Jonah tells the story of the prophet who ran from obedience to God. There are many lessons here to help us understand how God does His work through man and how He deals with His servants when they rebel against Him.
This psalm gives a graphic picture of the suffering King. It is likely that David initially spoke/penned these words to describe a personal affliction. Yet, the Lord gave him the words in such a way that it would be a prophetic explanation of the physical and spiritual sufferings that would be endured by the Son of God.
This psalm closes as it begins with the declaration: “O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!” This statement sets the theme for the entire psalm. God establishes His excellence by His working with and blessings to mankind. Much of this psalm looks back to creation and to man’s original place there.
The Lord is no respecter of persons, and He demonstrates this in His judgment of the favoured southern kingdom. The Lord is just in His judgment regardless of the identity of the guilty.
Uzziah was a great king and was greatly blessed of the Lord. At the peak of his strength, he began to trust in himself. His strength led to his fall. It is often in times of perceived strength that saints of God become most vulnerable.
