The coalition of evil

Ps 58  3"Even from birth the wicked go astray; from the womb they are wayward and speak lies.

4 Their venom is like the venom of a snake, like that of a cobra that has stopped its ears,"

This Psalm teaches that all the problems of the world are a result of a failure of leadership. Its both spiritual and political. And you see this universal curse of men going astray put in the greater context of these political and spiritual failures. The Psalms describe evil in the context of Gods war with the forces of evil in the high places. This is why the bible makes distinctions about government, average citizens, and religious authorities. Evil is put in the context of leaders and followers. In this way the bible is not written from mans horizontal view but from Gods governing view as He sits on His throne from the heavens. 

God has established His law as the foundation and back bone of society. It is the only authority that creates spiritual and cultural peace. But men are not necessarily crooked from the universal imputation of sin from the garden but from using their sinful thoughts to become their own gods. There is God in heaven but there are also gods on earth. So the Psalms teach that God in heaven addresses the gods on earth as representing the crooked culture that is established in the context of the average sinner. In this way God always has a single accusation when the Psalms speak of universal evil in societies. We could say that when the Psalms talk about universal evil we are saying that they are in the context of the waywardness of the gods of this earth. This is why Ive been saying that God must work in an indirect way through eternal forces to oppose the opposition of the gods of this earth that hold men under their power. When God over turns their evil power ,grace is established and people are freed.

So there is only one way to oppose evil that is far beyond our pay scale. This Psalm is addressing the evil as God sees it. And really if you have never spoken the curses then your probably seeing the redemptive success from the bottom up. Your probably talking in the context of the threat of evil coming from someone who cannot threaten you. Some sinner who has no power to oppose you. But the bible teaches that sin is so deceptive that its woven in the vary fabric of what we trust in to success, our buying and selling, and our participation in the culture through recreation and arts. We all are biased toward our accepting evil for our profit. But the curse has no favorites. It addresses the evil in the most righteous looking cultural.  The curse rises up above our prejudice and destroys the club mentality and the prejudiced we have in the presence of sinners. 

We have not because we ask not

Ps 143 3 "The enemy pursues me, he crushes me to the ground; he makes me dwell in darkness like those long dead.

4 So my spirit grows faint within me; my heart within me is dismayed."

This Psalm is teaching if all men were able to act according to Gods standard of creation then there would be no opposition. Each man would achieve Gods design in the perfect holistic experience that would create the ultimate unity and satisfaction. But all men are crooked and self serving.  The Psalms create the reality of the kingdom in turning mans system upside down. Now listen unless the communication rises up to the level of Gods kingdom rule then its an expression of religious hatred. 

You see this here in the plea. He faces the system of man that has overturned Gods word from the beginning of time. God has established His word that cannot be thwarted. The law speaks death to violators. The curse of the law works to destroy the way of law breakers. The communication of this system affects his spiritual vitality. No matter what kind of evil it is, corruption, miss guided religious zeal, depravity at its worse or speaking threatening words, it all deserves the response of the curse. Because the Psalmist is concerned about the spiritual effects and not the actual crime itself. 

 5" I remember the days of long ago; I meditate on all your works and consider what your hands have done."

How does he use his memories of the high points of his life? He concedes to Gods control and creation of his future success. "I remember" is really a wish for God to remember through redemption. Its the same thing as getting a promise from God that has been established in the past and using that promise in his argument to establish future success. But in the christian context the next success is much better than the last one. 

Whatever the opposition..personal sin, guilt, fear, shame and sorrow are motivations to transfer personal anger into Gods universal response to opposition through the curse.11" For your name's sake, O LORD, preserve my life; in your righteousness, bring me out of trouble. 12 In your unfailing love, silence my enemies; destroy all my foes, for I am your servant." For the christian this exposure to the depravity of the system of man the voice of the evil curse. Israel had opposition because there were nations occupied by evil men. God commanded Israel to destroy all the evil nations around them. I do not believe that Israel practiced speaking these laws ,promises, decrees etc and so they never advanced to seeing their enemies annihilated through the ordained agencies. Their passion never rose up to Gods curse. There was never a national will expressed. But in our little world we can create success over time.

Divine satisfaction

Ps 143 1 O LORD, hear my prayer, listen to my cry for mercy; in your faithfulness and righteousness come to my relief.

God has created the world according to His righteousness and faithfulness. He has created all things by the word of His mouth. We could say that all reality is ordered by God according to His word. In our relationship with God everything that we experience has been order according to His righteousness and faithfulness by His spoken word from eternity past. So the events that we go through are communicated to us in Gods perfect description of His attributes that give us a holistic experience in this life.  We must understand that God creates the experience in His word without us necessarily relying on the event itself. We are who we think we are . Our circumstances do not define who we

God not only has made the physical things but He has defined the reality of those things. This is why we have a partial revelation from God. In this sense we have a limited understanding of the events in our lives. The Psalms are Gods revealed knowledge that satisfies our desires by speaking in the simple way that God has ordered His creation in which the mysterious work that is communicated by God in His attributes consumes our corrupted attributes.  

