WHEN THEY FIND THEMSELVES TO BE BUT MEN

<<To the chief Musician upon Muth-labben>>

<<A Psalm of David.>>

 

1 I will PRAISE YOU, O LORD, with my WHOLE HEART; I will number out and reckon up every one of the miraculous wonders and divine interventions You have performed on my behalf.

 

2 I will rejoice and triumph in You: I will play upon my stringed instruments and sing praises to Your Name, O Ancient of Days Most High.  (vs. 1,2, ¹wcv + ²)

¶ Interestingly enough, Psalm IX, though its substance is obvious, the composition of its Introduction, which is, <<To the chief Musician upon Muth-lab-ben, A Psalm of David >>,  is laced with conjecture from the offset.

¶ The ancient Chaldee renders the “Introduction” as this,  “A Song of David, to be sung concerning the Death of the Strong Man (the champion warrior) who went out between the camps.” Goliath.  

 

¶ The Septuagint, the Ethiopic, and the Vulgate all agree, rendering it, “A Psalm of David, (for the end): Concerning the Secrets of the Son.”

 

¶ The Syriac {western dialect of Aramaic in which many important Christian texts are preserved – still used by Syrian Christians} renders the interpretation as “A Psalm of David, concerning Christ’s receiving the Throne, the Kingdom, and defeating His enemies.”

 

¶ The Arabic renders it, “Concerning the mysteries of the Son, as to the glory of Christ, His resurrection, and kingdom, and the destruction of all the disobedient.”

¶ All of these renderings reach back into antiquity.

¶ In the light of the fact that King David was not only a warrior, a musician, a mystic, a poet, a Psalmist, and a proven prophet’s Prophet, but also a type and shadow of our returning King, I believe credence may be given to all of the above. Adding to that, the Psalms of David are nothing less than the inspired Word of God, truly Truth, and truly Alive with Power, and “IF” properly applied, are powerful, life-changing decrees to every Child-of-the-Promise on earth today, as well as deadly dictates to the wicked. “Let the high praises of God be in your mouth, and a two-edged sword in your hand, for the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds.” (Psalm 149:6, 2 Corinthians 10:4) which is exactly what David was all about, Praising God, for His ever-present Power, mercy, favor, grace, and victories throughout his entire earthly adventure. The stirring account of David’s life is no cunningly devised fable. Not only is it history, “IT” (the Psalms), is the Power Laden WORD OF GOD written by the Hand of God through the life of David.

Therefore, like David,

1 I will praise You, O LORD, with my WHOLE HEART; I will number out and reckon up every one of the miraculous wonders and divine interventions You have performed on my behalf.

 

2 I will rejoice and triumph in You: I will play upon my stringed instruments and sing praises to Your Name, O Ancient of Days Most High, (all the days of my life.²)

 

3 My enemies will withdraw, they will turn tail and run, and when they do, they will tremble, faint, fall, and perish (not at my presence), but at Your Presence.  (vs. 1-3, ¹wcv + ²)

¶ That my friend is the Powerful Word of God! And when decreed in the Name of Jesus applies to you, to me, and our nation today just as it did for King David and his nation, Israel, back in David’s day. The Death of the Strongman, the end times, and the Son, spoken of in the various renderings of Psalm IX’s “Introduction” are upon us, which is a sure sign of the approaching King of Kings and His final conquest of the wicked In His “Dispensation of the Fulness of Times.” The One of whom David was a type and shadow is about to return and take down the Last Strongman, the Last Goliath, and his entire kingdom of darkness.  Should we not PRAISE GOD with ALL OF OUR HEARTS!!!

4 For You, Almighty God, by Your Strong Arm do uphold Your Divine Will on my behalf and empower (as a joint heir in Christ) my cause. (What You did for David You will do for me), for it is You and You alone that sits upon the Throne of Righteousness judging with divine equity.

