This “Series” of Bible Studies will be different than most on the Website, our Website. While certainly based on the Bible, and always exegeting (discussing, explaining) a verse or group of verses from the Word of God … we will center all the comments around the subject of “prayer.”

Lessons from Scripture … focused on prayer.

In response to the many invitations to pray (really, commands to pray) our Lord issues us!

Like, merely as an example:

“Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.” Jeremiah 33:3

Where the verb “call” is “qara” in Hebrew, here being an imperative (required for obedience) and simply meaning “to speak or proclaim out loud” some vital sound. It can even mean “to plead in court!”

The “me” is God Himself, Jeremiah recording the Words of the Almighty!

In fact, our Verse is loaded up front with two personal pronouns referring to Deity. What Power, what Authority stands behind this prayer promise!

“Call unto ME, and I will answer thee!”

The verb “will answer” is “anah,” meaning “hear” 42 times in the King James Bible, but “answer” 242 times! It is also rendered “speak” and “testify” and “give” a few times!

But there’s more …

“Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.” Jeremiah 33:3

The verb “shew” (“show”) is “nagad” in Hebrew. Used hundreds of times in the Old Testament (370 to be exact) it means “to expound” twice! Also “to tell,” 222 times, that many! And “to declare” 63 more times! God as Revealer! Why, the Book of Revelation (meaning “to reveal”) could be an answer to this prayer!

The adjective “great” is “gadol.” (529 times in the Bible) It means “large,” both in magnitude and extent! Like “deep” and “wide!” Or “many, many” then too “of superb quality!”

“Mighty” is different! “Batzsar” means “fenced in!” Or “gathered, fortified, made inaccessible!” Things “walled up, withheld,” almost “private” things! Only once, right here,” is it translated “mighty,” in all the Bible!

Things “not known” translate “lo yada.” Not even “familiar” with! Never have “experienced” previously! And certainly have “not mastered” at any point in time!

Wow!

Really, Jeremiah 33:1-10 is amazing, one of the most “about-faced” Passages in all God’s Word! God is sending punishment to a sinning Judah, the whole Nation. Then … God is yet too going to bless her (Judah) abundantly!

“Moreover the word of the LORD came unto Jeremiah the second time, while he was yet shut up in the court of the prison, saying, Thus saith the LORD the maker thereof, the LORD that formed it, to establish it; the LORD is his name. Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not. For thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, concerning the houses of this city, and concerning the houses of the kings of Judah, which are thrown down by the mounts, and by the sword; they come to fight with the Chaldeans, but it is to fill them with the dead bodies of men, whom I have slain in mine anger and in my fury, and for all whose wickedness I have hid my face from this city (Jerusalem).”

But … God continues:

“Behold, I will bring it (Jerusalem the City, Judah the Nation) health and cure, and I will cure them, and will reveal unto them the abundance of peace and truth. And I will cause the captivity of Judah and the captivity of Israel to return, and will build them, as at the first. And I will cleanse them from all their iniquity, whereby they have sinned against me; and I will pardon all their iniquities, whereby they have sinned, and whereby they have transgressed against me. And it shall be to me a name of joy, a praise and an honour before all the nations of the earth, which shall hear all the good that I do unto them: and they shall fear and tremble for all the goodness and for all the prosperity that I procure unto it.”

Wow!

God’s Plan, revealed!

But still, Jeremiah, in fact all his future readers as well …

Call unto Me about these things!

Ask Me to fulfil My Promises!

Claim these mighty Deeds as Reality!

This is the “context” of Jeremiah 33:3.

Yet it can certainly be applied in our lives, too. In our “puzzling” times and “hard” places … as we trod forward, serving the Lord.

Amen!

                       — Dr. Mike Bagwell

More tomorrow, the Lord willing, about Prayer!

 

 

 

Someone called Psalm 28 another of David’s “Songs in the Night.” This expression is a quote from Job 35:10, which talks about our wonderful Lord.

“Where is God my maker, who giveth songs in the night?”

