19. Psalm 90:12. What does it mean to “number” our days?

In connection with what Moses has just said about the possible length of our lives, he tells us here to be aware that we are not here for ever. Put the limit on your life that God has put, remembering that even the 80 years are not promised. Take account of each day provided. Spend your days wisely. Waste is still a sin whether it be of resources or time.

20. Psalm 91:10. If this Psalm is for all, how do you explain verse 10? If it is Messianic, how do you explain verse 16? Is this Psalm, then, theoretic, and only for those who walk perfectly in the Spirit?

Verse 10 promises that no evil will befall either the Messiah or all Christians. It is a hard verse to explain from either standpoint. Much evil befell Him, and much befalls us.

Verse 16 says that long life is promised to all who love God as they ought. Yet Jesus died at 33, and martyrs have been known to give up the ghost even earlier.

How much can we read into this Psalm, that is the favorite of so many? If Jesus experienced evil and Jesus had a short life, for whom is the Psalm intended?

There are other clues in the Psalm. Though the beloved will have no evil near Him, He will tread on lions and cobras. That is to say, there can be many threats, but always ultimate victory. Nothing will destroy. Nothing will ultimately harm. Yes, he will nip at your heel, but you will bruise his head. Yes, you will have many afflictions, but the Lord will deliver you from them all.

Deliverance assumes conflict, blood, sweat, tears, agony. But it also assumes victory. Let us not be carried away with what the Psalm seems to say, but rather look to Jesus who lived it out. He was rejected by many but accepted by His own. He was crucified, but He rose. He died young but He lives forever. This Psalm causes us to look at eternity and see the ultimate win over the Enemy’s tricks.

21. Psalms 96-100. Are these Psalms just poetry, to be interpreted any way we want, or do they describe another day, one that is coming?

It would seem to me that all of these songs demand the setting of the coming Kingdom of God, during the Millennium. This is a day when “all the earth” will sing to God, when His glory will be told “among the nations.” Psalm 96 ends with a promise of His coming, and the final judgment. Psalm 97 begins with the statement of the reign of God over all the Earth, following that awful judgment. Of that day, Zion is rejoicing.

Psalm 98. The victory has been won. His salvation is known planet-wide. Everyone is breaking forth into singing. And once more the reminder that He comes to judge the Earth. I see a similar vein in both Psalms 99 and 100.

His people can of course sing them now, but these are some of the introductory hymns of the great Reign of Our Sovereign, Jesus.

22. Psalm 102:18. Who are the “people yet to be created”?

Sounds to me like this verse is saying that this Psalm, and by extension all of the Psalms, are written for the church of Jesus, indeed, a people created in these latter days who will with Israel praise the Lord.

23. Psalm 104:15. What is the Psalmist’s view of wine? Explain.

It is no secret that wine, even the kind with a bit of alcohol, was a known and used commodity in Biblical days, in days following, and yes, in most of the world today also!

Our evidence against wine, at least the wine of those days, is scant. One has to visit the wedding of Cana, and the comments made about Jesus’ miracle, to get a little of the sense of where we should stand on this issue. Read all the other wine references in the Gospels and you will see nothing negative said.

Remember Paul to Timothy, who had a stomach problem: No more water, but a little wine. Medicinal, of course.

Of course, there are other Scriptures. Wine is a mocker, comes to mind. Too much of this pleasant drink will kill and destroy persons and families. We see the results on the streets of every major city.

Drunkards are condemned in no uncertain terms, Biblically. But not drinkers of wine. Doesn’t it make sense.

Herein is hypocrisy. Gluttony is also an evil. But eating food is not. Why do we condemn wine-drinking and approve over-eating, and junk foods, poisons of all sorts that the Western world adds to its foods? Killers, but undetected by the outwardly “religious.” Ever seen a fat man coming against too much alcohol? What a joke!

I have never been a wine-drinker or a participant in anything alcoholic. Never liked the taste. Never saw the need.

Yes, I see the Biblical principle of liberty for those who must have their little bit of wine, but there is a greater principle called love. The drinks of today are far worse than in Biblical times. The choices for really good drinks are multitudinous. No one needs to drink to stay alive or healthy (or happy for that matter), as in that day when water was so contaminated.