Transcript

Podcast Introduction

Today is Psalms Wednesday. We’ll read chapters 12-14. Before I read each chapter, I’ll have an introduction for you. I’m calling today’s episode “Look Up.”

Comments on Psalms 12-13

Thoughts on Chapter 12

In this Psalm, which is truly a prayer, David is crying out to God. Those who had been faithful to him have become gossipers and liars, and being unable to stop the lies, he asks God to cut them off…to stop them in their tracks as it were.

And these liars even bragged that they could not be stopped. They said, “We are great speakers.

No one else has a chance.”

Sounds a bit like today, doesn’t it? We hear lies from politicians, from the media (both main stream and social), even from sources that at one time were seemingly bulwarks of truth: the medical and scientific communities. They all seem to think that they can lie with impunity. 

God heard the liars, and He said, “I will do something! The poor are mistreated and helpless people moan.

I’ll rescue all who suffer.”

When God said, “I’ll rescue all who suffer,” David believed that God was also speaking to him. 

And Family, I believe God is speaking to us today. The Bible is not a dusty old book about what happened thousands of years ago. It is the vibrant, living Word of God. 

Listen to the next verse:

6Our Lord, you are true to your promises, and your word is like silver heated seven times in a fiery furnace. 

Here David declares first that God always keeps His promises, and that unlike the words of the liars, God’s word is pure and true, as silver is after being purified in the fire seven times. Again I say, the Bible is not a dusty old book about what happened thousands of years ago. It is the vibrant, living Word of God. Beloved, the Bible has withstood the test of time. God HAS preserved it through the centuries. No other manuscript has as many ancient copies as does the Bible. It is trustworthy. It is true. It is God’s Word. Unchanging. Reliable. True. 

James Montgomery Boice wrote that “The French atheist Voltaire…once said, ‘In twenty years Christianity will be no more. My single hand shall destroy the edifice it took twelve apostles to rear.’ He wrote that in fifty years no one would remember Christianity. But in the year he wrote that, the British Museum paid the Russian government five hundred thousand dollars for a Bible manuscript while one of Voltaire’s books was selling in the London book stalls for just eight cents.” 

Charles Spurgeon said, “Give up no line of God’s revelation…. Brethren, we cannot endure this shifty theology. May God send us a race of men who have backbones! Men who believe something, and would die for what they believe. This Book deserves the sacrifice of our all for the maintenance of every line of it.” 

Beloved, we could use some people like that today, don’t you think? People with backbone who speak truth, and willing to die for their beliefs. People who’s God is the Lord, not the lies that are so prevalent today. 

Thoughts on Chapter 13

We find David in prayer again. Four times in the first two verses David asks “How long?”

1How long, O Lord? Will You forget me forever? How long will You hide Your face from me?

2How long shall I take counsel in my soul, Having sorrow in my heart all the day? How long will my enemy be exalted over me?

Have you ever felt like that? Have you prayed a similar prayer? Probably most of us who are believers have.

Listen again to the words of Spurgeon: “Whenever you look into David’s Psalms, you may somewhere or another see yourselves. You never get into a corner but you find David in that corner. I think that I was never so low that I could not find that David was lower; and I never climbed so high that I could not find that David was up above me, ready to sing his song upon his stringed instrument, even as I could sing mine.” 

Yes, even David, who is referred to twice in the Bible as “a man after God’s own heart” felt abandoned by God. But listen, beloved. God will never forget you. Isaiah 49:14-16 tells us, “But Zion said, ‘The LORD has forsaken me, and my Lord has forgotten me.’ Can a woman forget her nursing child, and not have compassion on the son of her womb? Surely they may forget, yet I will not forget you. See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands.”

So God tells us that He will not forget us. David felt as if God had forgotten him, that God had hidden His face from him. But feelings are not necessarily reliable indicators of truth. 

Why had David gotten so despondent and hopeless? The next verse tells us.

2How long must I worry and feel sad in my heart all day? (NCV)

NASB: 2How long shall I take counsel in my soul, Having sorrow in my heart all the day?

Well there’s your problem! He was looking inside himself. He was going over his problems and sorrows in his head. The more you do that, the bigger the problems seem. Haven’t you found that the be true?

