The Order of Psalms 11 and 12

I received the following question:

We are currently running through your Psalm series and are wondering about Psalm 12.  It makes complete sense that it is referring to the dispensation of grace; however, we are unsure about why it is in the spot where it is.  Back in Psalm 11 we were reading about the tribulation and many of the Psalms are talking on this issue (and David’s flight from Absalom). 

There is a break between Psalms 8 and 9, so I’ll just go from 9. Psalm 9 is talking about the beginning of the kingdom. Psalm 10 describes the condition of the wicked in our day, and the beginning of the kingdom that interrupts them in their wickedness. Psalm 11 again describes the wicked in our day, and the kingdom of God coming in to disrupt them. Psalm 12 again speaks of wicked men in our day, and calls upon the Lord to bring in the kingdom and put a stop to it. Psalm 13 may be David speaking in his own day, but it looks forward definitely to the dispensation of grace, when the LORD has hidden his face, and our cry is for Him to step out into the open again in the kingdom. Again Psalm 14 speaks of the actions of the wicked, and the need for the kingdom to bring a stop to them. And Psalm 15 speaks of God’s holy government, and the character of men who will live in it, in sharp contrast to those wicked men of our day.

Psalms 1-8 are a group, as are Psalms 9-15. There really isn’t much about the tribulation in these later Psalms. That is covered in depth in Psalms 1-8.

Psalm 41

A Psalm of David.

This is another psalm by Israel’s great shepherd-king, David. This psalm was again written when David was suffering from the illness brought about by his great sin. As we saw in previous psalms, David’s enemies were using the occasion of his illness to rise up against him and to conspire to destroy him and his government. Thus, in this psalm David again prays to the LORD about these who unfairly and distressingly were risen against him when he was ill and unable to respond to them.

1.  Blessed is he who considers the poor;

David does not mean that he is poor, as if he had lost all his earthly possessions, but rather that he is weak and helpless. Before speaking of those who had cruelly risen against him, he first speaks blessing upon those who in his illness had looked with pity and compassion upon his plight. In times when some betray us, it would be good if we too kept foremost in our minds those who have not done so, but who have stood by us in our troubles.

Psalm 40

A Psalm of David.

This is a great psalm of the man David. He recounts various events of his history, from his exaltation and coronation to kingship, to his sin and subsequent punishment, to his future exaltation and place in God’s plan for His future kingdom.

1.  I waited patiently for the LORD;

As anyone who reads the book of Samuel will know, David waited patiently for the LORD regarding his coming kingship. The LORD had made David certain promises regarding the authority that He would give him and the plans He had to make him king. Yet David never sought to force the LORD’s hand or to rush those promises along. He did not move when he had the opportunity to hurry that promise into fulfillment. He planned no revolt, and fostered no takeover, coup, or rebellion when he was a trusted officer in King Saul’s army. He did not try to stir the people up, or move them to his side in the matter. Even when Saul drove him away and pursued after him to kill him, he refused to take Saul’s life even when the LORD gave it into his hands. He would not step in to try to hurry the LORD’s work using his own means or human cleverness. Instead, he waited patiently upon the LORD, and He brought about His promise in the right time and the right way. Thus David, in looking back at his coronation to kingship, had nothing to regret or of which he should be ashamed. What a testimony to David this is!

Psalm 39

A Psalm of David.

This is again a psalm of David, Israel’s great shepherd-king. Again, it is written during a time when David was stricken by God with illness, as we have seen in the previous psalms.
 
1.  I said, “I will guard my ways,

This word “guard,” according to the Companion Bible, can also mean “observe” or “keep.” David was going to keep a close watch over his own ways. He was going to observe closely what he was doing. Many in our day could use to keep such a watch over their ways, particularly with the consideration that God knows all that they are doing. Alas, far too few give such thoughts any consideration!

Lest I sin with my tongue;

David is particularly going to guard his ways so that he will not sin with his tongue. It is all too easy to sin in the things we say. Words can slip out, sometimes without our meaning them to, and we cannot take them back. In the things we say and the attitudes we express with our words, we can certainly sin. The same thing is assured;y true of the things we write, even over e-mail or the Internet. How damaging and sinful words can truly be!

Psalm 38

A Psalm of David.  To bring to remembrance. 

