Psalms 69-72

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Psalms 69-72

Psalm 69:1-36

To the chief Musician upon Shoshannim, A Psalm of David

“Save me, O God; for the waters are come in unto my soul. I sink in deep mire, where there is no standing: I am come into deep waters, where the floods overflow me. I am weary of my crying: my throat is dried: mine eyes fail while I wait for my God. They that hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of mine head: they that would destroy me, being mine enemies wrongfully, are mighty: then I restored that which I took not away. O God, thou knowest my foolishness; and my sins are not hid from thee. Let not them that wait on thee, O Lord GOD of hosts, be ashamed for my sake: let not those that seek thee be confounded for my sake, O God of Israel. Because for thy sake I have borne reproach; shame hath covered my face. I am become a stranger unto my brethren, and an alien unto my mother’s children. For the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up; and the reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me. When I wept, and chastened my soul with fasting, that was to my reproach. I made sackcloth also my garment; and I became a proverb to them. They that sit in the gate speak against me; and I was the song of the drunkards. But as for me, my prayer is unto thee, O LORD, in an acceptable time: O GOD, in the multitude of thy mercy hear me, in the truth of thy salvation. Deliver me out of the mire, and let me not sink: let me be delivered from them that hate me, and out of the deep waters. Let not the waterflood overflow me, neither let the deep swallow me up, and let not the pit shut her mouth upon me. Hear me, O LORD; for thy lovingkindness is good: turn unto me according to the multitude of thy tender mercies. And hide not thy face from thy servant; for I am in trouble: hear me speedily. Draw nigh unto my soul, and redeem it: deliver me because of mine enemies. Thou hast known my reproach, and my shame, and my dishonour: mine adversaries are all before thee. Reproach hath broken my heart; and I am full of heaviness: and I looked for some to take pity, but there was none; and for comforters, but I found none. They gave me also gall for my meat; and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink. Let their table become a snare before them: and that which should have been for their welfare, let it become a trap. Let their eyes be darkened, that they see not; and make their loins continually to shake. Pour out thine indignation upon them, and let thy wrathful anger take hold of them. Let their habitation be desolate; and let none dwell in their tents [margin: let there not be a dweller in their tents]. For they persecute him whom thou hast smitten; and they talk to the grief of those whom thou hast wounded. Add iniquity unto their iniquity: and let them not come into thy righteousness. Let them be blotted out of the book of the living, and not be written with the righteous. But I am poor and sorrowful: let thy salvation, O God, set me up on high. I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify him with thanksgiving. This also shall please the LORD better than an ox or bullock that hath horns and hoofs. The humble shall see this, and be glad: and your heart shall live that seek God. For the LORD heareth the poor, and despiseth not his prisoners. Let heaven and earth praise him, the seas, and every thing that moveth therein. For God will save Zion, and will build the cities of Judah: that they may dwell there, and have it in possession. The seed also of his servants shall inherit it: and they that love his name shall dwell therein.”

Introduction: A Picture Of The Innocent Suffering

“Psalm 69 is one of the Messianic Psalms, it is the most quoted Psalm in the New Testament, most quoted Messianic Psalm besides Psalm 22, which is a direct picture of the crucifixion hundreds of years before anybody was crucifying anyone. But here, as we look at this, it is a picture of the innocent suffering. And of course then it gives us a wonderful picture of Jesus Christ himself. It is mentioned in Romans chapter 11, verse 9, because if you look at it there, it says “a Psalm of David”, someone will argue with that, the Septuagint tells us it’s a Psalm of David, and Romans chapter 11, verse 9 says it’s a Psalm of David, beyond that I don’t know why anyone would argue with it. But it certainly is a Messianic Psalm. Ah, wonderful aspects to it, let’s look into it. He begins by saying “Save me,” David, he’s writing of his condition, his needs, “Save me, O God; for the waters are come in unto my soul.” (verse 1) and he’s using a picture now, to tell us how he feels, “I sink in deep mire,” ‘I feel like I’m sinking in quicksand, in the mud,’ “where there is no standing: I am come into deep waters, where the floods overflow me.” (verse 2) ‘I can’t get my breath,’ he says, ‘I feel like, LORD, I’m in a situation where I’m sinking here, and I got no footing under me.’ This only happened 3,000 years ago, I know this never happened to anyone here [tongue-in-cheek humour here]. He just says ‘I feel like I’m going down, LORD, I can’t get my footing here, this is a terrible situation, I don’t understand, LORD, why this is going on,’ he says, ‘I feel like floods are overflowing me,’ when you see water washing over someone’s head, and they can’t seem to get their breath. And he’s going to say there’s a reproach tied to all of this, by the way. You’ll see it in verse 7, reproach, in verse 9 twice, in verse 10, you’ll see it again in verse 19 twice. There’s an insult attached to all of this. And all of s sudden we’re going to hear Christ speaking. So, David, whatever circumstance this is, he feels like he’s suffering for something he hasn’t done, much like Job. He doesn’t say in here that he’s sinless, in fact he says ‘LORD, you know my foolishness and my sins.’ (verse 5) ‘but you know who I am, what I’m made of. But what I’m going through right now isn’t anything I earned or deserved, LORD, this is a reproach that isn’t mine, I shouldn’t be going through this.’ So, he cries out to the LORD, ‘this is what’s going on.’ “I am weary of my crying: my throat is dried: mine eyes fail while I wait for my God.” (verse 3) How often do we think that God is late when we’re crying out in a circumstance? [I have to be honest, all the time.] I loved it when Robie used to come and he used to sing, “He may not come when you want, but he’s right on time.” “They that hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of mine head:” that’s worse for some of us than others, evidently. “they that would destroy me, being mine enemies wrongfully, are mighty: then I restored that which I took not away.” (verse 4) ‘I went the extra mile, I did, they’re blaming me for something, ok, I turned the other cheek, I restored that which I took not away, I bent over backwards trying to make things right here.’ Of course, this is what Jesus did. “O God, thou knowest my foolishness; and my sins are not hid from thee.” (verse 5) ‘LORD, you know what I’m made of.’ “But let not them that wait on thee, O Lord GOD of hosts, be ashamed for my sake: let not those that seek thee be confounded for my sake, O God of Israel.” (verse 6) What he’s saying is, ‘LORD, deliver me, so that others won’t be discouraged looking at what’s going on in my life. You know there’s foolishness in my life, LORD, I blow it sometimes, you know my sins, LORD, they’re not hid from you, but let not them, don’t let others LORD, your sons, your daughters, the saints, you know, don’t let them that wait on thee, O Lord GOD of hosts be ashamed because of me, looking at me, thinking ‘If God don’t help him, we can never expect him to help us.’ “let not those that seek thee be confounded for my sake, O God of Israel.” (verse 6c) His call, his claim now is, “Because for thy sake I have borne reproach; shame hath covered my face.” (verse 7), six times, insult. We hear much of Jesus here, in fact John chapter 1 John chapter 7, John chapter 2, all of those things, as you go through here, you’ll here them, they’re familiar quoted in John’s Gospel in the New Testament.

