Psalm 18

Ben Swapp

Psalm 18 • Sermon • Submitted 6 years ago

Psalm 18:27

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(ESV)

We have been going through and last time we meet we dug into the Metaphorical picture of Gods awesome power in verses 6-19. Then we shifted into verses 20-26, and how at first glance it looked as though David was claiming that his own righteousness was what saved him, but we discovered that this was not the case and that David was not claiming this but attributes his goodness or his good works to the LORD. Verse 32, “The God who equipped me with strength and made my way blameless.” Today, God willing we will dig into verses 27 or more specifically “a humble people” and what that means. As I was digging into this, it ended up not being as much about David and and more about being Humble.

27 For you save a humble people,

but the haughty eyes you bring down.

28 For it is you who light my lamp;

the Lord my God lightens my darkness.

29 For by you I can run against a troop,

and by my God I can leap over a wall.

30 This God—his way is perfect;

the word of the Lord proves true;

he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.

lets pray

The word Humble

Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains: Hebrew (Old Testament) 6714 עָנִי

6714 עָנִי (ʿā·nî): adj.; ≡ Str 6041; TWOT 1652d—1. LN 87.58–87.75 afflicted, oppressed, poor, i.e., pertaining to being a lowly, needy state, as a class of persons of low status in a society, usually of persons in fiscal poverty, implying a lack of resource (Ex 22:24), note: for NIV text in Eze 18:17, see 6404; 2. LN 88.51–88.58 humble, gentle, i.e., pertaining to being unpretentious and straightforward, suggesting a lack of arrogance, hubris, or pride (Pr 3:34 K; Zec 9:9), note: for NIV text in Eze 18:17, see 6404

Lets look at some passages to get some context of the word humble

(ESV)

28 You save a humble people,

For you save a humble people, but the haughty eyes you bring down. For it is you who light my lamp; the LORD my God lightens my darkness. For by you I can run against a troop, and by my God I can leap over a wall. This God—His way is perfect; the word of the LORD proves true; he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.

but your eyes are on the haughty to bring them down.

(ESV)

34 Toward the scorners he is scornful,

but to the humble he gives favor.

For a person, to be a scorner or a scoffer is not being humble.

Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary Scorn, Scornful

SCORN, SCORNFUL Dislike that turns to contempt and derision. “Scorn” often appears in some Bible translations where “scoff” appears in others. Scorn is often expressed by laughter (2 Kings 19:21; 2 Chron. 30:10). In deep trouble psalmists often felt themselves scorned (Pss. 22:6; 31:11; 39:8; 44:13; 80:6; 89:41; 119:22; 123:4). God scorns the wicked (Prov. 3:34), who, in turn, scorn Him (2 Sam. 12:14). When His people refuse to be faithful, God can scorn them and their worship, expressed in destruction (Lam. 2:7). See Scoffer.

Turn to and we will talk about King Hezekiah

Turn to

(ESV)

8 Do not now be stiff-necked as your fathers were, but yield yourselves to the Lord and come to his sanctuary, which he has consecrated forever, and serve the Lord your God, that his fierce anger may turn away from you. 9 For if you return to the Lord, your brothers and your children will find compassion with their captors and return to this land. For the Lord your God is gracious and merciful and will not turn away his face from you, if you return to him.”

10 So the couriers went from city to city through the country of Ephraim and Manasseh, and as far as Zebulun, but they laughed them to scorn and mocked them. 11 However, some men of Asher, of Manasseh, and of Zebulun humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem. 12 The hand of God was also on Judah to give them one heart to do what the king and the princes commanded by the word of the Lord.

13 And many people came together in Jerusalem to keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread in the second month, a very great assembly.

This was in the time of King Hezekiah

The Bible says in that Hezekiah did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, according to all that David his father had done.

He did not follow after his father Ahaz who was wicked in the eyes of the LORD.

Wicked even to the point of burning his sons as offerings in the valley of the Son of Hinnom.

Lets think about this for a moment… how this pertains to America today. Abortion, the offering of our sons and daughters to the false god of self. Lifting yourself above the plan of Yahweh by murdering your own babies to appease that self gratification of sex with no consequences.