Turning again to Spurgeon. He thought of doing a sermon on David’s words “How long shall I take counsel in my soul, Having sorrow in my heart all the day?” Spurgeon’s proposed sermon points were, “Self-torture, its cause, curse, crime, and cure.”

But David was wise enough to stop looking inside. Instead, he looked up. He prayed:

3Lord, look at me.

Answer me, my God; NCV

Better translation:

3Consider and answer me, O Lord my God;

Enlighten my eyes, NASB

David was smart enough to know that he was not seeing things properly. His spiritual vision was limited, so he asked God to enlighten his eyes. All of us need God to give us more light, more wisdom. Especially in times of trouble.

David ends his prayer with these words:

5But I have trusted in Your lovingkindness;
My heart shall rejoice in Your salvation.
6I will sing to the Lord,
Because He has dealt bountifully with me.

Notice, his closing begins with the word “But….”

But …. regardless of circumstances, regardless of how I feel.

After God enlightened his eyes, David remembers that “I have trusted in Your lovingkindness…”

And despite his feelings, David DECIDES…

My heart shall rejoice in Your salvation.
6I will sing to the Lord,

In the beginning of this Psalm, David felt depressed and abandoned by God. Now he is singing joyfully to the Lord.

 “The fact that we feel abandoned itself means that we really know God is there. To be abandoned you need somebody to be abandoned by. Because we are Christians and have been taught by God in the Scriptures, we know that God still loves us and will be faithful to us, regardless of our feelings.” (James Montgomery Boice)

“Because He has dealt bountifully with me.”

David’s new outlook is not without reason. With his enlightened eyes, he sees that indeed, God has been good to him.

In just six short verses, we have seen David go from utter despair to having a heart that sings with joy. How did this dramatic change happen? He changed his focus from himself to God. Beloved, I can tell you from my own experience that this is the formula that works. Don’t look within, look up.

Today’s Bible Translation

Bible translation used in today’s episode: Ch. 12 CEV; Ch. 13 NASB; Ch. 14 NLT

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Transcript

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Psalms 12-14: Look Up (LSFAB S13E032)

[TEASER – 0:00]
Feelings are not necessarily reliable indicators of truth.

[INTRO S13E032 – 0:11]
This is the Lifespring Family Audio Bible coming to you from Riverside, California, and podcasting since 2004, I’m your OG Godcaster, Steve Webb. This is the daily podcast where we’ll read through the entire Bible in a year. How you doing? I’m so glad you’re here today. This is Psalms Wednesday. We’ll read chapters 12 through 14, and before I read each chapter, I’ll have an introduction for you. I’m calling today’s episode, “Look Up”. And being Wednesday we do have some prayer requests as well. In less than two weeks, November 13, there will be the 18th anniversary of the first Lifespring podcast. What were you doing 18 years ago? I’ll tell you I had no idea I would still be behind this microphone.

Before we read, Let’s pray.

[OPENING PRAYER – 0:57]
Our heavenly Father, Lord, we thank you for the Psalms. Help us to praise you as David did, in spite of circumstances. I pray this in Jesus’ name, amen.

Let’s begin.

[INTRO TO PSALM 12 – 1:08]
The title of Psalm 12 is “To the chief musician on an eight-stringed harp, a Psalm of David.” In this psalm, David talks about the biting words of his enemies and then he gives praise for God’s precious Word.

[PSALMS 12 (CEV) – 1:24]
Psalms, chapter 12.

(1) Please help me, Lord!
All who were faithful
and all who were loyal
have disappeared.
(2) Everyone tells lies,
and no one is sincere.
(3) Won’t you chop off
all flattering tongues
that brag so loudly?
(4) They say to themselves,
“We are great speakers.
No one else has a chance.”
(5) But you, Lord, tell them,
“I will do something!
The poor are mistreated
and helpless people moan.
I’ll rescue all who suffer.”
(6) Our Lord, you are true
to your promises,
and your word is like silver
heated seven times
in a fiery furnace.
(7) You will protect us
and always keep us safe
from those people.
(8) But all who are wicked
will keep on strutting,
while everyone praises
their shameless deeds.

[INTRO TO PSALM 13 – 2:13]
The title of Psalm 13 is “To the chief musician, a Psalm of David”. In this Psalm we see David moving from despair to joyfulness.

