1 Kings 16-18 - Yahweh or Baal

Baasha Reigns over Israel

Elah Reigns over Israel

1Ki 16:12-13 LSB - [12] Thus Zimri destroyed all the household of Baasha, according to the word of Yahweh, which He spoke against Baasha by the hand of Jehu the prophet, [13] for all the sins of Baasha and the sins of Elah his son, which they sinned and which they made Israel sin, provoking Yahweh, the God of Israel, to anger with their idols.

Zimri Reigns over Israel

Omri Reigns over Israel

1Ki 16:24 LSB - [24] And he bought the hill Samaria from Shemer for two talents of silver; and he built on the hill, and named the city which he built Samaria, after the name of Shemer, the owner of the hill.

Ahab Reigns over Israel

1Ki 16:34 LSB - [34] In his days Hiel the Bethelite built Jericho; he laid its foundations with the [loss of] Abiram his firstborn, and set up its gates with the [loss of] his youngest son Segub, according to the word of Yahweh, which He spoke by the hand of Joshua the son of Nun.

A Widow Sustains Elijah

1Ki 17:1-3 LSB - [1] Now Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the settlers of Gilead, said to Ahab, "As Yahweh, the God of Israel, lives, before whom I stand, surely there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word." [2] Then the word of Yahweh came to him, saying, [3] "Go away from here and turn eastward, and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, which is east of the Jordan.

1Ki 17:14-15 LSB - [14] "For thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, 'The bowl of flour shall not be exhausted, nor shall the jar of oil be empty, until the day that Yahweh sends rain on the face of the earth.'" [15] So she went and did according to the word of Elijah, and she and he and her household ate for [many] days.

Yahweh Returns Life to the Widow’s Son

1Ki 17:21-22 LSB - [21] Then he stretched himself upon the child three times, and called to Yahweh and said, "O Yahweh my God, I pray You, let this child's life return to him." [22] And Yahweh heard the voice of Elijah, and the life of the child returned to him and he became alive.

1Ki 17:24 LSB - [24] Then the woman said to Elijah, "Now I know this: that you are a man of God and that the word of Yahweh in your mouth is truth."

Obadiah Meets Elijah

1Ki 18:1 LSB - [1] Now it happened [after] many days that the word of Yahweh came to Elijah in the third year, saying, "Go, show yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the face of the earth."

1Ki 18:19 LSB - [19] "So now then send [and] gather to me all Israel at Mount Carmel, [together] with 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of the Asherah, who eat at Jezebel's table."

Yahweh or Baal on Mount Carmel

1Ki 18:34-35 LSB - [34] And he said, "Fill four pitchers with water and pour [it] on the burnt offering and on the wood." And he said, "Do it a second time," and they did it a second time. And he said, "Do it a third time," and they did it a third time. [35] And the water flowed around the altar and he also filled the trench with water.

Yahweh Answers, He Is God

1Ki 18:36-37 LSB - [36] Now it happened at the time of the offering of the [evening] sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near and said, "O Yahweh, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, today let it be known that You are God in Israel and that I am Your slave and I have done all these things at Your word. [37] "Answer me, O Yahweh, answer me, that this people may know that You, O Yahweh, are God, and [that] You have turned their heart back again."

Yahweh Sends Rain

1Ki 18:42-43 LSB - [42] So Ahab went up to eat and drink. But Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he stretched himself down toward the ground and put his face between his knees. [43] And he said to his young man, "Go up now, look toward the sea." So he went up and looked and said, "There is nothing." And he said, "Go back" seven times.

1 Kings 13-15 - The Prophet’s Disobedience

A Man of God Confronts Jeroboam

1Ki 13:8-9 LSB - [8] But the man of God said to the king, "If you were to give me half your house, I would not go with you, nor would I eat bread or drink water in this place. [9] "For so it was commanded me by the word of Yahweh, saying, 'You shall eat no bread, nor drink water, nor return by the way which you came.'"

The Prophet’s Disobedience

1Ki 13:8-9, 17 LSB - [17] "For a word [came] to me by the word of Yahweh, 'You shall eat no bread, nor drink water there; do not return by going the way which you came.'"

1Ki 13:20-22 LSB - [20] Now it happened as they were sitting down at the table, that the word of Yahweh came to the prophet who had brought him back; [21] and he called out to the man of God who came from Judah, saying, "Thus says Yahweh, 'Because you have rebelled against the word of Yahweh, and have not kept the commandment which Yahweh your God commanded you, [22] but have returned and eaten bread and drunk water in the place of which He said to you, "Eat no bread and drink no water"; your body shall not come to the grave of your fathers.'"

