Transcript

Today’s Bible Translation

Bible translation used in today’s episode: Ch. 33 GWT, Ch. 34 NASB, Ch. 35 NLV

Associate Producer

Timothy LaFontaine

Podcast Introduction

This is the Psalms Wednesday. Our reading will be chapters 33-35. I’m calling this episode, “Never Stop Praising.” Today I’ll have some introductory remarks for each chapter, and then let each chapter speak for itself, instead of having any commentary afterwards.

And it’s December 21st, so we’re down to the last four Christmas questions. I had a few for James, and so we’ll hear them over the next few days. You’re still welcome to send in your questions, and I’ll be happy to include them right up to the Christmas day episode. You can still have your name entered for the drawings.

And today is Wednesday, so we will have a time of prayer as well.

Comments on Psalms 33-35

Introduction to Psalm 33

What a joyous psalm this is! It is written to all that have called on the name of Jesus to be saved, because it is written to the righteous. And because of our belief in the saving power of Jesus’ shed blood, righteousness is credited to us. 

This is a psalm that looks at how good it is to be joyful and praise God in all His goodness and majesty and awesomeness and justice and power. It’s like a wonderfully fresh breath of air on a crisp, clear, sunny blue day from the top of a pristine mountain, where you can see for miles and miles and miles in all directions, all of God’s good creation.  

This is a psalm of celebration and hallelujahs. Joyfully sing to the Lord, you righteous people!

Introduction to Psalm 34

The title of this psalm is “A Psalm of David when he pretended madness before Abimelech, who drove him away, and he departed.”

In 1 Samuel 21:10-22:1 we’re told that David was running from King Saul. He went to Gath, a Philistine city, but found that there was no safe place there. In fact he barely escaped. He went to Adullam and found a cave, and was joined by others. This psalm may have been written and sung in this cave.

Probably to make it easier to learn and remember, the psalm was written as an acrostic, with each verse beginning with a different Hebrew letter, except for the letter vav, the sixth letter of the Hebrew alphabet. 

Abimelech was most likely a title given to Philistine rulers. According to 1 Samuel 21:10 this specific ruler was named Achish.

In this psalm David teaches us that we can and should praise the Lord even when we are under attack. Even is this cave, David praises the Lord with his mouth. Not only in his heart, but with his mouth, as a way to encourage others to praise the One who delivered them to this safe place.

Introduction to Psalm 35

The Psalms can be roughly divided into seven different types. There are psalms of thanksgiving, psalms of lament, psalms of enthronement, psalms of pilgrimage, royal psalms, wisdom psalms and imprecatory psalms. 

Psalm 35 is an imprecatory psalm. To imprecate is to call down calamity, destruction, and God’s anger and judgement upon someone. This is not the only psalm like this. We’ve already read some of them. The major imprecatory psalms are Psalms 5, 10, 17, 35, 58, 59, 69, 70, 79, 83, 109, 129, 137, and 140.

We need to remember what Paul wrote in Romans 12: 19Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. 

The imprecatory psalms were not written with the mindset of getting purely personal revenge. They were written by men (not all of them were written by David) who knew of God’s justice, sovereignty and protection. The Israelites had been persecuted greatly by enemies such as the Hittites, the Philistines and the Babylonians, who hated not only them, but God Himself. They were ruthless and immoral conquerers whose goal was to destroy God’s chosen people. These imprecatory psalms were written with the idea of vindication for God as well as the people.

It is not known when David wrote this psalm, but the language in verse one is much like what David said in 1 Samuel 24:15, so it is possible that he wrote it during the time King Saul was pursuing him.

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Transcript

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Psalms 33-35: Never Stop Praising (LSFAB S13E081)

[TEASER – 0:00]
Joyfully sing to the Lord, you righteous people.

[INTRO S13E081 – 0:10]
It’s the Lifespring Family Audio Bible coming to you from Riverside, California, and podcasting since 2004, I’m your OG Godcaster, Steve Webb. This is a daily podcast and you and I are reading through the entire Bible in a year. I’m so glad you’re along for the ride. The website is lifespringmedia.com. And this is Psalms Wednesday. Today, our reading will be chapters 33 through 35. I’m calling the episode “Never Stop Praising.” Today I’ll have some introductory remarks for each chapter and then let each chapter speak for itself instead of having any commentary afterwards.

And it’s December 21, so we’re down to the last four Christmas questions. I had a few questions for James, and so we’ll hear them over the next few days. Of course, you’re still welcome to send in your questions, and I’ll be happy to include them right up to the Christmas Day episode, so you can still have your name entered for the drawings. And being Wednesday, we will have a time of prayer as well.

