Psalm 150 English Standard Version Let Everything Praise the LORD 150 Praise the LORD! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens! 2 Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his excellent greatness! 3 Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp! 4 Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe! 5 Praise him with sounding cymbals; praise him with loud clashing cymbals! 6 Let everything that has breath praise the LORD! Praise the LORD! This is our last day in The Psalms as Psalm 150 is the final psalm in this book. There are other songs throughout the Bible, both in the Old Testament and New Testament, but this ends the official "song book" of the nation of Israel. It was their hymnal when they came to worship and it was the songs they sang when they were walking to the Tabernacle or Temple to worship, and they were the songs they taught to their children at home to teach them about life and God and salvation. So many of the psalms looked forward to a king that was better than David and could provide real and lasting salvation for HIs people. We know today that King is King Jesus--the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, and the Messiah of the LORD's people.
So, it is fitting that Psalm 150 ends the book of psalms with a call to worship. It will sound very familiar to you if you know the hymn, "Praise Him, Praise Him, Jesus our Blessed Redeemer." We are to praise Him when we go to church, and the sun, moon and starts and the birds of the heavens are all to join in our praise. The earth and the sea and all that is in them are to join in the LORD's praise and to tell everyone of His excellent greatness! We are to sing because of who He is and what He has done (His character, majesty, and His wonderful deeds). We should praise Him with our voices and with all kinds of instruments--wind instruments, percussion instruments, and stringed instruments. We should dance before Him with gladness, even if people think that we are acting foolish in doing so--I will be labeled a fool for God and for Christ if people mock me for my worship of Him (that does not mean that our "worship" should actually be foolish and distract people from the message of the gospel that we are trying to share). Let everyone and everything that has breath (the breath that the Spirit breathed into us to give us life in Genesis 1 and 2), praise the LORD! Yes, praise the LORD! Psalm 147 English Standard Version He Heals the Brokenhearted 147 Praise the LORD! For it is good to sing praises to our God; for it is pleasant, and a song of praise is fitting. 2 The LORD builds up Jerusalem; he gathers the outcasts of Israel. 3 He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. 4 He determines the number of the stars; he gives to all of them their names. 5 Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure. 6 The LORD lifts up the humble; he casts the wicked to the ground. 7 Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving; make melody to our God on the lyre! 8 He covers the heavens with clouds; he prepares rain for the earth; he makes grass grow on the hills. 9 He gives to the beasts their food, and to the young ravens that cry. 10 His delight is not in the strength of the horse, nor his pleasure in the legs of a man, 11 but the LORD takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his steadfast love. 12 Praise the LORD, O Jerusalem! Praise your God, O Zion! 13 For he strengthens the bars of your gates; he blesses your children within you. 14 He makes peace in your borders; he fills you with the finest of the wheat. 15 He sends out his command to the earth; his word runs swiftly. 16 He gives snow like wool; he scatters frost like ashes. 17 He hurls down his crystals of ice like crumbs; who can stand before his cold? 18 He sends out his word, and melts them; he makes his wind blow and the waters flow. 19 He declares his word to Jacob, his statutes and rules to Israel. 20 He has not dealt thus with any other nation; they do not know his rules. Praise the LORD! We are wrapping up the book of Psalms with some calls to worship. These psalms were those that the people in Exile looked to as they were hopeful to return to the Land and as they came back and eagerly worked to rebuild the Temple and Jerusalem. Here are promises of both things--the people gathering together who were scattered abroad, and the LORD building Jerusalem once again.