1Ki 13:33-34 LSB - [33] After this event Jeroboam did not return from his evil way, but he returned and made priests of the high places from among all the people; any who delighted [to be so], he ordained. So they became priests of the high places. [34] And this event became sin to the house of Jeroboam, even to blot [it] out and destroy [it] from off the face of the earth.

The House of Jeroboam Is Cut Off

1Ki 14:1 LSB - [1] At that time Abijah the son of Jeroboam became sick.

The Death of Jeroboam

Rehoboam Reigns over Judah

The Death of Rehoboam

Abijam Reigns over Judah

Asa Reigns over Judah

1Ki 15:11 LSB - [11] And Asa did what was right in the sight of Yahweh, like David his father.

1Ki 15:13 LSB - [13] He also removed Maacah his mother from [being] queen mother, because she had made a horrid image for Asherah; and Asa cut down her horrid image and burned [it] at the brook Kidron.

Asa Wars Against Baasha

Nadab Reigns over Israel

1Ki 15:28-30 LSB - [28] So Baasha put him to death in the third year of Asa king of Judah and became king in his place. [29] Now it happened that as soon as he was king, he struck down all the household of Jeroboam. He did not leave to Jeroboam anyone [who drew] breath, until he had destroyed them, according to the word of Yahweh, which He spoke by the hand of His servant Ahijah the Shilonite, [30] [and] because of the sins of Jeroboam which he sinned, and which he made Israel sin, because of his provocation with which he provoked Yahweh, the God of Israel, to anger.

Baasha Reigns over Israel

1 Kings 10-12 - Solomon Turns from Yahweh

The Queen of Sheba

1Ki 10:1 LSB - [1] Now the queen of Sheba heard the report about Solomon concerning the name of Yahweh. So she came to test him with riddles.

Solomon’s Riches and Wisdom

1Ki 10:21 LSB - [21] Now all King Solomon's drinking vessels [were] of gold, and all the vessels of the house of the forest of Lebanon [were] of pure gold. None was of silver; it was not considered valuable in the days of Solomon.

1Ki 10:23 LSB - [23] So King Solomon became greater than all the kings of the earth in riches and in wisdom.

1Ki 10:26 LSB - [26] And Solomon gathered chariots and horsemen. And he had 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horsemen and stationed them in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem.

Deu 17:16 LSB - [16] "Moreover, he shall not multiply horses for himself, nor shall he cause the people to return to Egypt to multiply horses. Yahweh has said to you, 'You shall never again return that way.'

Solomon Turns from Yahweh

1Ki 11:1-3 LSB - [1] Now King Solomon loved many foreign women along with the daughter of Pharaoh: Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite women, [2] from the nations concerning which Yahweh had said to the sons of Israel, "You shall not go along with them, nor shall they go along with you, [for] they will surely turn your heart away after their gods." Solomon clung to these in love. [3] And he had 700 wives--princesses--and 300 concubines, and his wives turned his heart away.

1Ki 11:4 LSB - [4] Now it happened at the time that Solomon was old, his wives turned his heart away after other gods; and his heart was not wholly devoted to Yahweh his God, as the heart of David his father [had been].

Yahweh Raises Up Adversaries

Rehoboam Forsakes the Elders’ Counsel

Israel Rebels Against Judah

Jeroboam Makes Golden Calves

1 Kings 7-9 - The Ark Brought into the House of Yahweh

Solomon Builds His Own House

1Ki 7:1 LSB - [1] Now Solomon built his own house thirteen years, and he completed all his house.

Hiram’s Work in the House of Yahweh

1Ki 7:13-14 LSB - [13] Then King Solomon sent and brought Hiram from Tyre. [14] He was a widow's son from the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a worker in bronze; and he was filled with wisdom and discernment and knowledge to do any work in bronze. So he came to King Solomon and did all his work.

1Ki 7:51 LSB - [51] Thus all the work that King Solomon did [in] the house of Yahweh was finished. And Solomon brought in the things set apart as holy by his father David, the silver and the gold and the utensils, [and] he put [them] in the treasuries of the house of Yahweh.