 

5 As You did back in the days of David, You are rebuking the heathen, and destroying the wicked; soon and very soon You will put out their candle forever and ever.

 

6 The wicked are about to come to a perpetual end; their destruction is at hand. Their Sodoms and Gomorrahs along with Mystery Babylon, the Highfalutin’ Harlot will all be utterly destroyed; their great and grand gold and silver, bronze, and marble memorials will perish with their memories. (Of them, not a trace will be left. We will see them no more). (vs. 4,5,6, ¹wcv & ²)

¶ I might add, there will be no swansongs nor grand reflections of the Highfalutin Peers of the Worldly Realm in the Age to Come. Their glory, though illustrious and lionized in this age, will turn out to be nothing more than fleeting shadows of shame that fell apart in flight when called to come and stand before the Lord in the Great Inquisition For Blood. We will look high and low but they will be nowhere to be found in the Age to Come. According to the Scriptures, even their great and grand gold, silver, bronze, and marble memorials will perish with their memories. Neither name nor vestige shall remain of them in the Glorius Age of the Kingdom of God.

7 But You, Melchizedek, Who had no beginning and has no end, You are the Miraculous-Wonder whose eyes are as flames of fire, Yes, it is You Who endures forever. You, O Ancient of Days, have fitted and fixed Your throne with Your faithfulness and equity – FOR JUDGMENT.

 

8 In righteousness You will judge the world, (in the GREAT INQUISITION FOR BLOOD) You will pour out Your wrath upon the wicked and minister the sweet judgment of equity to the faithful.

 

9 You, O Ancient of Days, are a refuge for the oppressed and our high defense in times of trouble.

 

10 And we that KNOW YOU put our trust in Your Name, (All of it), for we know that You will never forsake those that seek You with ALL OF THEIR HEARTS.

 

11 (And so, it is with great adoration²), we Sing praises to You, Lord.  (vs. 7-11, ¹wcv + ²)

¶ PRAISE THE LORD: a statement so flippantly used within the circle of American Christendom today that it has become nothing more than a byword, a bumper-sticker-cliche, a slogan carrying no greater clout than the word WOW. Why? Because it NO LONGER COMES FROM THE HEART.

¶ To fully realize the magnitude, and the gravity of David’s little phrase, “Sing praises to the Lord.” we must look at the Tabernacle of David. When David was anointed King over all of Israel the very first thing he did was gather his faithful brothers, priests, and Levites out of the remote towns and pasturelands where Saul, who had no need for them nor desire for WORSHIP, had sent them to fare for themselves to work as blacksmiths, carpenters, and tillers of the soil, etc. (1Chronicles 13:12)  David, upon taking his rightful place upon the Throne of Israel, then said, “Let us bring again the Ark of our God to us, for we did not seek it in the days of Saul.” (1 Chronicles 13:3)  David might as well have said, “Under the leadership of Saul we, as a nation, did not seek the presence of God.”²   David vowed from that day forward that the Ark of the Covenant containing Arron’s Rod, the Golden Pot of Manna, and the Stone Tablets upon which were written the Ten Commandments by the finger of God Himself would be the crux of everything that He and the Kingdom of Israel did. Arron’s Rod; a seasoned staff of almond wood that miraculously budded, bloomed, and bore almonds was, itself, a reminder of the continual rebellion of a God’s stiff-necked people. The Golden Pot of Manna – a reminder of their ungrateful rejection of God’s divine provision. The Ten Commandments on Tablets of Stone was a testimony written in stone of their blatant disavowal of God’s Law. All of these were placed in the Ark beneath the Mercy Seat above which rested the Protecting Cherubim, above which dwelt the Presence of the Glory of God, all of which, 2000 years later, just as prophesied, was gathered together into Christ.  SELAH!