I don’t believe that you can be a Jesus loving Christian and support Abortion. Abortion is murder and it is idolatry. There are many people in this country that claim Christianity on one hand and support murder on the other. If you are that person, repent and turn to the LORD and he will forgive you. Its not to late.

Hezekiah wanted to follow the LORD, and part of the following of the LORD was that he wanted to reinstitute the celebration of the passover. The passover was a direct commandment from the LORD.

Hezekiah wanted to celebrate the passover. Hezekiah was one of Kings Davids descendants. He was the King of Judah and He ruled for 29 years. Hezekiah was the son of Ahaz. Ahaz was a wicked king that did not follow the LORD.

In part of the following of the LORD Hezekiah wanted to reinstitute the celebration of the passover. The passover was a direct commandment from the LORD.

(ESV)

14 “This day shall be for you a memorial day, and you shall keep it as a feast to the Lord; throughout your generations, as a statute forever, you shall keep it as a feast.

(ESV)

25 And when you come to the land that the Lord will give you, as he has promised, you shall keep this service. 26 And when your children say to you, ‘What do you mean by this service?’ 27 you shall say, ‘It is the sacrifice of the Lord’s Passover, for he passed over the houses of the people of Israel in Egypt, when he struck the Egyptians but spared our houses.’ ” And the people bowed their heads and worshiped.

When Hezekiah sent out couriers throughout the kingdom of Judah to remember the passover some laughed at them in scorn, but some humbled themselves.

So I think that in most cases we can say that to be humble is to be the opposite of scornful.

I say most cases because we know that the LORD will be scornful towards sinners.

(ESV)

34 Toward the scorners he is scornful,

Also I think if you get looking into it you may find that some of the Prophets of old may have been scorners towards the false priests of the false gods.

take for instance Elijah when he goes up against the prophets of Baal.

(ESV)

24 And you call upon the name of your god, and I will call upon the name of the Lord, and the God who answers by fire, he is God.” And all the people answered, “It is well spoken.” 25 Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose for yourselves one bull and prepare it first, for you are many, and call upon the name of your god, but put no fire to it.” 26 And they took the bull that was given them, and they prepared it and called upon the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying, “O Baal, answer us!” But there was no voice, and no one answered. And they limped around the altar that they had made. 27 And at noon Elijah mocked them, saying, “Cry aloud, for he is a god. Either he is musing, or he is relieving himself, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened.” 28 And they cried aloud and cut themselves after their custom with swords and lances, until the blood gushed out upon them. 29 And as midday passed, they raved on until the time of the offering of the oblation, but there was no voice. No one answered; no one paid attention.

24 Then you call on the name of your god and I will call on the name of the Lord; the god who answers by fire is indeed God.” All the people answered, “Well spoken!” 25 Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose for yourselves one bull and prepare it first, for you are many; then call on the name of your god, but put no fire to it.” 26 So they took the bull that was given them, prepared it, and called on the name of Baal from morning until noon, crying, “O Baal, answer us!” But there was no voice, and no answer. They limped about the altar that they had made. 27 At noon Elijah mocked them, saying, “Cry aloud! Surely he is a god; either he is meditating, or he has wandered away, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened.” 28 Then they cried aloud and, as was their custom, they cut themselves with swords and lances until the blood gushed out over them. 29 As midday passed, they raved on until the time of the offering of the oblation, but there was no voice, no answer, and no response.

Moving on

Isaiah 66:2 (ESV)

2 All these things my hand has made,

and so all these things came to be,

declares the Lord.

But this is the one to whom I will look:

he who is humble and contrite in spirit

and trembles at my word.

So what is contrite in spirit? this is part of being humble but what is it?

Old Testament VII: Psalms 1–50 A Contrite Heart

A CONTRITE HEART. BASIL THE GREAT: He who has despised present things, and has given himself to the word of God and is using his mind for thoughts that are above and are more divine, he would be the one who has a contrite heart and has made it a sacrifice that is not despised by the Lord. For “a contrite and humbled heart, O God, you will not despise.” … He who has no vanity and is not proud of anything human, he is the one who is contrite in heart and humble of spirit. HOMILIES ON THE PSALMS 16.12 (Ps 34).