The Ark Brought into the House of Yahweh

1Ki 8:6 LSB - [6] Then the priests brought the ark of the covenant of Yahweh to its place, into the inner sanctuary of the house, to the Holy of Holies, under the wings of the cherubim.

1Ki 8:9 LSB - [9] There was nothing in the ark except the two tablets of stone which Moses laid there at Horeb, where Yahweh cut a covenant with the sons of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt.

Solomon Blesses the People

1Ki 8:14-15 LSB - [14] Then the king turned his face around and blessed all the assembly of Israel, while all the assembly of Israel was standing. [15] And he said, "Blessed be Yahweh, the God of Israel, who spoke with His mouth to my father David and has fulfilled [it] by His hand, saying,

Solomon’s Prayer for Israel

1Ki 8:41-43 LSB - [41] "Also concerning the foreigner who is not of Your people Israel, if he comes from a far country for Your name's sake [42] (for they will hear of Your great name and Your strong hand, and of Your outstretched arm); so if he comes and prays toward this house, [43] listen in heaven Your dwelling place, and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to You, in order that all the peoples of the earth may know Your name to fear You, as [do] Your people Israel, and to know that Your name is called upon this house which I have built.

1Ki 8:46-49 LSB - [46] "When they sin against You (for there is no man who does not sin) and You are angry with them and give them over to an enemy, so that they take them away captive to the land of the enemy, far off or near; [47] and if they cause [these things] to return to their heart in the land where they have been taken captive, and return and make supplication to You in the land of those who have taken them captive, saying, 'We have sinned and have committed iniquity, we have acted wickedly'; [48] and if they return to You with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their enemies who have taken them captive, and pray to You toward their land which You have given to their fathers, the city which You have chosen, and the house which I have built for Your name; [49] then listen in heaven Your dwelling place to their prayer and their supplication, and do justice for them,

Solomon Blesses Yahweh

1Ki 8:58 LSB - [58] that He may incline our hearts to Himself, to walk in all His ways and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments, which He commanded our fathers.

1Ki 8:61 LSB - [61] "Let your heart therefore be wholly devoted to Yahweh our God, to walk in His statutes and to keep His commandments, as at this day."

The Offering for the House of Yahweh

1Ki 8:66 LSB - [66] On the eighth day he sent the people away and they blessed the king. Then they went to their tents with gladness and goodness of heart because of all the goodness that Yahweh had shown to David His servant and to Israel His people.

Yahweh Appears to Solomon

1Ki 9:2 LSB - [2] that Yahweh appeared to Solomon a second time, as He had appeared to him at Gibeon.

“Brethren, we want renewed appearances, fresh manifestations, new visitations from on high; and I commend to those of you who are getting on in life, that while you thank God for the past, and look back with joy to his visits to you in your early days, you now seek and ask for a second visitation of the Most High.” (Spurgeon)

“We do not need to be converted again; yet we do want that again over our heads the windows of heaven should be opened, that again a Pentecost should be given, and that we should renew our youth like the eagles, to run without weariness, and walk without fainting. The Lord fulfill to everyone of his people tonight his blessing upon Solomon!” (Spurgeon)

1Ki 9:3 LSB - [3] And Yahweh said to him, "I have heard your prayer and your supplication, which you have made before Me; I have set apart as holy this house which you have built by putting My name there forever, and My eyes and My heart will be there perpetually.

“Have you never known what it is to leave off prayer when you are in the middle of it, and say, “I am heard: I am heard”? Have you not felt that you needed not to cry any longer, for you had gained your suit, and must rather begin to praise than continue to pray? When a man goes to a bank with a cheque, and he gets the money, he does not stand loafing about the counter: he goes off about his business. And oftentimes before God, he that is prepared to be a long time in prayer if it should be necessary, feels that he must be brief in petition and long in thanksgiving.” (Spurgeon)

 

Solomon’s Other Acts

 

1 King 4-6 - Solomon Builds the Temple

Solomon’s Officials

1Ki 4:5 LSB - [5] and Azariah the son of Nathan [was] over the deputies; and Zabud the son of Nathan, a priest, [was] the king's friend;

Solomon’s Wealth and Wisdom

1Ki 4:20 LSB - [20] Judah and Israel [were] as numerous as the sand that is on the seashore in abundance; [they] were eating and drinking and being glad.

1Ki 4:28 ESV - [28] Barley also and straw for the horses and swift steeds they brought to the place where it was required, each according to his duty.

