Judges through Poets 12b- Reasons for Suffering contd, Psalm 1
Continued from last lecture
c) God uses suffering on unbelievers to thwart their plans
Ultimately God uses suffering for one purpose.
John 9:1-3
As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 And his disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" 3 Jesus answered, "It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.
Suffering exists to glorify God.
Job 40:1-8 shows us that God is not obligated to give us answers for our sufferings.
Suffering comes to believers from a God who is kind and works for our benefit. All thing work for our good (Rom 8:28)
Duet 29:29 – the secret things belong to the Lord
The sovereignty of God is the basis of our comfort. His sovereignty of God is not just a characteristic but His essence.
The greatest event of sorrow (Christ being crucified) turned out to give the greatest joy.
The Psalms
Psalm 1
Everything is searching for happiness in the wrong place. What brings deep happiness?
Blessed [happy] is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; 2 but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. 3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. 4 The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away. 5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; 6 for the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.
The wisdom literature contrasts the wicked man and the righteous man, the seed of the serpent and the seed of the woman.
Structure
V1-3 the concrete foundation of the righteous
V4-5 the tragic nature of the wicked
V6 a contrast between the ultimate end of the righteous and wicked
The righteous man is happy. The Lord is the originator of this happiness. Why? Because there are some things that he does not do. He does not having binding relationships and take worldly counsel from the wicked.
The happy man does not stand in the way of sinners. To sin is to miss the mark (Judges 20:16).
The happy man does not sit in the sit in the seat of the mockers.
Blessed is the man
who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers
Blessed is the man
A = who walks, nor stands, nor sits
B = in the counsel, in the way, in the seat
C = wicked, sinners, scoffers
This is an example of tri-cola complete synonymous parallelism
The parallelism teaches us about progression of sin. The happy man does not deteriorate and become like the wicked.
V2 According to scripture the blessedness of God’s word is great than any happiness found elsewhere. The seed of the woman’s pleasure is found in the torah- God’s word.
c) God uses suffering on unbelievers to thwart their plans
Ultimately God uses suffering for one purpose.
John 9:1-3
As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 And his disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" 3 Jesus answered, "It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.
Suffering exists to glorify God.
Job 40:1-8 shows us that God is not obligated to give us answers for our sufferings.
Suffering comes to believers from a God who is kind and works for our benefit. All thing work for our good (Rom 8:28)
Duet 29:29 – the secret things belong to the Lord
The sovereignty of God is the basis of our comfort. His sovereignty of God is not just a characteristic but His essence.
The greatest event of sorrow (Christ being crucified) turned out to give the greatest joy.
The Psalms
Psalm 1
Everything is searching for happiness in the wrong place. What brings deep happiness?
Blessed [happy] is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; 2 but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. 3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. 4 The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away. 5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; 6 for the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.
The wisdom literature contrasts the wicked man and the righteous man, the seed of the serpent and the seed of the woman.
Structure
V1-3 the concrete foundation of the righteous
V4-5 the tragic nature of the wicked
V6 a contrast between the ultimate end of the righteous and wicked
The righteous man is happy. The Lord is the originator of this happiness. Why? Because there are some things that he does not do. He does not having binding relationships and take worldly counsel from the wicked.
The happy man does not stand in the way of sinners. To sin is to miss the mark (Judges 20:16).
The happy man does not sit in the sit in the seat of the mockers.
Blessed is the man
who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers
Blessed is the man
A = who walks, nor stands, nor sits
B = in the counsel, in the way, in the seat
C = wicked, sinners, scoffers
This is an example of tri-cola complete synonymous parallelism
The parallelism teaches us about progression of sin. The happy man does not deteriorate and become like the wicked.
V2 According to scripture the blessedness of God’s word is great than any happiness found elsewhere. The seed of the woman’s pleasure is found in the torah- God’s word.
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