Austin Bible Church
Within the prayers or songs of the Psalms is a definite recognition of the person of God and honest descriptions of the soul condition of the one praying. The prayers and songs pictured believers under pressure and their thinking when dealing with those pressures. There are patterns in the Psalms of the life practice of believers who were either under divine discipline or the self-induced misery of reversionism.
The Psalms show some of the greatest men at their lowest. One keynote factor in most of the Psalms is the suffering caused by personal enemies. The biblical solution to dealing with personal enemies is always to put it in the Lord’s hands. The content of the prayers and desperation of the people revealed definitely and clearly the relationship of Bible doctrine to sustainment and survival of the believer.
The content of the prayers also reveals the absolute objective for each believer to be satisfied with instruction from the true Water of Life, the Word of God. The Psalms indicate the route and outcome of not getting the true water for the soul with the emotions taking over. This is feeding on tears. They show the absolute impossibility for the emotions to satisfy. The Psalms make it very plain that a man’s friend may become his greatest personal foe. Examples include Saul, Absalom, Ahithophel (David’s close acquaintance), and David’s friends.
The Psalms demonstrate that the men of the Word were just like we are today with no special ability to avoid unpleasantries or to handle them. They were subject to the same type of viciousness as we and often had the same difficulties in handling it. The Psalms also make perfectly clear the need and basis for divine discipline (justice and mercy).
The Psalms show the attitude of those involved in the experience of divine discipline and the rebuilding after divine discipline. The Psalms describe clearly the wretched state of the mature believer under divine discipline and the advantage of happiness in fellowship with God. It is far better to stay in fellowship than to go the negative volition route.
The Psalms state the difference between the sinful act and the rebellion under the surface or sin and transgression. The Psalms illustrate that God holds the believer personally accountable for their sins and their personal responsibility to get back into fellowship. The Psalms make clear the only vehicle of confession of sin biblically to God resulting in God's restoration of the believer to fellowship.
The Psalms show the content of the confession, the thought, the act, the words spoken, and their foundation in rebellion to God. The Psalms make clear the results of confession, that of forgiveness. The Psalms make clear that every believer must intercede for their own sins. The Psalms illustrate the purpose of divine discipline is to bring the sinning believer back to the reality of their need for cleansing and restoration to fellowship with God.
The Psalms reveal that confession, forgiveness, and restoration to fellowship is a matter of cursing turned to blessing. The cry of distress is turned to the cry of joy. The Psalms identify the way of deliverance or escape, that of confession. The Psalms indicate the chronology of a believer’s life - confession, restoration, then divine good production.
The Psalms depict the experiences of others and are used as instruction for the prevention of sins. The Psalms show that the correction and direction for the believer out of fellowship is divine discipline, the bridle and bit example; and that the correction and direction for the believer in fellowship is from instruction contained in the Word.
Just as you have happiness before you get out of fellowship and after you get back in fellowship, so you have guidance before you get out of fellowship and then differently until you get back in. The Psalms demonstrate the principle of application of Bible doctrine in prayer. Unless prayers are made in accordance to the desired will of God, they can hardly be answered.
The Psalms affirm that all sin is against God. David said in Psalms 51:4, “Against You, You only, I have sinned.” The Psalms make clear, therefore, that since sin is against God, and only God has a right to judge it. The Psalms state that the internal source of temptation to commit personal sins and transgression is the inherited old sin nature.
“Against You, You only, I have sinned And done what is evil in Your sight, So that You are justified when You speak And blameless when You judge.” (Psalms 51:4, NASB)
The Psalms recognize that God’s cleansing is the only source for a restoration to full capacity in service to God in the spiritual life. The Psalms make clear the responsibility of the believer once back in fellowship. This responsibility for the mature believer is divine good production. The Psalms show clearly the damage incurred to others when a believer is out of fellowship and in reversionism.