“In Solomon’s court all his officers had a service to carry out, ‘every man according to his charge.’ It is exactly so in the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ. If we are truly his, he has called us to some work and office, and he wills us to discharge that office diligently. We are not to be gentlemen-at-ease, but men-at-arms; not loiterers, but laborers; not glittering spangles, but burning and shining lights.” (Spurgeon)

“Many a servant girl gives her fourpenny-piece to the offering, and if the same proportion were carried out among those who are wealthy, gold would not be so rare a metal in the LORD’s treasury. A tithe may be too much for some, but a half might not be enough for another. Let it be, ‘Every man according to his charge,’ as to measure as well as to matter.” (Spurgeon)

Spurgeon concluded the message on a high note: “Everything for Jesus, the glorious Solomon of our hearts, the Beloved of our souls! Life for Jesus! Death for Jesus! Time for Jesus! Eternity for Jesus! Hand and heart for Jesus! Brain and tongue for Jesus! Night and day for Jesus! Sickness or health for Jesus! Honor or dishonor for Jesus! Shame or glory for Jesus! Everything for Jesus, ‘Every man according to his charge.’ So may it be! Amen.”

1Ki 4:29 LSB - [29] And God gave Solomon wisdom and very great discernment and breadth of [understanding] in [his] heart, like the sand that is on the seashore.

1Ki 4:32 LSB - [32] He also spoke 3,000 proverbs, and his songs were 1,005.

1Ki 4:34 LSB - [34] And men came from all peoples to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all the kings of the earth who had heard of his wisdom.

Covenant with Hiram King of Tyre

1Ki 5:15-17 LSB - [15] And Solomon had 70,000 who carried loads, and 80,000 hewers [of stone] in the mountains, [16] besides Solomon's 3,300 chief deputies who [were] over the project [and] who ruled over the people who were doing the work. [17] Then the king commanded, and they quarried great stones, precious stones, to lay the foundation of the house with cut stones.

This speaks to the way we should work for God. We don’t work for appearance only, but also to excel in the deep and hidden things. “I want, dear friends, to urge that all our work for God should be done thoroughly, and especially that part of it which lies lowest, and is least observed of men” (Spurgeon).

This speaks to the way God works in us. He works in the deep and hidden things when others are concerned with mere appearances. “We have been the subjects of a great deal of secret, unseen, underground work. The LORD has spent upon us a world of care. My brother, you would not like to unveil those great searchings of heart of which you have been the subject. You have been honored in public; and, if so, you have had many a whipping behind the door lest you should glory in your flesh… All those chastenings, humblings, and searchings of heart have been a private laying of foundations for higher things” (Spurgeon).

This speaks to the way God builds the church. He wants to do a work of deep, strong foundations instead of a work a mile wide but an inch deep. “To maintain solid truth you need solid people. Vital godliness is therefore to be aimed at. Twenty thousand people, all merely professing faith, but having no energetic life, may not have grace enough among them to make twenty solid believers. Poor, sickly believers turn the church into an hospital, rather than a camp” (Spurgeon).

Solomon Builds the Temple

1Ki 6:7 LSB - [7] The house, while it was being built, was built of stone prepared at the quarry, and there was neither hammer nor axe nor any iron tool heard in the house while it was being built.

1Ki 6:11-13 LSB - [11] And the word of Yahweh came to Solomon saying, [12] "[Concerning] this house which you are building, if you will walk in My statutes and do My judgments and keep all My commandments by walking in them, then I will establish My word with you which I spoke to David your father. [13] "And I will dwell among the sons of Israel, and will not forsake My people Israel."

1 King 1-3 - A Listening Heart

David in Old Age

1Ki 1:5-6 LSB - [5] Now Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, "I will be king." So he prepared for himself a chariot and horsemen and fifty men as runners before him. [6] But his father had never grieved him at any time by asking, "Why have you done so?" And he was also a very handsome man in form, and he was born after Absalom.

Nathan Speaks to Bathsheba

Solomon Anointed King

David’s Command to Solomon

1Ki 2:2 LSB - [2] "I am going the way of all the earth. So you shall be strong, and be a man.

The Death of David

Solomon’s Reign Established

1Ki 2:27 LSB - [27] So Solomon drove Abiathar away from being priest to Yahweh, in order to fulfill the word of Yahweh, which He had spoken concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh.

Solomon’s Prayer for Wisdom

1Ki 3:5 LSB - [5] In Gibeon, Yahweh appeared to Solomon in a dream at night; and God said, "Ask what I should give to you."

