Wednesday, July 05, 2017
Daily reading assignment – Psalms 78-80
Our scripture reading consists of three chapters today, Psalms 78, 79 and 80. The human author is a priest and musician named Asaph and God’s people would have sung his psalms in worshipping the LORD.
Psalm 78 is a study in Israel’s history as Asaph reminds the people of God’s faithfulness to Israel throughout her history and His longsuffering toward the people when they were a faithless, complaining and disobedient people during their sojourn in the wilderness (78:12-53).
Fathers and mothers were charged with the responsibility of not only remembering, but also teaching their children who would teach their children not only the nation’s history, but God’s providential care of His people (78:3-8).
Psalm 79 is a prophetic psalm that would not occur until Nebuchadnezzar and the armies of Babylon conquered Judah and destroyed the city and Temple (79:1). The devastation was great and the bodies of the dead would be left in the streets (79:2-3). The psalmist, jealous for the name of the God of Israel, worried the people had “become a reproach” to their heathen neighbors (79:4). The psalmist prayed for the LORD to deliver His people (79:5-12), promising to offer the LORD perpetual praise.
Like Psalm 79, Psalm 80 is a prophetic psalm most likely set in the time of the Babylonian invasion. The opening verse is a petition to the LORD identified as the “Shepherd of Israel” and “thou that dwellest between the cherubims” (referring to the Ark of the Covenant as the earthly symbol of God’s heavenly throne).
The psalmist cries out to the LORD on behalf of the nation to come to the aid of His people and restore the nation (80:2-7). Three times we read the petition, “Turn us again, O God, and cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved” (80:3, 7, 19).
Beginning with Psalm 80:8, the psalmist pictures Israel as a “vine out of Egypt” and remembers how God had blessed the nation and “cast out the heathen” and gave His people the land of Canaan.
Israel prospered as long as the hearts of the people were turned to the LORD (80:10-11); however, the psalmist pondered how long God’s providential protection would be departed and the heathen nations allowed to rob her prosperity (80:12).
Psalm 80 concludes with the psalmist petitioning the LORD to “Turn us again” and “cause Thy face to shine” (80:19).
Copyright 2017 – Travis D. Smith