RRB notes on Psalm 90

Psalms 90 KJV

A Prayer of Moses the man of God.

1. Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place [1] in all generations. [a]

[1] Notice three senses. The first is geographic only. Since God fills Heaven and earth, all saved and unsaved are inside Him in that sense. You can be His “offspring” without being one of His “children” (Rom. 8:14-16). The second sense is in the sense of a servant (vss. 13-14) who has an actual, practical, day-by-day relationship with God in the sense of believing He’s there, seeking His face, and having fellowship with Him. The third and final sense is the New Birth where you become part of Him (Eph. 5:30; Col. 2:9-10). This is not the sense  of Psalm 90:1-2.

[a] This psalm begins volume four of the Psalms, which contains seventeen psalms. Only chapters 90, 101, and 103 are ascribed to writers.

2. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God. [b]

[b] Gen. 1:1.

3. Thou turnest man to destruction; [2] and sayest, Return, ye children of men.

[2] The first half of the verse is illustrated in Joshua 11:20; Exodus 9:14-15; Acts 7:39-42, and Romans 11:8-10. In all cases where God “turned them,” He commanded them to repent and get right (Exod. 9:13-17; Judg. 11:12-20; 1 Kings 13:1-3). You are “turned to destruction” to see your need for repenting and getting right (Rom. 2:4-6).

4. For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday [c] when it is past, and as a watch in the night.

[c] 2 Pet. 3:8.

5. Thou carriest them away as with a flood; they are as a sleep: in the morning they are like grass which groweth up.

6. In the morning it flourisheth, and groweth up; in the evening it is cut down, and withereth. [d]

[d] 1 Pet. 1:24-25.

7. For we are consumed by thine anger, and by thy wrath are we troubled.

8. Thou hast set our iniquities before thee, our secret sins in the light of thy countenance. [e]

[e] Eccl. 12:14; Rom. 2:16.

9. For all our days are passed away in thy wrath: we spend our years as a tale that is told. [3]

[3] “A tale” can be a long story, a short story, an exciting story, a dull story, or a horror story. A good tale would have the right plot, the right author, the right hero, the right beginning, the right ending, the right purpose, and obtain a right response.

10. The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, [4] yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away.

[4] Certainly not Moses’ years; he lived to be 120 (Deut. 34:7). It might be an average age; see David (2 Sam. 5:4; 1 Kings 2:11). David is “old and stricken in years” at 70 (1 Kings 1:1). Barzillai the Gileadite matches the “fourscore years” in this verse (2 Sam. 19:35).

11. Who knoweth the power of thine anger? even according to thy fear, so is thy wrath.

12. So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.

13. Return, O LORD, how long? and let it repent thee concerning thy servants.

14. O satisfy us early with thy mercy; that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.

15. Make us glad according to the days wherein thou hast afflicted us, and the years wherein we have seen evil. [5]

[5] The years would start about Exodus 1 (which Bullinger dates at 1571 B.C.) and supposedly would end at Deuteronomy 1 with Israel’s entrance into the land before Moses died; that total time was 119 years (according to Bullinger). I rather think the verse goes beyond this into prophecy; in which case the evil years would be 606 B.C. to A.D. 2008 and beyond. 

16. Let thy work appear unto thy servants, and thy glory unto their children.

17. And let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us: and establish thou the work of our hands upon us; yea, the work of our hands establish thou it. [f]

[f] Vss. 16-17 are a prayer for the Second Advent.

 RRB notes on Psalm 89

Psalms 89 KJV

Maschil of Ethan the Ezrahite.

1. I will sing of the mercies of the LORD for ever: with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations.

2. For I have said, Mercy shall be built up for ever: thy faithfulness shalt thou establish in the very heavens.

3. I have made a covenant with my chosen, I have sworn unto David my servant, [1]

[1] The psalm will switch from David historically to Jesus Christ prophetically. Verses 19-37 deal with the First and Second Advents of Christ together. You will find the eternal security of the believer prophesied in verses 29-36. Verses 36-37 present Christ in His Millennial kingdom. But verses 38-45 go backwards and picture Christ in His humiliation at HIs crucifixion. So throughout the Old Testament, you will not only see the two Advents pictured together with no intervening time period (Gen. 49:11, 24; 1 Pet. 1:11), you will sometimes see the two reversed as you find in this psalm. The Lord does this to mess up educated fools who won’t believe what He said or won’t “rightly divide” what He said to try to mess with what He said.