This is another psalm by David, Israel’s great shepherd-king, and the one God chose to sit as Prince on the throne of Israel on earth during the coming kingdom of God. This psalm is actually a prayer. David asks the LORD for deliverance, both from his enemies, and from a disease which is upon him. This psalm is said to be to “bring to remembrance.” This could express David’s desire that the LORD remember him now in his trouble and work to deliver him. Or perhaps this title was given to the psalm after David had been delivered, and he dedicated it to the chief Musician so that all who heard it could remember how David had been delivered by the LORD from all the troubles that had come upon him.

1. O LORD, do not rebuke me in Your wrath,

It seems that these troubles had come upon David because of his sin, and he here begs the LORD not to further rebuke him because of His wrath against him. Perhaps this psalm is written regarding David’s punishment for his sin with Bathsheba and his causing the death of her husband Uriah.

Psalm 37 Continued

21. The wicked borrows and does not repay,

Wicked people borrow out of selfishness, and have no intention of returning what they took. Of course, this is no different than stealing, except that what is taken is not taken by violence or stealth at the beginning. Yet such a thing will not take place when God governs the earth.

But the righteous shows mercy and gives.

The righteous do not think of selfishly taking from others. Instead, they display a mind of mercy and giving. This is how it will be when God’s kingdom comes, as Christ commanded in Matthew 5:42, “Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away.” This would be foolishness in our day, but when God’s government is upon earth, none would think of asking selfishly, or without intention to return. Yet even in our day it is better to give than to receive, as our Lord said.

Psalm 37

A Psalm of David.

This is yet another psalm by the great Psalmist, the shepherd-king of Israel, David. This psalm is written to encourage the righteous to patiently continue in well doing, in spite of the fact that the wicked seem to temporarily succeed.

This is another acrostic psalm, where successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet begin various lines of the psalm in alphabetical order. Of course, the English translation hides this fact. In this psalm, each verse does not start with the next letter, but four lines each start with the first Hebrew letter, four lines with the second, and so on. There are three exceptions to this, where only three lines (a triplet) start with a letter. These exceptions are the fourth letter (verse 7,) the eleventh letter (verse 20,) and the nineteenth letter (verse 34.) Bullinger in the Companion Bible suggests that this is because these contain the seventh line, the middle line (ending the first half,) and the seventh-to-the-last line of the Psalm. This may have little to do with the message of the Psalm, but it does help us learn about the poetic form the Psalm was written in.

Psalm 36

A Psalm of David the servant of the LORD.

This is again a psalm by David, the great King of Israel, and servant of the LORD, Who had set him upon the throne. Yet Bullinger suggests in the Companion Bible that this should read, “Relating to Jehovah’s Servant, by David.” Thus, this psalm is not simply by David God’s servant, but rather is by David about God’s greatest Servant, the Lord Jesus Christ. Indeed, many of these psalms, though they may be written around certain occasions in David’s life, nevertheless point ahead to David’s great Son and Lord, our Savior Jesus Christ.

1. An oracle within my heart concerning the transgression of the wicked:

In David’s heart there speaks an oracle regarding the transgression of the wicked. Yet this oracle is not simply David’s own thoughts concerning these people, but rather is an oracle placed there by God. He knows the kind of people these wicked are, for God has shown it to him.

Psalm 35 Continued

13. But as for me, when they were sick,

David speaks of his actions when these men who oppressed him now had faced times of trouble of their own in the past. His response had been to mourn for these men. Again, though we cannot be certain, this certainly sounds like David’s enemies here are those who had been close to him in the past. If this was not Saul and his followers, it seems likely that this speaks of men like Ahithophel, who had been David’s friend and counselor, but who turned against David in Absalom’s rebellion.

My clothing was sackcloth;

David speaks of how he had sorrowed when these men were sick in the past, for sackcloth was the great outward symbol of mourning in their culture. These were men David had cared about, who now fought against him. Perhaps they were members of his own court who had now turned upon him.

Psalm 35

A Psalm of David.

This is another psalm by David, Israel’s great king. We need to remember in dealing with this psalm that David was a king. His was the rule over Israel under God, and the government of Israel all turned around him as the pivotal point. In many ways, Israel’s struggles were his struggles in a very personal way. He could take any war against Israel as a personal war against himself, and he would not be entirely wrong in doing so. But any who fought against him, we cannot forget, were also fighting against God, Who had anointed him and set him upon the throne. Let us keep this in mind as we study what he writes in this psalm.

1. Plead my cause, O LORD, with those who strive with me;

David begins this psalm crying out to the LORD in another time of trouble. This time, he cries to the LORD at a time when men are striving with Him. He seeks the LORD’s aid in pleading his cause before them.