Psalm 117

Read Psalm 117

“Praise the Lord, all nations!” In the Old Testament era, the idea that the Gentiles—the nations—would all worship the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, was revolutionary. Yet here was the call of God to them right in the songbook of Israel! God's Word to all people groups became the message of His chosen ones in the Promised Land as they sang Psalm 117. Not only was the Lord telling the Gentiles to come to Him, His people were commanding and inviting the world to extol the one true God.

Two reasons were given in this brief song. First, “great is His steadfast love toward us.” The nations could study the history of the Lord's dealings with His people. They could consider how He saved so many families from death through the blood of a lamb. They could hear about the discipline of the Lord toward the next generation in the wilderness. The Gentiles could meditate upon God's saving works for those who went forth in conquest into the land of Canaan. They could see His dealings with judges, kings, prophets, and priests. What covenant faithfulness! What steadfast love!

Secondly, this promise: “The faithfulness of the Lord endures forever.” Israel's God would never give up on His people. He was capable of making and keeping an eternal commitment. Could the idols of the Gentiles give them any eternal security?

Both of these truths should have produced a thirst among the nations for a relationship with Israel's God. Was it possible that He could be their God as well? Why else would He be calling them to praise Him?

Though a clear invitation was tucked away in this and many other psalms, the psalm must have seemed very unrealistic to the original community that sang these words. How could the nations all over the world ever even come to know about Israel's God? The fulfillment of Psalm 117 awaited the beginning of a new era. With the death and resurrection of the Messiah, the King of the Jews began a new reign over all the earth. Just prior to His ascension, Jesus said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20)

Through the power of the Holy Spirit, the Resurrection King is bringing the message of good news to the world. He used Israel to sing the words of invitation for many centuries, but now He uses His church to suffer and die so that the Word of our Redeemer might be known and sung in every land. “Praise the Lord!”

Prayer from A Book of Prayers

God of all the earth, everyone everywhere should worship You. Use us as Your servants to extend the glory of Your Name to lands that have never heard of You. Bring the power of redemption through the blood of Your Son to every nation.

Psalm 116

Read Psalm 116

“I love the Lord, because He has heard my voice and my pleas for mercy.” The righteous worshiper of Israel's God called on the Name of the Lord because he had a solid expectation that God would listen to his voice. Even at the point of death, his prayer could still be heard. “O Lord, I pray, deliver my soul!”

The character of God was stable. “Gracious is the Lord, and righteous; our God is merciful.” This security concerning the Almighty gave the true worshiper confidence in his prayer. He also understood from his own life experience that the Lord heard the honest pleas of a “simple” man when he “was brought low.” The Lord had “saved” him in the past. God had “dealt bountifully” with him. Though he drew near to death, he was able to call out to his God with confidence: “I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living.” Even if his days under the sun had come to an end, he knew that there was a life beyond in the house of the Lord where he would dwell forever (Psalm 23:6).

The worshiper's confidence was not in men. “All mankind are liars.” His trust was in the God of truth. He believed the Word of the Lord.

What if God did give him more days under the sun? He promised to “pay my vows in the presence of all His people.” He would go to the place of holy assembly and “call on the Name of the Lord.” What more could he do than to surrender himself to God in sincere worship?

But what if his time on this earth was over? His confidence was this: “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints.” Death would not be the end.

When the Passover Lamb walked to the cross for our sins, He went with the perfect confidence of faith expressed so well in Psalm 116. His unblemished faith and obedience won for us a very secure salvation. His work as the holy Servant of His Father has freed us from the bondage of death.

Death could not hold Jesus forever. “You have loosed my bonds.” His resurrection was for us just as surely as His cross was for us. When we call on the Name of the Lord we trust in the only reliable Savior for sinners. Even if we die, we shall live forever “in the courts of the house of the Lord.”

Prayer from A Book of Prayers

Merciful Lord, we love You. You have heard us when we cried out to You. We faced distressing thoughts and agonizing fears. You heard our cry, and have caused us to rest again in Jesus Christ. Your promises are very secure. We will not be moved. The age of resurrection is surely coming. We are the payment of Your Son’s holy vow. We will praise You in the land of the living. We long for the coming of the perfect Jerusalem. We are there even now in Christ.