David begins Psalm 28 in some kind of danger. And what’s even more significant to this godly man, the Lord seems “silent” during the crisis! Here’s Psalm 28, verse 1:

“Unto thee will I cry, O LORD my rock; be not silent to me: lest, if thou be silent to me, I become like them that go down into the pit.”

But though times are bleak, David still trusts his God, the God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob. Verse 2 shows that tenacity, that fidelity:

“Hear the voice of my supplications, when I cry unto thee, when I lift up my hands toward thy holy oracle.”

The noun “oracle” means God’s WORD, “dabar” in Hebrew!

Then, using his faith as a weapon (!!!) David claims victory over the wicked, who have apparently been attacking him in some way! Psalm 28, verses 3-5. Read them please. They still represent a prayer to God … just now “about” the ungodly!

“Draw me not away with the wicked, and with the workers of iniquity, which speak peace to their neighbours, but mischief is in their hearts. Give them according to their deeds, and according to the wickedness of their endeavours: give them after the work of their hands; render to them their desert. Because they regard not the works of the LORD, nor the operation of his hands, he shall destroy them, and not build them up.”

No bitterness, just Truth! Claiming God’s Word against evil!

Wow!

By now, David is much “better!” No longer discouraged (“like someone going down into a pit”), the King is now sure that (though God seemed “silent”) … He was listening all the time! Verses 6 and 7 are beautiful!

“Blessed be the LORD, because he hath heard the voice of my supplications. The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him.”

God has heard! And God is to be praised! In fact, David wrote a “song” about the occasion, Psalm 28!

Lastly, as we retrace the Poem’s, the Psalm’s, trajectory … David prays for other believers! This is a sign of maturing faith! Not self-centered, but focused on God’s greater family! Praying for them now …

“The LORD is their strength, and he is the saving strength of his anointed. Save thy people, and bless thine inheritance: feed them also, and lift them up for ever.”

What a Psalm!

From the “depths” to the “heights!”

From “depression” to “delight!”

And just what God there did for David …

He can still do for you and me!

Amen!

                           — Dr. Mike Bagwell

.

This verse illustrates “unselfish” prayer at its best!

And it is the “acme,” the very “mountain peak,” of this beautiful Psalm as well.

“Save thy people, and bless thine inheritance: feed them also, and lift them up for ever.” Psalm 28:9

This is no longer David praying about himself, at least not just himself.

He asks now for “all” God’s people!

“Save” (in Hebrew “yasha”) here is framed as an imperative verb. The prayer virtually “insists” on being answered! With “save” meaning “to be preserved” or “to be delivered.” Lord, protect Thy people!

The noun for “people” is “am,” suggesting one’s own crowd! Kinsfolk!

And “bless” (in Hebrew “barak”) means to “come down, kneel down” beside a needy child! To love and comfort! To encourage onward!

The very idea of us being God’s “inheritance” is astounding! I understand God being our “Inheritance!” But God “treasuring” us? We then are His property!

The third of this single verse’s four requests is that God would “feed” His children! Like a Shepherd! “Raah” literally is the word for “pasture.” Tending a flock! Allowing them to luxuriously graze on nourishing, green grass!

And “to lift up” translates “nasa,” meaning “to pick up and carry” somewhere!

Sounds like the Lord is being sought to do “all” for Judah!

To meet her every need!

“Save thy people, and bless thine inheritance: feed them also, and lift them up for ever.”

Pray this for your local Church!

For your family!

And while I was sitting here writing this Lesson … I was longing for someone to pray such for me. For us as we travel and preach God’s precious Word.

Amen!

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

 

 

The whole Psalm (Psalm 28) only contains 9 verses. And today, focusing on a verse each morning, we have reached the penultimate verse (next to last). Latin does stay with you, some words anyway! (Where “paene” means “almost.” And “ultimus” means “last.”)

“The LORD is their strength, and he is the saving strength of his anointed.” Psalm 28:8

The first question I had was, “The Lord is WHOSE strength?”

“The LORD is their strength ….”

The possessive pronoun “their,” being plural, means “the people of Israel.” I largely base that conclusion on the next verse of the Psalm. “Lord, save thy people, and bless thine inheritance: feed them also, and lift them up for ever.”