This psalm has an even greater fulfillment in the LORD bringing all the Jewish people from around the world back to the Holy Land in our time, and the city of Jerusalem that was under the control of the Romans and then the Arabs being rebuilt by the Jews. There is still a fight over the Land today (as most of us are aware who pay any attention to the news). There is a desire within the hearts of the Jewish people to return home and to once again worship the LORD as this psalm says. The psalm then picks up on one of the themes from the last psalm--that the LORD heals the brokenhearted. We often speak of the LORD healing the physical wounds and infirmities of people, but He can reach deep into a person's soul and heal the emotional scars that are there that no doctor can fix. The world would simply tell us to drown this pain with alcohol or drugs (which don't make it any better and leave us in an even worse state), but the LORD promises true healing that only He can bring. How do we know that He can do this thing that sounds impossible? Noting in impossible for the LORD! He is the one who spoke all the stars into existence. Can you count them? See how innumerable they are, and it took no effort for Him to make and name all of them. With power like that, is anything too hard for the LORD? Those who understand this are humbled before the LORD because we are small and insignificant compared to how mighty and powerful He is, and yet He will exalt those who humble themselves, yet the wicked who are proud and boastful will be humiliated by Him when they stand before Him in judgment. The LORD gives common grace to everyone that should be reason for all of us to sing His praises. The clouds give rain to the just and the unjust alike. He makes the grass grow to give food to the wild beasts, and He gives food to the birds of the air. All of His creatures are cared for. Jesus asks in the Sermon on the Mount, "Are you not much more valuable than they?" since the answer that is assumed is "Yes," the hidden question that remains is, "Then why do you worry?" Instead, we should worship for what the LORD has provided and trust that He will provide everything that we need, not worry about if He will do what He has always done. The LORD takes pleasure in those who do not count in the strength of their military for their salvation, but trust in the LORD for their daily needs and for their protection. "The LORD takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his steadfast love." That verse fits in well with what we studied both as a church and as a family in Isaiah 7. The LORD desired for His people to trust in Him for salvation instead of the army of Assyria. Instead of trusting in the LORD they trust in men and horses, and it was by the hand of Assyria that the LORD afflicted the people of Judah after they destroyed the king of Syria and the king of the northern kingdom of Israel. The LORD is the one that gives peace and security--He is the one that makes it safe for children to play away from their homes and gives a bountiful harvest to the farmers (which is a blessing to all the people of the Land). The LORD controls the weather--thunder and lightning are at His command, and so is the snowstorm. The LORD hurls large hailstones of ice down at His enemies and destroys them as the armies of Israel advance so that the LORD kills more enemies with the hailstones than the men of Israel could. We think of the weather as something completely random, but the LORD can direct the weather to protect His people and target their enemies. The LORD also uses the breath of HIs mouth to destroy those who would attack His people. All the LORD has to do is blow and the enemies of Israel are destroyed by fire, wind, and water. The LORD made a covenant to Jacob that He will not break--a covenant to be their God and that they would be His people forever and ever. That covenant promised Land and descendants--ultimately pointing forward to the greatest descendant of the Abrahamic Covenant that is Jesus. The LORD still plans to make good on His covenant with Israel and all true Israel will be saved and will turn back to the LORD and cray "Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD" (that is Jesus, the Messiah) in the end times. He has given Israel the Law and the Prophets that He did not give to any other nation. In this way, Israel is special in that He has made them His ambassadors to the entire world that they should know His Word and should declare His word and His works to the Gentile nations. Now it is the job of the Church who has been grafted into the true Israel to join in this work in what is called The Great Commission. For all these reasons and more, we join with the pslamist and say, "Praise the LORD!" Psalm 146 English Standard Version Put Not Your Trust in Princes 146 Praise the LORD! Praise the LORD, O my soul! 2 I will praise the LORD as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being. 3 Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation. 4 When his breath departs, he returns to the earth; on that very day his plans perish. 5 Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God, 6 who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, who keeps faith forever; 7 who executes justice for the oppressed, who gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets the prisoners free; 8 the LORD opens the eyes of the blind. The LORD lifts up those who are bowed down; the LORD loves the righteous. 9 The LORD watches over the sojourners; he upholds the widow and the fatherless, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin. 10 The LORD will reign forever, your God, O Zion, to all generations. Praise the LORD! This psalm is not attributed to David, Asaph, Solomon, Moses or any of the other psalmists in particular. Not knowing the author doesn't change the fact that these themes have run throughout the entire book of psalms and have been picked up on by most of the authors I have listed. All of God's people and even the people of the earth that have yet to belong to His people should join together and praise Him (the peoples of the world should repent and become His people and then they too will have reason to praise Him).