Before we read, let’s pray.

[OPENING PRAYER – 1:09]
Our gracious heavenly Father, how we love you, and we thank you so much for your Word. We thank you that you are a God that wants us to know you. And that’s why you gave us the Bible. I pray that as we read today, you would open our hearts and our minds and I pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen.

All right, let’s begin.

[INTRO TO PSALM 33 – 1:30]
Psalm 33 is such a joyous psalm. It’s written to all that have called on the name of Jesus to be saved because it’s written to the righteous. And because of our belief in the saving power of Jesus’ shed blood, righteousness is credited to us.

This is a psalm that looks at how good it is to be joyful and praise God in all His goodness and majesty and awesomeness and justice and power. It’s like a wonderfully fresh breath of air on a crisp, clear, sunny, blue day from the top of a pristine mountain, where you can see for miles and miles and miles in all directions, all of God’s good creation.

This is a psalm of celebration and hallelujahs. Joyfully sing to the Lord, you righteous people.

[PSALM 33 (GWT) – 2:16]
Psalms, chapter 33.

(1) Joyfully sing to the Lord, you righteous people.
Praising the Lord is proper for decent people.
(2) Give thanks with a lyre to the Lord.
Make music for him on a ten-stringed harp.
(3) Sing a new song to him.
Play beautifully and joyfully on stringed instruments.

(4) The word of the Lord is correct,
and everything he does is trustworthy.
(5) The Lord loves righteousness and justice.
His mercy fills the earth.
(6) The heavens were made by the word of the Lord
and all the stars by the breath of his mouth.
(7) He gathers the water in the sea like a dam
and puts the oceans in his storehouses.
(8) Let all the earth fear the Lord.
Let all who live in the world stand in awe of him.
(9) He spoke, and it came into being.
He gave the order, and there it stood.

(10) The Lord blocks the plans of the nations.
He frustrates the schemes of the people of the world.
(11) The Lord’s plan stands firm forever.
His thoughts stand firm in every generation.
(12) Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.
Blessed are the people he has chosen as his own.

(13) The Lord looks down from heaven.
He sees all of Adam’s descendants.
(14) From the place where he sits enthroned,
he looks down upon all who live on earth.
(15) The one who formed their hearts
understands everything they do.

(16) No king achieves a victory with a large army.
No warrior rescues himself by his own great strength.
(17) Horses are not a guarantee for victory.
Their great strength cannot help someone escape.
(18) The Lord’s eyes are on those who fear him,
on those who wait with hope for his mercy
(19) to rescue their souls from death
and keep them alive during a famine.

(20) We wait for the Lord.
He is our help and our shield.
(21) In him our hearts find joy.
In his holy name we trust.
(22) Let your mercy rest on us, O Lord,
since we wait with hope for you.

[INTRO TO PSALM 34 – 4:18]
The title of Psalm 34 is “A Psalm of David when he pretended madness before Abimelech, who drove him away, and he departed.”

We’ll soon be reading in 1 Samuel, chapter 21, verse 10 through 22, verse 1 that David was running from King Saul, he went to a place called Gath, a Philistine city, but found that there was no safe place there. In fact, he barely escaped. So he went to Adullam and found a cave and was joined there by others. This psalm may have been written and sung in this cave.

Probably to make it easier to learn and remember, the Psalm was written as an acrostic, with each verse beginning with a different Hebrew letter except for the letter vav, the sixth letter of the Hebrew alphabet.

And Abimelech was most likely not a name but a title given to Philistine rulers. According to 1 Samuel 21:10, this specific ruler was named Achish.

In this psalm, David teaches us that we can and should praise the Lord even when we’re under attack. Even in this cave, David praises the Lord with his mouth, not only in his heart but with his mouth, as a way to encourage others to praise the one who delivered them to this safe place.

[PSALM 34 (NASB) – 5:31]
Psalms, chapter 34.

