17, 2021 the Royal Psalms God Is
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
The God of All Comfort: Psalms The Psalms for April 11 – 17, 2021 The Royal Psalms God is the “King of Heaven,” as the Psalter tells us, and Jesus Christ is His Crown Prince, the King of “The Kingdom of God.” (See Psalm 2 and Psalm 110) We have already read through the Enthronement Psalms (Pss. 29, 47 and 95 – 99) that celebrate the kingship and reign of God the Father. Last week we read through the Messianic Psalms (Pss. 16, 22, 27, 40, 69, 101 and 110) in which the sufferings and redemptive work of Jesus Christ are predicted. But there is a third set of psalms which focus on the persons God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. They are called “The Royal Psalms.” David and his son Solomon were “types” of Jesus Christ. Their persons and royal lives foreshadowed and “typified” the person and work of Jesus Christ, “the son of David.” As such, much of what happened to David and Solomon would find Messianic fulfillment in the spiritual facets of the life of Christ. Psalms 2, 20, 21, 45, 72, 89 and 144 tell of various events in the life of David and Solomon which point to a greater fulfillment in Jesus: coronation, blessings, the king’s faith in God, marriage, administration of the kingdom, God’s covenant with the king, and the prosperity of the king’s kingdom. All these psalms look forward to the ultimate and full realization of life in the Kingdom of God, under King Jesus. The theme of Christ’s ministry was and remains the Kingdom of God: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” (Mark 1:15) This is the true, the full, and the greatest gospel: Our God reigns, and He does so through Jesus Christ. In fact, the culmination of human history and world events is found in this future proclamation from heaven: “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever.” Revelation 11:15 (NASB) In the midst of turbulent world events and troubled times in America, we must find solace, confidence, and hope in the reality that Jesus is the King of kings and the Lord of lords! • Sunday – Psalm 2 The Coronation of King Jesus Over the World • Monday – Psalm 20 Five Benedictions for King Jesus (Blessings) • Tuesday – Psalm 21 The Confidence and Strength King Jesus Finds in God, His Father • Wednesday – Psalm 45 The Royal Marriage of the King: Jesus and His Bride, the Church • Thursday – Psalm 72 A Prayer for Solomon the King: The Prosperity and Success of the Kingdom of God • Friday – Psalm 89 Zion: God’s Covenant with His Son, the King • Saturday – Psalm 144 The King’s Prayer for His People and His Kingdom The Royal Psalms are pointing toward the Church (the Kingdom of God), but they also refer to the good and gracious effects the Church has in the earthly realms in which it finds itself. They can therefore be prayed for our people and our country. In fact, Psalm 72 could be subtitled, “A Prayer for our President,” and Psalm 144:12 – 15 a request for God’s favor upon our land. Remember: King Jesus rules in and rules over America! The God of All Comfort: Psalms Psalm 144 Resources | April 11, 2021 “A Prayer For Our Nation” Psalm 144 1 Blessed be the LORD, my rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle; 2 he is my steadfast love and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield and he in whom I take refuge, [a] who subdues peoples under me. 3 O LORD, what is man that you regard him, or the son of man that you think of him? 4 Man is like a breath; his days are like a passing shadow. 5 Bow your heavens, O LORD, and come down! Touch the mountains so that they smoke! 6 Flash forth the lightning and scatter them; send out your arrows and rout them! 7 Stretch out your hand from on high; rescue me and deliver me from the many waters, from the hand of foreigners, 8 whose mouths speak lies and whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood. 9 I will sing a new song to you, O God; upon a ten-stringed harp I will play to you, 10 who gives victory to kings, who rescues David his servant from the cruel sword. 11 Rescue me and deliver me from the hand of foreigners, whose mouths speak lies and whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood. 12 May our sons in their youth be like plants full grown, our daughters like corner pillars cut for the structure of a palace; 13 may our granaries be full, providing all kinds of produce; may our sheep bring forth thousands and ten thousands in our fields; 14 may our cattle be heavy with young, suffering no mishap or failure in bearing; may there be no cry of distress in our streets! 15 Blessed are the people to whom such blessings fall! Blessed are the people whose God is the LORD! 1. How are the Messianic, Enthronement, and Royal Psalms related? In what way is the focus of each different from the others? 2. The Royal Psalms have a three-fold focus. What is the focus in: • The Old Testament? • Our Age? • The Future? 3. David was a Warrior King, similar to a “War-time President.” What concerns does David express for himself and Israel in Psalm 144? 4. In Psalm 144 to what does David attribute his success? 5. Pastor Ross mentioned that we can pray Psalm 144 for ourselves in two ways. What are they? 6. In Psalm 144 David surprises us by mentioning both his great and our common enemy. What is that enemy? How does it attack us today? 7. How is the lack of truth “attacking” our nation today? Give specific examples. 8. In Psalm 144 David prays for three national blessings. What are they? 9. Explain what David means when he describes “our sons like plants full grown” and “our daughters like corner pillars of the palace”? 10. Pastor Ross mentioned the uproar he caused when preaching this psalm at a Christian college. How does that negative reaction bear witness to the reality of our enemy, Falsehood? .