The LORD's people should not put their trust in anyone else--even the rulers of powerful nations (they are called princes and not kings here because the psalmist is making the point there that the LORD is King over all creation, so all authority given to these leaders of these nations is derivative). Only the LORD is truly able to save His people completely both in a physical sense and a spiritual sense. Even if all the nations of the world banded together to try to join their military forces as one, they would not be strong enough to defeat the LORD. The LORD gives and takes life and when the LORD takes the life away of the ruler of great nation, he is nothing more than a corpse that will turn back to dust, for God made man from the dust of the earth. Those whom the LORD helps and chooses to save are greatly blessed! The same God who could speak and create everything out of nothing wields that same power to come to the defense of the oppressed, poor, and hungry. He gives justices to those who have received no justices. He gives grace and mercy to those who don't deserve them (for none of us deserve them, and really all of us should see ourselves like the poor and destitute when we look at ourselves in comparison to God). God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. The LORD loves to open the eyes of the spiritually blind, raise those who spiritually dead to life, and set those who are captives to sin free. He gives them a new identity declares them righteous. He adopts them into His family, and He loves them like His only begotten Son. The LORD takes care of the wanderers, the homeless, the widows and the orphans (and He tells us as His people to watch out for them and care for them too). This is not to say that God wants people to stay in this condition and just have others take care of them, but God wants us to see people (especially others from the LORD's family) who are down-and-out and need to be treated like family and taken in and given a hand up as much or more than they need a handout. In such cases the world should say, "See how they love each other because they love Him and He loves them." This love will spill out onto the world, but it is first and foremost a command for us to take of each other who are part of the family of God--those who are brothers and sisters in the LORD. It is verses like this though that lead churches and Christians around the world to be engaged in gospel-centered prison ministries, hospital ministries (to build hospitals and minister to those in the hospitals), to have ministries like soup kitchens to feed the homeless, to build orphanages, to become foster parents and/or adopt orphans, and to take care of the elderly, many of whom are living in nursing homes and other such facilities. There are plenty of other ministries that fall into these categories too, but these are just a few big ones that I can think of. That being said, this Psalm points directly to the ministry of Jesus to come and do set His people from their bondage to sin and give them a spiritual Exodus. While the LORD will do all these things and more for the righteous, He will bring the wicked to ruin before He establishes His eternal throne. When that happens there will be no more darkness, disease, sin, or death. We will live in perfect peace with each other and with the LORD forever and ever and will have perfect unity with Him and Him with us as He already has with the other members of the Trinity. Because the LORD does all this on behalf of His people, let all of His people praise Him and make His name great among the nations and invite others to know Him and praise Him. Psalm 145 English Standard Version Great Is the LORD A Song of Praise. Of David. 145 I will extol you, my God and King, and bless your name forever and ever. 2 Every day I will bless you and praise your name forever and ever. 3 Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable. 4 One generation shall commend your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts. 5 On the glorious splendor of your majesty, and on your wondrous works, I will meditate. 6 They shall speak of the might of your awesome deeds, and I will declare your greatness. 7 They shall pour forth the fame of your abundant goodness and shall sing aloud of your righteousness. 8 The LORD is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. 9 The LORD is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made. 10 All your works shall give thanks to you, O LORD, and all your saints shall bless you! 11 They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom and tell of your power, 12 to make known to the children of man your mighty deeds, and the glorious splendor of your kingdom. 13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures throughout all generations. [The LORD is faithful in all his words and kind in all his works.] 14 The LORD upholds all who are falling and raises up all who are bowed down. 15 The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season. 16 You open your hand; you satisfy the desire of every living thing. 17 The LORD is righteous in all his ways and kind in all his works. 18 The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. 19 He fulfills the desire of those who fear him; he also hears their cry and saves them. 20 The LORD preserves all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy. 21 My mouth will speak the praise of the LORD, and let all flesh bless his holy name forever and ever. This is a song of praise and exultation from David for how great the LORD is. He is telling the people of Israel to worship the LORD for He is God and King and greatly to be praised. David tells every generation to pass on to the future generations all the great and wonderful things that the LORD has done for them. Not every generation is going to experience the Exodus, but every generation can be told of the Exodus and how the LORD redeemed Israel as a people for Himself and made them a nation set apart from all the other nations of the world. In this way, we will tell the generations and the world of His goodness and righteousness.