1Ki 3:9 LSB - [9] "So give Your slave a listening heart to judge Your people to discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this glorious people of Yours?"

Pro 20:12 LSB - [12] The hearing ear and the seeing eye, Yahweh has made both of them.

Solomon Wisely Judges

1Ki 3:28 LSB - [28] Then all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had handed down, and they feared the king, for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him to do justice.

Psalm 31-33

Into Your Hand I Commit My Spirit

Psa 31:1 LSB - [1] For the choir director. A Psalm of David. 

In You, O Yahweh, I have taken refuge; 

Let me never be ashamed; 

In Your righteousness protect me.

Rom 1:17 LSB - 

[17] For in it [the] righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "BUT THE RIGHTEOUS WILL LIVE BY FAITH."

Psa 31:5 LSB - [5] Into Your hand I commit my spirit; You have ransomed me, O Yahweh, God of truth.

Psa 31:5 ESV - [5] Into your hand I commit my spirit; you have redeemed me, O LORD, faithful God.

Luk 23:46 LSB - [46] And Jesus, crying out with a loud voice, said, "Father, INTO YOUR HANDS I COMMIT MY SPIRIT." Having said this, He breathed His last.

“These were the last words of Polycarp, of Bernard, of Huss, of Jerome of Prague, of Luther, of Melancthon, and many others.” (Perowne, cited in Spurgeon)

“Redemption is a solid basis for confidence. David had not known Calvary as we have done, but temporal redemption cheered him; and shall not eternal redemption yet more sweetly console us? Past deliverances are strong pleas for present assistance.” (Spurgeon)

Psa 31:19-20 LSB -
[19] How great is Your goodness,
Which You have stored up for those who fear You,
Which You have worked for those who take refuge in You,
Before the sons of men!
[20] You hide them in the secret place of Your presence from the conspiracies of man;
You keep them secretly in a shelter from the strife of tongues.

You Forgave the Iniquity of My Sin

 

 

 

 

Psalm 27-30 - You Have Turned My Mourning into Dancing

Yahweh Is My Light and My Salvation

Psa 27:1 LSB - [1] Of David. 

Yahweh is my light and my salvation; 

Whom shall I fear? 

Yahweh is the strong defense of my life; 

Whom shall I dread?

Psa 27:4 LSB - 

[4] One thing I have asked from Yahweh, that I shall seek: 

That I may dwell in the house of Yahweh all the days of my life, 

To behold the beauty of Yahweh And to inquire in His temple.

Luk 10:42 LSB - [42] but [only] one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her."

Phl 3:13 LSB - [13] Brothers, I do not consider myself as having laid hold of [it] yet, but one thing [I do]: forgetting what [lies] behind and reaching forward to what [lies] ahead,

Psa 23:6 LSB - [6] Surely goodness and lovingkindness will pursue me all the days of my life, And I will dwell in the house of Yahweh forever.

Psa 84:10 LSB - [10] For better is a day in Your courts than a thousand [elsewhere]. I would choose to stand at the threshold of the house of my God Than dwell in the tents of wickedness.

 

Yahweh Is My Strength and My Shield

Psa 28:6-7 LSB - 

[6] Blessed be Yahweh, 

Because He has heard the voice of my supplications. 

[7] Yahweh is my strength and my shield; 

My heart trusts in Him, and I am helped; 

Therefore my heart exults, 

And with my song I shall thank Him.

The Voice of Yahweh

Psa 29:1-2 LSB - [1] A Psalm of David. 

Ascribe to Yahweh, O sons of the mighty, 

Ascribe to Yahweh glory and strength. 

[2] Ascribe to Yahweh the glory of His name; 

Worship Yahweh in the splendor of holiness.

Psa 29:4 LSB - [4] The voice of Yahweh is powerful, The voice of Yahweh is [full of] splendor.

Psa 29:9 LSB - [9] The voice of Yahweh makes the deer to calve And strips the forests bare; And in His temple everything says, "Glory!"

Job 39:1 LSB - [1] "Do you know the time the mountain goats give birth? Do you keep watch over the calving of the deer?

 

You Have Turned My Mourning into Dancing

Psa 30:1-3 LSB - [1] A Psalm. A Song at the Dedication of the House. Of David. 

I will exalt You, 

O Yahweh, for You have lifted me up, 

And have not let my enemies be glad over me. 

