Prayer for the now and forever

January 9, 2017

Worship: Redeemed, How I Love to Proclaim It by Fanny Crosby

Redeemed, How I Love to Proclaim it!

Hymn lyrics by Fanny Crosby,
Music by William J. Kirkpatrick

Verse 1

• Redeemed, how I love to proclaim it!
• Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb;
• Redeemed through His infinite mercy,
• His child and forever I am.

Chorus

• Redeemed, redeemed,
• Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb;
• Redeemed, redeemed,
• His child and forever I am.

Verse 2

• Redeemed, and so happy in Jesus,
• No language my rapture can tell;
• I know that the light of His presence
• With me doth continually dwell.

Chorus

Verse 3

• I think of my blessed Redeemer,
• I think of Him all the day long:
• I sing, for I cannot be silent;
• His love is the theme of my song.

Chorus

Verse 4¹

• I know there’s a crown that is waiting,
• In yonder bright mansion for me,
• And soon, with the spirits made perfect,
• At home with the Lord I shall be.

Chorus

Verse 5²

• I know I shall see in His beauty
• The King in whose law I delight,
• Who lovingly guardeth my footsteps,
• And giveth me songs in the night.

Chorus
¹Apparently the original verse. See note for verse 5 below.
²Appears in later hymnals; of uncertain origin, maybe added by an editor.

Witness:

Well, today’s worship portion did not go as smooth as the day before. After prayer and thought and much searching, I finally landed on the choice of using an old time favorite hymn. This song is in a way an affirmation of today’s verse I am studying. I have included all the verses that are associated with this hymn. Verse 4 seems to be part of the original song written by Fanny but is not contained in most hymnals today. Instead, the words of verse 5 are substituted as the 4^th verse.

Today has also been a struggle for me. I yawn as I type these words and earlier I couldn’t keep my eyes open. I had to get up and make myself a banana shake with pumpkin spice added to it. It was delicious of course. Because I could not sleep this morning (I went to bed around 5 am and got up a little after 1 pm) I felt too tired to do anything. You might say the spirit was willing, but the flesh was weak. Days like these frustrate me because I feel like nothing was accomplished. However, when I look back on the things I did manage to do, such as shop, clean, and repair my garage door, as well as read some and listen to a message on prayer by John Piper. So, instead of castigating myself for what I didn’t accomplish let me rejoice in things I did achieve.

It also clarifies what I need to get done tomorrow.

This is also true in our Christian walk. We often feel frustrated by the things we have yet to do. Areas in our lives that need to change and areas we need to grow in. This could paralyze our Christian walk. But it can also prompt us to thank God for how far we have come and clarifies what still needs to be done. It shapes the form and content of the prayers we need to pray.

·        Praise and Thanksgiving

- for what He has done in and through and for us. (2 Cor. 2:14; Eph. ch. 1)

- for the future grace and guidance, we will receive from our Heavenly Father who gives what is good to those who ask Him. (Mt. 7:11)

·        Petition

- for our needs and for the needs of others (Mt. 5:11)

- for the spread of the gospel through us (Eph. 6:19; Col. 4:3 – what we pray for others we can pray for ourselves as well)

- for the glory of God to be manifested in us to a lost world (Mt. 5:16)

·        Confession  

- for “we have left undone those things which we ought to have done, and we have done those things which we ought not to have done.

(from The Book of Common Prayer, PC Study Bible formatted electronic database Copyright © 2003, 2006 Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.)

WORD: 

Ps 25:22 22 Redeem Israel, O God, from all their troubles! NIV	Ps 25:22-26:1 22 O God, ransom Israel from all its troubles. Holy Bible, New Living Translation ®, copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.
Ps 25:22-26:1 22 Redeem Israel, O God, out of all his troubles. KJV	Ps 25:22 22 Redeem Israel, O God, out of all his troubles. ESV

It has taken me almost a year to finish this Psalm. Of course, there were a lot of days I missed due to vacations or tiredness or one of a number diversion that kept me from my studies and reflections. Many entries took days to complete, and some, even a week or two. This has been a grand Psalm to study. I have often used verses 4 – 5 as part of my prayer time, and I have verses 4-7 displayed on the wall in my closet. It has inspired poems and prayers along the way. I am grateful for the journey through this Psalm and look forward to the journey through the next (but hopefully in a shorter amount of timeJ).

Two things are different about this verse. First, it breaks with the alphabetical arrangement of the Psalm. The last letter of the Hebrew alphabet is found in verse 21. The second thing that is different is the corporate nature of the petition. Up until now, David has mainly been praying about himself. This has led some to believe that this verse was added later to the Psalm in order to make it useful in a corporate setting.

In line with this the UBS OT Handbook says:

This verse falls outside the acrostic scheme (verse 21 begins with
taw, the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet); it is a general petition, probably added later (see the same in verse 22 of Ps 34).(from UBS Old Testament Handbook Series. Copyright © 1978-2004 by United Bible Societies. All rights reserved.)

But the Pulpit Commentary counters with the same evidence:

Psalms 25:22It is supposed by some that this verse was added during the "trouble" of the Captivity; and certainly its stand-lug outside the alphabetical arrangement favours this view; but the similar irregularity at the close of Ps 34, rather makes against it(from The Pulpit Commentary, Electronic Database. Copyright © 2001, 2003, 2005, 2006 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Wycliffe takes no stand:

Psalms 25:15-22If this verse is taken as an integral part of the original psalm, it forms a climax for the thought. If, however, it is taken as an addition, it serves to adapt the psalm for corporate use.
(from The Wycliffe Bible Commentary, Electronic Database. Copyright © 1962 by Moody Press. All rights reserved.)