You Never Know Who You’re Dealing With

“I am become a stranger unto my brethren, and an alien unto my mother’s children.” (verse 8) Remember Jesus, you know, I’m always amazed, the oldest, Jesus, then James, Jude, Joses, and sisters, at least four boys and girls in a carpenter’s house, which was small. There are those that try to say the other kids were by a former marriage by Joseph, which was a 3^rd century bishop, I forget what island he was on, he should have stayed there. Tertulian, the early church fathers, said they were all the uterine siblings of Jesus Christ. Imagine that, he didn’t say ‘Father, just look, let me be an only child, I got lots to think about, I got a lot of studying to do, I got a lot to get ready for,’ he didn’t do that. He got sent into a house with a slew of kids. I can just imagine, girls, I watch my daughters, how they love their brothers. What would it be like for girls to grow up with Jesus [Yeshua] as your older brother? Any time James or Joses or Jude or the rest of them, Simon, the other four gave you a hard time, you just tell on them, ‘Jesus, they’re picking on me again,’ it must have been wonderful, you know. James uses the word “brethren” nineteen times in his little letter, just cognizant of all of the time of this. Again, he says, ‘If somebody comes into your synagogue [the early Christian churches were synagogues back then, imagine that] with a gold ring and a fancy outfit, don’t treat him any different than somebody who comes in dressed like a carpenter, because you never know who you’re dealing with.’ There was a time when James, it says, and the brethren, came with Mary, and they thought when they heard Jesus claiming to be Lord Saboath, the Lord of the Sabbath, that he had lost his mind. They thought he was beside himself. Jesus says here “I am become a stranger unto my brethren, and alien unto my mother’s children.” the reason? “For the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up; and the reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me.” (verses 8-9) We always take it personally when somebody comes after us because we’re Christians. “but the reproaches of them that reproached thee” you know, we know this, if you were perfect, they would crucify you. “the reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me.” (verse 9b) “When I wept, and chastened my soul with fasting, that was to my reproach.” (verse 10) ‘it didn’t help, they just thought I was a fanatic.’ “I made sackcloth also my garment; and I became a proverb to them. They that sit in the gate speak against me; and I was the song of the drunkards.” (verses 11-12) Now by the way, the gate in those days, that was the entrance to the city, it was the cool place all day long in the shade. You know, Jesus said the gates of hell shall not prevail against my Church. The gate is where the strategies of war were made, it was where court was held. Jesus was saying the stratagems of hell were not going to prevail against the Church, the gates of hell. The gate was the place where the best gossip was going on every day, the gate was the place where everybody knew everybody else’s business. And he says here “They that sit in the gate speak against me; and I was the song of drunkards.” (verse 12)

‘I Want To Get Out Of This Mess, But LORD I Trust Your Timing’

Now he cries out, David no doubt, “But as for me, my prayer is unto thee, O LORD. in an acceptable time: O GOD, in the multitude of thy mercy hear me, in the truth of thy salvation.” (verse 13) And please, take note of this, these next set of verses, 13 down to 19, is this heart-cry. And look what it says here. It says, “But as for me, my prayer is unto thee, O LORD, in an acceptable time:” you kind of want to underline that. Because he’s saying here, in verse 13, ‘hear me,’ he says it again in verse 16, ‘hear me,’ in verse 18 he says, “Draw nigh unto my soul,” and in verse 18, “redeem it” he uses the word “deliver”, “deliver me”, a second time in verse 14, “deliver”, down in verse 18, “deliver”, he’s crying out to the LORD, ‘Deliver me LORD, deliver me LORD, deliver me, hear me, hear me, draw nigh unto me, redeem me,’ there’s a great measure of desperation here. But remarkably, he says, “in an acceptable time: O GOD” In other words, ‘This ain’t easy, but I want it to be your timing. If it was up to me I’d get bailed out right now, LORD. I want to get delivered, I want to get out of this mess, but LORD I trust your timing.’ That is an extremely difficult place to stand, and it’s a place where faith stands alone. “But as for me” verse 13, “my prayer is unto thee, O LORD, in an acceptable time: O GOD, in the multitude of thy mercy hear me, in the truth of thy salvation. Deliver me out of the mire, and let me not sink: let me be delivered from them that hate me, and out of the deep waters.” (verses 13-14) Now it’s what he complained about earlier, sinking in the mire, floods are going over me. Now he says, “Deliver me out of the mire, and let me not sink: let me be delivered from them that hate me, and out of the deep waters.” (verse 14) Isn’t it interesting, he gives us a little more insight. Now the ‘deep waters, the mire, those that hate me, those that are persecuting me.’ Sometimes you feel like you’re so surrounded. You know, isn’t it interesting, sometimes what people can say, and people betray you, particularly those who are of your own house, it can hurt way more deeply than somebody punching you in the face, or choking you. Words, things said about you, particularly if they’re said behind your back and they get to your front somehow. He says here ‘sinking in the mire, the deep water,’ he says ‘it’s those that hate me,’ “Let not the waterflood overflow me, neither let the deep swallow me up, and let not the pit shut her mouth upon me. Hear me, O LORD; for thy lovingkindness is good: turn unto me according to the multitude of thy tender mercies. And hide not thy face from thy servant; for I am in trouble: hear me speedily.” ‘but in your time.’ “Draw nigh unto my soul, and redeem it: deliver me because of mine enemies.” (verses 15-18) and he talks more specifically now about his calamity,