This is what the Psalmist is praying here. "Relief "is simply satisfaction. "Or satisfy my desires both physical and spiritual." In the Psalmist mind God has spoken everything into existence so that He is completely satisfied with His work but the Psalmist finds Himself with limited knowledge and great opposition. Because God has given us His perfect way that He communicates this order...In His     commands, laws, decrees, promises, covenants and statutes , He has created the reality of satisfaction in describing everything that the Psalmist goes through. The problem is that the Psalmist is corrupted and cannot continual experience this communication in a natural way. The Psalmist must rise in His meditation to experience the description of reality rather than try to understand it by what he can taste, feel, touch and see. This is what we call seeing through the eyes of faith. 

But not only must the Psalmist know through this Divine communication that everything is working according to Gods plan but the Psalmist must also feel the eternal varieties of this Divine order. This perfect revelation contains these words spoken in the desires of the Perfect man. Not only has God established the reality of the Perfect man through His spoken word but He has answered every desire that we have by consuming our desires so that we experience divine satisfaction.













                                                                                                                                                                               

Frustrated Love

Loathing around in time with unfulfilled desires
Lost from the world of breath taking sweet calmness

Her looks of innocence long remembered
Make my despairs a happy endurance

Lost in her eyes , a spell to endure
Sweet longings console this love sick heart

Gods true value

Ps 49 7 No man can redeem the life of another or give to God a ransom for him--8 the ransom for a life is costly, no payment is ever enough--9 that he should live on forever and not see decay. 

This Psalm is teaching that God is the only one who has explained everything that has been created with correct value. Not only has God looked upon each part of His creation as individually providing all their needs but He proves that they are valuable by the value of the work of Christ. God is absolutely just at all times and He will repay each man according to His work. But financial freedom is tied into the universal establishment of grace through redemption. In these verses there is only One Man who can pay the ransom price for mans eternal freedom. 

We must understand that God has given man value by His grace. God who is free to do as He pleases provides everything for His creatures." He opens His hand and satisfies the desires of every living thing." The order of nations and of all time has been described by God in His perfect value. So Gods reactions to societies , His anger, patience, kindness etc is tied to His payment to His Son as He explains the value of a person or thing. God is always patient , angry , loving etc for the right reasons. 

We must understand that God describes the true value of things in His eternal story. So the reasons that He values one thing over another is both understandable and mysterious. In this way we cannot know absolutely the true value of things because we do not have an eternal moral compass to understand the worthiness of rewards or punishment. But since Gods word is an eternal expression of Himself then it answers our frustration because we are like God in His reasons and reactions. Not only has He given us a partial standard of the true value of things but He has entered into our experience as our understanding measurement is consumed in His eternal measurement. He has spoken the curse and blessing in His eternal voice. 

In this Psalm the problem is described as man having a measurement of the value of things according to his own standards and laws. It is impossible for man to value the things that he possesses as Gods gifts. This is why God raises the value of things to an eternal level..ie grace is both spiritual and political freedom. God must turn mans view of value upside down.  "5 Why should I fear when evil days come, when wicked deceivers surround me-- 6 those who trust in their wealth and boast of their great riches?" God must make men religious and political dissidents by using value system of the world to destroy the power structures.

The blessed man

Ps 1 1 Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers.

2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.

3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.

4 Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away.

5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.

6 For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.

Im gonna go through this quickly.

This first Psalm is describing two kingdoms. Gods kingdom and mans kingdom. Gods kingdom is ruled by His counsel or His word.  

 1"Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. ""Blessed" as not experiencing the dread of the curse. This blessed state is being delivered from the natural consequences of man under sin and placed in Gods kingdom where He has no equals. The curse establishes success for Gods elect while it works to bring the wicked into judgement. Blessed means that we stand on the side of the law where our anger meets Gods justice and is consumed while the wicked have no recourse but to be swallowed up in their anger. This redemptive experience of our anger is described in the word "delight". We can experience delight in praise or anger. 
The law is Gods perfect vision of our souls and His kingdom gifted to us in His counsel or His word. When we meditate on these Psalms we pronounce Gods success, curse the anger of the wicked, and enjoy the creative spirit in the blessed spirit.This is our freedom as the free flow of our desires.Our identity creates success because God has established His kingdom in His Sons work. As we  express our renewed desires through the Psalms we rule the earth. 

3" He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers."The tree is our own power to rule in our domain. Through these pronouncements we overcome all opposition. Our success is integrated through creative acts in which God controls reality. There is always an indirect effect in our success. 

4" Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away."The wicked are controlled by the spiritual effects of the curse. The curse is Gods ability to withhold success. In this sense Gods kingdom is always yea and amen. 

We stand on Gods word

Ps 36 1 You have rejected us, O God, and burst forth upon us; you have been angry--now restore us!

2 You have shaken the land and torn it open; mend its fractures, for it is quaking.

3 You have shown your people desperate times; you have given us wine that makes us stagger.

4 But for those who fear you, you have raised a banner to be unfurled against the bow. "Selah"

5 Save us and help us with your right hand, that those you love may be delivered.

6 God has spoken from his sanctuary: "In triumph I will parcel out Shechem and measure off the Valley of Succoth.

7 Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine; Ephraim is my helmet, Judah my scepter.

