Thessalonians – Old Testament Survey

Psalm 94

Reflect on the state of the United States in light of this psalm. What is next? How long? This psalm is a cold, hard reminder to the truth that it does not matter what you believe if you are not willing to defend it, proclaim, and live it. If we are not willing to do these tasks, how can we say we love Him?

Psalm 94 (Cf. Psalm 73)

This psalm is considered to be written by David as an explanation of the theological issues of Psalm 1 (Read the sermon on Psalm 1). Many have difficulty reading this psalm due to the attributes of God it presents. A. W. Pink writes:

It is sad to find so many professing Christians who appear to regard the wrath of God as something for which they need to make an apology, or at least they wish there were no such thing … Others harbor the delusion that God’s wrath is not consistent with His goodness, and so seek to banish it from their thoughts. … But God is not ashamed to make it known that vengeance and fury belong to Him … The wrath of God is as much a Divine perfection as His faithfulness, power or mercy … The very nature of God makes Hell as real a necessity as Heaven is (The Attributes of God, 1975, p 75).

See our discussions on this subject as seen in Psalm 58 and in Psalm 109.

Verses 1-7-David asks the question as to how long God will allow those who practice injustice to continue in their ways. They act as though God does not see what is happening. Worse, they think He does not care about what happens to the widows and the orphans. The answer is in God’s timing. Deuteronomy 32.35 and Romans 12.19 present the case that recompense is God’s prerogative not man’s occupation. With this, God promises to make the wrong right in His timing. An apt description of them is found in Psalm 10. Verse seven presents the unjust rulers as Israelites and not a foreign power. Foreign powers believed their god would be stronger than the God of Israel. The phrase “God of Jacob” would only be found on the lips of the Jewish rulers. This makes the atrocities worse. They knew the right thing to do but refused to do it for sake of gain.
Verses 8-11-David answers those who say God does not know, see, or care. He is omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent, and just. The logic of verse ten is telling the Israelites who are guilty of these transgressions that God does judge and He will judge them. This is the same argument that Paul uses in Romans 2-3. Listen to our sermons on Romans 2-3.
Verses 12-19-David asks, like he asked in 1 Samuel 17, who will arise as the champion to stand in the gap for those oppressed? The world today has need of men like Martin Luther who stated rather somberly: “Here I take my stand; I cannot do otherwise: May God be my help! Amen.” For our society to be restored to any sense of civility, we need people to stand for what they know is true. David shows that our sense of whom God is determines our desire to stand for Him and what He values. Have we lost the sense of the reality of our God? Do we believe as did David, and Paul in 2 Corinthians 12.9-10, that when we are weak He becomes our strength? Or do we attempt to stand for Him in our own might. Paul had something to say on this subject too. Read 1 Corinthians 16.13, Ephesians 6.10-20, Philippians 4.1-9, 1 Thessalonians 3.6-8, 2 Thessalonians 2.13-15, and 1 Peter 5.12. In these passages Paul and Peter command us to stand firm in the Lord, in our faith, in His Word, not in ourselves.

As we grow older, life does not come easier except that our faith in God grows through our Bible studies, our prayers, our memorizing His Word, and our fellowship with Him and others. This is what John was describing throughout the book of 1 John and specifically in 1 John 1.1-4 and 1 John 2.12-14.

These verses show us eight blessings for following God:

God disciplines
God instructs
God develops faith over time
God will never forsake His own
God judges with righteousness
God helps defend His own against evil
God upholds when His own are in danger of falling
God comforts the soul of those who are His

Verses 20-23-God tells us there is no fellowship between light and darkness in 1 Corinthians 6.14-16. Here, David, reminds us of this same truth. God cannot have fellowship with evil. God is the one who will expose the unrighteous deeds of those outside of Him. We are to let our light so shine before men that they have to proclaim the goodness of God, which is what Jesus taught us in Matthew 5.13-16. Look closely at verse 21. Does this sound like the abortion laws coming into full effect? Who will stand up for what is right? Not violently, for vengeance is the Lord’s, but in votes, in teachings, in practice?

I normally do not place large quotes from commentaries in my writings, yet this is the second one in this post. This quote is taken from Word in Life Study Bible (1997):

Have you ever felt frustrated by problems in society that just seem to go on and on? Perhaps you’ve lamented, “Why doesn’t someone do something? Why don’t things ever change?”