The Abridged Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew-English Lexicon of the Old Testament I. דַּכָּא

I. דַּכָּא contrite (crushed) — contrite.

II. דַּכָּא n.[m.] dust (as pulverized).

Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary (Eleventh Edition) Contrite

con•trite \ˈkän-ˌtrīt, kən-ˈ\ adjective

[Middle English contrit, from Anglo-French, from Medieval Latin contritus, from Latin, past participle of conterere to grind, bruise, from com- + terere to rub—more at THROW] 14th century: feeling or showing sorrow and remorse for a sin or shortcoming 〈a contrite criminal〉〈a contrite apology〉〈contrite sighs〉—con•trite•ly adverb—con•trite•ness noun

Contrite in spirit would be the criminal that is crushed in their spirit for the sin that they have commited. Think of David when Nathan the prophet came to him and called him out. David was crushed for the sins that he commited against the LORD. That of Bathsheba and Uriah. Adultery and murder.

The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church Contrition

contrition (Lat. contritio, ‘a wearing away of something hard’). Contrition is a form of interior repentance, defined by the Council of *Trent as ‘sorrow of heart and detestation of sin committed, with the purpose of not sinning in future’ (sess. 14, cap. 4). Moral theologians commonly hold that to be real it must have its grounds in the love of God, and hence distinguish it from *attrition (q.v.), an imperfect form of sorrow for sin, inspired by such lower motives as the fear of punishment. The classic utterance of the contrite heart in the OT is the *Miserere (Ps. 51). In the Gospels the need for contrition is taught esp. in the Parables of the Prodigal Son (Lk. 15:11–32) and of the Pharisee and the Publican (Lk. 18:9–14).

But who better to tell us about the Contrite spirit than Isaiah.

Remember when Isaiah sees the LORD, how he acts.

(ESV)

Isaiah’s Vision of the Lord

6 In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one called to another and said:

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;

the whole earth is full of his glory!”

4 And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. 5 And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”

O yes, Isaiah knew he was not a clean man. He knew he was a sinful man. And it broke him to see the LORD. He became a man with a contrite spirit in an instant. The weight of sin upon his shoulders.

So we know that to be Humble is to have a Contrite spirit.

We will know focus some time looking at the greatest enemy of Humble, I am talking about pride. to do so we will look at a little book “Zephaniah”. This is right between Habakkuk and Haggai. Zephaniah’s prophecy's took place during the time of Josiah around 640-609 B.C.

The ESV study bible tells us, “The theme of Zephaniah, one preached more consistently by him than by any other prophet, is the “day of the LORD” (1:17, etc.). This approaching day shows two faces: one of judgment against those who sin against God, and one of blessing for those who follow him. God will show himself just in both punishment and praise.”

Look at what God says

(ESV)

The Conversion of the Nations

12 But I will leave in your midst

9 “For at that time I will change the speech of the peoples

a people humble and lowly.

to a pure speech,

They shall seek refuge in the name of the Lord,

that all of them may call upon the name of the Lord

and serve him with one accord.

(ESV)

10 From beyond the rivers of Cush

my worshipers, the daughter of my dispersed ones,

shall bring my offering.

11 “On that day you shall not be put to shame

because of the deeds by which you have rebelled against me;

for then I will remove from your midst

your proudly exultant ones,

and you shall no longer be haughty

in my holy mountain.

12 But I will leave in your midst

a people humble and lowly.

They shall seek refuge in the name of the Lord,

13 those who are left in Israel;

they shall do no injustice

and speak no lies,

nor shall there be found in their mouth

a deceitful tongue.

For they shall graze and lie down,

and none shall make them afraid.”

God says that he will remove the proud exultant ones.

of course we know that pride is the opposite of Humble.

God hates pride! look at this list that I found in Collins Thesaurus of of the Bible.