8 Moab is my washbasin, upon Edom I toss my sandal; over Philistia I shout in triumph."

9 Who will bring me to the fortified city? Who will lead me to Edom?

10 Is it not you, O God, you who have rejected us and no longer go out with our armies?

11 Give us aid against the enemy, for the help of man is worthless.

12 With God we will gain the victory, and he will trample down our enemies.

The Psalmist is describing the conditions of Israel in their apostasy. He is describing the terrible consequences of this apostasy in the metaphorical language of an earth quake....burst forth, shaken the land, , quaking , and torn the land open. God has established the perfect language in His creation and recreation. His language is gifted to Israel in decrees, laws, covenants and statutes. Gods perfect acts in the success of the creation of Israel and the upholding of His creation is spoken in His person or aligning and realigning every thing by this gifted language. This is the healthy necessary environment for the successful advancement of Israel. When Gods word is upheld and spoken, every person experiences redemption or the absence of threatening language. 55 11 "Destructive forces are at work in the city; threats and lies never leave its streets." The spirit of the city is this repetition of godless language that is engrained in the culture so that the destruction of the poor and the helpless are used to gain more power. 

The Palmist is describing conditions that are so destructive the righteous retreat from public discourse. When a society becomes godless then those things that are private are paraded around in the streets of the city. Its compared to throwing the helpless child out of the house to be exposed by the evil. Prov.5 16" Should your springs overflow in the streets, your streams of water in the public squares?" In other words the water is the marriage relationship that flourishes in private. But when the communication becomes corrupted then the person begins to search for acceptance in the public domain. I do not believe that Solomon is just focused on the sexual relationship.  "15 Drink water from your own cistern, running water from your own well." The communication of eternal life in the marriage relationship.

This "earth quake" is really a metaphor for mans hatred for Gods word. From the beginning of time man has made his plans. Each time a man makes his plans he spreads his world view. 36 4 "Even on his bed he plots evil; he commits himself to a sinful course and does not reject what is wrong." This plotting is not necessarily planning to do something immoral. But its the natural state of mans heart that comes out in his planning. You got to understand that we believe that God has already unified all things and established His law, decrees etc as the basis of unifying society. You need to understand that the elect are always under the power of the vision of this completed unity. In this sense the consequences of the earth quake are destructive to the wicked but not to us because God has established the full effect of the curse as the basis for His justice and not our activity. "Torn open" would be the unhindered effect of the curse that meets the highest evil plans of the wicked. As the anger rises to its highest expression so is the curse established as Gods overruling power to protect His helpless ones. 

 1 "You have rejected us, O God, and burst forth upon us; you have been angry--now restore us! " Complexity is swallowed up by simplicity. Gods anger rises to the level of perfect restoration...or Gods allowing restoration to His people and forbidding success for the wicked. This national prayer "your people or your citizens" as a clear distinction from "but to those who fear you" is the natural cry of Gods people to bring stability until the final judgement. 

Our kingdom desires

 Ps 73 25" Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you."

When we are saved and delivered we enter into the kingdom of God.  Our old will with its rebellious communication of the expression of our desire is destroyed and our new will that communicates according to Gods word is established. The old desires were not only corrupted but they were cursed. The new desires given by grace.

Our will is never in conflict with our desires. We choose something because we are pleased with it. If we could choose something that we do not desire then we would need a power outside of our will that would choose for us. This means that everyone who was saved would be divided. We could describe salvation as half of our willingness was fighting against the other half. We would conclude that our choice was accomplished by two equal desires...one for the choice and one against the choice to happen at the same time in the same relationship. This is two line theology. This is a contradiction.

When we are saved we go from representing ourselves to being represented by Gods name. Instead of the scripture putting truth in categories and dividing the soul into different agencies it seeks to unify us as a whole man by what kingdom we represent and not by how our souls function. This is why there is a clear reversal of our desires in going from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light. We actually enter into a relationship to Gods kingdom in which our corrupted desires are stabilized by the power of God. These new desires are anti intuitive to us because of our corruption. This is what the apostle meant when he says that" it is not I who do it but sin dwelling in me." In other words there are reasons for us to be consistent with Gods kingdom that are mysterious to us.

The reason that salvation is so successful is that it is dependent upon Gods desires that cannot be thwarted. This is why our disobedience is open ended. If God had to force us to comply then His acceptance of us would be after our compliance. But God teaches us freedom by grace...that being our freedom to sin as well in order to make pleasure the motive for our choosing and not force. A lot of people teach that God saves us and gives a new will and it will always result in obedience. In other words God doesnt force us to obey but we must obey as a result. Gods force keeps us from being disobedient. This is a contradiction. This is two line theology.

This teaching is why we do not get respect from the world. We are always teaching that grace represents all the gifts we get when we go through the door of salvation but this same grace does not apply when it is revisited to us as the future is breaking into the present. This thinking is the ultimate contradiction. Its like saying Im not mad that you made a veiled threat to me because I have a separate room that i keep that I put all the contradictions in. This room represents my impersonal relationship with salvation. Its like saying that "if I am victorious in my desires I hate myself." lol
But we seek salvation by being free to be pleased with it. If we do not belong to the kingdom of God, we seek it as if we belonged until we obtain it. 

Gods kingdom is established by His creative word

Ps 44  1 We have heard with our ears, O God; our fathers have told us what you did in their days, in days long ago.

2 With your hand you drove out the nations and planted our fathers; you crushed the peoples and made our fathers flourish.

3 It was not by their sword that they won the land, nor did their arm bring them victory; it was your right hand, your arm, and the light of your face, for you loved them.