Messianic Verses, Christ On The Cross

“Thou hast known my reproach, and my shame, and my dishonour: mine adversaries are all before me.” (verse 19) ‘you know the ones that are attacking me,’ “Reproach hath broken my heart; and I am full of heaviness: and I looked for some to take pity, but there was none; and for comforters, but I found none.” (verse 20) remember Christ on the cross, blood and water came out. The filth of man’s sin, when the sinless substitute, Jesus, broken heart, the purest, cleanest one ever, on the cross, it says he bore our sins upon the tree, 1^st Peter, Isaiah, ‘It pleased the Father, he laid upon him the iniquity of us all.’ He says, “I looked for some to take pity, but there was none; and for comforters, but I found none.” (verse 20b) Look, “They gave me also gall for my meat; and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.” (verse 21) John chapter 19, verse 30, you remember they gave him that sponge, soaked with vinegar. “Let their table become a snare before them: and that which should have been for their welfare, let it become a trap.” (verse 22) we have in Romans, it says ‘And David saith, ‘Let their table be made a snare, and a trap and a stumblingblock, and a recompense to themselves.’’ Paul tells us clearly in Romans chapter 9, verse 11, that it is David’s Psalm here, I can’t believe the controversy over it, I mean Romans 11, verse 9. He says“Let their table become a snare before them: and that which should have been for their welfare, let it become a trap.” (verse 22) look, we can’t pray these things, ok? [Comment: That all depends on whether you believe the 2^nd resurrection is a resurrection which is an opportunity for the “unsaved dead” to receive Christ and salvation. There are some parts of the greater Body of Christ that do believe that. Their beliefs are defined at http://www.unityinchrist.com/plaintruth/battle.htm . i.e. what is to their hurt now is for their salvation later. All others can’t pray that, but they can (smile). And even though we are told to turn the other cheek, God often does bring judgment on our persecutors, so we really don’t need to pray this, but should be praying for our enemies as Jesus said, and as Pastor Joe says here.] So you can enjoy them just as we teach through it tonight. You know, the person that hurts you the most, the person that really stabs you in the back, the person that you think is your enemy, the person you just want to, you’d like to see get it, you can just listen to David say it, but you can’t think this. Alright? “Let their eyes be darkened, that they see not; and make their loins continually to shake. Pour out thine indignation upon them, and let thy wrathful anger take hold of them. Let their habitation be desolate; and let none dwell in their tents. For they persecute him whom thou hast smitten; and they talk to the grief of those whom thou hast wounded. Add iniquity unto their iniquity: and let them not come into thy righteousness.” he says in fact, “Let them be blotted out of the book of the living, and not be written with the righteous.” (verses 23-28) Now we’re supposed to turn the other cheek, we’re supposed to go the extra mile, and we’re supposed to love unconditionally. But it’s fun to listen to David pray like that, anyway. You have to understand, the Old Testament saint, particularly as he writes, David writes this with a world-view, ‘That LORD, there’s sin and there’s evil and there’s wickedness, and this is what should come to them.’ David never has the Book of Revelation, he never has the last story. David can’t be content and to sit and say ‘You know what LORD, I know what’s coming” [and everything that David prayed for the wicked, as Revelation and all the other prophecies in the Bible show, get what David prayed for, they get what they deserve, and then if the 2^nd resurrection really is a resurrection of opportunity for salvation for the “unsaved dead”, then they all get given a chance and choice to choose the right way, so these curses to their hurt are for the sake of their salvation later. Pastor Joe and his denomination do not believe the 2^nd resurrection at the Great White Throne provides that opportunity for the “unsaved dead.” That’s the doctrinal difference between the Sabbath-keeping Churches of God and Calvary Chapels in this area of Scriptural interpretation.] “I should pray for these people, when I look in the Book of Revelation, when I see what’s coming on this world, when I think of the anti-christ, when I think of outer darkness, when I think of the Great White Throne, when I think of them being cast into outer darkness, the lake of fire that burns in outer darkness with fire for ever and ever,’ David doesn’t have any of that. So here he just parcels out his sense of what should come to the wicked, what should come to the righteous, he doesn’t have the foresight that you and I do, with the Spirit of Christ living in us, and the New Testament in front of us. So sometimes these imprecatory Psalms and portions where you can just sense the anger, and the longing for things to be made right, and it seems to take the form of vengeance sometimes.

Praising The LORD From The Heart Is More Pleasing To God Than Animal Sacrifices

He says, “But I am poor and sorrowful: let thy salvation, O God, set me up on high.” (verse 29) now here’s his confidence, as he ends this Psalm. He tells us that he is confident. “But I am poor and sorrowful: let thy salvation, O GOD, set me up on high. I will praise the name of God with a song,” we’ll do that tonight again, we did it at the beginning, we’ll do it at the end, “and will magnify him with thanksgiving. This also shall please the LORD better than an ox or bullock that hath horns and hoofs.” (verses 29-31) He says genuine worship, praising the LORD, something that comes from the heart is more pleasing to him than sacrificing an animal. “The humble shall see this, and be glad: and your heart shall live that seek GOD. For the LORD heareth the poor, and despiseth not his prisoners. Let the heaven and earth praise him, the seas, and every thing that moveth therein. For God will save Zion, and will build the cities of Judah:” important to remember, as you watch the news, “that they may dwell there, and have it in possession. The seed also of his servants shall inherit it: and they that love his name shall dwell therein.” (verses 32-36) That’s us too, we’re going to have a part in that. [So this is very prophetic, looking forward to the 2^nd coming of Jesus Christ and the establishment of the Millennial Kingdom of God on earth.]

Psalm 70:1-5

To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David, to bring to remembrance.

“Make haste, O God, to deliver me; make hast to help me, O LORD. Let them be ashamed and confounded that seek after my soul: let them be turned backward, and put to confusion, that desire my hurt. Let them be turned back for a reward of their shame that say, Aha, aha. Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee: and let such as love thy salvation say continually, Let God be magnified. But I am poor and needy: make haste unto me, O God, thou art my help and my deliverer; O LORD, make no tarrying.”

