Categoria: Psalms

This is the final doxology of the book of Psalms calling everything that has breath to praise the Lord! Praise him for his greatness and acts of power! Praise him with multiple musical instruments such as trumpet, flute, strings, tambourine, harp, lyre and cymbals and with plenty of dancing! Praise the Lord!

Psalm 149 is a vibrant song of praise exhorting Israel to rejoice in their maker and be glad in their king. The psalmist calls them to praise God with dance and music because he crowns the humble with salvation. Let the saints rejoice and sing for joy in bed! May they also hold a double-edged sword in their hands to inflict vengeance on the nations. Praise the Lord!

Psalm 148 is the third of the final 5 hallelujah / praise the Lord psalms that bring this book to a close. It is a song of jubilant universal praise from the highest heaven to the lowest place for God the creator. Thus the psalmist exhorts: “Praise the Lord from the heavens… angels… sun, moon and stars… for God commanded and they were created… he set them in place for ever… praise the Lord great sea creatures, lightening, hail, snow and clouds… mountains, hills, trees, wild animals, cattle, kings, princes, birds… everything praise the Lord!”

Psalm 147 is a song of praise to both God as mighty creator (“He determines the number of stars and calls them each by name!”) and as the gentle healer comforting brokenhearted exiles (“the Lord sustains the humble”). He says “Great is our Lord and mighty in power… sing to the Lord with thanksgiving… he supplies the earth with rain… he provides food for the cattle… the Lord delights in those that fear him… praise your God O Zion… he spreads the snow like wool… He has revealed his word to Jacob and his laws and decrees to Israel!”

Psalm 146 is a poetical hymn of praise to God starting “Praise the Lord, O my soul!… don’t trust in mortal men but trust in God!… Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob… who is the maker of heaven and earth… he upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry… the Lord watches over the alien and reigns forever!”

Psalm 145 is the last of David’s psalms and it is an exuberant celebration of God’s greatness (“his greatness no-one can fathom”), his sovereign kingdom (“they will tell of the glory of your kingdom”) and his kind spirit (“the Lord is loving towards all he has made”). David starts saying “I will exalt you, my God and King… Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise… celebrate your abundant goodness… the Lord is good to all… your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom… the Lord upholds all those who fall… you satisfy the desires of every living thing… the Lord is near to all who call on him… my mouth will speak in praise of the Lord. Let every creature praise his holy name for ever and ever!”

Psalm 144 is a psalm of praise and prayer. David starts by praising the Lord, his Rock… He is my loving God and fortress… what is man that you care for him?… for man is but a fleeting shadow… reach down your hand from on high… rescue me from the mighty waters… I will sing a new song to you, O God… Deliver me from the hands of foreigners… and our sons and daughters will flourish… and our barns will be filled… and our sheep will multiply profusely… Blessed is the people whose God is the Lord!

David, in this psalm, is suffering intense persecution (“the enemy pursues me, he crushes me to the ground”) and strong depression (“my spirit faints with longing… I will be like those who go down to the pit”). David therefore cries for help from God (“listen to my cry for mercy”) and pleas for mercy. David recalls all that God has done in the past and his soul thirsts for God. So he asks God to teach him to do his will and he trusts God to destroy his foes.

 Psalm 142 was written by David in the context of being hidden in a cave from Saul expressing his loneliness (“no-one cares for my life”), desperation (“I am in desperate need”) and danger (“men have hidden a snare for me”). He cries to God “set me free from my prison that I may praise your name.”

This psalm of David is a sincere prayer asking God to help him control his tongue (“set a guard over my mouth, O Lord”) and to help him to resist temptation (“Let not my heart be drawn to what is evil”). David then expresses that being corrected by a righteous man is a kindness (let him rebuke me – it is oil on my head”) and he concludes saying that he takes refuge in the Lord asking God to keep him free from the traps of evildoers. 

In Psalm 140 David asks God for protection and to be rescued from evil men who plan to trip him and set traps for him. David goes on to pray for God to “not let their plans succeed”. David recalls that “the Lord secures justice for the poor” saying that “surely the righteous will praise you name and the upright will live before you”. 

Psalm 139 is a Davidic meditation on the omniscience, omnipresence and omnipotence of God. First of all David considers how God knows what we are going to say before we say it. (“Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely”) Then he focuses on God’s all invasive presence and that no matter where we go God is already there. Then David points to God’s amazing work in creating man who is “fearfully and wonderfully made”, and he says that “all the days ordained for me” were  pre-written in God’s book. David closes the psalm praying for sanctification and holiness saying “search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know me”.

 Psalm 138 is a Davidic psalm of praise and thanksgiving to God saying in the first verse that “before the ‘gods’ I will sing your praise… praising God’s name for his love and faithfulness… God’s name and word are exalted above all things and you answered me and made me stout-hearted”. “May all kings praise you, O Lord… the glory of the Lord is great… and though God is high yet he still considers the lowly… you preserve my life and with your right hand you save me… the Lord will fulfill his purpose for me”.