The composer of Psalm 94 appears to have felt that way. Looking around at the injustices of society, the writer cried out to God, the righteous Judge, to do something, yet also wondered how long wickedness would continue (Ps. 94:1–3). This psalmist’s frustration compares with an urban pastor who appeared in housing court one day, where many of his poor parishioners were having their cases decided. The minister sat for hours, witnessing one case after another. In every verdict, the judge was siding with the rich and powerful, even when the facts seemed to overwhelmingly favor the poor.

Finally the pastor could take no more of what he saw as blatant injustice. Shaking with outrage, he leaped to his feet and cried, “Your Honor, if it please the court, I have a question.”

The judge stopped his proceedings and acknowledged the pastor. “Yes, Reverend, what is it?”

“Your Honor, I’ve been watching all day long as case after case after case has gone against these poor people. Where is the justice in this court?”

Immediately the judge replied, “Reverend, you don’t understand. This is not a court of justice. This is a court of law. If you want justice, go change the law.”

The judge’s point is well taken. When evil triumphs in society, or when justice is not served, it could be the result of an imperfect system or institution “which devises evil by law” (94:20). In such cases, things will change if the righteous engage in reforming the system, with God’s help.

Sometimes the real question is not Why don’t things change? but Why don’t believers change things?

Psalm 143

Have we come before God realizing that without Him we are wicked and that in Him He makes us righteous and worthy? Have we considered how Satan will devour us and then ask God to strengthen us as we seek forgiveness? Why not do it now?

Psalm 143

God is faithful to His promises (Matthew 5.37 and 2 Corinthians 1.20) and to His righteousness, as verse one informs us. Based on this alone, no one should go a moment without prayer (1 Thessalonians 5.17). Based on this alone, no one should think that justice will look over sin as was promised. David knew this, as do we. God will judge sin. On Christ our sin was placed. He became our sin that we might become that which we lacked–His righteousness. This is the great trade given at the cross. This is what David needed as he faced the truth of verse two.

We don’t have physical enemies pursuing us these days, for the most part. However, we do have a spiritual enemy who is seeking to devour us daily. After all, our battle is not with flesh and blood but with powers and principalities (Ephesians 6.12). David saw his deliverance from his enemies deeply connected with forgiveness of sin. We need to see this for our lives too. Satan will devour us when we allow unconfessed sin to continue to fester in our lives. He will destroy because our sin takes us out of fellowship with God. Forgiveness, the cleansing of 1 John 1.9 which is based on God’s faithfulness and righteousness, restores that fellowship.

David cries out for God to hear is prayer (1-6), to answer his prayer (7-9), to teach him (10), and to restore or revive him (11-12).

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I am a Servant by Larry Norman

Psalm 65

Have you given God the praise and worship due Him today?

Psalm 65

An outline of the psalm

Verses 1-4-Worship of God and His goodness (1 Thessalonians 5.18)
Verses 5-8-Witness of God to the ends of the earth
Verses 9-13-Blessings from God

A summary of the psalm is based on the character of God. It is the reason we pray. He never changes, He knows all things )real and potential(, He is sovereign (all-powerful), among others. It is to Him we pray and because of Him we can pray.

Verse 1-David directs us to give to God the glory due to his power, goodness, and grace given to His people.
Verse 2-God hears prayer
Verse 3-God forgives sin
From man’s perspective, there is no hope; from God’s grace hope is based.
Verse 4-God satisfies the souls of His people
Verse 5-God protects and supports His people

David directs us to give to God the glory due to his power, goodness, and grace given to all people everywhere.

Verse 6-God establishes the mountains
Verse 7-God controls and calms the sea (chaos). Waves or seas normally represent evil and chaos (see our study on Psalm 93). Romans 8.18-25 and the groaning of the earth compared with 9-13 and the singing of everything
Verse 8-God preserves the regular cycle of day and night
Verses 9-13-God makes the earth fruitful

Have you given God the praise and worship due Him today?

1 Samuel 30

Good morning! It is almost time to think we can rest; only to find out we have a family that desires our attention, time, love, and, most of all, our vehicles for transporting them.

This was what happened, sort of, to David in 1 Samuel 30.

1 Samuel 30

David returns home, as Achish had suggested. His home was in Ziklag. When he returned, Saul’s sin was there to greet him. He might have thought he was returning home to rest. However, he found the Amalekites. In 1 Samuel 15 we learned that Saul did not utterly destroy the Amalekites. Because of Saul’s inability to completely obey the Lord, David’s army is greeted with a destroyed town, missing families, and potential death.

