Timeless Biblical Truth.
Believers praise the majesty of God for acts of judgment and warn the wicked of their impending condemnation.
- Believers know God’s greatness and that He defends His dwelling place (1-3).
- Believers know God’s greatness (1).
- Believers know His dwelling place is in Zion (2).
- Believers know that He defends His dwelling place (3).
- Believers praise and honor God because His judgment [condemning the wicked and vindicating His people] is inescapable (4-9).
- Believers praise the majesty of God because He destroys His enemies with a powerful word of rebuke (4-6).
- Believers praise God when He overcomes the wicked to deliver the righteous (7-9).
- Believers will honor God because He dominates all earthly powers (10-12). “The first question ever asked by an Inquisitor of a ‘heretic’ was whether he knew any part of the Bible in his own tongue. It was asked in 1233 of a man who belonged to a dissident religious sect known as the Waldensians, which emphasized Bible study and lay preaching; and it would be asked again of thousands of others before the course of history would render its dark implications null and void.’ Benson Bobrick: Wide as the Waters: The Story of the English Bible and the Revolution It Inspired, p. 11.
Questions for Second Milers
- How is the honor of God’s name tied to His victory over enemies?
- What images does the psalmist use to show God’s majestic character and actions?
- What is the twofold effect of God’s judgment?
- How will believers respond when they see the wicked judged? Why?
- To what extent do you include God’s justice and holiness in your witness?
- What vows have you made to God? Have you kept them?
- Make your own short title for this psalm.
“I can well understand an old divine saying, ‘Give me a candle and a Bible, and shut me up in a dark dungeon, and I will tell you all that the whole world is doing.’” J. C. Ryle: Practical Religion, p. 105.
“There is no aspect of human experience that is not presented within the pages of biblical literature. It is worthy of note, too, that biblical literature shows a tendency to portray what is elemental and enduring in human experience—God, nature, love, social relationships, death, evil, guilt, salvation, family life, judgment, and forgiveness.” Leland Ryken: The Literature of the Bible, p. 15.
“As a French socialist who had no faith in Scripture has said, ‘It is a strange thing that we cannot think on any subject but in a few minutes we come to theology.’” Adolph Saphir: The Divine Unity of Scripture, p. 210.
Lanny Tanton is the Pastor at The Bible Church of the Lakes in Horseshoe Bay, Texas – just outside of Marble Falls. Pastor Tanton welcomes you to our website and hopes that you’ll enjoy reading these insightful blog posts. Please contact us if you have further questions!!