Psalm 115

Read Psalm 115

“Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to Your Name give glory, for the sake of Your steadfast love and Your faithfulness!” Israel existed for the glory of Almighty God. The Lord's covenant mercies would lead to many blessings for all who would fear Him, but those good gifts might not come to people who imagined that devotion to Him was just a means to an end. Those who above all longed for their own glory—money, fame, power—would seek to gain everything they hoped for through some religious method. They would miss the joy that God has for those who cast their crowns at His feet and seek His glory more than all the gifts that He gives them.

The world all around the people of Israel was full of idols. The people of the nations made many gods, hoping to gain from them the blessings that they desired. They tried to receive abundant life from lifeless objects. They wanted what people everywhere want—prosperity, happiness, and the approval of those around them. They thought that prayers to gods of wood and stone might help them. But what can dead gods give? Those who make them and trust in them only become like them.

The people of Israel needed to be different from neighboring nations. They were called to put their trust in the Lord. The living God would help them and protect them. The priests of the Lord and all who worshiped God according to His Word needed to believe in Him.

The blessings of the Lord would come to His covenant family as the gifts of His steadfast love and faithfulness. He who would one day send His Son to die for their sins was willing and able to supply all the needs of the faithful according to His riches in glory. The Lord who “made heaven and earth” would help the families of His chosen ones, “both the small and the great.” He would be their God and they would be His people.

Even if idol worship seemed to produce rain, fertility, or military victory, it should have been obvious that only a living God could take His people beyond death. The families of the earth needed a God who would provide a way for them to praise Him forever. The death and resurrection of Christ was the only credible solution to this universal longing for eternal life. Jesus alone has satisfied the demands of God's justice and demonstrated to all that life beyond the grave is more than a dream. Those who have found spiritual life today through a relationship with the reigning Christ can walk even now in the eternal blessings that other gods could never supply.

Prayer from A Book of Prayers

Great God, we give You glory. There is no one like You. You do all that You please. The idols of the nations can do nothing. They are a dreadful snare to all who trust in them. Grant that we would trust You and follow You forever. We will fear You and serve You every day through Jesus Christ. Forgive our sins, and cause us to walk with a confident expectation of the coming resurrection.

Psalm 114

Read Psalm 114

“When Israel went out from Egypt, the house of Jacob from a people of strange language, Judah became his sanctuary, Israel his dominion.” God's people who were once in bondage in Egypt had been held captive by an oppressive nation. The Lord delivered them from their prison. On the journey from the Red Sea to the Jordan, despite all the difficulties of disobedience that they brought upon themselves, the tribes of Israel were the Lord's holy sanctuary. He dwelt in their midst and they called upon His Name in worship.

When the people of God finally arrived at the bank of the Jordan, the conquest of Canaan was still before them. The Lord caused that river to turn into dry land as he had a generation earlier at the Red Sea when Israel was first brought up out of Egypt. The Almighty God proved again to His people that He was Lord over all of nature. He could turn back the seas or make mountains “skip like rams.”

The psalmist addressed the mountains and the seas in Psalm 114. What made them move in a most unusual way? Did they have the answer to such an important question? The Lord gave gifts of reason and language to human beings. He expected His people to come to right conclusions and to proclaim them in accord with His own Word. They would need to make the distinction between any mechanisms that God used on earth and the Lord's unique role as the Prime Mover of all providence. He may have used a wind to dry up the sea or an earthquake to move a mountain. These were mechanisms, but He alone was the author of the miracle. The proper response of those who saw the miracle was to worship the Lord and to testify to the truth of what they had seen and heard.

The eternal Son of God, the Word, spoke creation into being. God holds all things together by this same powerful Word (Hebrews 1:3). Jesus is not only the Redeemer who became man to die for our sins—He is the Almighty Son. He made the earth move in order to bring Israel into the Promised Land. He is the Provider for His people in every generation. As the Apostle Paul proclaimed concerning the people of the Passover in 1 Corinthians 10:4, “All drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ.”