Psalm 137 is a lament in Babylon where the Jews wept by the rivers, hung their harps on the trees and refused to sing the psalms of Zion owing to their suffering and longings for home, and faced with the torments of their captors. But God’s people vow to never forget Jerusalem saying “May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth if I do not remember you… Jerusalem!” The psalm ends asking God for vengeance against the Edomites and against the Babylonians for their cruelty. It is a psalm of expression of profound trauma for God’s people having lost home and temple.

 Psalm 136 is a hymn of thanksgiving to God because “his love endures forever” which is the repetitive refrain repeated in each of its 26 verses. The psalm celebrates God’s goodness, his domination of creation (heavens, earth, waters, great lights, moon and stars), Israel’s deliverance from Egypt (killing of firstborn, Red Sea, Wilderness journey, killing of enemy kings) and God’s covenant faithfulness. 

Psalm 135 is a hymn of praise exhorting God’s people to worship God for his goodness. Initially the psalm calls the priests and Levites to praise the Lord because he is good. He then exhorts praise for them having been chosen as God’s people and that the Lord is greater than all gods. He points to God’s control of nature: wind, lightening, seas and clouds. The psalm then goes on to praise God for his signs and wonders in Egypt and for his victories over Canaanite kings. The psalmist then ridicules useless idols and calls everyone to praise the Lord.

Psalm 134 is the final short song of ascents praising the Lord with all who minister at night in the temple, raising hands in the sanctuary, and receiving the blessings of God. 

This very popular Psalm 133 exalts the great importance of unity amongst God’s people. Unity is compared to the sweet smelling blessed anointing oil of the High Priest. Unity is also compared with the refreshing dew of Mount Hermon. It is with unity that God bestows his blessing giving life for evermore!

Psalm 132 is another song of ascents recalling David’s zeal to construct a temple for the Lord. David wanted to bring the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem. It goes on to recall how God promised that the descendants of David would be on the throne forever which has clear messianic undertones. It is remembered that Zion was defined as God’s city promising to bless her with abundant provisions and food for the poor. The psalm closes promising a resplendent messianic crown!

Psalm 131 is a Davidic song of ascents showing gigantic humility, contentment and rest in God. David compares himself to a blessed weaned child. That is how his soul if feeling he says. He then concludes: “O Israel, put your hope in the Lord both now and forever more.” 

Psalm 130 is a penitential psalm crying for God’s mercy asking for his forgiveness. The psalmist says that he is waiting for the Lord and in his word he puts his hope. Then he concludes calling Israel to put their hope in the Lord because his love is unfailing and his redemption is full.

This further song of ascents appears to think back over Israel’s “youth” in Egypt and the severe oppression which it endured. However despite “ploughmen have ploughed my back” they did not prevail thanks to God’s grace, protection and strength. “The Lord is righteous and he has cut me free from the cords of the wicked”. May those who hate Zion be shamed and wither like grass. 

This further song of ascents says Blessed are those who fear the Lord and walk in his ways. They will be blessed with prosperity and many children. Such individual and family blessings also affect the community seeing prosperity in Jerusalem and peace in Israel. 

This psalm is a wisdom psalm attributed to Solomon which shows that anything without God is worthless. Building is in vain if God is not in it… security is empty if God doesn’t protect… and any form of labour is worthless unless done for God. However, he says, our children are not just a lot of work but blessings from God. 

Psalm 126 is a further song of ascent recalling how great they felt when they returned from exile… our mouths were filled with laughter and they sang happy songs. It was warmly recognized that God had done great things for them. The psalm concludes praying for restoration knowing that those who sow with tears will reap with joy.

This psalm is another song of ascents affirming that those who trust God are rock solid like Mount Zion and cannot be shaken as they endure forever. However evildoers will not be successful against the righteous. And the psalmist prays that God will do good to those who are good and upright in heart, whilst banishing evildoers. He closes praying for peace for Israel. 

 Psalm 124 is another song of ascents attributed to David saying that if it hadn’t been for God’s intervention Israel would have been “swallowed alive” or “engulfed”. But David praised the Lord because they had not been ripped apart by their enemies teeth or trapped by the fowler’s snare. For David declares: “Our help is in the name of the Lord”!

This another short song of pilgrimage is a prayer for God’s mercy. It says that as the slave looks to his master and as the maid looks to her mistress so we look to God for him to have mercy on us.

Psalm 122 is the 3rd song of ascents which this time is attributed to David. It is a happy psalm which starts by rejoicing with those who invite people to God’s house. Then he rejoices at being at the gates of Jerusalem, which is a compact community city. Then in the last part of the psalm believers are encouraged to pray for the peace of Jerusalem and for its prosperity. 