It is that grace and mercy that David focuses on for the rest of the Psalm. The LORD is gracious and merciful, abounding in steadfast love. These are not the characteristics of the pagan gods and goddesses of the surrounding nations. The LORD alone has cut a covenant with His people that He will never break because He has sworn by Himself--there was nothing greater He could swear by, for He made everything else seen and unseen and they are inferior to Him and His great Name. Though we break covenant with the LORD many times over, He never breaks covenant with us and welcomes us back home as sons (see the Parable of the Lost Son), even though we don't deserve that kind of love, grace, or mercy. For this reason and 10,000 more reasons, all of creation worships the LORD and all of His saints (the people He has declared righteous and made holy unto Himself) will bless the LORD. We will speak of the glory of His Kingdom (and of its King) as His ambassadors and tell of His great power. His kingdom is everlasting, and His dominion endures throughout all generations. The next phrase is one we're not 100% sure is in the original text, but there's no reason to not sing His praise for this reason too--"The LORD is faithful in all His words and kind in all His works." He is always faithful to do what He promises, and His saints realize His lovingkindness every day. Those who are still under His wrath may not recognize His kindness and mercy, but even His correction is kind, for He is longsuffering and not wanting any to perish but wants all to repent and have eternal life. The LORD is a champion and advocate for those who are downtrodden and have been brought low by life's circumstances. He makes sure they have food to eat and takes care of them in the same way that He cares for all the wild animals. The LORD cares about all living things, but cares much more about man, who was made in His image. Jesus argues from the lesser to the greater that if the lilies of the field and the birds of the air are taken care of by our Heavenly Father, how much more will He care for us (and give the Holy Spirit to those who ask of Him)? Everything the LORD does is right. He can literally do no wrong. He is kind in all His works (there it is again, as David is focused on the way the LORD acts kindly towards him). The LORD is ever-present, is attentive too us, and is right there to provide help and aid when we need Him. He is always close to us waking alongside us as we try to walk where He leads us. He is our Shepherd that leads us, feeds us and defends us from the predators. The LORD fulfills the desires of the heart for those who delight in Him and fear Him. As we become more like Jesus and our desires become His desires, it pleases the Father to give us the things that He would give His son, for the Father does not withhold good gifts from His children, even His adopted children. We cry out to Him and He saves us. Not only does He save us in our current circumstances, but He keeps us until the Day of the LORD when we will be presented blameless because of the finished work of Christ, and He will make good on every promise that has been made to us--though we deserve none of them. Therefore, we look forward to the coming kingdom where we will be one with the Father and the Son and will be free from the very presence of sin. There will be no more night and there will be no separation of day and night or land and sea, for we will all be united together as one people in one place, though we are from every tribe, tongue and nation--the LORD has made us who were not a people a people unto Himself. The LORD will also destroy all the wicked things. They will have no place in the coming Kingdom as His kingdom and His people will be incorruptible because there will be no more sin and no more temptation to sin. David then proclaims that for all these reasons and more, he will always praise the LORD, and he calls on the rest of the world to join him in his praise and adoration. Though we live thousands of years later, we too can join in this song. with him. Psalm 142 English Standard Version You Are My Refuge A Maskil of David, when he was in the cave. A Prayer. 142 With my voice I cry out to the LORD; with my voice I plead for mercy to the LORD. 2 I pour out my complaint before him; I tell my trouble before him. 3 When my spirit faints within me, you know my way! In the path where I walk they have hidden a trap for me. 4 Look to the right and see: there is none who takes notice of me; no refuge remains to me; no one cares for my soul. 5 I cry to you, O LORD; I say, “You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.” 6 Attend to my cry, for I am brought very low! Deliver me from my persecutors, for they are too strong for me! 7 Bring me out of prison, that I may give thanks to your name! The righteous will surround me, for you will deal bountifully with me. Last time we saw David crying out to the LORD to protect him from temptation to join in with the evildoers. Today, the enemy is once again an outward, human attacker and David prays to the LORD to save and defend him. He states that the LORD is his refuge, like when he hid in the caves from King Saul (this may be from that time of his life according to the superscript). If so, David was running for his life from Saul the current king, because the LORD had anointed David to be the next king, even though David was not in Saul's family (other than by marriage, which Saul did not honor), for David was of the tribe of Judah and Saul was of the tribe of Benjamin. David does not want to kill Saul because he is the LORD's anointed too, so David wants to let the LORD take care of Saul in His way and His time.