The word “earth” can mean the great sphere that is our present residence, but it can also refer to all the inhabitants that live on this planet. All the earth should tremble before the Son of God. They should read the testimonies of His miracles and consider His promise to come again in judgment. They should bring their guilt and shame before Him and find His full pardon for those who call upon His Name in sincere worship. There is no other credible plan for eternal security and everlasting joy.

Prayer from A Book of Prayers

God of the Nations, You know how to save Your people from dangerous adversaries. You are the God of providence, and You move heaven and earth in order to preserve and protect Your children. Blessed be Your Name forever.

Psalm 113

Read Psalm 113

“Praise the Lord! Praise, O servants of the Lord, praise the name of the Lord!” In the days of Jesus and beyond, Psalms 113 through 118 were used in connection with the celebration of the Passover. As the Jews commemorated God's miracle of deliverance for them through the blood of a lamb, one of the psalms that they sang began with praise.

The Lord was always to be praised, “from this time forth and forevermore.” The God of the Passover was to be worshiped everywhere—not only in the Promised Land, but all over the earth “from the rising of the sun” in the east “to its setting” in the west. He was not only the ruler over one small country. He was “high above all nations, and his glory above the heavens!”

The great God who was “seated on high,” was reigning in the big issues that concerned the rising and falling of kingdoms and in the daily heartaches that touched regular people. “He raises the poor from the dust … to make them sit with princes.” He not only cared, but He was also well able to accomplish everything that He desired. “He gives the barren woman a home, making her the joyous mother of children.”

We still call out to the Lord in prayer today because we believe that He loves us and that He is very able to bring us help in every matter, great and small. We may not be Jews, but we know that the Jewish Messiah is reigning on high with a stated purpose that touches the lives of His people all over the globe. We trust that the same Jesus who died for our sins still knows our needs today. We can confess our sins and find complete forgiveness. We can ask Him for help in impossible situations and He hears us.

We have come to believe that the Passover Lamb has a worldwide mission of deliverance. We trust that He knows us very intimately and will help us when we sing to Him. “Praise the Lord!”

Prayer from A Book of Prayers

Lord God, You have blessed us in so many ways. We thank You sincerely. You are above all nations. There is no god like You. You saw us in our poverty and need. You met us in our barrenness. You have granted us godliness with contentment. You have promised us a future forever in Your Kingdom. We praise You.

Psalm 112

Read Psalm 112

“Praise the Lord! Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who greatly delights in His commandments!” Israel was a great congregation made up of many individuals. Each one was told to “fear the Lord,” and was promised that great blessings would come from the sincere reverence of honest worship.

What were the characteristics of a man who delighted in God's Word? He would be “upright” in his personal behavior, but not in a way that was designed to be showy. His eye would not be searching for the approval of men, but for those in need, that he might lend them a helping hand. He would have that delightful combination of holiness and mercy which reflects the heart of the Almighty. Such a man would build his entire life on truth and would trust the Lord with a steady heart in every circumstance.

What were the blessings that would come to the righteous man who conducted himself in these ways? His offspring would be “mighty in the land.” He would possess “wealth and riches.” The light of the Lord would guide him through the darkness and he would “never be moved.” The blessings that would come to him would not be fleeting, for he would be “remembered forever.” Finally, in any contest with the wicked, he would look “in triumph on his adversaries.” The desires of the ungodly would “perish,” but he would be “exalted in honor.”

Yet when the most righteous man among the Jews lived on this earth, He did not seem to prosper. Jesus, who perfectly obeyed the Word of His Father, appeared to have the end of someone who was cursed by God. To understand the life of the Messiah, we need to look beyond the land of Israel and to consider the new resurrection kingdom that He came to establish. He suffered and died outside the city gates of the Jerusalem below, but then He rose from the dead as the King over a new realm of glory.

