Sabbath: In the Psalms: Part 2
Daily Lesson for Sabbath 24th of May 2025
Image © Pacific Press
Read for This Week’s Study: Psalms 46:1-11, Jeremiah 4:23-26, Psalms 47:1-4, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17, Psalms 75:1-10, Revelation 14:6-12.
Memory Text:
“Let the peoples praise You, O God; let all the peoples praise You. Oh, let the nations be glad and sing for joy! For You shall judge the people righteously, and govern the nations on earth. Selah” (Psalms 67:3-4, NKJV).
When thinking of final events, we tend to focus on the beasts and the powers of Revelation. And, of course, they have a big role—an important one, too. Otherwise, God would not have put them in the Bible for us to understand them (see Revelation 1:3).
Prophecy, however, also deals with key issues associated with sin and suffering, judgment, the battle between good and evil, the nature of justice and injustice, persecution, and more.
The Psalms also deal with these issues in great depth, exploring nearly every possible human emotion—from dark despondency to unbridled joy. We see Israel preparing for battle against the forces of darkness. We read about individuals wrestling with the question of why doesn’t God address evil more directly and immediately, a question that no doubt we all have asked. We are directed to the sanctuary for answers, and there also are repeated appeals to God’s status as Creator. Are these not issues and questions that we, in our context today, wrestle with, as well?
Of course, this is why we will continue unpacking the book of Psalms in order to learn more about these crucial truths.
*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, May 31.
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Praise is one of the great recurring themes in the Psalms, but we sometimes overlook its implications, or limit it to the recitation of praise phrases in our liturgy, such as in "The Old Hundredth" or Doxology.
Sometimes it appears that God either demands or commands us to praise him. Certainly, if you read the Psalms somewhat naively, you can think that.
There are a couple of things we should consider. A simple illustration may help. Every year there is a Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition. Usually, the photo that wins the competition is outstanding. The judges will sometimes say statements like, "The subject commands your attention". Now a photograph is an inanimate object and cannot command you to do anything. But, "command" is a metaphor for the focus and the attention is deserves. There is a corollary to this. I look at these outstanding photographs and they inspire me to go out and take my own photographs. They are not the same, and the subject matter may be entirely different, but in my own way I am praising the photograph because it has inspired me to do better.
God wants us to praise him, not because he is a megalomaniac deity, but because of the inspiration he gives to us in our interaction with others. Praise is much more than poetry or liturgy. Our praise to God should flavour our lives.
If you would like a bit of reading on the topic try C S Lewis, "A Word about Praising, "Reflections on the Psalms"
The end of time prophecy (Eschatology) is terribly feared and avoided by some Bible readers. They see this kind of prophecy as gloom and doom which is characterised by tribulations, persecutions, wars, destruction, disasters, and death. This view is far from being complete. The memory text for lesson 8 (Psalm 67:3–4) tells us otherwise.
“Let the peoples praise You, O God; let all the peoples praise You. Oh, let the nations be glad and sing for joy! For You shall judge the people righteously and govern the nations on earth. Selah” (Psalms 67:3-4, NKJV).
Examining this passage, one can easily see the repetition in verse 3, “Let all the people praise you”. This is a universal praise. The Psalmist is foretelling the day when the salvation gospel shall reach all the ends of the earth. Far from being gloom and doom, verse 4, says that all the redeemed of God will come from all nations and worship God with gladness because of His righteous judgment. The final judgment is cause for gladness. The injustices, oppressions, and persecutions will be no more. God will establish a righteous kingdom ruled by divine justice. As Seventh Day Adventists, this Psalm resonates deeply well with three angels’ messages (Revelation 14) which call all peoples of the earth to worship and fear God for the hour of judgment is coming. This Psalm feels us with sweet hopes; we do not need to fear of the end-time prophecy for God will establish a kingdom ruled by righteousness and compassion.
After this I saw a vast crowd, too great to count, from every nation and tribe and people and language, standing in front of the throne and before the Lamb. They were clothed in white robes and held palm branches in their hands. And they were shouting with a great roar, “Salvation comes from our God who sits on the throne and from the Lamb!” (Revelation 7:9-10, NLT).