[PSALM 13 (NASB) – 2:24]
Psalms, chapter 13.

(1) How long, O Lord? Will You forget me forever?
How long will You hide Your face from me?
(2) How long shall I take counsel in my soul,
Having sorrow in my heart all the day?
How long will my enemy be exalted over me?
(3) Consider and answer me, O Lord my God;
Enlighten my eyes, or I will sleep the sleep of death,
(4) And my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,”
And my adversaries will rejoice when I am shaken.
(5) But I have trusted in Your lovingkindness;
My heart shall rejoice in Your salvation.
(6) I will sing to the Lord,
Because He has dealt bountifully with me.

[INTRO TO PSALM 14 – 3:07]  
The title of Psalm 14 is “To the chief musician, a Psalm of David.” Of this song commentator G. Campbell Morgan wrote, “The thought of the whole Psalm is the safety of godliness and the peril of ungodliness.” And, Beloved, oh, how I have discovered that this is true.

[PSALM 14 (NLT) – 3:28]  
Psalms, chapter 14.

(1) Only fools say in their hearts,
“There is no God.”
They are corrupt, and their actions are evil;
not one of them does good!
(2) The Lord looks down from heaven
on the entire human race;
he looks to see if anyone is truly wise,
if anyone seeks God.
(3) But no, all have turned away;
all have become corrupt.
No one does good,
not a single one!
(4) Will those who do evil never learn?
They eat up my people like bread
and wouldn’t think of praying to the Lord.
(5) Terror will grip them,
for God is with those who obey him.
(6) The wicked frustrate the plans of the oppressed,
but the Lord will protect his people.
(7) Who will come from Mount Zion to rescue Israel?
When the Lord restores his people,
Jacob will shout with joy, and Israel will rejoice.

[COMMENTARY – 4:19]
In chapter 12, which is truly a prayer, David is crying out to God. Those who’ve been faithful to him have become gossipers and liars. And being unable to stop the lies, he asks God to cut them off and to stop them in their tracks as it were.

And these liars even bragged that they could not be stopped. They said, “We’re great speakers, no one else has a chance.”

Well, doesn’t that sound a bit like today? We hear lies from politicians, from the media, both mainstream and social, even from sources that at one time were seemingly bulwarks of truth, the medical and scientific communities. They all seem to think that they can lie with impunity.

Well, in today’s psalm, God heard the liars and he said, “I will do something. The poor are mistreated and helpless people moan. I’ll rescue all who suffer.”

Well, when God said, “I’ll rescue all who suffer”, David believed that God was speaking to him.

And, Family. I believe God is speaking to us today. The Bible is not a dusty old book about what happened thousands of years ago. It is the vibrant, living Word of God.

Listen to the next verse: “Our Lord, you are true to your promises, and your word is like silver heated seven times in a fiery furnace.”

Here David declares that first God always keeps His promises and that unlike the words of the liars, God’s word is pure and true as silver is after being purified in the fire seven times. Again, I say the Bible is not a dusty old book about what happened thousands of years ago. It is the vibrant, living Word of God. Beloved, the Bible has withstood the test of time. God has preserved it through the centuries. No other manuscript has as many ancient copies as does the Bible. It is trustworthy. It is true. It is God’s Word. Unchanging. Reliable. True.

James Montgomery Boice wrote that “The French atheist Voltaire…once said, ‘In twenty years Christianity will be no more. My single hand shall destroy the edifice it took twelve apostles to rear.’ He wrote that in fifty years no one would remember Christianity. But in the year – but listen to this – in the year he wrote that, the British Museum paid the Russian government five hundred thousand dollars for a Bible manuscript while one of Voltaire’s books was selling in the London book stalls for just eight cents.”

Charles Spurgeon said, “Give up no line of God’s revelation…. Brethren, we cannot endure this shifty theology. May God send us a race of men who have backbones! Men who believe something, and would die for what they believe. This Book deserves the sacrifice of our all for the maintenance of every line of it.”

Beloved, we could sure use some people like that today, don’t you think? People with backbone who speak truth and willing to die for their beliefs, people whose God is the Lord, not the lies that are so prevalent everywhere today?

And chapter 13, we find David in prayer again. Four times in the first two verses, David asks, “How long, Lord?” Listen to the first two verses?