4 You are my King and my God, who decrees victories for Jacob.

5 Through you we push back our enemies; through your name we trample our foes.

6 I do not trust in my bow, my sword does not bring me victory;

7 but you give us victory over our enemies, you put our adversaries to shame.

8 In God we make our boast all day long, and we will praise your name forever. "Selah"

9 But now you have rejected and humbled us; you no longer go out with our armies.

10 You made us retreat before the enemy, and our adversaries have plundered us.

11 You gave us up to be devoured like sheep and have scattered us among the nations.

12 You sold your people for a pittance, gaining nothing from their sale.

13 You have made us a reproach to our neighbors, the scorn and derision of those around us.

14 You have made us a byword among the nations; the peoples shake their heads at us.

15 My disgrace is before me all day long, and my face is covered with shame

16 at the taunts of those who reproach and revile me, because of the enemy, who is bent on revenge.

17 All this happened to us, though we had not forgotten you or been false to your covenant.

18 Our hearts had not turned back; our feet had not strayed from your path.

19 But you crushed us and made us a haunt for jackals and covered us over with deep darkness.

20 If we had forgotten the name of our God or spread out our hands to a foreign god,

21 would not God have discovered it, since he knows the secrets of the heart?

22 Yet for your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.

23 Awake, O Lord! Why do you sleep? Rouse yourself ! Do not reject us forever.

24 Why do you hide your face and forget our misery and oppression?

25 We are brought down to the dust; our bodies cling to the ground.

26 Rise up and help us; redeem us because of your unfailing love.

 
  1 "We have heard with our ears, O God; our fathers have told us what you did in their days, in days long ago. "

 The christian message is not really a message that has been written down. But its the only message on the earth where it is passed down from one generation to another by word of mouth. We should not think of this message as simply trying to read it from a page to understand it. It is written down so that we will experience salvation and deliverance by illumination. We can confuse this with telling stories about our illumination but the focus should not be on our involvement with it but finding assurance in using this message. 

This message is a self revelation. We cannot understand it without the aid of the Holy Spirit. The focus is not on the success we have in understanding the message but upon Gods absolute success in His work in every generation. In this sense the first words of this Psalm in vs 1 and 2 are not really a teaching but a pronouncement. He is saying that God has established His word and power by speaking His word to His elect from the beginning of time. The communication is a secret work communicated to the minds and heart of His elect. We should always think of this interior communication as the real reality that is passed on in a world where men are under the illusion of their imagination. The Psalms teach that the word is alive because it is a spoken word that creates. Its not a dead word on a page as all other books. 

2 " With your hand you drove out the nations and planted our fathers; you crushed the peoples and made our fathers flourish.3 It was not by their sword that they won the land, nor did their arm bring them victory; it was your right hand, your arm, and the light of your face, for you loved them. "

The power of God is at the right hand of His throne. God lifts up His hand and destroys the nations. At the right hand of the throne is the Lord Most High. We are in a conflict with the wicked and the Devil. When we express our need for Gods protection it is appealing to Him to lift up, stretch forth or rest His hand upon us. All of these are covenant words that create success through the activity of Gods word and Spirit. 

2 "With your hand you drove out the nations and planted our fathers; you crushed the peoples and made our fathers flourish3 It was not by their sword that they won the land, nor did their arm bring them victory; it was your right hand, your arm, and the light of your face, for you loved them."

 This is a pronouncement of the success of the spread of Gods spoken word which is the expression of His creative will. The process of illumination is God speaking His salvation through destroying the opposition. The Psalmist is teaching that the man who meditates on Gods word is "planted by streams of water" ...in this way its saying here that Gods creative word has established the nation of Israel by the rivers  Jordan, Qishon, Yarqon, and Yarmuk. Israel is Gods kingdom established through law, covenant, decrees and statutes that are Gods eternal pronouncement that brings His absolute future judgement back into time. In this sense the Psalms are the order of the court of heaven that will proceed in the future to bring all things in subjection to Christ. When we speak these Psalms we are preparing a case for the elect that will bring us more rewards. 

  "you crushed the peoples and made our fathers flourish." This is teaching that the activity of the spoken word is weighted...either to destruction in cursing or protection in blessing. God "crushes" the people by producing the weight of sorrow that is too heavy for them to carry. The "curse" is kind of like a spell that becomes so prevalent that we can compare it to the destructive power of Gods heat or light that destroys Israels enemies in war.3" It was not by their sword that they won the land, nor did their arm bring them victory; it was your right hand, your arm, and the light of your face, for you loved them. "The pronouncement is Gods communication of the increase of the heat as He raises His right hand. You see this activity of God as if He is sitting on His throne with the sheep on the right hand and the goats on the left who are nigh unto judgement. This future judgement breaks into time as part of the activity of "illumination."

  

 

 

The Curse

I am a Calvinist. I believe in the 5 points. But Calvinism is a description of salvation. Its not really a doctrine that is supposed to be taught in a class room environment. When we try to teach Calvinism in just the order of the 5 points its very easy for us to reduce it to a few principles to make it easy to apply. Theres a difference between describing something in which you can see the writer going through these points in a kind of process or describing it after it has been applied so that your addressing more than the understanding of these main points.Your actually putting Calvinism in the context of the human struggle.