(1) I will bless the Lord at all times;
His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
(2) My soul will make its boast in the Lord;
The humble will hear it and rejoice.
(3) O magnify the Lord with me,
And let us exalt His name together.
(4) I sought the Lord, and He answered me,
And delivered me from all my fears.
(5) They looked to Him and were radiant,
And their faces will never be ashamed.
(6) This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him
And saved him out of all his troubles.
(7) The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him,
And rescues them.
(8) O taste and see that the Lord is good;
How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!
(9) O fear the Lord, you His saints;
For to those who fear Him there is no want.
(10) The young lions do lack and suffer hunger;
But they who seek the Lord shall not be in want of any good thing.
(11) Come, you children, listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
(12) Who is the man who desires life
And loves length of days that he may see good?
(13) Keep your tongue from evil
And your lips from speaking deceit.
(14) Depart from evil and do good;
Seek peace and pursue it.
(15) The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous
And His ears are open to their cry.
(16) The face of the Lord is against evildoers,
To cut off the memory of them from the earth.
(17) The righteous cry, and the Lord hears
And delivers them out of all their troubles.
(18) The Lord is near to the brokenhearted
And saves those who are crushed in spirit.
(19) Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
But the Lord delivers him out of them all.
(20) He keeps all his bones,
Not one of them is broken.
(21) Evil shall slay the wicked,
And those who hate the righteous will be condemned.
(22) The Lord redeems the soul of His servants,
And none of those who take refuge in Him will be condemned.

[INTRO TO PSALM 35 – 7:36]
Now for Psalm 35. The Psalms can roughly be divided into seven different types. There are psalms of thanksgiving, psalms of lament, psalms of enthronement, psalms of pilgrimage, royal psalms, wisdom psalms, and imprecatory psalms.

Psalm 35 is an imprecatory psalm. To imprecate is to call down calamity, destruction, and God’s anger and judgment upon someone. And this is not the only Psalm like this, we’ve already read some of them. The major imprecatory psalms are Psalms 5, 10, 17, this one, 35, and then 58, 59, 69, 70, 79, 83, 109, 129, 137, and 140. Yeah, there’s several.

Now it’s important to remember what Paul wrote in Romans 12:19, “Never take your own revenge, Beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord.”

With this in mind, the imprecatory Psalms were not written with a mindset of getting purely personal revenge. They were written by men – by the way, not all of the Psalms were written by David. They were written by men who knew of God’s justice, sovereignty and protection. The Israelites had been persecuted greatly by enemies such as the Hittites, the Philistines, and the Babylonians who hated not only them but God Himself. They were ruthless and immoral conquerors whose goal was to destroy God’s chosen people. And these imprecatory Psalms were written with the idea of vindication for God, as well as the people.

Now it’s not known when David wrote this psalm. But the language in verse 1 is much like what David said in 1 Samuel 24:15. So it is possible that he wrote it during the time King Saul was pursuing him. Let’s see what it says.

[PSALM 35 (NLV) – 9:31]
Psalm, chapter 35.

(1) O Lord, stand against those who stand against me. Fight those who fight me. (2) Take hold of a safe-covering and rise up to help me. (3) Take a spear and battle-ax against those who come to get me. Say to my soul, “I am the One Who saves you.” (4) Let the people be ashamed and without honor who want to take my life. Let those be turned away and brought to shame who plan to hurt me. (5) Let them be like straw in the wind. May the angel of the Lord drive them away. (6) Let their way be dark and dangerous, with the angel of the Lord going to get them. (7) For without a reason they hid their net for me. Without a reason, they dug a hole for my soul. (8) Let them be destroyed before they know it. And let them be caught in their own net. May they destroy themselves as they fall into their own hole.

(9) My soul will be happy in the Lord. It will be full of joy because He saves. (10) All my bones will say, “Lord, who is like You? Who saves the weak from those too strong for them? Who saves the poor from those who would rob them?” (11) People come telling lies. They ask me of things that I do not know. (12) They pay me what is bad in return for what is good. My soul is sad. (13) But when they are sick, I put on clothes made from hair. With no pride in my soul, I would not eat. And I prayed with my head on my chest. (14) I went about as if it were my friend or brother. I put my head down in sorrow, like one crying for his mother. (15) But when I would fall, they would gather together in joy. Those who say things to hurt people would gather against me. I did not know them. They spoke against me without stopping. (16) They ground their teeth at me like bad people making fun of others at a special supper.

(17) Lord, how long will You look on? Save me from being destroyed by them. Save my life from the lions. (18) I will give You thanks in the big meeting. I will praise You among many people. (19) Do not let those who hate me for no reason stand over me with joy. Do not let those who hate me for no reason wink their eye. (20) They do not speak peace. But they make up lies against those who are quiet in the land. (21) And they opened their mouth wide against me. They said, “O, O, our eyes have seen it.”

(22) You have seen it, O Lord. Do not keep quiet. O Lord, do not be far from me. (23) Awake Yourself. Come and help me. Fight for me, my God and my Lord. (24) Say what is right or wrong with me, O Lord my God, because You are right and good. Do not let them have joy over me. (25) Do not let them say in their heart, “O, just what we wanted!” Do not let them say, “We have swallowed him up!” (26) Let all who are happy because of my trouble be ashamed and without honor. Let those who think they are better than I, be covered with shame and without honor.

