Through the Bible with Les Feldick
LESSON 3 * PART 4 * BOOK 79
PART 5 of the MESSIANIC PROPHECIES – PART 4
Psalms 68, 69, and 72
Okay, good to have everybody back in for program number 4. That’ll finish book number 79. We’ll be starting something different in our next taping. But for those of you out in television, again, we just want to remind you we still have quite a few copies of our one and only book—Questions and Answers from the Bible—and the girls will get them out to you. Just give them a call, drop us a note, or whatever.
Transcriber’s note—I know many have that little question and answer book already. But for those of you who don’t – let me encourage you to buy one. So many have used that book—even to find salvation. That little book covers almost 100 questions you might have about the Bible. I bought the book for my brother, whom I thought believed as we do for salvation. But after reading that little book, he asked me a question: “Why did you almost let me go to Hell?” Enough said! They also make a wonderful gift to give and only cost $11 which includes shipping. Thank you, Jerry Pool
And again, we always want to thank our audience for all your prayers and your financial help. We just can’t say it enough. We can’t repeat it often enough.
Now we’re going to move right on to where we left off in our Psalms study. Remember in our last program we were showing how graphically the suffering and the crucifixion is shown in Psalms 69. We’re going to finish that one before we go on into number 72, which will kind of wind up our series in Psalms. So come back with me to Psalms 69 where we left off as Paul quoted from it in verse 22.
Psalms 69:22-23a
“Let their table become a snare before them: and that which should have been for their welfare, let it become a trap. 23. Let their eyes be darkened, that they see not;…” Remember, we’re talking about Israel.
Psalms 69:23b-25a
“…and make their loins continually to shake. 24. Pour out thine indignation upon them, and let thy wrathful anger take hold of them. 25. Let their habitation be desolate;…” Did it happen? My, after A.D. 70 Israel became a total desolation for 1,900 and some years. All this was fulfilled.
Psalms 69:25b-28
“…and let none dwell in their tents. 26. For they persecute him whom thou hast smitten; and they talk to the grief of those whom thou hast wounded. 27. Add iniquity unto their iniquity: and let them not come into thy righteousness. 28. Let them be blotted out of the book of the living, and not be written with the righteous.” Which is called the Book of Life.
The Book of Life is referred to, of course, throughout Scripture. It’s just one of the facets. It’s not unique to Israel. We know that Paul alludes to it. The Book of Revelation alludes to it. And here the Lord just simply makes a statement of judgment because of their unbelief and their rejection of Him. He said, “Let them be blotted out of the book of the living, and not be written with the righteous.” Now He comes back to His own estate.
Psalms 69:29
“But I am poor and sorrowful: let thy salvation, O God, set me up on high.” And as I said in the last program, remember, salvation is the theme of Scripture—to bring lost men to a knowledge of eternal life. Now verse 30 and He comes back speaking of Himself. Now remember, these are the words of the Lord Jesus although written by David in 1,000 B.C.
Psalms 69:30-31
“I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify him with thanksgiving. 31. This also shall please the LORD better than an ox or bullock that hath horns and hoofs.” In other words, the animal sacrifices would be completely done away with by His work of the cross.
Psalms 69:32-33a
“The humble shall see this, and be glad: and your heart shall live that seek God. 33. For the LORD heareth the poor,…” In other words, those that have been downtrodden under the curse—but when they come into the Kingdom, there will be no downtrodden. There’ll be no one less blessed than the other. Now verse 35, here’s the promise.
Psalms 69:35-36
“For God will save Zion, (They are not going to destroy the Nation of Israel or the City of Jerusalem.) and will build the cities of Judah: that they may dwell there, and have it in possession. 36. The seed also of his servants shall inherit it: and they that love his name shall dwell therein.” And that, of course, is the Glory that’s going to follow.
Now let’s just skip across to Psalms 72 to finish up our fourth program today. Here again we have all the joys and the blessings of the fruition of David’s prayers, the Kingdom. Oh, my goodness, David just couldn’t talk enough about this glorious coming Kingdom—which, of course, was promised to him clear back in II Samuel.