When we do not rid ourselves of sin or allow something to remain in our lives that God has commanded us to get rid of (sins, which could include people), we and those around us can become ensnared by them once again. What is it that you see you need to get rid of in your life now to be free from its presence, power, and potential harm in the future?

David, before going into battle, does what we should do when we are presented with trouble in our lives, he prayed for God’s direction. David did the same thing in 1 Samuel 23.2-9, it was here that Abiathar joined David’s group. David’s army splits into two groups. Four hundred follow him into battle, while the other remaining two hundred stay at Wadi Besor to rest and prepare themselves for later. The Wadi Besor is a creek bed south of Ziklag. The exhaustion of the two hundred should have been expected. They traveled fifty miles from Aphek, found their town in ruins, then traveled 12-15 miles to Wadi Besor without supplies or rest.
God provides David with an abandoned Egyptian servant of the Amalekites. When he became sickly, the Amalekites deserted him. When David found him, he nursed him to health. It appears as though David has a kind heart. Deuteronomy 23.15-16 gives instruction not to return runaway slaves to their former masters. I wonder how this would have played out in the South during the 1800s.

When David finds the Amalekites, they are celebrating what they had done. David waged an attack on them, and suddenly destroyed all of them (1 Thessalonians 5.3-it applies to the end times but can be applied here and elsewhere when we place our security in the things of this world). All that had been taken from Ziklag and the other places they attacked, was restored (verse 19).

David reinstitutes an old principle, which is to divide the spoils with all those involved not merely those who fought (Numbers 31.26-27). David then sends some of the gain to “his friends” in Judah. The cities listed, particularly Hebron, will play an important role when David returns to Judah as king.

How faithful are we to what God has commanded us? Do we utterly destroy the things He commands us to rid ourselves of or do we hold on to a memory of them? Do we share what God has blessed us with or do we keep it for ourselves? Do we reach out to those who are our friends, even though they may have hurt us in the past?

The crux of this passage can be missed quite easily. Return to verse 6. David was in danger. What did he do? He went to God for strength (Isaiah 40.29-31). When you are tired, weary, burdened, to whom do you turn (Matthew 11.28-30)?

Psalm 35

This Psalm, as was Psalm 17, is set in a courtroom. Deuteronomy 19.16-17 provides the instruction on how to bring this dispute to court. Job 23.2-7 shows how Job handled a similar situation.

Psalm 35

This Psalm, as was Psalm 17, is set in a courtroom. Deuteronomy 19.16-17 provides the instruction on how to bring this dispute to court. Job 23.2-7 shows how Job handled a similar situation.

This Psalm is also the first of the imprecatory psalms (35; 52; 58; 59; 69; 79; 83; 109; 137; 140). These psalms are cries to God to bring destruction on those who stand against God and God’s people.

Verses 1-3-David once again calls for God to be his vindication, his salvation. He is calling for God to go to war for him on account of those who pursue him. As the psalm is read, it appears as though this prayer is concerning Saul more so than the others who pursued him. He mentions his mourning for their losses in verse 13-14 as if they were close.

Verses 4-6-David’s prayer is for God to drive his enemies away, even to the point of destruction. This is a common theme in Scripture (Job 21.18; Psalm 35.19-21; 40.14-15, 70.2-3; 83.13; 129.5; Isaiah 29.5; and Jeremiah 23.12). God will discipline His children and will judge those who refuse Him. In this case, He could be disciplining David and judging those who have judged David. In all this, God is righteous. He knows the hearts and intentions of those whom He judges. Could verse six be a reference to the pre-incarnate Christ?

Verses 7-8-David is asking God to judge them in the manner they attempted to judge him. They sentenced David to death and laid traps for them. David is asking that God do the same for them (Matthew 7.1-2). There are many prayers and judgments like this throughout the Scripture (Psalm 9.15; 55.23; Isaiah 47.11; and 1 Thessalonians 5.3). Remember that God knows the intentions of the heart and judges righteously.

Verses 4-9 present a sevenfold curse or malediction against those who afflict and oppose David that sounds vengeful. However, is more a cry for God to bring, to judge the evil doers by returning their own evil upon themselves. Since God is the only one who can do this justly, David cries out for God to do so.

Verses 9-10-David proclaims he will do what he should already be doing, he will praise God. Deliverance is reason for praise. As God helps you, do you praise Him? At what point should you praise Him? Should it be after He delivers or in anticipation for the help? Again, this is a common theme in Scripture (Exodus 15.11; Psalm 71.19; 86.8; and Micah 7.18) because God is worthy of praise for He is unlike all others.