(1) How long, O Lord? Will You forget me forever?
How long will You hide Your face from me?
(2) How long shall I take counsel in my soul,
Having sorrow in my heart all the day?
How long will my enemy be exalted over me?

Have you ever felt like that? Have you prayed a similar prayer? Probably most of us who are believers have.

Listen again to the words of Spurgeon. “Whenever you look into David’s Psalms, you may somewhere or another see yourselves. You never get into a corner but you find David in that corner. I think that I was never so low that I could not find that David was lower; and I never climbed so high that I could not find that David was up above me, ready to sing his song upon his stringed instrument, even as I could sing mine.”

Yes, even David, who’s referred to twice in the Bible, as “a man after God’s own heart”, felt abandoned by God. But listen, Beloved, God will never forget you. Isaiah 49:14-16 tells us, “But Zion said, ‘The LORD has forsaken me, and my Lord has forgotten me.’ Can a woman forget her nursing child, and not have compassion on the son of her womb? Surely they may forget, yet I will not forget you. See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands.”

So God tells us that he will not forget us, Beloved, David felt as if God had forgotten him, that God had hidden his face from him. But feelings are not necessarily reliable indicators of truth.

Why had David gotten so despondent and hopeless? Well, the next verse tells us, “How long must I worry and feel sad in my heart all day?” And that was today’s translation, the New Century Version, but listen to the New American Standard, which I think is a better translation here: “How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart all the day?”

Well, there’s your problem! He was looking inside himself. He said, “How long shall I take counsel in my soul?” He was going over his problems and sorrows in his head. The more you do that, the bigger the problems seem. Haven’t you found that to be true? I know I have.

Turning again to Spurgeon, he thought of doing a sermon on David’s words, “How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart all the day?” Spurgeon’s proposed sermon points were, “Self-torture, it’s cause, curse, crime and cure.” So Spurgeon had a good sense of humor too.

But David was wise enough to stop looking inside. Instead, he looked up. He prayed, “Lord, look at me. Answer me, my God.” And a better translation again from the New American Standard: “Consider and answer me, O Lord, my God; enlightened my eyes.”

David was smart enough to know that he was not seeing things properly. His spiritual vision was limited. So he asked God to enlighten his eyes. All of us need God to give us more light, more wisdom, especially in times of trouble. So he asked God to enlighten his eyes.

And then David ends his prayer with these words,

(5) But I have trusted in Your lovingkindness;
My heart shall rejoice in Your salvation.
(6) I will sing to the Lord,
Because He has dealt bountifully with me.

Notice his closing begins with a word “but”. So he’s saying, But regardless of the circumstances, regardless of how I feel.

And when did he pray this? After God enlightened his eyes, David remembers that “I have trusted in your lovingkindness…”

And despite his feelings, David decides. He said, “My heart shall rejoice in your salvation, I will sing to the Lord.” That’s an act of will. That’s, that’s not something that we do from feelings. “My heart shall rejoice, I will sing.”

In the beginning of this Psalm, David felt depressed and abandoned by God. Now he is willfully singing joyfully to the Lord.

James Montgomery Boice said, “The fact that we feel abandoned itself means that we really know God is there. To be abandoned you need somebody to be abandoned by. Because we are Christians and have been taught by God in the Scriptures, we know that God still loves us and will be faithful to us, regardless of our feelings.” Amen.

And then David ends his prayer with “Because he has dealt bountifully with me.”

David’s new outlook is not without reason. With his enlightened eyes, he sees that indeed, God has been good to him.

So in this psalm, in just six short verses, we’ve seen David go from utter despair, to having a heart that sings with joy. And how did this dramatic change happen? He changed his focus from himself to God. Beloved, I can tell you from my own experience, that this is the formula that works. Don’t look within, look up.

[LIFESPRING FAMILY HOTLINE – 13:02]
Beloved, do the Psalms lift your heart like they do mine? Let me know. Call the Lifespring Family Hotline at 951-732-8511. And if you’re outside of the US, dial +1 before the number. You can also comment at comment.lifespringmedia.com. And you can always email me at st***@*************ia.com. Tomorrow is Poetry Thursday, and we’ll read Job chapters 9 and 10.

