Time with the Lord in the Psalms! The notes you’ll find here are the nuts & bolts of my efforts to understand & apply the Psalms to my life. I hope that they’ll be an encouragement as you glean the Scriptures for guidance & encouragement.
You’ll notice 3 basic pieces to my notes: A basic outline, the question “What sticks out this time?” and the final question “What difference does this make?” These are the three regular parts of my time in the word. The outline will vary in length and detail. It’s simply a product of my efforts to understand & keep track of the flow of each Psalm. The first question is an effort to stay sensitive to what God is featuring for me as I read that day. The final question is an effort to apply the truth to my life – my thoughts, my choices, etc.
I want to profit from God’s word. As your brother in Christ, I want you to profit from it. I want you to carry these 3 basic pieces into every passage you study anywhere in Scripture.
Enjoy your time in the Word!
A Basic Outline
The description of the fool, 1
…the fool’s thoughts
…the fool’s condition
…the fool’s deeds
…Summary of fools: all fall short
The description of God’s inquiry, 2
…His vantage point: heaven
…His subject: mankind
…His purpose: to see if any seek Him
The results of God’s inquiry, 3
…Mankind’s direction: turned aside
…Mankind’s condition: corrupt
…Emphatic summary of mankind: all fall short
David’s inquiry about evil in his kingdom, 4-6
…His question: do they lack knowledge?
…His observation: they experience fear b/c God isn’t on their side.
…His rebuke: you act against those who God protects.
David’s desire for God’s deliverance from oppression, 7
What sticks out this time?
“Me too.” I’m described in v1-3. This is where I was when God sought me and drew me to His Son. I didn’t have the sense to save myself.
Where does this make a difference?
It reminds me of Ephesians 2:11-13. It makes me thankful. It rebukes my pride as I consider the ways of people around me who are without hope. I have not raised myself above their condition. I’ve had the very same condition.
What sticks out this time?
David looks over the landscape of mankind, 1-6, and longs for deliverance. It sounds like he might have an ultimate deliverance in view. “When the Lord brings back…” This would have been written hundreds of years before the nation’s exile. So perhaps it’s best to understand he desires that ultimate deliverance from the ongoing problem of mankind’s foolishness.
Where does it make a difference?
Verse 7 points my heart toward that same deliverance. Scripture paints a picture in my imagination of safety and relief from this mess we’ve made of this world… “he who has this hope purifies himself” I John 3:2-3.