The noun for “people” is “am” in Hebrew, most often indicating one’s own people, compatriots. Fellow citizens! Twice in the King James Bible it is rendered “folk” or “folks!”

The noun “strength” is “oz” again. It has already occurred in the Psalm back in verse 7, just one verse ago. It means “hardened” power, the ability “to overcome” in battle!

God gives the victory!

As in First John 5:4. “And this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.”

But God is not only the Deliverer for His people overall … but to their leader as well!

“He (still the Lord) is the saving strength of his anointed.”

The term “anointed” is “mashiyach,” the word “messiah” when transliterated. It locally means the “King” in ancient Jewish culture. A King who was also called their “shepherd.”

But do keep in mind that the Real Messiah of Israel is NOT David or Solomon or any other earthly monarch. It is the Lord Jesus CHRIST, that last Name being the equivalent of “Messiah!”

The noun “strength” in this clause is “maoz,” meaning “a place of safety, protection or refuge!” Three times the word is translated “fortress” in the Old Testament! Once it is “rock!”

And the word “saving” is “yeshuah,” essentially “delivering, rescuing, prospering!”

Wow!

Psalm 28 has become a “victory” Poem!

David was about to die back in verse 1. “Unto thee will I cry, O LORD my rock; be not silent to me: lest, if thou be silent to me, I become like them that go down into the pit.” Remember that “pit” can mean “grave” here. A “dungeon” of depression, too!

Now … the Lord is the King’s “saving strength!”

So many of the Psalms reflect this pattern.

Starting “low” … but ending “high!”

Dear reader today, ask the Lord … trust the Lord … to be your Strength as well!

Then like Paul you will be able to say, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” Philippians 4:13 is the reference.

Amen!

“The LORD is their strength, and he is the saving strength of his anointed.”

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

 

 

 

 

We are studying Psalm 28, verse by verse.

But verse 7 is so “full,” I must give it more commentary.

“The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him.” Psalm 28:7

The fundamental thrust of the verse states the Character of God, but only in part of course. “The Lord is my strength and my shield,” says David the Psalmist.

Then come four “results” of this Truth being applied!

David “trusts” this great God.

David thus receives “help” from Him, from the Lord.

Consequently David “rejoices.”

And then begins “to sing!”

To sing “praise” to His “Strength and Shield.”

Let’s notice the results of learning God’s Essence, His Attributes.

The second “half” of the verse again, as David wrote it. “My heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him.”

The verb “trusted” is “batach” in Hebrew. It means “to feel so secure” in a Person that one “looses all fear, apprehension, distraction!” Once in the King James Bible “batach”is even translated “careless,” without worry! “To have complete confidence” in someone!

The verb “am helped” is “azar,” in the passive voice obviously. David does not help himself, God helps him! And “azar” means “to provide succour.” But what is “succour?” It is a word derived from the Latin verb “currure,” meaning “to run!” This kind of “help” pictures God Himself running to the side of the one in need! Wow!

To “rejoice” employs the verb “alaz,” rare in the Old Testament, appearing only 16 times in total. It means “to exult.” (In Latin again, “salire” means “to leap!” And “ex” in front of it makes the term mean “to leap up!”) That is, to be jubilant. One lexicon says “to triumph!” Another scholar writes: “This is the kind of emotion of joy which finds expression in singing and shouting.” Loudly demonstrative!

Finally “to praise” selects the familiar verb “yadah.” This word is translated “to give thanks” 32 times in the Old Testament! It literally means “to shoot” (“to hurl, to loft upward”) thoughts of worship Heavenward, to the Lord Himself!

These four “results” being true, being accurate descriptions of David’s realizing how GREAT God truly is … maybe each of us should also study the Being of God, learn of His Person, His Qualities!

Indeed He is many things to us in addition to Strength and Shield!

So many it takes the whole Bible (66 Books consisting of 1,189 chapters, exactly 31,102 verses) to tell it all! Yes, He is that much God!

— Dr. Mike Bagwell