Psalms 72:1
“Give the King (that’s the Messiah) thy judgments, (or thy government) O God, and thy righteousness unto the king’s son.” All right, now let’s use Scripture. Jump up to Isaiah chapter 9 so that you can see that all of this fits over and over and over.
These are verses that we’ve used many, many times before. But they’re always appropriate when we can prove that Scripture fits with Scripture. Now remember what he just said. Give the King thy judgments—or thy government or thy rule. Now Isaiah 9:6 and here’s the promise from the prophet—the same Kingdom, same King, and the same Messiah.
Isaiah 9:6-7a
“For unto us (to the Nation of Israel) a child is born, (speaking of Bethlehem) unto us a son is given: and the government (this coming King and His Kingdom) shall be upon his shoulder: (Whose shoulder? The Babe of Bethlehem. The One who has come to the Nation of Israel.) and his name shall be (when this Kingdom becomes a reality) called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. 7. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, (It’s going to go on into eternity.) upon the throne of David,…”
Do you see that? It’s going to be on David’s throne as he held forth in his kingdom time on Mount Zion in Jerusalem. That’s why we have Jerusalem mentioned so often. It will always be the capital of the Nation of Israel.
Isaiah 9:7b
“…and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even forever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.” In other words, the Creator, the Sustainer, will make sure that all these prophecies will come to pass. All right, back to Psalms chapter 72 verse 3.
Psalms 72:3-4
“The mountains shall bring peace to the people, and the little hills, by righteousness. (Which is probably a reference to some of the other Gentile kingdoms that will be part of the Lord’s Kingdom.) 4. He shall judge (or rule) the poor of the people, he shall save the children of the needy, and shall break in pieces the oppressor.”
Now let’s pick up again what Isaiah says. Jump back again to Isaiah, this time to chapter 11. All of this is fulfilled when the King finally sets up this glorious Kingdom.
Isaiah 11:1-2a
“And there shall (Future—it’s still future, even though Isaiah wrote in 700 B.C. It’s still future.) come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, (Who was the father, remember, of King David.) and a Branch (Capital B—that’s one of the terms of Deity in the Old Testament.) shall grow out of his roots: (And this is what He’s going to show forth.) 2. And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him,…” Upon whom? This Son of David, the Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth, born of Bethlehem—however you want to put it, when He becomes King and the Kingdom is established.
Isaiah 11:2-3a
“And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear (or the wisdom) of the LORD; (That’s all going to be His attributes as King.) 3. And (these things) shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the LORD: and he shall not judge (or rule) after the sight of his eyes,…”
I’ve explained that over the years. Every ruler, whether he’s a king or whether he’s a president or whether he’s a governor has to have advisors. They can’t possibly know every segment of their kingdom, or of their rule. So they have these various departments. In America we call them cabinets.
Every cabinet secretary has a particular section of our government, or whatever you want to call it. He has to report to the President and make his requests and so forth, because no one man can keep track of everything. So, it’s necessary. But with Him, He won’t need a cabinet. He’s going to have full knowledge. He’s the Creator God. He won’t have to listen to the reports of some of His underlings. He won’t have to go by what He sees on their charts or listen to what they have to report.
Isaiah 11:4-5
“But with righteousness (as the absolute, sinless, holy member of the Triune God) he shall judge (rule) the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: (In other words, they’re no longer going to be the downtrodden segment of society. They’ll be up here with all the rest of them.) and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, (That is building up to this. That’s the Tribulation again.) and with the breath of his lips (as we saw in the last program) shall he slay (or bring to nothing) the wicked. 5. And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.”
That always brings me to another thought. I didn’t intend to do this, but come up with me a minute to Romans. I’ve come to a stronger conviction of my use of the word faithfulness, because it is so a part of Scripture. Romans chapter 3 and this is just a little aside. Verses 21 and 22—this is where we are so far as salvation is concerned. Verse 21—this is after he’s showing us in verses 19 and 20 that the Law had nothing to do with saving us. All it could do was convict us.
Romans 3:21-22a
“But now (on this side of the finished work of the cross) the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, (It’s brought into the spotlight.) being witnessed by the law (Absolutely, that was all part of the progressive revelation.) and the prophets; (Now here it comes.) 22. Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ…” And I’ve always put in there “faithfulness,” and I used to quibble my ear a little bit. I thought, well, maybe I’m not treating Scripture right. But I’m seeing more and more, even from other commentators, that that is the true word here. It’s the “faithfulness of Jesus Christ.”