This problem of application comes as a result of spending more time reading the theologians then reading and meditating on the Bible. This is why Im trying to bring the curse back into the Calvinistic argument. You will find this throughout my writing. Without the teaching of the curse there is no fast rule to keep a person from thinking in a pragmatic way. When we allow pragmatism into our thinking we make Calvinism another teaching about principles that we should follow.

We believe that when we are saved we cannot do a thing without Christ. We believe that we are totally corrupted both body and soul. But these teachings are in the context of what God has done as the agent of delivering us so that we enjoy eternal life. I think this is a miss understanding of what is true love , who is to be loved and what is true hate and how we are to deal with hate.

I find that its really easy as a Calvinist to confuse the doctrine of total depravity as teaching that we are to hate ourselves. I believe that we are to have a proper hatred for ourselves. But I do not believe that self hatred is a step toward repentance. We are always repeating that there is nothing good that dwells in us and is put as an argument to exalt and lift God up. But my question is if our old will has been destroyed and God has given us a new will then are not we adding to His work by bringing the old struggle with our will back to a renewed struggle so that we can conger up more love for Christ? This is where we need to put the curse back into the teaching. The point is instead of reasoning that there is value arguing that total depravity gives value in Christ work, why not look at total depravity as a past action that Christ dealt with on the cross so that our struggle with our sinful self died with Christ as well. You see you cant focus on the end of Christ destructive work that was necessary to free us from the struggle unless you put it in the context of the curse.

In this sense the new person is motivated by a proper love for oneself. The old struggle with fear, shame, sorrow had to die. There is no other way to deal with these hateful dispositions. If Christ work on the cross was as valuable as we want to argue that it is then isnt it proven by Christ ending the curses hold on us instead of us trying to prove that God is exalted by bringing up the past and making it a new struggle?

I think this is what Christ meant when He said that we love others because we love ourselves. The motivation for loving others is that we are motivated to overcome all opposition. How can we love others if we have not experienced love ourselves? This is the number 1 motivation in marriage. If I love myself I will love my wife. If I hate myself I will hate my wife. And vise versa.....This is what the bible is teaching that if I love something more than my marriage then I hate my partner and thus I hate myself. To love oneself properly is to be motivated to love another.

What is self love? Its to have desires for self that are fulfilled. Its to experience the success that comes as a result of our desires! The Psalms teach that the true understanding of self is a communication to God as if the person is the only one that God created. This means that if someone else heard our private communication to God they would feel threatened. If God is as big as we all want then He is the only one who can fulfill every mans desires individually as if that man was the only person on the earth. We are always repeating this that the purpose of learning the scripture is to know God and to know ourselves. But how can we know ourselves if we are not concerned enough to talk to God so that we can focus on ourselves so that we can be successful as God meets our needs? If we do not know what we need and we do not ask then its no different than being lazy in knowing God. This is why everything that opposes us must die in Christ as the basis of being free to know ourselves and God.

We are free

  PS 14

1 The fool says in his heart, "There is no God." They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good.

2 The LORD looks down from heaven on the sons of men to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God.

3 All have turned aside, they have together become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one.

 The fool is a person has been cursed by God. The curse is being reduced to a language that describes man as lesser than the standard for which he was created and describing a world without God. "There is no God" is like an enemy confessing that he is at war with God. Is this a universal statement? Yes but this atheistic confession does not apply to Gods elect. The Psalms are not written to condemn all men in the sense that God has a right to judge His elect as He judges the atheist. We never consider ourselves in the same boat in order to experience ongoing deliverance. Other wise this Psalm would be written with two exhortations. But the Psalm is written as Gods elect standing behind the Judge who pronounces the curse of the law on the nations. This is where I disagree with the two line reformed view. This Psalm teaches that the elect can only be saved by an understanding that those who are saved are shielded from the condemnation of the law. You cannot be saved by a universal identification of all men. Being saved is being freed from hearing the curse of the law. It is standing on the other side and speaking the curse on the wicked. 4 "Will evildoers never learn-- those who devour my people as men eat bread and who do not call on the LORD?"

1 The fool says in his heart, "There is no God." They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good."The Psalmist is saying that the voice of the curse is "There is no God."The evidence of the laws condemning power is in the language of mans heart. That language works out into mans actions. "their deeds are vile" Vile in the sense that they teach principles that twist Gods word. This twisting is making war with God. It is compared to threatening Gods people. All the words of man in this sense are violent words. So the words do not just come from corrupted heart but from a mindset of a godless kingdom. In this sense its not really the words that are evil but its the threatening environment that is created that is evil.  

4 Will evildoers never learn-- those who devour my people as men eat bread and who do not call on the LORD?

5 There they are, overwhelmed with dread, for God is present in the company of the righteous. 

What do we have in common with the wicked? We both see that there is no hope because in the world there is little evidence of love. The only way that we can fully identify with this hopelessness is to be free. We must see that in order to be free is to die. God must be absolutely just in His requirement of death to law breakers and He can only take all of it upon Himself when there is no blurring between the curse and the blessing. We glory in death in the sense that the curse disarms the evil mans threats. In our freedom the wicked experience freedom.  

Gods decrees

  cont

Ps 94 16 Who will rise up for me against the wicked? Who will take a stand for me against evildoers?