[PRAYER REQUESTS – 13:30]

Prayer requests. A prayer request came in from April who’s asking for prayer for salvation for her husband, Eric. She says, “May God soften his heart to have a deep love and personal relationship with Jesus. May he be delivered from any bitterness and darkness, that he will give his life to Christ and be baptized in the Holy Spirit.”

Yes, April we will pray for Eric.

Then, Beloved, Kathi continues to need our prayers. She was supposed to go to City of Hope for tests yesterday morning, but Del said she didn’t feel well enough to make the trip. It’s about a 60 mile drive one way, so 120 miles round trip with tests and everything else in between, that makes for a really hard day for Kathi. Del told me this past Sunday that the sores on her head which they’ve determined are cancerous, are spreading and are painful. The tests today were supposed to determine whether the sores, whether the cancer was just on her scalp or if it was in the bone or even in her brain. But like I said she was not able to make that trip yesterday. She has been using ice and hydrocodone to get through the pain. And in addition, she’s just feeling plain sick and she’s hurting all over.

Okay, so those are the prayer requests. Let’s pray.

Our heavenly Father, we know, Lord, that you are a merciful God who loves us and we thank you for that. You are able with just a word from your mouth to bring life to any situation, Lord, and we ask you to soften the heart of April’s husband, Eric. We pray that You would open his eyes and his ears that he might see and that he might hear the truth that Jesus died for him. We pray, Lord, that you would bring someone into Eric’s life that he will be willing to listen to whether it be April or someone else. Sometimes, Lord, we know that it’s hard to hear from someone close to us. And you know who Eric will listen to. Lord, you did this for my dad shortly before you called him home. But I pray that Eric doesn’t wait until he’s old before he comes to know you as his Savior. Father, whatever is necessary for him to see his need, we pray that you would do it. And Lord, I know that there must be many who are listening now who have family members that have not yet given their lives to you. And I pray for them now. Help us, Lord, to be your representatives. And we pray that you would use us to help these family members see their need for your son. We pray that mothers and fathers and sisters and brothers will come to know you. We pray for unsaved family members.

And I pray now for Kathi, Lord. Bring relief to her body. She’s weak, and she’s hurting. And I pray that you would bring healing and rest Lord. And be with Del as he cares for her. He loves her so much, Lord, and it’s hard for him to see her like this. Strengthen him, Lord. Be with both of them in their home. May they feel your presence with them. I pray, God, that you would bless them.

Father, for needs of the Lifespring family that I know nothing about, but which you know everything about. I pray that your will would be done in each life. And we know that your plans are good and perfect. And we thank you and we praise You for that assurance. We ask you, Lord to bless us as we seek to follow you. I pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Beloved, if you have a need in your life, if you have a family member to pray for or if God is doing something wonderful in your life that you’d like to share and bring encouragement to the Lifespring family, please go to prayer.lifespringmedia.com. As you’re praying this week, please do remember April and Eric and Del and Kathi.

[SUPPORT THE SHOW – 17:22]
This is a value-for-value show. The only way I can continue to bring the show to you every day is with your support. There are no and there never will be any ads except for my book “Webb’s Easy Bible Names Pronunciation Guide” which you can find at easybiblenamesguide.com. If you want to keep seeing new episodes coming to you, please do support the show with your time, talent or treasure. The amount is up to you. Please consider how much value the show brings to your life and then pray about it. Seek God’s will and then go to lifespringmedia.com/support. When you support the show, you’re partnering with me to bring God’s word to people literally around the world.

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[OUTRO S13E032 – 19:04]
This is the part of the show where I thank Sister Kirsty, Brother Sean of San Pedro, and Sister Denise for their donation of time and talent. Thank you, guys. God bless you.

Remember, you can comment on the show by calling the Lifespring Family Hotline at 951-732-8511 or by going to comment.lifespringmedia.com or emailing me at st***@*************ia.com. If you’re glad the Lifespring Family Audio Bible is here for you please do support it in proportion to the amount of value that you receive. That’s fair, right? lifespringmedia.com/support.

Until tomorrow, may God bless you richly. Thank you for inviting me to be a part of your day. I don’t take that for granted. My name is Steve Webb. Bye

Transcribed by https://otter.ai

Transcript corrected by Denise