¶ David vowed, “I will not enter my house nor sleep in my bed, I will not sleep nor slumber until I establish a place (amongst us) for the Lord, a dwelling place (on earth) for the Mighty One of Jacob,”  David, then goes on to say, “Behold, I heard of all this while in Bethlehem-Ephrathah – heard what? – that Saul had left the Ark of the Covenant, which he had no need for, abandoned in Kirjath-Jearim in a clearing in a woods, of which David says, we found it (the Ark) in a clearing deep in the forest at Kirjath-Jearim. (Psalm 132:1-6)

¶ I would like to extract a few comments (combined with mine) from an article written by R.A. Martinez of Global Maps Ministries. He paints a perfect picture of the magnitude, and gravity of King David’s little phrase, “Sing praises to the Lord” v. 11

¶ David, after finding the Ark, which Saul, who was the very type and shadow of the AntiChrist, obviously had no use for, for he left it neglected in a clearing in the woods (Psalm 132:6), retrieved it, then pitched a tent for the Ark of the Covenant in Jerusalem, which David, did with great reverence, place inside a tent. He then set singers and musicians surrounding the Ark of the Covenant twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. This was their full-time occupation; day and night, they had no other occupation but to sing PRAISES to the Glory of God (the Presence of God) which RESTED over the Mercy Seat. Did they do it for fame, fortune, or notoriety? Absolutely not!  However, they were fitted (anointed), accommodated, well-paid, and blessed beyond measure.  Let’s take a gander.

¶ Here is what is absolutely stunning about what was happening in that tent. In the Tabernacle of Moses, there was a thick veil around the Ark of the Covenant. No one could enter into the holiest place lest they be struck dead. ONLY one man, once a year, the high priest, could enter that Holy Place. After David dies, Solomon builds a most magnificent Temple, and again the Ark of the Covenant goes back into the inner chambers; The Holy Place. Again, only the high priest, once a year, could enter in. But for thirty-three years, the Ark of the Covenant in the Tabernacle of David, a tent, was encompassed with something called the Sacrifice of Praise and all who entered could gaze with unveiled faces at the glory of God. David knew, by divine revelation, that praise, worship, and adoration, were the Sweet Incense that God desired (Just as He does today) and that Praise, Worship, and Adoration would be the atmosphere in which the Presence of the Glory of God would dwell. There was no stage, pulpit, or soapbox in the Tabernacle of David for man to stand; Almighty God was the “Crux of the Matter”!  With the Sacrifice of Praise and Worship continually going up before the Glory of God which RESTED above the Ark of the Covenant, they could ALL come, without fear, with unveiled faces into the Presence of God which rested in the Tabernacle of David.

¶ David chose twenty-four families, led by the elders of those families to minister to the Lord. Does that sound familiar? Twenty-four elders surrounding a throne? He stationed them around the Ark, and the twenty-four singing prophets began to sing night and day to the glory of God accompanied by two hundred and eighty-eight of their brothers and sons. The backup band was four thousand musicians, all to minister to the Lord. Four thousand gatekeepers and six thousand judges and officers were appointed to handle the operations, logistics, and finances of the Tabernacle of David. (1 Chron 23-25)  David paid the salary of four thousand two hundred and eighty-eight singers and musicians, another four thousand gatekeepers and their families, he also housed them and kept “IT” going for thirty-three years. David spent roughly, in today’s economy, about one hundred billion dollars to minister to the Lord in that tent. One hundred billion dollars, In the heart and mind of David, was far more than worth it.

¶ Israel enjoyed thirty-three years of gazing with unveiled faces upon the glory of the Lord. Prophetic, indeed, of the coming millennial reign of Jesus Christ, the King of Kings, and Lord of Lords, some three thousand years later.  (Martinez/Callery)

¶ When it was all set in place, David said, “Let us go into His Tabernacle and worship at His footstool. Arise O LORD, into Your REST, You and the Ark of Your Strength.” (Psalm 132:7,8)  The Ark of the Covenant at that time was the very Throne of God on Earth above which RESTED the manifest Glory of His Presence, just above the outstretched wings of the cherubim covering The Mercy Seat RESTED the Glory of God.