Verses 11-14-David is accused of things of which he has no idea. He is speechless because he does not know about what they are accusing him. The principle he presents here is Scriptural (Job 30.25; Psalm 38.20; 109.5; Jeremiah 18.20; John 10.32; and Romans 12.14-21). Is this something we do? When people seek us harm, do we pray for them, help them, mourn with them? Or, do we behave as the world does (Psalm 35.15-16)?

Verses 15-16-The world would rather taunt those who are their enemies than help them. How do you behave when others treat you poorly (Matthew 5.38-48)?

Verses 17-18-David is asking God to do what God is going to do. He is requesting God to do it now. He proclaims that he will praise God for doing this now. Is it wrong to pray this way? Is it wrong to ask God to do something now instead of later? From this Scripture? No. There are other places where biblical writers asked the same thing and based it on Scripture (Psalm 13.1 and Habakkuk 1.13). When we base our prayers and request on Scripture, God answers.

Verses 19-21-Refer to verses 4-6 above for thoughts on these verses. David is describing his persecutors in these verses. They are worthless and wicked (Proverbs 6:12–14 and 10:10). These words are used in Mark 15:29–30 as a derision against Jesus. Are people unjustly accusing you of things you have not done because of the good you stand for or do they justly accuse you?

Verses 22-25-As in the beginning, David is calling God to defend him before his accusers. Whom do you ask to defend you?

Verse 26-David again calls for God to judge those around him with righteous judgment (see verses 17-18 above).

Verses 27-28-David needs someone to mourn with him and to rejoice with him (Romans 12.15). Are you that someone for others? Whatever circumstances you find yourself in, can you proclaim the greatness of God? Do you do this all day?

Psalm 54

Psalm 54 is related to both 1 Samuel 23 and 1 Samuel 26. The inscription gives us the account of Saul being informed by the Ziphites of David’s whereabouts. The inscription also informs us that it is a Maskil of David, which is a skilled instruction given at an annual celebration.

Psalm 54 is related to both 1 Samuel 23 and 1 Samuel 26. The inscription gives us the account of Saul being informed by the Ziphites of David’s whereabouts. The inscription also informs us that it is a Maskil of David, which is a skilled instruction given at an annual celebration.

Verses 1-3-David pleas to God for protection from Saul and vindication of the actions of the Ziphites. He goes to the only one who can help; he turns to God who hears our prayers. Verse three gives us insight into David, Saul, and the Ziphites. David set his eyes on God, which implies the others were setting their eyes on worldly things. Saul’s focus was an earthly kingdom and power. The Ziphites may have had wealth, protection by Saul, or power as their focus. God wants us to always have Him as our focus. It is His desire to be preeminent in our lives (Colossians 1.18).

Selah. Where is your focus? Is it on what God has required, what you have desired, or what the world decides? The answer to that question can be found in to whom or what you “pray.” Can and do you go to God with the desires of your heart, with the pains that surround you, and with the joys you are given? Or, are you pleased with what you have, complain about your circumstances, and merely enjoy what comes your way? If the latter are true, your focus is on what you have desired or what the word decides. If you cannot go to God for the matters on your heart, it is due to sin. This sin is either that the activity or item in life is sinful or that your heart is placing you above Him.

Verses 4-5-David’s prayers are for his enemies to be destroyed. Read the comments on Psalm 140 for insight into our enemies. We either destroy that which stands against God or are destroyed by them. As an aside, when God changes the hearts of our enemies, He has destroyed them for now they are our friends.

Verses 6-7-Some view this as written after the fact that David received his answer and then offered the freewill offering as a sign of gratitude to God. It can be seen as faith where David knows that God delivers and will do so for him. In this knowledge David offers his sacrifice out of gratitude for whom God is not necessarily for what He has done or will do (Leviticus 22:21–23; 23:38).

Are you in the habit of thanking God for who He is rather than for what He has done or will do? David prayed to God to take control (He is sovereign), to protect (He is omnipotent), and to vindicate (He is Judge) because he knew that God hears our prayers (He is omniscient), God helps us (He is Good), and He can help us (He is sovereign). Our only response to all that He is to us is praise or thanksgiving (1 Thessalonians 5.12-24). As with David, God is our Helper (Hebrews 13.6) and our only response to that is to offer our freewill offering of praise to Him (Hebrews 13.15-16).