Notes: July 21, 2008 – Psalms 68 & 61

Psalm 68

I know not how to undertake a comment on this Psalm: it is the most difficult in the whole Psalter…There are customs here referred to which I do not fully understand; there are words whose meaning I cannot, to my own satisfaction, ascertain; and allusions which are to me inexplicable. (Adam Clarke)

Meditation Points:

  • Mention of the temple at Jerusalem (verse 29) might justify placing this psalm chronologically later in the life of David.
  • God is a father of the fatherless, and a judge of the widows (verse 5). We should be, too (James 1:27).
  • The exodus event and the giving of the law at Sinai are often mentioned; and why shouldn’t they be? They were significant demonstrations of God. Do you have any recollection of God’s work in your life, or in your family’s history?
  • Internet web sites can be used to publish all kinds of information. Since the Lord has given us the Word (Psalm 68:11), shouldn’t we publish it (Mark 16:15)?
  • Compare Psalm 68:18 with Ephesians 4:8.
  • People often unload on us; blessed be the LORD who daily loads us with benefits (verse 19).

Psalm 61

Meditation Points:

  • If this psalm was written while David was fleeing from Saul, either David was confident that God would protect Saul, or David spoke as though he were already king himself (Psalm 61:6).
  • We say, “I’m at the end of my rope.” David vowed to call upon the Lord from “the end of the earth” (Psalm 61:2).  Shouldn’t you?
  • What do you do when your heart is overwhelmed?
  • Some things should be done daily (Psalm 61:8).

 

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