Others have taken similar views, and it does not mitigate against the inspiration of the Scriptures if it is so, but I don’t think the arguments against it are persuasive. If Psalm 34 stands as evidence for a later origin, this is certainly a weak argument for it can as well be used to demonstrate that the same author used a similar pattern in two different Psalms. And if these two were added later to make them more useful for a corporate gathering why do we not find this so in more Psalms. It certainly seems a weak and unnecessary way of adapting the Psalm. Do we not sing hymns that contain first person references and yet fit perfectly in our corporate worship? Those who waffle on this argue against the very application they want to make concerning this verse. Take for example Barnes, who makes an excellent application and then hedges.

 [Out of all his troubles] Save thy people from persecution, and from trial of all kinds. The prayer of the psalmist had, before this, related mainly to himself. He had made mention of his own troubles and sorrows, and had earnestly sought relief. The psalm, however, closes appropriately with a reference to others; to all the people of God who might be in similar circumstances. Religion is not selfish. The mind under the influence of true piety, however intensely it may feel its own trouble, and however earnestly it may pray for deliverance, is not forgetful of the troubles of others; and prayers for their comfort and deliverance are freely mingled with those which the afflicted children of God offer for themselves. This verse may be, therefore, taken as an illustration of the nature of true piety: piety that seeks the welfare of all; piety that does not terminate in itself alone; piety that desires the happiness of all people, especially the deliverance of the suffering and the sad. It should, however, be added that this verse is no part of the alphabetical series in the psalm-that having been ended, in Ps 25:21, with the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet. This verse commences with the Hebrew letter pe (p). Some have supposed that it was added to the psalm when it was prepared for public use, in order to make what was at first applicable to an individual appropriate as a part of public worship-or because the sentiments in the psalm, originally having reference to one individual, were as applicable to the people of God generally as to the author of the psalm. There is some plausibility in this conjecture.
   (from Barnes' Notes, Electronic Database Copyright © 1997, 2003, 2005, 2006 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Now, if this is true, it weakens the thought that this was an “illustration of the nature of true piety.” In fact, it nullifies it. No, I believe David ended this Psalm on a note of concern for all of God’s people.

Thus, Calvin writes:

Psalms 25:21By the word redeem, which he here employs, we may infer that the Church was at that time oppressed with hard bondage; and, therefore, I have no doubt that in this psalm he alludes to Saul and others who reigned with him in a tyrannical manner. At the same time, he shows that he has respect not merely to his own benefit, but that he comprehends in his prayer the state of the whole realm, just as the mutual communion and connection which subsist among the saints require that every individual, deeply affected by a sense of the public calamities which befall the Church at large, should unite with all the others in lamentation before God. This contributed in no small degree to confirm the faith of David, when, regarding himself as in all things connected with the whole body of the faithful, he considered that all the afflictions and wrongs which he endured were common to himself with them. And we ought to regard it as of the greatest importance, that in accordance with this rule, every one of us, in bewailing his private miseries and trials, should extend his desires and prayers to the whole Church.
(from Calvin's Commentaries, PC Study Bible formatted electronic database Copyright © 2005-2006 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.) 

One more thought before I complete my thoughts (for now) on Psalm 25. The word redeem is used here. It is a word that usually speaks of deliverance from troubles rather than sin.

Vines says:

REDEEM

Only once is padah used to describe liberation from sin or iniquity: "And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquity" Ps 130:8.(from Vine's Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words, Copyright © 1985, Thomas Nelson Publishers.)

When God is the subject of this word Vines says, "the word emphasizes His complete, sovereign freedom to liberate human beings."(Ibid)

Yet, I cannot help but feel that David’s prayer has farther reaching effects than his present situation.

JFB says:

Psalms 25:22"Redeem" - i.e., ransom, deliver by paying a price (p­deeh: apolutroun). There can be no redemption for all Israel until "there shall come out of Zion the Deliverer," who "shall turn sway ungodliness from Jacob" (Isa 59:20).
(from Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown Commentary, Electronic Database. Copyright © 1997, 2003, 2005, 2006 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.) 

Therefore, the answer to David’s prayer finds its culmination in the work of Christ on the Cross, His present session as Mediator in heaven, and His return and consummation of the ages in the New Heavens and New Earth.

It is a prophecy of the sending of the Messiah in due time to redeem Israel from his iniquities (Ps 130:8) and so to redeem them from their troubles. It refers also to the happiness of the future state. In heaven, and in heaven only, will God's Israel be perfectly redeemed from all troubles.(from Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible, PC Study Bible Formatted Electronic Database Copyright © 2006 by Biblesoft, Inc. All Rights reserved.)

This is not too farfetched of an idea for the Apostle Peter explained that David was also a prophet (Acts 2:30).

Our Lord, when speaking to His disciples about the end times declared:

When these things begin to take place,
stand up and lift up your heads,
because your redemption is drawing near."
Luke 21:28 NIV

Perhaps I am reading too much into a phrase the Lord uses here. He said, “Lift up your heads.” I cannot help hearing the words of the Psalmist in Psalm 24:7 & 9.

Lift up your heads, O you gates;lift them up, you ancient doors,that the King of glory may come in.
Ps 24:7,9 NIV

  

Is not our Lord implying that He is the King of Glory who will bring redemption (i.e. deliverance) to His people? David has the people of God ask for the identity of the King of Glory. The answer comes in verses 8 & 10.

  

Who is this King of glory?

The LORD strong and mighty,

the LORD mighty in battle.

 Who is he, this King of glory?

The LORD Almighty —

He is the King of glory.

Psalm 24:8,10 NIV