Ministration

Understanding God Through The Psalms

One pertinent question is whether anyone can fully understand God at all for His ways are not our ways neither are His thoughts, our thoughts, Isaiah 55:8. The reason is that He is a complex being. You cannot read Him as you can read men. The great Pastor, Missionary and intellectual, Paul the Apostle makes it clear:

O the depth of His riches both

of the wisdom and knowledge of

God! How unsearchable are His

judgments, and His ways past

finding out, Rom. 11:33

Elihu agrees, saying:

Touching the Almighty, we cannot

find Him out: He is excellent in power,

and in judgment and in plenty of

justice: He will not afflict, Job 37:33

God would not afflict but if He wants to, if you offend him, 2Sam. 12:7-14, or He wants to try your faith, to prove your loyalty, Job 1:8-12. He might do so. Yet God is neither wicked nor unmerciful Ex. 34:6. Rather he delights in showing mercy sometimes to those who, in human terms, do not deserve it, Isaiah 45:1-4

Which is why no one can claim to fully understand this God, Jer 9:23 and 24, although He wants us to know Him.

And one way of increasing our knowledge and understanding of Him is through the Psalms. Most of them were written by David the songwriter, the sweet psalmist of Israel, 2 Sam 23:1. In Psalm 8 David teaches humility in a way that men of power and influence should learn a thing or two:

What is man that thou at

mindful of him? And the son

of man that thou visited him?

For thou hast made him

a little lower than the angels

and hast crowned him with glory

and honour

thou madest him to have dominion

over the works of

thy hands: thou has put

all things under his feet, Ps. 8:3-6

David is familiar with Genesis or He is inspired directly from heaven while writing this Psalm. Or how else could he raise the issue of Adam’s initial dominion over God’s creation on earth? He was made a little lower than the angels although at the end of time the redeemed man would judge the angels, a development that David did not forsee, I Cor. 6:3,

Psalm 139 celebrates the power of the Almighty especially in relation to his created being. No human can hide from him because He knows it all.

Wither shall I go from thy spirit?

Or wither shall I flee from thy presence?

If I ascend into heaven, thou at there.

If I make my bed in hell behold thou art there.

If I take wings of the morning and dwell in the

uttermost parts of the sea.

Even there shall thy hand lead me,

and thy right hand shall hold me. Ps. 139:7-10

In Psalm 138, verse 2 he says of God

“… thou has magnified thy word above thy name”

and in vs 6, he says

Though the Lord be high yet hath he respect unto the

lowly but the proud he knoweth afar off,

an echo of Proverbs 3:34, James 4:6.

Still on David the leading psalmist but, this time, the writer is Maschil of Ethan that God used to confirm His love for, and commitment to King David in Ps. 89.

I have found David my servant,

with my Holy oil have I anointed him; 

With whom my hand shall be established

mine arm also shall strengthen him..., vs 20-27

That is God, faithful, committed to His covenant unwaveringly. If David or any of his successors failed him He would apply his rod as He did to David (2Sam 12:7-12). Yet He would not break His covenant especially to an otherwise loyal and repentant David (Ps. 105 vs 15; Ps 51) because His Word is His bond, Isaiah 5:11. Although the monarchy is no longer in place in Israel, spiritually David is still King, Rev. 22:16. God fulfils His promises, come rain or shine, Num 23:19.

Although David wrote most of the Psalms there were other composers who eulogise God and His limitless power. Moses the Lawgiver sings of the everlastingness of God compared to the brevity of human life, Ps. 90:1-6

Certainly the Psalms deepen our understanding of God as creator, His Almightiness (Ps. 147:5&6), His tender mercies (Ps 23), His readiness to forgive the repenting sinner (Psalm 130) His matchless wisdom (Ps. 104:24) and many more.   is HiHis HHis Hi