Introduction: A Plea To God, “Make Haste”

Psalm 70, you see it there, you’re thinking ‘Oh good, a little short one.’ Ah, Psalm 70, really lifted out of Psalm 40, verses 13 to 17. It’s a repetition, and most of these verses are also found in Psalm 35. Possibly that’s why it says “to the chief Musician”, so we know it’s to be sung publicly, it is a Psalm of David “to bring to remembrance”, so, you know, Paul says in the New Testament, he put them to remembrance. John says ‘I don’t give you a new commandment,’ Peter says ‘I want to put you in remembrance of certain things,’ repetition is a wonderful thing for learning. [i.e why it’s important to study history, because it repeats itself. The lessons of history are repetitive.] And evidently there are things in, maybe part of Psalm 40 that were lifted out now, there’s a few changes, that were used for a special service, we’re not sure, we’re not sure as we look at this. The basic plea of the Psalm is ‘Make haste,’ if you look there in verse 1, “Make haste, O God, to deliver me; make haste to help me, O LORD.” Down in verse 5, “make haste unto me, O God,” ah, “make no tarrying” it’s the same idea there. So four times we have in these five verses, a plea to God ‘to make haste.’ Now look, it doesn’t say ‘Hurry up, God.’ God never hurries, and you can’t hurry him. But he does hasten, sometimes, and there’s a difference. He doesn’t need to hurry, because he’s always right on time. He doesn’t need to hurry. But he hastens sometimes in regards to his mercy towards us. ‘LORD, hasten, please LORD,’ in his longing for his children, I have grandkids now, if I hear them crying or fall down, you hear their voice, you hear pain, you know, you might hasten to that, and there’s a difference. So, interesting picture. Look in verse 2, you’re going to find the word “let” here six times, “Let them be ashamed”, “Let them be turned back”, “let them be turned back,” “let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee”, “let such as love thy salvation”, “Let God be magnified.” It’s ‘LORD allow, please God, allow this, allow this,’ there’s a constant bending of the knee in this Psalm, to the LORD. Twice there’s a request for help, twice there’s a request for deliverance, twice there’s a plea ‘I’m going to seek you.’ There’s a lot packed into this little Psalm.

‘Make Haste To Deliver Me, Make Haste To Help Me’

“Make haste, O God, to deliver me; make haste to help me, O LORD. Let them be ashamed and confounded that seek after my soul:” ‘LORD, those that are seeking my life, let them be ashamed and confounded,’ let them be turned backward, and put to confusion, that desire my hurt. Let them be turned back for a reward of their shame that say, Aha, aha.” (verses 1-3) That was Aha, aha, in the Hebrew, it’s kind of a term of contempt, Aha, aha. If you’re in Israel sometime, and you give somebody a hard time, and they look at you and go “Aha, aha” you know what’s going on. He says “Let them be turned back for a reward of their shame that say, Aha, aha.” in derision, “Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee:” i.e. ‘Let this happen to the bad guys. Now LORD, let this happen to those that seek thee,’ “Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee: and let such as love thy salvation say continually, Let God be magnified.” (verses 3-4) ‘Whatever the circumstances are, let those who seek thee,’ because around him now, his enemies, they want his life, they desire his hurt, they’re mocking him. So he says “Let those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee:”, that in the middle of those circumstances, the presence of the LORD holds us up. Sometimes we just think, ‘We want to get delivered, we want to get out of the mess that we’re in, and we want it the way that we tell him it should happen.’ David is saying, ‘You know what, when he shows up, I’m good. When he shows up, I’m good.’ Sometimes it can be, I think of times in my life, I think one of the worst nights of my life, watching one of my children bleeding out. And it just, God set up the circumstances, so all of a sudden, somebody from church was right there, and I kind of stepped back and said ‘Alright Lord, I don’t know what you’re doing, but I know you’re involved. I’m ok. This is terrible, I don’t know if I’m going to see this kid again in this world, but I’m good, if you’re involved, Lord, I’m good.’ “Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee: and let such as love thy salvation say continually, Let God be magnified.” (verse 4) “But I am poor and needy: make haste unto me, O God, thou art my help and my deliverer; O LORD, make no tarrying.” (verse 5) “make hast unto me, O God,” do you know that you can pray that? One in 7 billion people on the planet, and you can pray that? “I am poor and needy: make haste unto me, O God,”? It always blows my mind, you know, when I get alone with him, and sometimes it overwhelms me. And I have to get up before the rest of the house, because it’s quiet then. I like it better in the summer, if I can get out in the yard where it’s quiet in a different way, because I can take the birds singing and stuff going on like that. But I lift my head and say, you know, just kind of in a prayer, not thinking, and all of a sudden realize I’m saying ‘Father,’ and I sense his presence, and I realize ‘He likes me, he likes me.’ I know he loves me, he has to, that’s what the Bible says. But he likes me, on top of that, he likes me. And I feel like, you know, when my sons were little, how they would come, and how I would delight just to listen to things they say, and the things they would try to articulate. You know, “Make haste unto me, O God,’ he cares about me, with 7 billion other people around this planet he’s diverse enough to spend time with me, care about me. “thou art my help and my deliverer; O LORD, make no tarrying.” (verse 5b)

Psalm 71:1-24

“In thee, O LORD, do I put my trust: let me never be put to confusion. Deliver me in thy righteousness, and cause me to escape: incline thine ear unto me, and save me. Be thou my strong habitation, whereunto I may continually resort: thou hast given commandment to save me; for thou art my rock and my fortress. Deliver me, O my God, out of the hand of the unrighteous and cruel man. For thou art my hope, O Lord GOD: thou art my trust from my youth. By thee have I been holden up from the womb: thou art he that took me out of my mother’s bowels: my praise shall be continually of thee. I am as a wonder unto many; but thou art my strong refuge. Let my mouth be filled with praise and with thy honour all the day. Cast me not off in the time of old age; forsake me not when my strength faileth. For mine enemies speak against me; and they that lay wait for my soul take counsel together, saying, God hath forsaken him: persecute and take him; for there is none to deliver him. O God, be not far from me: O my God, make haste for my help. Let them be confounded and consumed that are adversaries to my soul; let them be covered with reproach and dishonour that seek my hurt. But I will hope continually, and will yet praise thee more and more. My mouth shall shew forth thy righteousness and thy salvation all the day; for I know not the numbers thereof. I will go in the strength of the Lord GOD: I will make mention of thy righteousness, even of thine only. O God, thou hast taught me from my youth: and hitherto have I declared thy wondrous works. Now also when I am old and grayheaded, O God, forsake me not; until I have shewed thy strength unto this generation, and thy power to every one that is to come. Thy righteousness also, O God, is very high, who hast done great things: O God, who is like unto thee! Thou, which hast shewed me great and sore troubles, shalt quicken me again, and shalt bring me up from the depths of the earth. Thou shalt increase my greatness, and comfort me on every side. I will also praise thee with the psaltery, even thy truth, O my God: unto thee will I sing with the harp, O thou Holy One of Israel. My lips shall greatly rejoice when I sing unto thee: and my soul, which thou hast redeemed. My tongue also shall talk of thy righteousness all the day long: for they are confounded for they are brought unto shame, that seek my hurt.”