(27) Let them call out for joy and be glad, who want to see the right thing done for me. Let them always say, “May the Lord be honored. He is pleased when all is going well for His servant.” (28) And my tongue will tell about how right and good You are, and about Your praise all day long.

[COMMENTARY – 12:56]
Beloved, even in my darkest hours – and let’s face it, we all have them – even in the midst of deep sadness, even then, I was able to praise God. I didn’t always feel like praising him, but he was always worthy of praise. And when I was silent toward him, he understood. He patiently waited until I was ready to speak to him again. And when I did, he heard me and he welcomed me back with open arms like the father of the prodigal son who ran to meet his son when he saw that son still afar off. Yes, God is worthy of praise at all times.

[LIFESPRING FAMILY HOTLINE – 13:31]
You have comments? Call the Lifespring Family Hotline at +1-951-732-8511 or go to comment.lifespringmedia.com. Of course, my email is always open to you at st***@*************ia.com. I do read every comment and there’s a good chance I’ll play your audio comment or read your comment on the show.

Tomorrow is Poetry Thursday and our reading will be Job chapters 23 and 24.

[SUPPORTER SHOUT-OUTS – 14:05]
Our Associate Producer today is Timothy LaFontaine who came in with his monthly $20 donation. Thank you, Tim. God bless you.

[ANNOUNCER – 14:14]
Boost. Boostagram.

[SUPPORT THE SHOW – 14:15]
I got a boostagram today from thunderkunder. He sent 1000 sats from the Fountain app while listening to the “Genesis 44-47: Which Way?” episode and he said, “Love the show. It’s my first season and the way the reading is broken up is a great way to go through the Bible. I also like how you use and talk about different translations to give a variety of ways of thinking about the text.”

Well, thank you thunderkunder, for the boostagram. It is good to hear from you again and I’m happy to have you in the Lifespring family. God bless you.

Now, Beloved, if you can’t help out with time or talent but you want to give a Christmas gift or help the Lovely Lady LeeAnn and I celebrate our 33rd anniversary on December 31 I would be most grateful. How do you do that? Well start here:

[JINGLE SINGERS – 15:01]
lifespringmedia.com/support.

[SUPPORT THE SHOW (CONT’D) – 15:04]
I’ll thank you. LeeAnn will thank you, and I believe God will bless you.

[CHRISTMAS QUESTION – 15:10]
Christmas question number 21. In case you didn’t know, or you couldn’t tell, I love music. I think music is one of God’s greatest gifts. Think about it. God didn’t have to give us music, but as the Creator, he is the epitome of creativity. We know from Scripture that there’s music in heaven. And since we’re made in His image, he gave us the ability to enjoy and create music. Well, I don’t have the talent to create it, but I sure do enjoy it. And that got me to thinking. I wondered what was the top-selling Christmas song of all time. So I asked the Christmas expert, my friend, James Cooper, of whychristmas.com.

[JAMES COOPER ANSWERS – 15:51]
Those are some good questions, Steve. And right, let’s get to them. First, what is the top-selling Christmas song of all time? Well, that would be “White Christmas” recorded by Bing Crosby in 1942. And it’s not only the best-selling Christmas song but also the best-selling single of all time, with over 50 million sales worldwide. The song originally came from the musical “Holiday Inn” from 1942. Although there was also a later musical called “White Christmas” from 1954 which also starred Bing Crosby. And in the USA Bing also has the number two Christmas song with his version of “Silent Night” which he first recorded in 1935.

[CHRISTMAS QUESTION (CONT’D) – 16:32]
LeeAnn and I make it a point to watch “White Christmas” every year. It’s one of our favorite Christmas movies. It’s a bit corny and all but it’s a fun movie, nonetheless. It was released in 1954, the year I was born. In addition to Bing Crosby, there’s Danny Kaye, a very young Rosemary Clooney, Vera-Ellen, and Dean Jagger in the leading roles and if you’ve never seen it, I recommend watching it at least once. There’s some great music by Irving Berlin and magical dancing with Danny Kaye and Vera-Ellen. In my opinion, it’s a masterpiece.

Thank you, James, for answering my question. And there’s still time to send in your Christmas questions and be included in the drawings we’ll have on Christmas Day. I’ll give away two pairs of tickets to the movie “Jesus Revolution,” and a signed copy of my book “Webb’s Easy Bible Names Pronunciation Guide.” Send your questions to st***@*************ia.com and put “Christmas question,” – where? Yeah, in the subject line.