4. Thy seed will I establish for ever, and build up thy throne to all generations. Selah.

5. And the heavens shall praise thy wonders, O LORD: thy faithfulness also in the congregation of the saints.

6. For who in the heaven can be compared unto the LORD? who among the sons of the mighty can be likened unto the LORD? [a]

[a] Isa. 40:18, 46:5.

7. God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be had in reverence of all them that are about him.

8. O LORD God of hosts, who is a strong LORD like unto thee? or to thy faithfulness round about thee?

9. Thou rulest the raging of the sea: when the waves thereof arise, thou stillest them. [b]

[b] Mark 4:37-39.

10. Thou hast broken Rahab [2] in pieces, as one that is slain; thou hast scattered thine enemies with thy strong arm.

[2] The typical interpretation put on this verse by the commentators, who don’t know what they’re talking about, is that “Rahab” is a “poetic” or “symbolic” name for Egypt. There is not one verse in either Testament that even suggests such a thing. Rahab was an Amorite (Josh. 5:1, 7:7), not an Egyptian. She was a harlot, and “THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS” is Babylon, theologically (Rev. 17:5). The breaking of Rahab in this verse is associated with the wounding of a “dragon” in Isaiah 51:9. This dragon is a multi-headed dragon in Psalm 74:14, which is "wounded" by having one of its “heads” broken. If Rahab is a “symbolic reference” to Egypt (Ezek. 29:3), then it is not the Egypt of the Exodus. It is a prophetic reference to the Antichrist and his kingdom at the Second Advent (Ezek. 32:2-31).

11. The heavens are thine, the earth also is thine: as for the world and the fulness thereof, thou hast founded them. [c]

[c] Isa. 45:12; Jer. 27:5. App. 28

12. The north and the south thou hast created them: Tabor and Hermon shall rejoice in thy name.

13. Thou hast a mighty arm: strong is thy hand, and high is thy right hand.

14. Justice and judgment are the habitation of thy throne: mercy and truth shall go before thy face.

15. Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound: [d] they shall walk, O LORD, in the light of thy countenance.

[d] Source of the hymn “We Have Heard the Joyful Sound.”

16. In thy name shall they rejoice all the day: and in thy righteousness shall they be exalted.

17. For thou art the glory of their strength: and in thy favour our horn shall be exalted.

18. For the LORD is our defence; and the Holy One of Israel [3] is our king.

[3] Notice that God is not “Allah” and is not associated with Ishmael, Islam, and Mohammed at all. He is “the LORD” (Jehovah – see App. 1), and He is “the Holy One of Israel” (Jacob – Gen. 32:28). So the Biblical formula is Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; not Abraham, Ishamael, and Mohammed (see App. 77). “The God” (which is what “Allah” is supposed to mean) is “the God of Jacob” (2 Sam. 23:1; Psa. 146:5; Isa. 29:23, 41:20, 42:14-15; Luke 1:33).

19. Then thou spakest in vision to thy holy one, [e] and saidst, I have laid help upon one that is mighty; I have exalted one chosen [f] out of the people.

[e] Psa. 16:10.

[f] Historically David (2 Sam. 7:8), theologically Jesus Christ (Luke 23:35).

20. I have found David my servant; with my holy oil have I anointed him: [g]

[g] Historically David (1 Sam. 16:12-13), theologically Jesus Christ (Heb. 1:9).

21. With whom my hand shall be established: mine arm also shall strengthen him.

22. The enemy shall not exact upon him; nor the son of wickedness afflict him.

23. And I will beat down his foes before his face, and plague them that hate him. [h]

[h] Historically David (2 Sam. 7:9), theologically Jesus Christ (Zech. 14:12-15).

24. But my faithfulness and my mercy shall be with him: and in my name shall his horn be exalted.

25. I will set his hand also in the sea, and his right hand in the rivers. [i]

[i] Historically David (2 Sam. 8:3), theologically Jesus Christ (Psa. 72:8).

26. He shall cry unto me, Thou art my father, [j] my God, and the rock of my salvation.

[j] Historically Solomon the son of David (2 Sam. 7:14).