Introduction: Now That I’m Old, I Think More About God All The Time

Psalm 71, this is a great Psalm, the Septuagint says it’s a Psalm of David. You want to take note of certain things as we look at this, this is a Psalm evidently written in his old age. Look over verse 9, I can hear the pages turning, it says, “Cast me not off in the time of old age; forsake me not when my strength faileth.” Look down in verse 18, “Now also when I am old and grayheaded, O God, forsake me not; until I have shewed thy strength unto this generation, and thy power to every one that is to come.” So David evidently writing here as an older man, it’s remarkable. And what he says here is that at that point in his life, that he thinks of the LORD, look it says in verse 3, “Be thou my strong habitation, whereunto I may continually resort: thou hast given commandment to save me; for thou art my rock and my fortress.” That he’s continually in the habit of seeking the LORD. Look in verse 8, “Let my mouth be filled with thy praise and with thy honour all the day.” Look down in verse 15, you’ll see it there, “all the day”, look over in verse 24, you’ll see it again, “all the day…” Now what happens, when you get older, and you’re thinking about things, like, ‘Lord, don’t take me till I get to share [spiritually, the Gospel] with my kids and my grandkids,’ your days are different too. Three times, and one time he says ‘You’re my constant habit,’ and three times he says, ‘I think about you all the day.’ You think differently about the Lord, I’m 63, at 63 you think differently about the Lord than you do at 33, because you’re going to be seeing him sooner. I can look back further than I can look ahead now. Again, people tell me I’m middle aged, at 63 I don’t know many 126-year-olds. Doesn’t comfort me at all [laughter]. By that time you’ve gone through a few health things, you realize how frail you are [went to my physical this year, and my primary care physician sent me packing to three separate specialist doctors], how temporary you are. And it creates a wonderful, I think, attitude of heart, when Lord, all the day, I think ‘When I get up, I woke up this morning, I breathed in, and I breathed out, awesome, another day, this is a good thing, Lord.’ And there’s great retrospect here, when he talks about it, because he says, look in verse 5, he says, “For thou art my hope, O Lord GOD: thou art my trust from my youth.” “from my youth.” Verse 6, “By thee have I been holden up from the womb: thou art he that took me out of my mother’s bowels: my praise shall be continually of thee.” again in verse 17 he says, “O God, thou hast taught me from my youth: and hitherto have I declared thy wondrous works.” So, the context of this Psalm, and we’re going to look into it together, is, David is older, in old age, and he’s thinking, he says ‘That’s left me in a state of mind where I just think way more about God maybe than I did when I was younger, I think about him all the time.’ And he said, ‘There’s a reflection, because I remember, looking back now, your hand was on my life the whole time, LORD.’ I mean, how many of us can look back, I can think back before I was saved, and after I got saved realize ‘God, that was you doing stuff in my life then.’ [I can do the same thing, guiding, influencing and protecting me from an early age.] I can think of a couple times as a kid I should have been dead [me too]. One time running out between parked cars, a car speeding down the street, and I ran into something that wasn’t there, it knocked me down, and the car sped by. [Oh Pastor Joe, you had one of those. We had an army anti-aircraft gun emplacement camp on top of Belmont Hill where I lived, outside of Boston, Massachusetts. When the Army decided to move out, a neighborhood friend, Bobby Patkin, and I combed the area the camp had been on, and found a canister of something, it was colored olive green, the size of a Hunts Tomato Paste can. I threw it at a rock which was about twenty feet away. It flew straight for the rock, and then veered away at what is my guess a 45 degree angle and rolled harmlessly in the grass. I learned later it was a detonator canister of fulminate of mercury, with an explosive expansion rate of 1-to-800. We’d have been killed in the blast.] I know, wow, you’re not as excited as I am, but [loud laughter]. But you think back as you get older, you realize ‘God, you’ve had your hands on my life since the time I’m a kid, you put me in the family, I grew up, and at a certain time you broke me, and I wept, then I got saved, Lord, your plan was always there, Lord.’ So he’s going to bring those things out here. The first half, really, verses 1-13 is prayer, and the second half, verses 14-24 is more praise, let’s look at it.

David’s Prayer

“In thee, O LORD, do I put my trust:” this old man, “let me never be put to confusion.” (verse 1) it happens easier when you’re older. “Deliver me in thy righteousness, and cause me to escape: incline thine ear unto me, and save me. Be thou my strong habitation, whereunto I may continually resort: thou hast given commandment to save me; for thou art my rock and my fortress.” (verses 2-3) “whereunto I may continually resort” you know, that stage where you’re older in life, you realize ‘Your only security is in him,’ “whereunto I may continually resort: thou hast given commandment to save me; for thou art my rock and my fortress. Deliver me, O my God, out of the hand of the wicked, out of the hand of the unrighteous and cruel man. For thou art my hope, O Lord GOD: thou art my trust from my youth. By thee have I been holden up from the womb: thou art he that took me out of my mother’s bowels: my praise shall be continually of thee.” interesting, he sees God working in his life before his birth, from the womb. “I am as a wonder unto many; but thou art my strong refuge.” now we don’t know if it is David, and people think, ‘He’s a hero, he killed Goliath,’ but he says “but thou art my strong refuge. Let my mouth be filled with thy praise and with thy honour all the day.” (verses 4-8) ‘LORD, people may think certain things about me, or I accomplished this or that,’ but let my mouth be filled with thy praise, not mine, thy praise and with thy honour all the day.’ “Cast me not off in the time of old age; forsake me not when my strength faileth.” (verse 9) that’s a good verse for some of us, isn’t it? [I pray this and verse 18 every day. This verse, verse 9, really couples to verse 18, they belong together. Remember that.] I mean, even at 63, my strength ain’t going like it was in my twenties, when it was going this way, it’s going that way now. “Cast me not off in the time of old age; forsake me not when my strength faileth.” I’m in that [downward] curve somewhere. “For mine enemies speak against me; and they that lay wait for my soul take counsel together, saying, God hath forsaken him: persecute and take him; for there is none to deliver him.” (verse 10-11) ‘he’s old, nobody cares about him, it’s time for us to get him.’ “O God, be not far from me: O my God, make haste for my help. Let them be confounded and consumed that are adversaries to my soul; let them be covered with reproach and dishonour that seek my hurt.” (verses 12-13)