17 Unless the LORD had given me help, I would soon have dwelt in the silence of death.

18 When I said, "My foot is slipping," your love, O LORD, supported me.

19 When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought joy to my soul.

20 Can a corrupt throne be allied with you-- one that brings on misery by its decrees?

21 They band together against the righteous and condemn the innocent to death.

22 But the LORD has become my fortress, and my God the rock in whom I take refuge.

23 He will repay them for their sins and destroy them for their wickedness; the LORD our God will destroy them. 

16 Who will rise up for me against the wicked? Who will take a stand for me against evildoers? 

 This teaching is used in Deut. 9 "1 Hear, O Israel. You are now about to cross the Jordan to go in and dispossess nations greater and stronger than you, with large cities that have walls up to the sky.

2 The people are strong and tall--Anakites! You know about them and have heard it said: "Who can stand up against the Anakites?" 3 But be assured today that the LORD your God is the one who goes across ahead of you like a devouring fire. He will destroy them; he will subdue them before you. And you will drive them out and annihilate them quickly, as the LORD has promised you." We use the Psalms to understand the context of the other parts of the OT. 

I do not think the Psalmist is speaking to a soldier. Because the Psalmist has pronounced Gods covenant that was taught in Psalm 1  6 For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish. There are many metaphors the Psalmist speaks to pronounce this covenant promise. The Psalmist has learned how to approach God in prayer by speaking in this covenant language.He prays by pronouncing Gods covenant promises and then argues on behalf of himself and the nation. "The way of the wicked will perish"or "11 The LORD knows the thoughts of man; he knows that they are futile." The Psalmist uses the metaphor for the Lord creating future blessing by using words like the Lord knows, sees, hears, looks etc in a pregnant sense. These words are a figure of speech teaching that the Lord will create future events to cause the wicked to perish. If the Psalmist believes that Gods kingdom has been established then it is logical that he will speak like Gods king to pronounce what has already been decreed. In this way the Psalmist builds confidence so that the image creates reality. In this sense the Psalmist is asking the people for an amen when he pronounces the covenant promises. There is a spiritual connect with Gods people in being faithful to the grace of God by always speaking the warriors confession. 5 If I forget you, O Jerusalem, may my right hand forget [its skill].6 May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth if I do not remember you, if I do not consider Jerusalem my highest joy." We are connected to one another with a life and death confession. We all confess the covenant that God made with Abram. "Those who curse you will be cursed and those who bless you will be blessed."

17 "Unless the LORD had given me help, I would soon have dwelt in the silence of death.

18 When I said, "My foot is slipping," your love, O LORD, supported me.

 19 When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought joy to my soul.

17 "Unless the LORD had given me help, I would soon have dwelt in the silence of death"

The Psalmist is saying that the Lord fights Israels battles by coming to their aid in the heat of the battle, the Lord heals their wounds from the battles and the Lords decrees in pronouncing and cursing are sure and steadfast.  I do not believe that Psalmist is talking about his struggle with sin. In the covenant promise to curse would be place a covenant child back under the condemning power of the law. Speaking this way builds confidence so that we do not go back to that old relationship to the law as a schoolmaster. 

18 When I said, "My foot is slipping," your love, O LORD, supported me."All of Gods decrees are spoken to unify our experience. All the words of the Lord are sure and steadfast. The covenant child cannot fall into the pit of hell. But he can slip. He can get trapped. To slip is to be in danger from the wicked communication who seeks to overthrow Gods word. But in pronouncing the covenant and the curses the Psalmist experiences Gods recreation. God as our Father encourages us to pour out our hearts to Him in this wise way. The language creates the proper image and we learn to act according to our face to face connection in that language. Gods unfailing love is upholding us in our being delivered.  

19 " When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought joy to my soul."

When we face trials we must deal with our anger. Anger is the fuel that creates tension in our soul. Our personal anger is a desire to act to right the wrongs. We cannot escape this anger by an action. We are not to deal with our anxiety through a process. But we receive Gods consolation as the remedy for our anger.  Gods consolation is spoken through illumination of the Spirit, The Spirit uses Gods word to heal our souls. This healing is from the principle that complexity is swallowed up by simplicity. Every word of God is inspired. If we understand one word then we understand the spirit of all the words. The way that we receive consolation is the only holistic act that exist in this world. This holistic transfer comes in the unity of Gods word. All the words are connected and cannot be separated. The Psalmist is saying that Gods word unites all things in the world.... All experiences of man and everything that man needs for our good. This unity is expressed in God speaking salvation to the Psalmist soul. 35 3 Brandish spear and javelin against those who pursue me. Say to my soul, "I am your salvation."or Give me victory so that I can experience your kingdom rule through unifying everything so that my gifts can match my work.

 

The anger of God

PS 94 1 O LORD, the God who avenges, O God who avenges, shine forth.

2 Rise up, O Judge of the earth; pay back to the proud what they deserve.

3 How long will the wicked, O LORD, how long will the wicked be jubilant?

4 They pour out arrogant words; all the evildoers are full of boasting.

5 They crush your people, O LORD; they oppress your inheritance.

6 They slay the widow and the alien; they murder the fatherless.

7 They say, "The LORD does not see; the God of Jacob pays no heed."

8 Take heed, you senseless ones among the people; you fools, when will you become wise?

9 Does he who implanted the ear not hear? Does he who formed the eye not see?

10 Does he who disciplines nations not punish? Does he who teaches man lack knowledge?

11 The LORD knows the thoughts of man; he knows that they are futile.

12 Blessed is the man you discipline, O LORD, the man you teach from your law;

13 you grant him relief from days of trouble, till a pit is dug for the wicked.