To Be Puffed Up as To Be Proud — To be proud is conceptualized as being puffed up.

Collins Thesaurus of the Bible E1 God Opposes the Proud

▼ E1 God opposes the proud

The proud, God knows from afar (Ps. 138:6); I hate pride and arrogance (Prov. 8:13); I am against you, arrogant one (Jer. 50:31); the Lord hates haughty eyes (Prov. 6:17); I loathe the pride of Jacob (Amos 6:8); God opposes the proud (Jas. 4:6; 1 Pet. 5:5); God will abase the proud (Isa. 2:12); the Lord planned to demean the pride of all beauty (Isa. 23:9); your eyes are on the haughty to bring them low (2 Sam. 22:28); the Lord requites those who act proudly (Ps. 31:23); those who walk in pride he is able to humble (Dan. 4:37); he has scattered the proud (Luke 1:51); I will make the pride of the strong to cease (Ezek. 7:24); you abase haughty eyes (Ps. 18:27); you rebuke the arrogant (Ps. 119:21); render recompense to the proud! (Ps. 94:2); the Lord tears down the house of the proud (Prov. 15:25); the Lord will punish the arrogance of Assyria (Isa. 10:12); I will destroy the pride of Judah and Jerusalem (Jer. 13:9); I will cut off the pride of the Philistines (Zech. 9:6); all the proud of the earth will bow down before him (Ps. 22:29).

Source: To Be Puffed Up

Target: To Be Proud

Factbook | Proud Men, Proud Pharisee, A Proud Person

Category: Structural Metaphor

(n.d.). The Lexham Figurative Language of the New Testament Dataset.

To get the perfect picture of what it is to be Humble, we will now focus on the coming King of Zion

Zachariah 9:9

The Coming King of Zion

9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!

Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem!

Behold, your king is coming to you;

righteous and having salvation is he,

humble and mounted on a donkey,

on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

This is a prophecy that would be completely fulfilled by Jesus. As he comes into Jerusalem.

(ESV)

The Triumphal Entry

21 Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.” 4 This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying,

5 “Say to the daughter of Zion,

‘Behold, your king is coming to you,

humble, and mounted on a donkey,

on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’ ”

Jesus was the God-man that was completely humble. He was the man that was contrite in spirit. He knew why He had to come to this world. It was no surprise to him when he was delivered over into the hands of sinful men to be crucified.

He humbled Himself

But He humbled Himself

(ESV)

6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

So what do we take from this… I mean of course Jesus was humble and contrite in spirit. But what do we take from this, how do we become humble.

I will tell you that it cannot be done by your self. It is a supernatural work that takes place within you by the Spirit of God.

When we do not have the Spirit of God our good works look like this.

Man I am a good person, look what i did in that situation. I didn’t loose my temper when I had every right, because they were in the wrong.

The Church must think I am very faithful, I never miss my tithing check. I always go and serve when I can.

I hope that my friends see me helping that elderly lady getting across the street.

I haven’t had a drink in two weeks.. I knew I was strong enough to do it by myself.

I tell you these are not acts of a humble contrite spirit.

You want to see a Humble contrite spirit. Look at the man that was hanging on the cross next to Jesus.

(ESV)

27 And with him they crucified two robbers, one on his right and one on his left. 29 And those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads and saying, “Aha! You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, 30 save yourself, and come down from the cross!” 31 So also the chief priests with the scribes mocked him to one another, saying, “He saved others; he cannot save himself. 32 Let the Christ, the King of Israel, come down now from the cross that we may see and believe.” Those who were crucified with him also reviled him.

But there was a change that happened after this in one of the thief’s on the cross.

Luke records this change.

(ESV)

39 One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” 40 But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? 41 And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” 42 And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” 43 And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

This criminal started to see who Jesus was. The Spirit of God convicted him and he became sorrowful and like Isaiah before him when he saw the King of glory it broke him and he only had one choice and that was to cry out to Him.

Have you seen the King of glory? have you seen the sin upon you? have you thought to yourself , “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” Have you come to the foot of the cross and given your life to the LORD? If not, He is waiting and now is the time.

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