Hesed – Psalm 118

August 05, 2023 by Andrew Forrest in Bible

Psalm 118

1 Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
    for his steadfast love endures forever!
2 Let Israel say,
    “His steadfast love endures forever.”
3 Let the house of Aaron say,
    “His steadfast love endures forever.”
4 Let those who fear the Lord say,
    “His steadfast love endures forever.”
5 Out of my distress I called on the Lord;
    the Lord answered me and set me free.
6 The Lord is on my side; I will not fear.
    What can man do to me?
7 The Lord is on my side as my helper;
    I shall look in triumph on those who hate me.
8 It is better to take refuge in the Lord
    than to trust in man.
9 It is better to take refuge in the Lord
    than to trust in princes.
10 All nations surrounded me;
    in the name of the Lord I cut them off!
11 They surrounded me, surrounded me on every side;
    in the name of the Lord I cut them off!
12 They surrounded me like bees;
    they went out like a fire among thorns;
    in the name of the Lord I cut them off!
13 I was pushed hard, so that I was falling,
    but the Lord helped me.
14 The Lord is my strength and my song;
    he has become my salvation.
15 Glad songs of salvation
    are in the tents of the righteous:
“The right hand of the Lord does valiantly,
16 the right hand of the Lord exalts,
    the right hand of the Lord does valiantly!”
17 I shall not die, but I shall live,
    and recount the deeds of the Lord.
18 The Lord has disciplined me severely,
    but he has not given me over to death.
19 Open to me the gates of righteousness,
    that I may enter through them
    and give thanks to the Lord.
20 This is the gate of the Lord;
    the righteous shall enter through it.
21 I thank you that you have answered me
    and have become my salvation.
22 The stone that the builders rejected
    has become the cornerstone.
23 This is the Lord's doing;
    it is marvelous in our eyes.
24 This is the day that the Lord has made;
    let us rejoice and be glad in it.
25 Save us, we pray, O Lord!
    O Lord, we pray, give us success!
26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!
    We bless you from the house of the Lord.
27 The Lord is God,
    and he has made his light to shine upon us.
Bind the festal sacrifice with cords,
    up to the horns of the altar!
28 You are my God, and I will give thanks to you;
    you are my God; I will extol you.
29 Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
    for his steadfast love endures forever!

By Kevin M. Watson, Ph.D

NOTE: Today’s commentary is by Dr. Kevin Watson, who is coming to Tulsa to become the Director of Academic Growth and Formation at the Tulsa Extension Site for Asbury Theological Seminary, as well as joining our staff at Asbury Church as Scholar-in-Residence. I wrote a post announcing and explaining this move.-Andrew

The phrase “steadfast love” is used four times in the first four verses of Psalm 118. It is used again in the final verse.

Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
     For his steadfast love endures forever!
Let Israel say,
     “His steadfast love endures forever.”
Let the house of Aaron say,
     “His steadfast love endures forever.”
Let those who fear the Lord say,
     “His steadfast love endures forever.”

The Hebrew word that is translated here as “steadfast love” is a very important word in the Old Testament. It has a wide range of meanings and provides crucial insight into who God is.

Here is how the authors of the New International Commentary on the Old Testament: The Book of Psalms define hesed and describe its importance:

Traditionally, a wide range of English terms have been employed in the attempt to capture the meaning of hesed: “mercy,” “loving-kindness,” steadfast love,” “faithfulness,” “covenantal love,” “loving faithfulness,” and the like. We find that none of these words or phrases satisfactorily express the range and depth of hesed. While this is true of many words in many languages, we believe that for the word hesed, the difference in degree amounts to a difference in kind. Hesed includes elements of love, mercy, fidelity, and kindness. Hesed is a relational term that describes both the internal character as well as the external actions that are required to maintain a life-sustaining relationship. While the term is used of both humans and God, in the Psalter it is above all a theological term that describes God’s essential character as well as God’s characteristic ways of acting – especially God’s characteristic ways of acting in electing, delivering, and sustaining the people of Israel. Hesed is both who the Lord is and what the Lord does. Hesed is an ancient term that defined for Israel who its God is….The centrality of the term in the Psalter is made apparent by the fact that of the 255 times the term hesed occurs in the Old Testament, 130 of those occurrences are in the Psalter.

It is, indeed, right to give thanks to the Lord, whose hesed endures forever.

Short and Sweet – Psalm 117

August 04, 2023 by Andrew Forrest in Bible

Psalm 117

1 Praise the Lord, all nations!
Extol him, all peoples!
2 For great is his steadfast love toward us,
and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever.
Praise the Lord!