Psalm 121 points to God as the true source of protection and blessing… my help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth. God, says the psalmist, watches over his people constantly without slumbering and provides shade in the day and moonlight at night. God will watch over his people constantly. 

This is the first of 15 songs of ascents up to Psalm 134. A song of ascent is a psalm traditionally sung on pilgrimages to Jerusalem or sung by Levites climbing the temple steps. In Psalm 120 the psalmist in distress calls upon the Lord asking for salvation from lying deceitful tongues. He prays for punishment for the sinners who love wars, whereas he is a man of peace. 

This is the longest psalm – in fact it is the longest chapter in the whole Bible. And the psalm is another alphabetic acrostic with 22 stanzas, with 8 verses in each, using the 22 letters of each letter of the Hebrew alphabet to start each stanza. The psalm emphasizes the great value of God’s word and stresses how much the author loves God’s word, how good it is to meditate on it and how essential it is to obey it. Verse 105, out of the 176 verses, is the most well known verse when it says “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path”. The whole psalm exudes joy in God’s word… your statutes are wonderful… it gives understanding to the simple… I love your commands more than gold, more than pure gold… how I love your law… how sweet are your promises to my taste! Coming to the close of this mega psalm the psalmist says: “May my tongue sing of your word, for all your commands are righteous… your law is my delight… let me live so that I can praise you!”

Psalm 188 is a joyful hymn of praise and thanksgiving to the Lord whose “love endures forever”. 4 times in the opening 4 verses it’s repeated “his love endures forever”. The psalmist says how he had cried to the Lord and he set him free… it is better to trust God than men… for the Lord is his strength and song… shouts of joy and victory resound in the tents of the righteous… this is the day that the Lord has made so let us rejoice and be glad in it… you are my God and I will give you thanks… give thanks to the Lord for he is good; his love endures forever!

In this the shortest psalm all nations are exhorted to praise the Lord because his love is great and his faithfulness endures forever.  

The key question of this psalm of thanksgiving is: “How can I repay the Lord for all his goodness to me?” The psalmist had clearly been in real trouble with “the cords of death entangled me… I was overcome by trouble and sorrow.”  However the Lord saved me, he says, the Lord has been good to me… and delivered my soul from death. So the psalmist lifted up the cup of salvation and fulfilled his vows… and sacrificed a thank-offering to the Lord. 

Psalm 115 starts with: “Not to us, O Lord, not to us but to your name be the glory”. This psalm is a hymn of praise to God alone and a declaration of trust in him. It ridicules idolatry as the idols have mouths but can’t speak, have eyes but can’t see, have ears that can’t hear, have noses but can’t smell and have hands but can’t feel. He then calls on Israel to only trust in the Lord because he is our help and shield. He will bless those who fear him. “It is we who extol the Lord, both now and for evermore”.

This short 8-verse psalm recalls God’s miracles bringing Israel out of Egypt, opening the red sea and the Jordan which was so wonderful that it made the mountains skip like rams and the hills like lambs! “Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord who turned the hard rock into springs of water!” 

Psalm 113 is a hymn of praise to God for being the exalted Lord who helps the poor and who gives the barren woman children! “From the rising of the sun to the going down of the same our God’s name is to be praised… God is exalted over all nations… his glory is above the heavens… he raises the poor from the dust and seats them with princes… and makes the barren woman a happy mother!”

Psalm 112 is another alphabetic acrostic psalm which details how good it is to fear the Lord and how this works out in one’s daily life. When you fear the Lord your “children will be mighty in the land… you will be wealthy… good will come to him… he will never be shaken… he will have no fear of bad news… his heart is secure… his gifts to the poor will be scattered all over the place… but the wicked will gnash their teeth and come to nothing”!

I have completed another 10 psalms, having finished the résumé of Psalm 110 which is a glorious messianic Davidic sign depicting Christ’s joint roles of king, priest and judge.

At Green Pastures yesterday I saw a bright yellow Great Kiskadee, 4 Cactus Parakeets, a Blue-black Grassquit and a Scaled Dove. Whilst there it was sad to learn that sister Vilene (member of our Green Pastures church) had her house broken into and they stole their wedding rings and her little motorbike which she comes to church on. 

This morning the Patos church is holding a jumble sale at our school on the south side of Patos. However Liz and I will be involved in an important meeting of our senior leadership team throughout much of the morning and afternoon and value your prayers. 

 Psalm 111 is an acrostic poem. This means that in this case the first letter of each of its 22 lines (not including the initial praise the Lord) begin with successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet. The psalm focuses on God’s covenant (“he remembers his covenant forever”), his provision (“He provides food for those who fear him”), and God’s mighty works (“The works of his hands are faithful and just”). The psalm then concludes with the concept that “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom… to him belongs eternal praise”! 

