank the Lord with all my heart; I will declare all Your wonderful works.
2 I will rejoice and boast about You; I will sing about Your name, Most High.  
3 When my enemies retreat, they stumble and perish before You.  
4 For You have upheld my just cause; You are seated on Your throne as a righteous judge.
5 You have rebuked the nations: You have destroyed the wicked; 
You have erased their name forever and ever.  
6 The enemy has come to eternal ruin; You have uprooted the cities, 
and the very memory of them has perished.  
7 But the Lord sits enthroned forever; He has established His throne for judgment.
8 He judges the world with righteousness; He executes judgment on the peoples with fairness. 
9 The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble.  
10 Those who know Your name trust in You
because You have not abandoned those who seek You, Lord.  
11 Sing to the Lord, who dwells in Zion; proclaim His deeds among the peoples.  
12 For the One who seeks an accounting for bloodshed remembers them; 
He does not forget the cry of the afflicted.  
13 Be gracious to me, Lord; consider my affliction at the hands of those who hate me.
Lift me up from the gates of death,  
14 so that I may declare all Your praises. 
I will rejoice in Your salvation within the gates of Daughter Zion.  
15 The nations have fallen into the pit they made; 
their foot is caught in the net they have concealed. 
16 The Lord has revealed Himself; He has executed justice, 
striking down the wicked by the work of their hands. 
Higgaion.
Selah  
17 The wicked will return to Sheol- all the nations that forget God. 
18 For the oppressed will not always be forgotten;
the hope of the afflicted will not perish forever.  
19 Rise up, Lord! Do not let man prevail; 
let the nations be judged in Your presence.
20 Put terror in them, Lord; let the nations know they are only men.
Selah

      Muth-labben means "the death of the son." Some translate this as meaning this was written on the occasion of the death of a man name Labban, but it is more likely that Muth-labben was the name of the piece of music the song was meant to accompany. God is presented here as the righteous judge of nations. This is a song of praise to the Lord, though one with a more solemn and reflective tone than some of the other psalms that we have studied to this point. Higgaion means "to pause for solemn reflection", and is meant more as a directors note than a part of the text.

Bible Study Psalms 7 and 8

Psalms 7 ESV

In You Do I Take Refuge

A Meditation of David, which he sang to the LORD concerning the words of Cush, a Benjamite.

1 O LORD my God, in you do I take refuge;
 save me from all my pursuers and deliver me,
2 lest like a lion they tear my soul apart,
it in pieces, with none to deliver.
3 O LORD my God, if I have done this, if there is wrong in my hands,
4 if I have repaid my friend with evil or plundered my enemy without cause,
5 let the enemy pursue my soul and overtake it,
and let him trample my life to the ground and lay my glory in the dust.
Selah
6 Arise, O LORD, in your anger; lift yourself up against the fury of my enemies;
 awake for me; you have appointed a judgment.
7 Let the assembly of the peoples be gathered about you; over it return on high
8The LORD judges the peoples; judge me,
LORD, according to my righteousness and according to the integrity that is in me.
9 Oh, let the evil of the wicked come to an end, and may you establish the righteous--
you who test the minds and hearts,
O righteous God!
10 My shield is with God, who saves the upright in heart.
11 God is a righteous judge, and a God who feels indignation every day. 
12 If a man does not repent, God will whet his sword; he has bent and readied his bow;
13 he has prepared for him his deadly weapons, making his arrows fiery shafts.
14 Behold, the wicked man conceives evil and is pregnant with mischief and gives birth to lies.
 15 He makes a pit, digging it out, and falls into the hole that he has made.
16 His mischief returns upon his own head, and on his own skull his violence descends.
17 I will give to the LORD the thanks due to his righteousness,
 and I will sing praise to the name of the LORD, the Most High

    Most likely written by David during his persecution by Saul before he became king. David seems to be more searching his heart for unknown wrong rather than asking forgiveness for a particular sin. I like the imagery of the wicked falling into their own traps as the Lord's judgement. He is protesting his innocence before God, and asking for God's relief from the persecution, confident that God will hear him and see him through the crisis.

Psalms 8 ESV
     A Psalm of Praise. This psalm was written for a ghittim or gath, which is a joyous tune, most likely a pre-written and well known piece of music. I especially find verse 2 interesting, David as warrior understands the desire for vengeance, but believes that vengeance is the Lord's. I love the imagery of God putting the moon and stars in place by hand, and his awe that God cares about us. Verse 5 is quoted in Hebrews chapter 2 as a part of the Writers discussion of the supremacy of Jesus to men and angels. There are a lot of evocative references to the first and second chapters of Genesis. I also love the reference to the unknown denizens of sea depths.

How Majestic Is Your Name

To the Chief Musician. On the instrument of Gath.  A Psalm of David.

1 O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory above the heavens.
 2 Out of the mouth of babies and infants,
you have established strength because of your foes,
to still the enemy and the avenger.
3 When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
 the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,
4 what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him
5 Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings
and crowned him with glory and honor.
6 You have given him dominion over the works of your hands;
you have put all things under his feet,
7 all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field
the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the seas.
9 O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!