[2] O Yahweh my God, I cried to You for help, and You healed me. 

[3] O Yahweh, You have brought up my soul from Sheol; 

You have kept me alive, that I would not go down to the pit.

Psa 30:5 LSB - 

[5] For His anger is but for a moment, 

His favor is for a lifetime; 

Weeping may last for the night, 

But a shout of joy [comes] in the morning.

Psa 30:11-12 LSB - 

[11] You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; 

You have loosed my sackcloth and girded me with gladness, 

[12] That [my] glory may sing praise to You and not be silent. 

O Yahweh my God, I will give thanks to You forever. 

Psalm 23-26 - Yahweh Is My Shepherd

Yahweh Is My Shepherd

Psa 23:1-6 LSB - [1] A Psalm of David. 

Yahweh is my shepherd, I shall not want. 

Isa 40:11 LSB - [11] Like a shepherd He will shepherd His flock; 

In His arm He will gather the lambs 

And carry [them] in His bosom; 

He will gently lead the nursing [ewes].

[2] He makes me lie down in green pastures; 

He leads me beside quiet waters. 

Rev 7:17 LSB - [17] for the Lamb at the center of the throne will shepherd them and will guide them to springs of the water of life. And God WILL WIPE EVERY TEAR FROM THEIR EYES."

[3] He restores my soul; 

He guides me in the paths of righteousness 

For His name's sake. 

[4] Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; 

Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. 

“It has an inexpressibly delightful application to the dying; but it is for the living, too…. The words are not in the future tense, and therefore are not reserved for a distant moment.” (Spurgeon)

[5] You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; 

You have anointed my head with oil; My cup overflows. 

“When a soldier is in the presence of his enemies, if he eats at all he snatches a hasty meal, and away he hastens to the fight. But observe: ‘Thou preparest a table,’ just as a servant does when she unfolds the damask cloth and displays the ornaments of the feast on an ordinary peaceful occasion. Nothing is hurried, there is no confusion, no disturbance, the enemy is at the door and yet God prepares a table, and the Christian sits down and eats as if everything were in perfect peace.” (Spurgeon)

[6] Surely goodness and lovingkindness will pursue me all the days of my life, 

And I will dwell in the house of Yahweh forever.

“These twin guardian angels will always be with me at my back and my beck. Just as when great princes go abroad they must not go unattended, so it is with the believer.” (Spurgeon)

“While I am here I will be a child at home with my God; the whole world shall be his house to me; and when I ascend into the upper chamber I shall not change my company, nor even change the house; I shall only go to dwell in the upper story of the house of the Lord for ever.” (Spurgeon)

The King of Glory

Psa 24:1-2 LSB - [1] Of David. A Psalm. The earth is Yahweh's, as well as its fullness, The world, and those who dwell in it. [2] For He has founded it upon the seas And established it upon the rivers.

Psa 24:3-5 LSB - [3] Who may ascend into the mountain of Yahweh? And who may rise in His holy place? [4] He who has innocent hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to worthlessness And has not sworn deceitfully. [5] He shall lift up a blessing from Yahweh And righteousness from the God of his salvation.

Lead Me in Your Truth

Psa 25:4-5 LSB - [4] DALETH 

Make me know Your ways, O Yahweh; 

Teach me Your paths. 

[5] HE / VAV 

Lead me in Your truth and teach me, 

For You are the God of my salvation; 

In You I hope all the day.

Psa 25:7 LSB - [7] HETH 

Do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions; 

According to Your lovingkindness remember me, 

For the sake of Your goodness, O Yahweh.

Psa 25:11 LSB - [11] LAMEDH 

For Your name's sake, O Yahweh, 

Pardon my iniquity, for it is great.

Give Justice to Me, O Yahweh

Psa 26:1 LSB - [1] Of David. Give justice to me, O Yahweh, for I have walked in my integrity, And I have trusted in Yahweh; I will not waver.

Psa 26:2-3 LSB - [2] Test me, O Yahweh, and try me; Refine my mind and my heart. [3] For Your lovingkindness is before my eyes, And I have walked in Your truth.

Psa 26:8 LSB - [8] O Yahweh, I love the habitation of Your house And the place where Your glory dwells.

Psalm 19-22 - Why Have You Forsaken Me?

The Law of Yahweh Is Perfect

Psa 19:1-2 LSB - [1] For the choir director. A Psalm of David. 