[PRAYER REQUESTS AND PRAISE REPORTS – 17:34]
Prayer requests and praises. Praise the Lord, Kathi was well enough on Monday to make the trip to City of Hope. That’s a praise because she was too sick last time she was supposed to go. They don’t have any results on the blood work that was done this past Monday. Those won’t be in until January.

And it turns out that Cassie will not be having surgery in Arizona on Christmas Eve. It was going to cost $115,000 and was not going to be covered by insurance. So instead, they’re working on getting scheduled for CyberKnife surgery in nearby Orange County. I looked it up and it sounds like a really great procedure with less recovery time and a lower cost.

And lastly, I hate to think about this. But chances are there are some in the Lifespring family who are going to be missing loved ones this Christmas for one reason or another. Christmas can be hard for some people. I think of Lifespring family member Kevin and his family. Kevin’s brother passed away just two weeks ago. So this is going to be an especially hard Christmas for them. But I’m pretty sure there are other similar situations in the Lifespring family. So let’s pray for them too.

Our heavenly Father we do praise you, Lord, because you are worthy. No matter the circumstances of our life. You are the same God. We live in a fallen world with all the side effects that come with it. But you are faithful and you are with us. We thank you for that assurance, Father.

We thank You that Kathi was up to going to City of Hope this week and we pray for good results when the tests come back. Continue, Lord, to strengthen her I pray in Jesus’ name.

And we pray that you would lead Cassie and Bryan as they look for help with the pain she’s feeling in her face and her jaw. Give them wisdom, Lord, and lead them to the right people and the right treatment. Bryan told me today that she’s been getting some relief from an herbal medication. And we’re praising you for that. Our Father, we asked for healing that she might not even need surgical intervention. Maybe this herbal remedy could make that possible. But however you choose to give Cassie relief, we will praise you.

And Lord, we pray now for those in the Lifespring family who are not looking forward to Christmas because of loved ones who will not be there or for some other reason. We pray that you would bring comfort to the Lord. I pray that you would fill their hearts and minds with you Lord. Jesus said, “Never will I leave you. Never will I forsake you.” May they feel his presence now and on Christmas Day.

And for every Lifespring member, I thank you, Lord. Bless each one in your mighty and loving way. I pray this in Jesus’ name, amen.

Our next time of prayer will be on Christmas Day, and if you have a prayer request or a praise, go to prayer.lifespringmedia.com.

[SUPPORT THE SHOW – 20:34]
I want to give thanks to the team: Kirsty, who does a fantastic job with the newsletters, Denise, who corrects the transcripts, Michael Haner, who does the chapters he’s doing a bang-up job, and newest team member Scott Snider, who helps out with the episode art. And by the way, we can always use more artists for the episode art, so if you have some skills in that area, let me know at st***@*************ia.com.

[OUTRO S13E081 – 21:03]
In some circles, David Phelps is known as The Voice. He was with the Gaither Vocal Band for more than 15 years and then became a solo artist with numerous Dove Award nominations. I interviewed David on the Lifespring podcast in December of 2008 when his album “Oh Holy Night” was released, and he gave his permission for me to play the track I’m going to close the show with today. And if it doesn’t make you want to praise the Lord you just better check your pulse. It’s called “Hallelujah.”

Until tomorrow, may God bless you richly. Thank you for making me a part of your day. My name is Steve Webb. See you tomorrow. Bye.

[DAVID PHELPS SINGS “HALLELUJAH” – 22:02]
Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah

He is the promised Holy One
(Hallelu, Hallelujah)
Emmanuel, God’s only Son
(Halle, Hallelujah)
The everlasting Great I Am
(Hallelu, Hallelujah)
As a tiny little baby born in Bethlehem
Halle-Halle-Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah

What did the angels say that night?
(Hallelu, Hallelujah)
As they filled the sky with Heavenly light
(Halle, Hallelujah)
The shepherds shook when they heard them sing
(Hallelu, Hallelujah)
No need to fear good news we bring
Halle-Halle-Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah

For the Lord God omnipotent shall reigneth forever and ever
(He shall reign forever and ever)
For the Lord God omnipotent shall reigneth forever and ever
(He shall reign forever and ever)

For the Lord God omnipotent shall reigneth forever and ever
(He shall reign forever and ever)
For the Lord God omnipotent shall reigneth forever and ever
(He shall reign forever and ever)

Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah

King of Kings,
Hallelujah
Lord of Lords,
Hallelujah
King of Kings, Lord of Lords
Hallelujah!

Transcribed by https://otter.ai

Transcript corrected by Denise