This Davidic psalm is a wonderful messianic psalm depicting the messiah as an enthroned king and eternal priest. “The Lord says to my Lord (Jesus the Messiah): Sit at my right hand… the Lord will extend your mighty sceptre from Zion. Then Jesus’ kingly role is united with his priestly role saying: “You are a priest for ever, in the order of Melquizedek.” The Messiah will judge nations and crush opposition in the day of his wrath.

David starts Psalm 109 asking God not to remain silent because wicked men have returned evil for good, attacked him without cause, and made false accusations against him. David then prays that an evil man be appointed and when he is tried that he be found guilty… may his days be few, his children be fatherless beggars and may his descendants be cut off. Then David asks for God’s help because he is poor and needy and his heart is wounded with him… save me in accordance of your love. Then, he concludes, I will greatly extol the Lord! 

This Davidic psalm is a strong hymn of praise: “I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations… let your glory be over all the earth”. David then prays for God’s salvation and deliverance for his people. He then goes on to remember God’s promise to control the land mentioning Shechem, Valley of Succoth, Gilead, Manasseh, Ephraim and Judah. He closes the psalm acknowledging that “with God alone we shall gain the victory… for it is he who will trample down the enemies”.

“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever”. This is how psalm 107 starts Book 5 of the psalms. This psalm is a lovely hymn of thanksgiving for all God’s deliverance and blessing. The psalmist talks about God’s people crying out to God for help and his delivering them from their distress. “Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love… they cried to the Lord in their trouble and he saved them from their distress…. He brought them out of the deepest gloom… he sent forth his word and healed them… let them tell of his works with songs of joy… he guided them to their desired haven… he turned the desert into pools of water… and they founded a city where they could live… he blessed them and their numbers greatly increased… whoever is wise, let him heed these things and consider the great love of the Lord”.

This is the last psalm in book 4 of the psalms and it starts giving thanks to the Lord because he is good, and his love endures forever. The psalm confesses Israel’s repeated sin in stark contrast to God’s steadfast love and goodness. It recalls Israel’s sin-prone history from the Red Sea to the Babylonian exile showing God’s great mercy. Israel  “soon forgot what God had done for them at the Red Sea… at Horeb they made a golden calf… they despised the land and grumbled in their tents… they yoked themselves to the Baal of Peor… by the waters of Meribah they angered the Lord… they sacrificed their children to demons… so the Lord was angry with his people.”

 Psalm 105 is a positive hymn of praise to God starting: “Give thanks to the Lord, call on his name… tell of his wonderful acts!” The text traces God’s blessing on the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, on Joseph in Egypt and on the miraculous deliverance of God’s people through the plagues and exodus. The psalm remembers how God blessed and brought our Israel from Egypt “laden with silver and gold” and led them with cloud and fire. God fed them with quail and bread and gave them water to drink from the rock. God “brought out his people with rejoicing and his holy ones with shouts of joy!”

Psalm 104 is a lovely hymn of praise to God the creator and sustainer of creation clearly echoing the Genesis creation narratives. It starts praising the Lord clothed in splendour and majesty who stretches out the heavens like a tent. God uses the clouds as his chariot and rides on the wings of the wind. He set the earth on its foundations and put a boundary for the waters. The psalmist goes on to praise God for his provisions for nature giving water to the beasts, habitat for the birds, grass for the cattle and plants for man to cultivate. He says that the trees are well watered, the stork nests in the pine trees and wild goats live in the mountains. He then says that God created the moon to mark seasons and organized all aspects of the cycle of nature and life. He goes on to focus on the diversity of life in the sea and on the land where all depends on God for food and breath. Finally he praises God as long as he lives. “Praise the Lord, O my soul!”

This psalm is an exuberant hymn of praise to God: “Praise the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name”! “He forgives, heals and redeems me and crowns me with loving kindness!… he satisfies my desires with good things… the Lord is compassionate and gracious… he does not treat us as our sins deserve… his love is as high as the heavens and he removed our sins from us as far as east to west… God’s love for those who fear him is from everlasting to everlasting… God’s kingdom rules over all… praise the Lord O angels… praise the Lord you his servants… praise the Lord, O my soul!”

A lament – a prayer of an afflicted man. The psalmist cries for help from God because he is in distress. His bones are like glowing embers and he is reduced to skin and bones like a desert owl! His enemies taunt him and use his name as a curse and he withers away like grass. However in verse 12 the psalmist changes tack with “But you, O Lord!” Now his focus is not on his suffering but on his saviour! He looks to God who is enthroned forever and whom he believes will have compassion on Zion. “The Lord will rebuild Zion,” he exclaims, and appear in his glory and answer prayer. God’s name will be declared in Zion”. Then the psalmist closes comparing God’s “years go on through all generations” with the brevity of human existence.