It was not just physically exhausting but mentally and spiritually exhausting for David to be on the run. He was accompanied by a bunch of outlaws and men of low moral character that were always trying to pressure him to think and act like they would or for him to give them permission to do the evil that was in their hearts, and David had to act as a restraining force for them. David was also mostly kept from going to the Tabernacle to worship because Saul had given instructions to the priests to alert him if David or his men came to offer sacrifices or celebrate the high holy days. David had essentially been cut off from everyone other than his family members in Judah that supported him, and even some of them had turned against him. David says that he feels like there are traps set for him everywhere he walks. In general, none of his countrymen would take him in so that he and his men would not have to spend the night out in the cold. They had to find their shelter in caves and eventually they had to go to the Philistines for shelter--the sworn enemy of Israel. David didn't like it, but David would use that opportunity to help defeat other enemies in the surrounding area and gather intelligence, but he would not fight against his own countrymen. David cries to the LORD to deliver him from Saul and the others who persecuted him, simply because the LORD had chosen to take the throne and kingdom away from Saul and give it to David. David wants to be brought out of exile so that he can once again worship at the Tabernacle and gather together with the LORD's people for worship and remembrance of who the LORD is and what He has done. David prays for a change in circumstances where he would once again be surrounded by righteous men instead of the scoundrels that have clung to him, and that he would once again be able to experience the bounty of the LORD's blessings. All this and more the LORD did for David--much more because He made an eternal covenant with David and his house that the rightful king would always come from the line of David and one day the King of Kings would be called The Son of David. That is Jesus, the Messiah. He will be returning one day to set up His Kingdom which will be without borders, boundaries, successor for He will reign forever and ever! Psalm 141 English Standard Version Give Ear to My Voice A Psalm of David. 141 O LORD, I call upon you; hasten to me! Give ear to my voice when I call to you! 2 Let my prayer be counted as incense before you, and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice! 3 Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips! 4 Do not let my heart incline to any evil, to busy myself with wicked deeds in company with men who work iniquity, and let me not eat of their delicacies! 5 Let a righteous man strike me—it is a kindness; let him rebuke me—it is oil for my head; let my head not refuse it. Yet my prayer is continually against their evil deeds. 6 When their judges are thrown over the cliff, then they shall hear my words, for they are pleasant. 7 As when one plows and breaks up the earth, so shall our bones be scattered at the mouth of Sheol. 8 But my eyes are toward you, O God, my Lord; in you I seek refuge; leave me not defenseless! 9 Keep me from the trap that they have laid for me and from the snares of evildoers! 10 Let the wicked fall into their own nets, while I pass by safely. David asks the LORD to come to him because he is crying out to the LORD (probably in one of the many desperate circumstances that David faced). David asks for his prayers to be like the incense that was offered by the priests that would offer atonement and would bring the supplications of the people up to the LORD as a pleasing aroma to Him.