David Praises The LORD

I kind of hear this central idea here, “But I will hope continually, and will yet praise thee more and more.” (verse 14) By the way, that’s the path we’re on, aren’t you? “I will hope continually, and will yet praise thee more and more.” You like praising the Lord, you like singing in the beginning of the service, singing the last song? Seeing people saved? You know, next Wednesday we’re going to have Communion, we’re going to worship all night, the Men’s Conference, Friday nights we’re going to worship, get our hearts before the Lord. You like doing that? The truth is, you’re going to be praising more and more, we’re just getting started. You ain’t seen nothing yet. Wait till we get into the Big Arena, everybody’s mind is going to be blown (cf. Revelation 5:9-10). So, “My mouth shall shew forth thy righteousness and thy salvation all the day, for I know not the numbers thereof.” (verse 15) again, “all the day,” “for I know not the numbers thereof.” ‘LORD, My mouth is going to talk about your righteousness and your salvation all the day long, because I don’t know how many of them are left, days,’ the idea is, “I know not the numbers thereof.” ‘So each day, LORD, I’m gonna talk about you, each day I’m going to praise you, because maybe tomorrow there ain’t gonna be another day.’ “I will go in the strength of the Lord GOD: I will make mention of thy righteousness, even of thine only. O God, thou hast taught me from my youth: and hitherto have I declared thy wondrous works. (verses 15-17)

Why David Prays For His Longevity

So, “Now also when I am old and grayheaded, O God, forsake me not; until I have shewed thy strength unto this generation, and thy power to every one that is to come.”(verse 18) ‘slash, white headed, slash, bald, whatever fits,’ “when I am old and grayheaded, O God, forsake me not; until I have shewed thy strength unto this generation, and thy power to every one that is to come.” I don’t experience a more fulfilling thing in my life than getting to talk to young people about Jesus, there’s nothing more fulfilling, than that in my life. [I’m jealous of you, Pastor Joe. I’ve been praying for the salvation of my adoptive daughters and real kids for about a year now non-stop, daily, just so I can do that. Verse 18 has been my daily prayer concerning them, but as of yet, hasn’t been answered.] You know, in Psalm 92, I love this, the Psalmist says, listen, “Those that be planted in the house of the LORD shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bring forth fruit in old age, they shall be fat and flourishing,” that’s me, “to show that the LORD is upright. He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.” You know, ‘Those that be planted in the house of the LORD shall flourish,’ of course, I hope that is the habit of your life, to be planted in the house of the Lord. I love to come here. People say ‘I love the church,’ I have no idea, I can’t wait to get here, because I don’t know what’s going to happen. [Comment: Calvary Chapels have a structure in their services, where they have worship music, then the pastor gives a connective expository sermon, and at the end there can be an altar call, but as Pastor Joe has learned, sometimes God through the Holy Spirit lays it on the heart or hearts of some people attending, who for whatever reasons are not believers. Some of these folk may decide all on their own to come forward in an impromptu altar call. Calvary Chapels in no way try to stop this, knowing this is a working of the Holy Spirit. In this way, room is left for the working of the Holy Spirit within their congregations, they are not so structured that no room is left for God to work through the Holy Spirit, should he desire to. That is what Pastor Joe means when he says “I have no idea what’s going to happen, I can’t wait to get here, because I don’t know what’s going to happen.” ] I just want to come here and see what he’s going to do. Are the song’s going to be good, are the song’s going to be extra good, study going to be good, study going to be bad? People going to get saved? People going to get healed? What’s going to go on? I just can’t wait to come and see what’s going to go on. But I’m planted here, I’m planted here. I would just rather be here than anywhere else. He says “Those that be planted in the house of the LORD shall flourish in the courts of our God, they shall still bring forth fruit IN OLD AGE, they shall be fat and flourishing.” (Psalm 92) That’s a wonderful goal, rather than just being fat and unflourishing, to be fat and flourishing. “Now also when I am old and grayheaded, O God, forsake me not; until I have shewed thy strength unto this generation, and thy power to every one that is to come. Thy righteousness also, O God, is very high, who hast done great things: O God, who is like unto thee! Thou, which hast shewed me great and sore troubles, shalt quicken me again, and shalt bring me up again from the depths of the earth.” ‘LORD, there’s difficult things that come in life,’ “Thou shalt increase my greatness, and comfort me on every side. I will also praise thee with the psaltery, even thy truth, O my God: unto thee will I sing with the harp, O thou Holy One of Israel.” even in his old age, David wants to get out his guitar and write some songs, “My lips shall greatly rejoice when I sing unto thee; and my soul, which thou hast redeemed. My tongue also shall talk of thy righteousness all the day long: for they are confounded, for they are brought unto shame, that seek my hurt.” (verses 18-24) “my tongue shall talk of thy righteousness” again, “all the day long.” So he’s going to praise the LORD all the day long.”

Psalm 72:1-20

A Psalm for Solomon.

“Give the king thy judgments, O God, and thy righteousness unto the king’s son. He shall judge thy people with righteousness, and thy poor with judgment. The mountains shall bring peace to the people, and the little hills, by righteousness. He shall judge the poor of the people, he shall save the children of the needy, and shall break in pieces the oppressor. They shall fear thee as long as the sun and moon endure, throughout the generations. He shall come down like rain upon the mown grass: as showers that water the earth. In his days shall the righteous flourish; and abundance of peace so long as the moon endureth. He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth. They that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him; and his enemies shall lick the dust. The kings of Tarshish [on the western shore of Spain, now Cadiz] and of the isles shall bring presents: the kings of Sheba [Saudi Arabia] and Seba [North Africa] shall offer gifts. Yea, all kings shall fall down before him: all nations shall serve him. For he shall deliver the needy when he crieth; the poor also, and him that hath no helper. He shall spare the poor and needy, and shall save the souls of the needy. He shall redeem their soul from deceit and violence: and precious shall their blood be in his sight. And he shall live, and to him shall be given of the gold of Sheba: prayer also shall be made for him continually; and daily shall he be praised. There shall be a handful of corn in the earth upon the top of the mountains; the fruit thereof shall shake like Lebanon: and they of the city shall flourish like grass of the earth. His name shall endure for ever: his name shall be continued as long as the sun: and men shall be blessed in him: all nations shall call him blessed. Blessed be the LORD God, the God of Israel, who only doeth wondrous things. And blessed be his glorious name for ever: and let the whole earth be filled with his glory; Amen, and Amen. The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended.”