You’ve heard me give this illustration as long as you’ve been coming in here. Do you examine your chair before you sit on it? No. Why? You trust it. You know it’s going to be faithful to hold you. Well, that’s the way it is with Christ. He didn’t die that death as a wimp. He didn’t die that death as a defeated something or other. He was victorious. And when he proclaimed salvation on that finished work of the cross, He remains faithful. Now, I want you to go home with that word ringing in your ears. He is faithful to the very end of eternity—which will never come. He’ll always be faithful. No matter what our need, He’s faithful. And the Old Testament brings that out so clearly.
Now come back again, if you will, to Psalms 72. In faithfulness He’s going to rule and He’s going to provide. Now verse 5:
Psalms 72:5
“They shall fear thee as long as the sun and moon endure, throughout all generations.” Now there’s another portion of Scripture that says the same thing, only from a different prophet. Turn up with me to Jeremiah. I’m always confronting these people who maintain that God is all through with the Jew. They disappeared after A.D. 70. There is nothing of prophecy left concerning the Jew, because they disappeared. How can they proclaim such stuff?
And these are good men. I mean, these are highly educated, well thought of men. I get a magazine every once in a while that says everything was fulfilled in A.D. 70. Christ returned and everything. Israel disappeared and they are no longer of any account for end-time prophecy. How can these good men fly in the face of Scripture?
Now remember what you just saw in Psalms. Verse 5, remember, “They shall fear thee as long as the sun and moon endure, throughout all generations.” All right, now look how Jeremiah puts it in chapter 31. Now, beloved, this is the Word of God. How can any man tamper with it? I’ll never know. But they do.
Jeremiah 31:35
“Thus saith the LORD, (the prophet writes) which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar; (In other words, that’s the ebb and flow of the tide.) The LORD of hosts is his name:” Now look at verse 36.
Jeremiah 31:36
“If those ordinances (Concerning the sun and the moon and the universe in general—If they–) depart from before me, saith the LORD, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me for ever.” But not until. Is it ever going to happen? Never. Israel will never disappear. That joker in Iran can say all he wants. He’s never going to get the job done. He’s spitting into the wind. That’s the way one old preacher in Oklahoma used to put it, and I can appreciate it. That’s all they’re doing. It’s just flying back in their face if they think they can obliterate Israel, because God says it is not going to happen.
Now come back to Psalms. Another point I want you to take. Not only is God faithful, but He’s going to remain faithful and to Israel in particular.
Psalms 72:6
“He shall come down like rain upon the mown grass: as showers that water the earth.” Now, I know city people can’t enjoy this. But those of us in rural America: is there anything more fragrant than new-mown hay? Nothing! And Scripture is saying the same thing. Oh, my goodness, “He shall come down like rain upon the mown hay: as showers that water the earth.”
Psalms 72:7-8
“In his days (That is when the King sets up this Kingdom.) shall the righteous flourish; (Because there’ll be no unbelievers in this kingdom. It’s going to be nothing but righteous.) and abundance of peace so long as the moon endureth. 8. He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth.” Now flip up to Zechariah 14. Keep your hand in Psalms. This is a verse that we’ve used over the years. And how can anybody miss this?
Zechariah 14:9
“And the LORD (God the Son, Jesus Christ) shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one.”
Now when Zechariah writes around 500 B.C., he’s got another 2,500 years to wait. Two thousand five hundred years have gone by since Zechariah wrote. But look what he says, “The LORD shall be king over (Not all of Heaven, but what?) all the earth:…” He’s going to be King over this planet earth that all these Psalms have been writing about, and all the prophecies refer to. Back to Psalms 72 again.
Psalms 72:9
“They that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him; and his enemies shall lick the dust.” Well, that’s before the Kingdom comes in. There won’t be any enemies to deal with during the Kingdom.