As followers of Jesus, we are called to imitate Him in His holy generosity. We know that all the rewards for following the Word of God may not come to us immediately. Yet even now we can have the peace that comes from believing that the Lord will keep His promises. As Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.” (Matthew 5:6)

Prayer from A Book of Prayers

O Lord Our God, we praise You. Make our young ones mighty in Your service. Bring Your light into our homes and show forth Your glory in Your church. Give us courage in the spiritual battle that we have before us. Grant us hope and security in Your everlasting love.

Psalm 111

Read Psalm 111

“Praise the Lord! I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart, in the company of the upright, in the congregation.” It was Israel's duty to worship the Lord together. Each individual in the Lord's assembly was called to be fully engaged in this great work of praise and thanksgiving. Their time together was more than just the combined individual devotions of those who gathered together in one place. The Lord was forming one body of worshipers who would have a renewed sense of purpose.

They were called to consider the “works of the Lord” and to extol the God who had accomplished such great deeds. These accomplishments of the Almighty were to be “studied by all who delighted in them.” What would they find when they sang about His sovereign deeds of creation and providence? They would discover Him in their praise and extol His splendor, majesty, and righteousness. They would know Him as the gracious God who was the same yesterday, today, and forever.

The Lord of heaven and earth knew that it would be good for His people to contemplate His glorious accomplishments. As they sang about the Lord's great provision for them, they would be strengthened in their faith. Israel would remember that the Lord “provides food for those who fear Him.” They would be further committed to obeying His Word since they had just extolled the Lord as the God who “remembers His covenant forever.”

As the Lord's people praised Him for giving them the land of Canaan, they would turn away from their present disappointments for a moment. They considered the miracle of His provision for their fathers and His promises for their children. The worship of the Lord for His great deeds of the past would lead Israel to think differently regarding the future. Because His “precepts are trustworthy” and are “established forever and ever,” they did not need to live in panic now. Their God would be “faithful and just” since He was “trustworthy.”

These declarations of heartfelt communal worship were to be formative for Old Testament congregation. The New Testament church that has now been built upon the Rock of the Jewish Messiah and His astounding works of worldwide redemption continues in this great tradition of worship. When we sing about the wondrous cross of Jesus Christ, we are united together in Him and appropriately directed toward a better understanding of our Lord. We sing to the God who has a purpose for His church and for each of our lives. We confess that “His praise endures forever” and we are changed.

Prayer from A Book of Prayers

Merciful God, we give You thanks. As we meditate upon Your works, we see the greatness of Your character. Our future is secure because of Your trustworthy Word. We bow before You with reverence, and we receive Your many gifts with grateful hearts.

Psalm 110

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“The LORD says to my Lord: 'Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.'” In this puzzling opening to David's psalm, Yahweh spoke to someone that David referred to as “my Lord.” Who was this second Lord? He was the Christ who would be both a descendant of David and the eternal Son of God. Jesus would ascend on high after His resurrection and would sit at the right hand of the Father—the place of power and authority—until all the enemies of the Messiah were brought under His feet.

The Lord Jesus has been reigning since His resurrection and ascension on high. “Rule in the midst of Your enemies!” He reigns from a better Zion than the Jerusalem below, and the scope of His authority is far beyond what David achieved in his own day.

The Lord who died for our sins has a group of varied people from all over the world who “offer themselves freely” to Him. This is the day of His power. Though it may not appear that He is reigning now, the New Testament quotes of Psalm 110 make it abundantly clear that Jesus is already Lord. That is why the gospel is finally going to all the nations. All who receive Him are being clothed in the “holy garments” of His righteousness and cleansed with the dew of heaven—the Holy Spirit.

As God promised, Jesus is both King and Priest, like the Melchizedek of old from Genesis 14. As our High Priest, Jesus offered up Himself as a sacrifice in our place. Though He died for us, He now lives forever to offer up prayers to His Father on our behalf.

During this time of His reign, He is using His people to bring the Word of peace everywhere, but the “day of His wrath” is swiftly approaching. The leaders and citizens of every nation would do well to hear His ambassadors now and to receive His generous offer of reconciliation. One day He will “shatter chiefs over the wide earth.” He who suffered for our sins will “lift up His head” above every tyrant and enemy. We who have already been saved by His grace should certainly worship and serve Him today with grateful hearts.