The heavens are telling of the glory of God; 

And the expanse is declaring the work of His hands. 

[2] Day to day pours forth speech, 

And night to night reveals knowledge.

Psa 19:3 ESV - [3] There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard.

Rom 1:20 ESV - [20] For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.

Psa 19:7-8 LSB - 

[7] The law of Yahweh is perfect, restoring the soul; 

The testimony of Yahweh is sure, making wise the simple. 

[8] The precepts of Yahweh are right, rejoicing the heart; 

The commandment of Yahweh is pure, enlightening the eyes.

One reason the word is a greater revelation than creation is that it tells us much more about God. It reveals Him as the covenant God of love, as reflected in the structure of this psalm. In Psalm 19:1-6, God is referred to as El — the most generic word for God in the Hebrew language (even more generic than the commonly used Elohim). Yet here at Psalm 19:7-9, God is referred to as Yahweh (the LORD), the God of covenant love and faithfulness to His people.

“He is wisest who reads both the world-book and the Word-book as two volumes of the same work, and feels concerning them, ‘My Father wrote them both.’” (Spurgeon)

Psa 19:9-11 LSB - [9] The fear of Yahweh is clean, enduring forever; The judgments of Yahweh are true; they are righteous altogether. [10] [They are] more desirable than gold, even more than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb. [11] Moreover, by them Your slave is warned; In keeping them there is great reward.

Psa 19:12-13 LSB - [12] Who can discern [his] errors? Acquit me of hidden [faults]. [13] Also keep back Your slave from presumptuous [sins]; Let them not rule over me; Then I will be blameless, And I shall be acquitted of great transgression.

All along this continuum the Holy Spirit — and hopefully our conscience — say, “No — stop!” All along this continuum, we are given the way of escape by God (1 Corinthians 10:13), if we will only take it. Yet if we do not, and we end up in slavery to sin, it legitimately questions the state of our soul (1 John 3:6-9).

Because of this great danger, David prayed keep back Your servant also from presumptuous sins. “Will you just note, that this prayer was the prayer of a saint, the prayer of a holy man of God? Did David need to pray thus? Did the ‘man after God’s own heart’ need to cry, ‘Keep back thy servant?’ Yes, he did.” (Spurgeon)

 

We Will Boast in the Name of Yahweh

Psa 20:4 ESV - [4] May he grant you your heart's desire and fulfill all your plans!

Psa 20:7 LSB - [7] Some [boast] in chariots and some in horses, But we will boast in the name of Yahweh, our God. 

The King Trusts in Yahweh

Psa 21:1-2 LSB - [1] For the choir director. A Psalm of David. O Yahweh, in Your strength the king will be glad, And in Your salvation how greatly he will rejoice! [2] You have given him his heart's desire, And You have not withheld the request of his lips. Selah.

Psa 21:13 LSB - [13] Be exalted, O Yahweh, in Your strength; We will sing and praise Your might.

Why Have You Forsaken Me?

Psa 22:1 LSB - [1] For the choir director. According to Aijeleth Hashshahar. A Psalm of David. 

My God, my God, why have You forsaken me? 

Far from my salvation are the words of my groaning.

Mat 27:46 LSB - [46] And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "ELI, ELI, LAMA SABACHTHANI?" that is, "MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME?"

On the cross, a holy transaction took place. God the Father regarded God the Son as if He were a sinner. As the Apostle Paul would later write, God made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. (2 Corinthians 5:21)

Yet Jesus not only endured the withdrawal of the Father’s fellowship, but also the actual outpouring of the Father’s wrath upon Him as a substitute for sinful humanity. “This was the blackness and darkness of his horror; then it was that he penetrated the depths of the caverns of suffering.” (Spurgeon)

 “It was necessary that he should feel the loss of his Father’s smile, — for the condemned in hell must have tasted of that bitterness — and therefore the Father closed the eye of his love, put the hand of justice before the smile of his face, and left his Son to cry, ‘My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?’” (Spurgeon)

Psa 22:18 LSB - [18] They divide my garments among them, And for my clothing they cast lots.

Jhn 19:23-24 LSB - [23] Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took His garments and made four parts, a part to each soldier and [also] His tunic; now that tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from the top. [24] So they said to one another, "Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it, [to decide] whose it shall be;" [this was] in order that the Scripture would be fulfilled: "THEY DIVIDED MY GARMENTS AMONG THEM, AND FOR MY CLOTHING THEY CAST LOTS."