Psalms 72:10
“The kings of Tarshish (That’s probably from the western end of the Mediterranean, maybe even Great Britain.) and of the isles shall bring presents: (all the way to Jerusalem) the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts.” Now, you remember, it was the Queen of Sheba that brought all the gold for Solomon. Now verse 11:
Psalms 72:11-12
“Yea, all kings shall fall down before him: all nations shall serve him. 12. For he shall deliver the needy when he crieth, the poor also, and him that hath no helper.” Now let’s just back up. I’ve got time. I don’t want to miss this one. Come back with me to Daniel. Because I want you to see how all of prophecy is looking forward to this glorious King and His Kingdom. And it’s going to be ordained by the Triune God Himself. Daniel chapter 7 verse 13:
Daniel 7:13-14a
“I saw in the night visions, (Now this is Daniel.) and, behold, one like the Son of man (capitalized) came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. 14. And there was given him (What’s the next word?) dominion…” Same word that was used for Adam. He would have dominion over everything on the earth.
Daniel 7:14a
“And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, (not just Israel now) nations, and languages, should serve him: and his dominion is an everlasting dominion, (It will never end.) which shall not pass away, and his kingdom…”
Now, let’s jump all the way up to Revelation. You have the same scenario. Now we have it from the pen of the Apostle John.
Revelation 5:5
“And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, (Coming out of the line of David and Solomon and all of the way down to the time of Christ and His earthly ministry) the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, (Jesus of Nazareth) hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.” Now here it is.
Revelation 5:6-7
“And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth. 7. And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him who sat upon the throne.” In other words, He took over the admonition to set up this glorious, glorious Kingdom that is promised all the way up through our Old Testament. All right, back to Psalms again. We’ll finish 72, and we can go home.
Psalms 72:7-8a
“In his days (In other words, while He’s ruling and reigning on planet earth.) shall the righteous flourish; and abundance of peace so long as the moon endureth. 8. He shall have dominion also from sea to sea,…” And then you come all the way down to where I left off earlier in verse 11.
Psalms 72:11-12
“Yea, all kings shall fall down before him: all nations shall serve him. 12. For He shall deliver the needy when he crieth; the poor also, and him that hath no helper.” In other words, no one is going to end up on the bottom of that—what we call the totem pole. He’s going to bless them as much as anybody else.
Psalms 72:13-14
“He shall spare the poor and needy, and shall save the souls of the needy. 14. He shall redeem their soul from deceit and violence: (in other words, from their past lifestyle) and precious shall their blood be in his sight.” Well, that’s a reference to all the shed blood that has taken place for 6,000 years—beyond our comprehension. Now verse 15:
Psalms 72:15-16a
“And he shall live, and to him shall be given of the gold of Sheba, prayer also shall be made for him continually; and daily shall he be praised. 16. There shall be an handful of corn in the earth upon the top of the mountains; the fruit thereof shall shake like Lebanon:…”
Now stop a minute. What kind of soil do you usually have at the top of a mountain? Rich or poor. Poor! I mean, there’s not much topsoil on the top of a mountain. But the analogy here is that this is going to be such a supernatural kingdom, that even the kernels of grain that are sprinkled on a mountaintop will be able to produce whatever comes from it like Cedars of Lebanon.
We were close to Lebanon a few weeks ago. I wish we could have gone. I’d like to see the Cedars of Lebanon. They’re still there. Lebanon is still known for their cedars. They’re tall, and they’re majestic. But the analogy here is that this Kingdom is going to be so glorious that even a mountaintop with it’s poor soil and just a sprinkling of some seeds of grain will produce stems or stalks or whatever like unto the Cedars of Lebanon. Verse 17:
Psalms 72:17-18
“His name shall endure for ever: (It will never be anything less than the Eternal Sovereign God.) his name shall be continued as long as the sun: and men shall be blessed in him: all nations shall call him blessed. 18. Blessed be the LORD God, the God of Israel, who only doeth wondrous things.”
Now you’ve always got to remember. Throughout all of Israel’s history, even in their unbelief, the miraculous was almost an everyday occurrence, except during the 400 years of silence. But for the most part, Israel was always aware of the miraculous power of her God. All right, I’ve got to get down to the last verse.
Psalms 72:19-20
“And blessed be his glorious name for ever: let the whole earth be filled with his glory; Amen, and Amen. 20. The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended.”
What does he mean? When the Kingdom becomes a reality, all of David’s prayers are fulfilled.