27. Also I will make him my firstborn, [k] higher than the kings of the earth.

[k] Jesus Christ, not David or Solomon (Heb. 12:23, 1:6).

28. My mercy will I keep for him for evermore, and my covenant shall stand fast with him. [l]

[l] Vss. 28-37 are a reference to Christ (Isa. 55:3; Acts 13:34).

29. His seed also will I make to endure for ever, [m] and his throne as the days of heaven.

[m] Eternal Security for Christ’s “seed” (Psa. 22:30-31).

30. If his children [n] forsake my law, and walk not in my judgments;

[n] John 1:12-13; 1 John 3:10; Rom. 8:16-17, 21; Gal. 4:28, 31; Eph. 5:1, 8).

31. If they break my statutes, and keep not my commandments;

32. Then will I visit their transgression with the rod, and their iniquity with stripes. [o]

[o] Heb. 12:5-11; 1 Cor. 11:29-32.

33. Nevertheless my lovingkindness will I not utterly take from him, nor suffer my faithfulness to fail.

34. My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips. [p]

[p] The new covenant as it would apply to Christians; contrast with Hebrews 8:7-12.

35. Once have I sworn by my holiness that I will not lie unto David. [4]

[4] The covenant is confirmed five times between verses 28 and 36 with regards to the “seed” of God’s Son (vs. 36). This is the New Testament doctrine of Eternal Security (Phil. 1:6; 1 Cor. 1:8; John 10:27-29; Rom. 8:38-39; 1 Pet. 1:4-5).

36. His seed shall endure for ever, and his throne as the sun before me.

37. It shall be established for ever as the moon, and as a faithful witness in heaven. Selah.

38. But thou hast cast off and abhorred, thou hast been wroth with thine anointed. [5]

[5] Verses 38-45 apply not only to Jesus Christ, but to the nation of Israel; see Psalm 129:1-3, where the stripes put on Christ’s back match the afflictions of Israel. This is why all the orthodox Jewish Rabbis reject Isaiah 53 as applying to Christ as an individual (Isa. 43:10, 44:1-2, 45:4). They replace God’s individual Messiah with the nation of Israel and fancy that the Jews as a race have suffered for the sins of the Gentiles. This has been the standard position of orthodox Judaism since the resurrection of Christ.

39. Thou hast made void the covenant of thy servant: [q] thou hast profaned his crown by casting it to the ground.

[q] Possibly the breaking of the covenant in Dan. 9:27.

40. Thou hast broken down all his hedges; thou hast brought his strong holds to ruin.

41. All that pass by the way spoil him: he is a reproach to his neighbours.

42. Thou hast set up the right hand of his adversaries; thou hast made all his enemies to rejoice. [r]

[r] Luke 23:35-36.

43. Thou hast also turned the edge of his sword, [s] and hast not made him to stand in the battle.

[s] John 18:10-11.

44. Thou hast made his glory to cease, and cast his throne down to the ground. [6]

[6] Christ didn’t get any throne of David to sit upon as Gabriel promised (Luke 1:32). Instead, He got a bloody cross (vs. 39). He got no golden crown as promised (Song of Sol. 3:11). He got a crown of thorns.

45. The days of his youth hast thou shortened: thou hast covered him with shame. [t] Selah.

[t] Isa. 53:8; Heb. 12:2.

46. How long, LORD? wilt thou hide thyself for ever? shall thy wrath burn like fire?

47. Remember how short my time is: wherefore hast thou made all men in vain?

48. What man is he that liveth, and shall not see death? shall he deliver his soul from the hand of the grave? Selah.

49. Lord, where are thy former lovingkindnesses, which thou swarest unto David in thy truth? [u]

[u] Good question in view of vs. 35.

50. Remember, Lord, the reproach of thy servants; how I do bear in my bosom the reproach of all the mighty people;

51. Wherewith thine enemies have reproached, O LORD; wherewith they have reproached the footsteps of thine anointed.

52. Blessed be the LORD for evermore. Amen, and Amen.

>>>>>>>Additional Notes<<<<<<<

Appendix 28 –Evolution as a Religion

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Appendix 1 – The Hebrew Names for God in the Old Testament

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Appendix 77 – The So-Called “Holy” Koran

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