Prayer from A Book of Prayers

Great Redeemer, You are Lord, and Your Son is also the Lord at Your right hand. Together with Your Son and Your Spirit, You are one God. May Jesus Christ rule as the King of Your kingdom forever. May we be willing servants of our royal High Priest every day. Surely no one can stand against Him, for He reigns eternally in the fullness of Your Holy Spirit.

Psalm 109

Read Psalm 109

“Be not silent, O God of my praise! For wicked and deceitful mouths are opened against me, speaking against me with lying tongues.” David turned to God when his enemies were trying to destroy him. “They encircle me with words of hate, and attack me without cause.”

David faced the hatred of men that he had treated with kindness. When he asked God to aid him, his focus turned to one treacherous individual out of the entire group of enemies. “May his days be few; may another take his office!” These exact words were quoted in the New Testament by Peter concerning the death of Judas.

Peter wrote in Acts 1:16, “Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke beforehand by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus.” The apostles acted upon Peter's understanding of Psalm 109 and selected another man to replace Judas in “his office” as one of the twelve. This citation helps us to see that the suffering man in the psalm was not only David so many centuries earlier, but our Lord Jesus, who was betrayed by his friend.

David asked God to bring His justice down upon those who were standing against him with murderous intent. He looked to the God of vengeance to take action. Yet when Jesus suffered pain at the hands of those who crucified Him, he spoke these words: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34)

The Lord understood that the curses of Psalm 109 were real and that they stood against all those who were complicit in His death. When He was carrying the cross, He said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for Me, but weep for yourselves and for your children.” (Luke 23:28) He also knew that He was going to the cross to suffer the curse that we deserved.

The blessings of deliverance that David sought for himself back in his time of distress have now come to the body of Christ throughout the world. “Because your steadfast love is good, deliver me!” Jesus was “an object of scorn” to those around Him at His death, but He has become our saving Lord.

Our Savior has been vindicated before the world through His resurrection. Those who plotted against Him, like Judas, have lost everything. Even today, many will not embrace the Lord who sends His church to the ends of the earth with the message of His forgiveness. But we have found eternal life through our association with the Lamb of God who died for our sins.

Prayer from A Book of Prayers

Our God, please speak to us powerfully through Your holy Scriptures. Save us in Your infinite strength. There is one who comes to make accusations against us. We know that our battle is not against flesh and blood, but there are those who have fallen under the foul sway of a wicked adversary. Surely You will make a final end of Satan, together with all His allies among men and angels. They have despised You, and have hated Your mercy. We trust in You. Please continue Your great faithfulness to us for the glory of Your holy Name. Continue in Your everlasting love for Your people.

Psalm 108

Read Psalm 108

“My heart is steadfast, O God! I will sing and make melody with all my being!” David's songs have become the songs of the faithful for many generations beyond his days as the king of Israel. The Lord used him to begin a whole new era of musical worship. It was during his reign that singing and the playing of instruments began to have a more prominent role as God prepared Israel to grow from the tabernacle worship of Moses to the new life of adoration in a temple building in Jerusalem under David's son, Solomon.

The worship of God in that great structure would one day give way to a new era of devotion. The Spirit of God would dwell within the people of the church. They would be the temple, and Jesus, a descendant of David, would be the Cornerstone. In this future phase of worship, the praise of God would go far beyond the borders of Israel. “I will give thanks to You, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing praises to You among the nations.”

The present experience of worship in gatherings all over the earth will not be the final period in the story of the praise of God. The Lord God Almighty who created and sustains the heavens and the earth will one day bring about a new creation where the entire environment will be His temple. The worship of God in the present heavens will come down upon the earth and bring a full renewal. “Be exalted, O God, above the heavens! Let your glory be over all the earth!” In that day the Lord's people will be delivered from every adversary.

The history of Old Testament Israel was a part of a great story that would one day end in the renewal of the entire creation. During the days of David, the Lord made known His special covenant love for the tribes of Israel. In particular, He called the tribe of Judah, David's tribe, His “scepter.” The surrounding territories—places like Edom, Moab, and Philistia—were not His covenant lands, though He had a plan that included the entire earth. It would be from Judah that the Deliverer would come who would be the eternal King.