¶ Beneath the Mercy Seat in the Ark of the Covenant rested the total sum of man’s rebellion against God and His anointed. David truly knew the Love, Kindness, Mercy, and Grace of God, as well as His Equity, Justice, and Judgement. David knew well the God of all Creation as his FATHER. David knew, that out of his own loins, a Savior would be Born, a Savior Who would come to be known by ALL mankind as the Son of David, the Son of God, Jesus the Messiah out of Nazareth. David was truly “A Man After GOD’s Own Heart.”

¶ When David, as he does throughout his Book of Psalms, says, “Praise the Lord”  it is not the glazed-over, trite remark of approval, or the old, worn-out, threadbare phrase so common in today’s Christian cliques, or someone making an irreverent reference to “The Man Upstairs”.

¶ When David said, “Praise the Lord”, he meant “WORSHIP HIM IN SPIRIT AND IN TRUTH, with ALL OF YOUR HEART, ALL OF YOUR STRENGTH, ALL OF YOU SOUL, AND ALL THAT IS WITHIN YOU, which brings us back to verse 11.

11 Sing praises to the Lord, Who dwells in the Mountain of His Holiness; declare His miraculous doings amongst His people and to all the heathen nations of the earth. (for it is there in the midst of Praise and Worship that He meets with us, His people)

 

12 For He is about to return to make inquisition for every drop of innocent blood spilt since the days of Cain and Abel. Not one unrepentant guilty God-hater will escape His vengeance. Though He may tarry for a while He has never forgotten the cries of the innocent, (for their blood does cry out to this day from the earth upon which it was spilled.)

 

13 Thank You, for Your remarkable mercy and overwhelming favor, O Lord, You, Who are forever delivering me from the trouble I suffer at the hands of those who hate me. You, O Lord, Who has ever so gently lifted me up out of the gates of death.

 

14 So that I may eternally declare all of Your praise in the Gates of the Sons and Daughters of the New Jerusalem, for I do rejoice in Your salvation. (for from the Gates of Death to the Gates of the New Jerusalem I have come, because of You, O Lord)

 

15 O Lord, the nations that do rage against You are about to fall into the pits they dug for others: once again they are about to find their own feet fastened in the nets and snares they laid for others, the very nets and snares they spend their entire lives laying for us.  

 

16 It’s true, it’s true, so true, O Lord, You are famous for the judgment by which You govern; Have not the souls of the ungodly always been snared by the hooks and gaffs made by their own hands?

 

17 The wicked?  To Abaddon, they are bound and will descend with him into the fiery pit, as will the nations that forgot their God. (for, forgetting God is the source of all crime).

 

18 For we, whose great need is You, O Lord, are looked upon by the world as destitute, poor, and foolish, yet quite to the contrary, we shall shine forever as the stars in the heavens, brighter and brighter unto that perfect day.

 

19 Arise, O Lord, for You are the Root and the Offspring of David (Rev. 22:16), before Whose eyes as flames of fire the arrogance and the craft of man shall not prevail. The rulers, the tyrants, the profesors and princes of this world, along with the kings of the nations have forgotten THEY ARE BUT MEN. They arrogantly claim for themselves divine honors and  grand titles of infallibility. THEY HAVE FORGOTTON THEY ARE BUT SINFUL, WEAK, AND DYING CREATURES, however, they will come to understand that, in full, when sentenced to stand in Your sight on the Dreadful Day of Dead Reckoning.

20 Come That Day, O Lord, they will tremble with uncontrollable fear when THEY FIND THEMSELVES TO BE BUT MEN. (vs. 11-20, ¹wcv + ²)

THE OUTSHINING by Will Callery ©William & Cynthia Pub. Co. ©2008 BMI

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¹wcv / my emphasis/version  (always taken from the Greek, Aramaic, Arabic, and Hebrew interpretations, definitions, and connotations)

² / my insert(s)