David then gets more specific and says that he needs the LORD's help to keep him from saying sinful things. From the description here, it sounds like David is struggling with gossip, and he knows that is not glorifying to the LORD. He asks for the LORD to use righteous men to discipline him and keep him in line--to rebuke and correct him when he gets out of line, yet David still prays for the punishment and destruction of the wicked men who have been guilty of the same sins he has been committing. He knows that seems hypocritical, but he also knows that it is his job as the king to promote justice and righteousness. Apparently, the judges of this time (as in other times) were corrupt and used their positions to take advantage of the people--selling "justice" to the rich but abusing the poor. David prays that they would remember his words when God executes His justice on them, even if David is dead and in the grave before the LORD does so. David does not seek justice from human judges who are themselves wicked but turns to the Lord who will be the ultimate judge of the living and the dead. We take refuge in him that there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. The Lord will not only act as Judge, but also as Defense Attorney for all those who belong to Him. He will defend us against every charge brought against us that He has already paid the price for. Those who died outside the salvation that only Christ can provide will not escape judgment and condemnation though. First, the Lord will cause them to fall into their own traps here in this world, and then He will judge them by their works, and they will be found guilty and worthy of eternal separation from God in the place called The Lake of Fire that was prepared for the devil and his angels. Man chooses to refuse God and not want to be a part of His kingdom because we want to be our own gods. Since the Garden of Eden, this has been the temptation. While there is still time, we need to heed the Lord's call to repent and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation. Psalm 140 English Standard Version Deliver Me, O LORD, from Evil Men To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. 140 Deliver me, O LORD, from evil men; preserve me from violent men, 2 who plan evil things in their heart and stir up wars continually. 3 They make their tongue sharp as a serpent's, and under their lips is the venom of asps. Selah 4 Guard me, O LORD, from the hands of the wicked; preserve me from violent men, who have planned to trip up my feet. 5 The arrogant have hidden a trap for me, and with cords they have spread a net; beside the way they have set snares for me. Selah 6 I say to the LORD, You are my God; give ear to the voice of my pleas for mercy, O LORD! 7 O LORD, my Lord, the strength of my salvation, you have covered my head in the day of battle. 8 Grant not, O LORD, the desires of the wicked; do not further their evil plot, or they will be exalted! Selah 9 As for the head of those who surround me, let the mischief of their lips overwhelm them! 10 Let burning coals fall upon them! Let them be cast into fire, into miry pits, no more to rise! 11 Let not the slanderer be established in the land; let evil hunt down the violent man speedily! 12 I know that the LORD will maintain the cause of the afflicted, and will execute justice for the needy. 13 Surely the righteous shall give thanks to your name; the upright shall dwell in your presence. David had to contend with many enemies that were military threats, but at least he usually got to fight such men in battle. It was quite another thing when his fellow Israelites used their words to do harm, making them appear to be more like children of the devil than children of God. David asks the LORD to protect him from these wicked and violent men, for they do violence even with their words. Every time he is around them, he feels like traps are being set for him--The LORD is able to work so that such people get caught in their own traps and He is able to rescue and save His people from the traps that their enemies have laid.
There are those who are so evil--the ringleaders of these evil men--who David wishes to see judged in the here and now in a way that will make men turn to God in repentance and question if it's really wise to make their allegiance with such sinful men and be an enemy of God and His people. David puts the slanderers and gossips into this category as well as those who would seek to do physical harm. Many times, wounds from words hurt more deeply and take much longer to heal. Ultimately, David must entrust the LORD to take care of His justice in His way and in His time. Eventually, the righteous will be vindicated, and the wicked will get what's coming to them, but it may not come until the Judgment Seat of Christ and The Great White Throne Judgment. Eventually, we must all come to this place, even though we may pray, "Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven," we must sometimes patiently wait for His justice and judgment to come as God is longsuffering and wants to give men every opportunity to repent. However, should the LORD choose to exercise judgment both now and in life everlasting to come, He is completely just in doing so. |
Daniel WestfallI will mostly use this space for recording my "journal" from my daily devotions as I hope to encourage others to read the Bible along with me and to leave a legacy for others. Archives
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