In David's time, the people of God needed to know that the Lord would be with them to bring them victory over the Edomites and the other people groups who sought the destruction of Israel. We are also waging a war, but as the apostle Paul writes in Ephesians 6:12, “we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” Whether the Lord's people face the swords of the descendants of Esau or the flaming arrows of Satan as the gospel goes forth to the nations, our confidence is this: “With God we shall do valiantly; it is He who will tread down our foes.” Jesus, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, will save us. We will worship with all that we have and all that we are.

Prayer from A Book of Prayers

Great God, Your special commitment to Your people passes all our understanding. Your promises are absolutely sure. Your very being is everlasting and beyond all measure. You will not treat the world in the same way as You do Your church. Help us now, for dangerous enemies are near. You will give us victory over even the most powerful adversaries. You will give us deliverance and peace.

Psalm 107

Read Psalm 107

“Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever!” Israel needed to proclaim these important truths regardless of the nation's immediate circumstances. God is good. His mercy is eternal. “Let the redeemed of the Lord say so.” Even though Israel's understanding of God needed to be based on the foundation of His own Word and not on their experience, there was ample evidence in many lives to support these central statements of faith.

God had heard the cries of His people when they were exiles in far-off lands. He had brought them back from north, south, east, and west. Though they had to wander “in desert wastes,” the Lord listened to their voices and gave them a city to dwell in. “He satisfies the longing soul.”

The people of God found themselves as prisoners of foreign nations because of their persistent disobedience. Yet when they cried to the Almighty for help, He “burst their bonds apart.” It was their privilege to thank the Lord in the assembly of the faithful.

Some of His worshipers suffered bodily affliction because of their sins. Once again, they “cried to the Lord in their trouble.” He granted them healing and deliverance. They needed to “tell of His deeds in songs of joy.”

Still others were making their living on the seas. The God of all nature caused the waves to swell, but when His people remembered Him in their distress, He calmed the winds and the waves and “brought them to their desired haven.” How should they respond to such powerful mercy? They should “extol Him in the congregation of the people.”

These few instances recorded in Psalm 107 were only a very small fraction of the testimonies that the Lord's ancient people had personally experienced. The trials in their lives had led to greater experiences of faith. Even their difficulties were ordained by the Lord who is always good and whose steadfast love endures forever.

This great God is not only the God of the Jews. He rules over all the nations. Environmental disasters do not surprise Him. It is by His power that kingdoms rise and fall. By His sovereign will a group of people live in peace and prosperity for some time. “When they are diminished and brought low through oppression, evil, and sorrow,” He may express His displeasure with their acts of rebellion, but “He raises up the needy out of affliction” when they turn to Him.

The greatest evidence of God's goodness and steadfast mercy has come to us through the cross of Jesus, the Son of God. Our most devastating crisis was not being lost at sea or facing a very debilitating medical condition. We were dead in our trespasses and sins. (Ephesians 2:1) When we came to see our desperate condition, we called upon the Name of the Lord and were saved. What should our response be to such a great salvation? We should gather together and worship the Lord with all who have been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. We should give thanks to His holy Name forever. “Whoever is wise, let him attend to these things; let them consider the steadfast love of the Lord.”

Prayer from A Book of Prayers

Our Father, You have steadfast love for us through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Are we hungry and in physical need? You have given us food and shelter. Are we trapped in dark prisons of evil men, or bound up in the chains of sin? You have brought the strong man Jesus to break open the prison house and to deliver us into the fresh air of freedom. Are we stuck in sickness and pain? You have granted us help. Are we overwhelmed with fear in the midst of some horrible storm? You have heard our cry. You have calmed the wind and the waves, and we live. Surely You can do all things. You will move heaven and earth for the sake of Your elect. You have given us blessing upon blessing. In love, You discipline us, but You will fill our hearts with hope again. We are persuaded that Your steadfast love will continue forever.