Introduction

Now, Psalm 72, Psalm 72 end the Second Book of Psalms, they’re divided up into books. Psalm 73 will begin The Third Book in the Book of Psalms. Ah, this Psalm is about the Kingdom of God, it is Messianic again, it looks to things that could never be David’s or Solomon’s. The King James says “a Psalm for Solomon”, yours may say “a Psalm of Solomon.” It seems to be because it says at the end, “The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended.” So it seems to be not a Psalm of Solomon, but a Psalm for Solomon, and in looking at his son, he sees the greater Son. David was not allowed to rule the kingdom, because he was a man of blood. He wanted to set up the kingdom, set up the Temple, God said ‘No, you have bloody hands, your son Solomon, Shalom, Peace, he’s going to set up the Temple, he’s going to do that.’ So, Solomon, in his imperfection and failures, reflected something that David did not, and certainly that was in regards to the Kingdom and to regards to Christ himself. So, here is this interesting Psalm, let’s look at this. He breaks down the Kingdom as he goes through this. Now every time we pray, you know, ‘Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven,’ this Psalm gives you a picture of what that’s going to be like when that Kingdom comes. And it reminds us we should keep our eyes on the horizon. David, over and over again he said ‘I talk of your goodness, your righteousness all the day long.’ He doesn’t talk about ObamaCare, all the day long. This is earth, it ain’t perfect. This ain’t heaven [or the Kingdom of heaven, which is coming to earth at the 2^nd coming], everybody gets confused, this ain’t heaven, this is earth. We should keep our eyes on the horizon, because we have some remarkable things coming our way. [See, http://www.unityinchrist.com/kingdomofgod/mkg1.htm] ‘Eye hath not seen, ear hath not heard, neither has it entered into the heart of man—-the unbelieving world---the things that God has prepared for those who love him,’ for you and I.

1. The Righteousness Of The Coming Kingdom Of God---There Will Be Social Justice

He says here, “Give the king thy judgments, O God, and thy righteousness unto the king’s son.” (verse 1) now it would seem that this is David writing about his son, Solomon. But in that, we hear, you know, speaking of the greater Son, Jesus Christ. “Give the king thy judgments, O God, and thy righteousness unto the king’s son.” You look in these first four verses, you’ll take note, “judgments,” “righteousness,” verse 2, “judge” “righteous, judgment,” ah in verse 3, “righteousness,” in verse 4, “judge,” “save.” So the first thing we know about the Kingdom is it’s righteous Kingdom, those are the things reflected in these first few verses here. “Give the king thy judgments,” there’s justice in the Kingdom, “and thy righteousness unto the king’s son.” “He shall judge thy people with righteousness, and thy poor with judgment.” (verse 2) look, “and thy poor with judgment”, justice for the poor is finally going to come. “The mountains shall bring peace to the people, and the little hills, by righteousness.” (verse 3) And how that happens, is “by righteousness.” There’s never going to be peace in any nation without righteousness. The might of a nation depends upon its righteousness [and during World War II we had that, and we were unstoppable]. Our security is not how good our missile defense system is, it’s not how good the NSA is, listing to all of our information, it’s not how good all of these other things are, the might of a nation depends upon its righteousness. And it says right here, read through it again, “Give the king thy judgments, O God, and thy righteousness unto the king’s son. He shall judge thy people with righteousness, and thy poor with judgment. The mountains shall bring peace to the people, and the little hills,” how? “by righteousness.” (verses 1-3) “He shall judge the poor of the people, he shall save the children of the needy, and shall break in pieces the oppressor.” (verse 4) those are the promises we hear every four years in every election and never see realized. You ever notice that? There’s somebody telling us he’s going to do it, when he gets in office, and he’s not up for re-election every four years. When this finally starts, it’s endless, it’s endless, that’s what the next verses say. “They shall fear thee as long as the sun and moon endure, throughout the generations.” (verse 5) won’t that be wonderful? He going to come, there’s going to be peace, he’s going to judge the poor, he’s going to save the needy, the children of the needy, he’s going to deal with the oppressor. ‘And the continuance of his Kingdom, it’s going to be as long as the sun and the moon endures throughout the generations,’ “He shall come down like rain upon the mown grass: as showers that water the earth.” (verse 6) when he comes down, refreshing with life, “In his days shall the righteous flourish; and abundance of peace so long as the moon endureth.” (verse 7) it’s a great night for this Psalm, I was driving over here tonight, looking at this huge moon hanging in the sky. A lot of people were driving like they think it’s a full moon, they were just practicing, but [laughter]. So, the continuance of the Kingdom. [We in the Body of Christ should reflect the social justice Jesus will bring to earth. How? see: http://www.unityinchrist.com/wwcofg/wearesalt.htm]

2. The Spreading Of God’s Coming Kingdom---Encompassing The Whole World

And now the spread of it, it reaches the whole earth, it isn’t just Israel. That’s how we know this is going much far beyond Solomon, look at verse 8, “He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth.” This is gonna be great, isn’t it, when the Lord comes. Just imagine, the United States, Canada, Mexico, Central America, South America, New Zealand, Australia, Japan, South Korea, North Korea, Russia, China, Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Bangkok, you know, go through those countries, then you go to Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, India, Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, you know, go through all the “stans”, and then you know, all of Europe, I mean, all of Africa, Nigeria. There are so many horrible things going on in Africa where people are being brutalized, think about what’s going on in Europe, [and Syria too], it’s all going to be his, when he sets up the Kingdom, where he cares for the poor, where he takes care of the needy, where he reaches out to the children of those that are downtrodden. It says here it’s going to go over the whole earth, ‘it’s a universal Kingdom, from sea to sea, from the river unto the ends of the earth.’ “They that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him; and his enemies shall lick the dust.” (verse 9) the Duck Dynasty, guys. “The kings of Tarshish [Cadiz, Spain, ancient seaport of the Israelite-Phoenician Empire] and of the isles shall bring presents: the kings of Sheba [Saudi Arabia] and Seba [North Africa]] shall offer gifts.” (verse 10) the ends of the earth as far as they were concerned in that day, “and of the isles” of the continents, “shall bring presents.” “the kings of Sheba,” that’s Saudi Arabia, “Seba” without the “sh” is North Africa, today, “shall offer gifts. Yea, all kings shall fall down before him: all nations shall serve him.” (verse 11) Notice, “all kings shall fall down before him:” notice, “all nations shall serve him.” I like this more and more, ‘Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done…’