14 For the LORD will not reject his people; he will never forsake his inheritance.

15 Judgment will again be founded on righteousness, and all the upright in heart will follow it.

16 Who will rise up for me against the wicked? Who will take a stand for me against evildoers?

17 Unless the LORD had given me help, I would soon have dwelt in the silence of death.

18 When I said, "My foot is slipping," your love, O LORD, supported me.

19 When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought joy to my soul.

20 Can a corrupt throne be allied with you-- one that brings on misery by its decrees?

21 They band together against the righteous and condemn the innocent to death.

22 But the LORD has become my fortress, and my God the rock in whom I take refuge.

23 He will repay them for their sins and destroy them for their wickedness; the LORD our God will destroy them. 

Im gonna go through a quick explanation of the verses. 

 PS 94 1 " O LORD, the God who avenges, O God who avenges, shine forth." When man sinned he throw the whole earth in to process of death. Everything was cursed by God. The hope for complete restoration was lost. But when God reestablishes His kingdom within us we are brought back to that original vision of restoration. This vision defines our desires which are both understandable and mysterious. Because the earth is plunged into rebellions and corruption everyone is guilty of producing destruction and death. The only power that is preventing man from destroying himself and the earth is Gods power. The only way that God can restore the original freedom and goodness is through just punishment. The Psalmist is saying...Only God knows the just way to restore full freedom because God is the judge. There is no man who seeks judgement without first desiring it. God is giving man what he desires. God is not responsible for their judgement nor are His people. We are worthy of reward because we want deliverance at the expense of judgement. The quickest way to resolve this problem is for God to give us what we want and to give the wicked what they want. Thats when everything is unified. 
  
2 " Rise up, O Judge of the earth; pay back to the proud what they deserve "The Psalmist is saying that the sooner the Lord takes vengeance the less people will be hurt. The proud are those people who do not have God in their thoughts ...live as if God does not exist. In the Psalms a person who does not acknowledge God is spreading a disease...or the dread of the curse. 
  
3" How long will the wicked, O LORD, how long will the wicked be jubilant?"What happens when the wicked are happy? They are being used by powerful men to establish the curse. This world has a power structure in which men become gods as they establish their own authority and accumulate many followers. 

4" They pour out arrogant words; all the evildoers are full of boasting." God has established His authority by His word. To speak in a way to overturn His word, or to redefine His word is the same thing as taking a kingdom by violence. "Boasting" is simply establishing authority by abusing someone else. 

5 "They crush your people, O LORD; they oppress your inheritance."They torture Gods people...137 2 There on the poplars we hung our harps,3 for there our captors asked us for songs, our tormentors demanded songs of joy; they said, "Sing us one of the songs of Zion!" They make war with Israel and bring them into captivity. They sacrifice the babies of Israel on the altar.8 O Daughter of Babylon, doomed to destruction, happy is he who repays you for what you have done to us-- 9 he who seizes your infants and dashes them against the rocks.

 6 "They slay the widow and the alien; they murder the fatherless. " God has established His law to protect the helpless and the powerless from being abused. When man seeks to overturn Gods law, He obtains power through destroying the powerless. 

 7 They say, "The LORD does not see; the God of Jacob pays no heed." When the wicked rule they spread hopelessness. This is the voice of the wicked curse in the hearts of Gods people. 22 8 "He trusts in the LORD; let the LORD rescue him. Let him deliver him, since he delights in him." This is the heart of faithlessness. 

9 "Does he who implanted the ear not hear? Does he who formed the eye not see?

10 Does he who disciplines nations not punish? Does he who teaches man lack knowledge?

11 The LORD knows the thoughts of man; he knows that they are futile." But because God is the creator then He controls the outcome. So God has established His way through pronouncing a curse on those who spread the wicked curse of faithlessness. The Lord knows or He creates futility through giving the wicked what they are thinking. We wish the full effect of the curse of the law because it is the only method by which power is transferred. 

 12" Blessed is the man you discipline, O LORD, the man you teach from your law;

13 you grant him relief from days of trouble, till a pit is dug for the wicked.

14 For the LORD will not reject his people; he will never forsake his inheritance.

15 Judgment will again be founded on righteousness, and all the upright in heart will follow it."The man in a collective sense. God disciplines Israel by punishing the waywardness of the wicked but using that punishment to double the blessing of His elect. He is saying that God has made His kingdom flourish in His people by giving them all they need in salvation. They naturally follow His success." will follow it." The basis of this new kingdom relationship is Gods faithfulness in His covenant . "he will never forsake his inheritance." In other words to be consistent. God disciplines the whole nation to bless His elect.  13" you grant him relief from days of trouble, till a pit is dug for the wicked."

 
 

We have a full redemption

Psa. 80 3 Restore us, O God; make your face shine upon us, that we may be saved. 

Salvation is depended upon Gods restoration. When we are saved we begin the process of being restored to our original position. In salvation God restores His kingdom within us. He implants His word in us, definitively sanctifies us and justifies us. The success of our restoration is through asking and receiving. 

The Lord God Almighty is the Lamb of God that is seated in between the cherubim.  The cherubim are angels who are overseeing this restoration of Gods people and the earth. They have divine knowledge and insight. The Lord Almighty is able to set all things right by one word of His mouth. There is no one who can thwart His power. 

The Psalmist is describing Gods kingdom being spread through Israel. They are the vine that spreads from their bondage in Egypt to the nations. The vine represents the spreading of eternal life. The Psalmist is petitioning the Almighty to restore Israels possessions, health and spiritual vitality. But instead of pleading for God to forgive them , he is praying to the Almighty God who can restore Israel by looking on His Son. Christ is the good Shepherd who is the root that produces the life of the vine. 14 "Return to us, O God Almighty! Look down from heaven and see! Watch over this vine,

15 the root your right hand has planted, the son (looking forward to Christ coming from Israel) you have raised up for yourself." Not only is the Good Shepherd the only One who can restore Israel to their glory days but He is the only one who can revive them so that they call upon God. 14"  Then we will not turn away from you; revive us, and we will call on your name. "

This Psalm is teaching that the purpose of redemption is to fully restore His people. The desire of restoration is being revived to call upon the Lord. So restoration is having a vision of Gods spiritual kingdom being restored in us and as we are revived in praying for, longing for and seeking to establish it in this world , we are storing up rewards when all things will be fully restored. 

When the Psalmist prays for God to shine His face upon the nation , he is praying that Israel would once again be established and secure as Gods kingdom nation. God has sent Israel into captivity because of the wicked rebellion. The Psalmist represents the elect within the nation who are suffering as a result of the captivity for God to return everything that He has given to Israel as a nation. He is praying for the Lord to shine His face upon them. Or for God to restore the nation and make them successful. In longing and praying that God would revive the people, the Psalmist is believing in a full redemption and storing up rewards in heaven.

The Lord fights our battles

Ps 27 1 The LORD is my light and my salvation-- whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life-- of whom shall I be afraid?

2 When evil men advance against me to devour my flesh, when my enemies and my foes attack me, they will stumble and fall.

3 Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then will I be confident.

4 One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple.

5 For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle and set me high upon a rock.

6 Then my head will be exalted above the enemies who surround me; at his tabernacle will I sacrifice with shouts of joy; I will sing and make music to the LORD.

7 Hear my voice when I call, O LORD; be merciful to me and answer me.

8 My heart says of you, "Seek his face!" Your face, LORD, I will seek.

9 Do not hide your face from me, do not turn your servant away in anger; you have been my helper. Do not reject me or forsake me, O God my Savior.

10 Though my father and mother forsake me, the LORD will receive me.

11 Teach me your way, O LORD; lead me in a straight path because of my oppressors.

12 Do not turn me over to the desire of my foes, for false witnesses rise up against me, breathing out violence.

13 I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.

14 Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD. 


This Psalm is the most interesting Psalm because it is comparing war to a person who is subjected to a hard life.10 " Though my father and mother forsake me, the LORD will receive me".This is why it opens up describing the troubles of the person who does not have any family structure to protect him. We used to call this person a survivor. The survivor is usually a child who grows up in a threatening environment.

This situation could be growing up in a one parent home, being forced into foster care, growing up in a threatening and competitive environment or having to endure ridicule in school. So the Psalmist opens the Psalm up with a cry to be taken care of by the Lord who protects us as He has in Davids battles. The Psalmist is saying that the Lord is most faithful when the battle is the fiercest.


The Psalmist says "The LORD is the stronghold of my life-- of whom shall I be afraid?" In Psalms 18 David is describing salvation as the Lord coming from heaven on His chariot and defeating the enemy. 18  9 "He parted the heavens and came down; dark clouds were under his feet.10 He mounted the cherubim and flew; he soared on the wings of the wind.11 He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him-- the dark rain clouds of the sky.12 Out of the brightness of his presence clouds advanced, with hailstones and bolts of lightning.13 The LORD thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded.14 He shot his arrows and scattered [the enemies], great bolts of lightning and routed them. "

When the Psalmist is using the metaphor "light" to describe the Lord , he is saying that the Lord watches over those people who do not have the normal protection with special care. The light actually shines in our path to blind our foes. He is saying that if the Lord protects us as is the heat and light from the sun are directed against those who attack us then there is nothing to be afraid of. This blinding light is so dangerous that it destroyed Davids enemies in war. So he compares this protective activity as the Lord being his stronghold. He describes God as his stronghold  as Gods special strength flowing through him when he was fighting. 28 " You, O LORD, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light.29 With your help I can advance against a troop; with my God I can scale a wall.32 It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect.33 He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; he enables me to stand on the heights.34 He trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend a bow of bronze.35 You give me your shield of victory, and your right hand sustains me; you stoop down to make me great.36 You broaden the path beneath me, so that my ankles do not turn.37 I pursued my enemies and overtook them; I did not turn back till they were destroyed.
38 I crushed them so that they could not rise; they fell beneath my feet." The Psalmist is saying that the Lord fights his battles and when the Lord advances against his opposition the Psalmist experiences this power as if the power is flowing through him.

What is the purpose of being forced to trust God in this special way? The Psalmist declares. 50 " He gives his king great victories; he shows unfailing kindness to his anointed, to David and his descendants forever." In other words the Lord uses these circumstances of the widow and orphan to show that He is faithful to His covenant that He made with Abraham. This covenant is promised to Abraham and his descendents. God is saying that he is our blood brother and will fight our battles. Ill stop here.