3. The Humility Of The King Of The Kingdom Of God

And verse 12 to verse 15 tells us, here’s this great King, he’s coming down, he’s going to rule the earth, from one end of heaven to the other, it tells us of the great humanity of this King, look what it says. For he shall deliver the needy when he crieth; the poor also, and him that hath no helper. He shall spare the poor and needy, and shall save the souls of the needy.” (verses 12-13) you would think, anybody else whose got this much power, he’s talking about the limo he’s driving, the Digs they’re living in, the throne they’re setting up. But he says here, “He shall deliver the needy when he crieth; the poor also, and him that hath no helper. He shall spare the poor and needy, and shall save the souls of the needy. He shall redeem their soul from deceit and violence: and precious shall their blood be in his sight.” (verses 12-14) and how many poor are taken advantage of today? “and precious shall be their blood in his sight. He shall live, and to him shall be given the gold of Sheba: prayer also shall be made for him continually; and daily shall he be praised.” (verses 14b-15) “and to him shall be given the gold of Sheba” the wealth of the world. What a wonderful time that’s going to be. [Again, we see social justice in the Kingdom of God.]

4. The Abundance Of The Kingdom Of God

And now it says that all of those things bring a Kingdom that is flourishing, it’s filled with joy. “There shall be a handful of corn in the earth upon the top of the mountains; the fruit thereof shall shake like Lebanon: and they of the city shall flourish like grass of the earth.” (verse 16), ‘starting with a handful, and the fruit of that shall shake like Lebanon,’ you know, there’s places in some of the other Prophets where it says that those that are reaping won’t be able to get ahead of those that are planting, and the grapes will be melting into the earth, and the soil will be running, it will be so rich and so forth. Here it says ‘a handful of grain in the earth upon the top of the mountains, but the fruit thereof shall be as thick as like Lebanon.’ “and they of the city shall flourish like grass of the earth.” “His name shall endure for ever: his name shall be continued as long as the sun: and men shall be blessed in him: all nations shall call him blessed.” (verse 17) these are good things to keep in view right now, as you go home and watch the news, and you watch what’s going on in the world, you need to be watching what’s going on beyond the world, because this is coming.

Closing Doxology For The 2^nd Book Of Psalms

And now there’s a doxology here that kind of ends all of this, and ends this whole Second Book in the Psalms. “Blessed be the LORD God, the God of Israel, who only doeth wondrous things. and blessed be his glorious name for ever: and let the whole earth be filled with his glory; Amen, and Amen. The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended.” (verses 18-20) I’m looking forward to that, aren’t you? The whole earth is going to be filled with his glory. It says ‘The knowledge of the LORD,’ Isaiah says, ‘is going cover the earth as the waters cover the sea,’the whole earth. You know those verses. Men are not going to learn war anymore. Over half of the world’s spending today is on military, imagine that. No military budgets, no top-secret budgets to make weapons any more, beating your swords into plowshares and your spears into pruninghooks, just men learning war no more. It tells us in Zechariah that, it says ‘Children shall play in the streets,’no Head Start programs. Little children are not sitting in classrooms learning to be geniuses, not in the Kingdom, they’re playing, that’s what kids are supposed to do. Children shall play in the streets, it says. Of course, you’re still a child at 100, it says a child shall die at 100, so those kids shall really get to enjoy themselves. ‘Children shall play in the streets,’ and it says, ‘old men and old women shall walk in the evening,’ and old men and old women are 800 and 900 years old, those are old men and old women. They’re not worried about getting mugged, these things on the news now where they’re walking up behind people and knocking them out, there will be none of that going on. What a day, remarkable thing that’s ahead of us. “Blessed be the LORD God, the God of Israel, who only doeth wondrous things. And blessed be his glorious name for ever: and let the whole earth be filled with his glory; He’s gotta say Amen twice here, “Amen, and Amen.” and it ends by saying “The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended.” (verses 18-20) Some feel that Psalm 72 maybe the last Psalm that David wrote. We don’t know that for sure. There are those that feel that way. So, let’s have the musicians come, let’s make a joyful noise, let’s sing his praises, he’s coming, and he’s included us in the program. Look at us, we were sinners, I was in the world, lost, taking drugs, I was gone. You know, I got saved in 1972, the world hasn’t changed since 1972, there’s nothing new out there, it’s just more fatal now, it’s just deadlier, but it’s all the same stuff. I’m set free, sitting in church on a Wednesday night, I’d have never dreamt that I’d be doing that. I go to church Sunday morning, three times. I wouldn’t have even have ever dreamt of that. Sunday evening, Wednesday nights [Bible studies], I love church. Christmas Eve today we’re talking about today what time we should do the services, I come to all three of them. In those days we just, we used to go to the last service because you were drunk and an idiot, and you wanted to get inside, because it was cold [outside]. You get saved, you sing those Christmas Carols, you think, ‘I can’t believe I was listening to these words my whole life, and didn’t know how powerful and beautiful and pointed they were. My brain was dead, my heart was made of stone.’ [And for our Messianic Jewish believers and Sabbath-keeping Church of God believers, singing that Messianic Praise & Worship music, or singing the Psalms put to music carries the same meaning, especially the Messianic Jewish Praise & Worship music, like the stuff Joel Chernoff sings.] You think ‘I was around this for years, and none of it penetrated me.’ You know what I mean? Here we are in church on a Wednesday night, ya, I know, let’s do that, let’s stand and praise him [loud applause]…[transcript of a connective expository sermon given on Psalm 69:1-36, Psalm 70:1-5, Psalm 71:1-24 and Psalm 72:1-20, given by Pastor Joe Focht, Calvary Chapel of Philadelphia, 13500 Philmont Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19116]