By Kevin M. Watson, Ph.D

Psalm 117 is the shortest of all the psalms.

Its message is short and sweet. With an economy of words, this psalm articulates the heart of the good news of the gospel:

Praise the Lord, all nations!
Extol him, all peoples!
For great is his steadfast love towards us,
And the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever.
Praise the Lord!

God’s love for us is steadfast. He is for us! He is faithful.

Always.

Because He Has Heard – Psalm 116

August 03, 2023 by Andrew Forrest in Bible

Psalm 116

1 I love the Lord, because he has heard
    my voice and my pleas for mercy.
2 Because he inclined his ear to me,
    therefore I will call on him as long as I live.
3 The snares of death encompassed me;
    the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me;
    I suffered distress and anguish.
4 Then I called on the name of the Lord:
    “O Lord, I pray, deliver my soul!”
5 Gracious is the Lord, and righteous;
    our God is merciful.
6 The Lord preserves the simple;
    when I was brought low, he saved me.
7 Return, O my soul, to your rest;
    for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you.
8 For you have delivered my soul from death,
    my eyes from tears,
    my feet from stumbling;
9 I will walk before the Lord
    in the land of the living.
10 I believed, even when I spoke:
    “I am greatly afflicted”;
11 I said in my alarm,
    “All mankind are liars.”
12 What shall I render to the Lord
    for all his benefits to me?
13 I will lift up the cup of salvation
    and call on the name of the Lord,
14 I will pay my vows to the Lord
    in the presence of all his people.
15 Precious in the sight of the Lord
    is the death of his saints.
16 O Lord, I am your servant;
    I am your servant, the son of your maidservant.
    You have loosed my bonds.
17 I will offer to you the sacrifice of thanksgiving
    and call on the name of the Lord.
18 I will pay my vows to the Lord
    in the presence of all his people,
19 in the courts of the house of the Lord,
    in your midst, O Jerusalem.
Praise the Lord!

By Kevin M. Watson, Ph.D

I love the Lord, because he has heard
my voice and my pleas for mercy.
Because he inclined his ear to me,
therefore I will call on him as long as I live.

Do you remember a time when you called out to God, and you had a clear sense that God heard you?

So much of the Book of Psalms consists of the one praying trying to get God’s attention.

Can you name one time you experienced God incline his ear to you?

Take a moment and close your eyes and relive the experience in as much detail as you can. What did you say to God? What happened after you said it? Where were you? What did you see? Could you smell anything (smell can be strongly connected to memories)?

It is important to remember these parts of our story. They can carry us through more difficult times.

Those Who Make Them Become Like Them – Psalm 115

August 02, 2023 by Andrew Forrest in Bible

Psalm 115

1 Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory,
    for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness!
2 Why should the nations say,
    “Where is their God?”
3 Our God is in the heavens;
    he does all that he pleases.
4 Their idols are silver and gold,
    the work of human hands.
5 They have mouths, but do not speak;
    eyes, but do not see.
6 They have ears, but do not hear;
    noses, but do not smell.
7 They have hands, but do not feel;
    feet, but do not walk;
    and they do not make a sound in their throat.
8 Those who make them become like them;
    so do all who trust in them.
9 O Israel, trust in the Lord!
    He is their help and their shield.
10 O house of Aaron, trust in the Lord!
    He is their help and their shield.
11 You who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord!
    He is their help and their shield.
12 The Lord has remembered us; he will bless us;
    he will bless the house of Israel;
    he will bless the house of Aaron;
13 he will bless those who fear the Lord,
    both the small and the great.
14 May the Lord give you increase,
    you and your children!
15 May you be blessed by the Lord,
    who made heaven and earth!
16 The heavens are the Lord's heavens,
    but the earth he has given to the children of man.
17 The dead do not praise the Lord,
    nor do any who go down into silence.
18 But we will bless the Lord
    from this time forth and forevermore.
Praise the Lord!

By Kevin M. Watson, Ph.D

Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory,
for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness!

Psalm 115 emphasizes its key theme right out of the gate.

Why should the nations say,
“Where is their God?”
Our God is in the heavens;
he does all that he pleases.

Those who do not know our God may ridicule our faith. The psalmist reminds us that God is above all that happens and all that is.

Their idols are silver and gold,
     the work of human hands.
They have mouths, but do not speak;
     eyes, but do not see.
They have ears, but do not hear;
     noses, but do not smell.
They have hands, but do not feel;
     feet, but do not walk;
     and they do not make a sound in their throat.
Those who make them become like them;
     so do all who trust in them.

These verses turn the tables on those who question Israel’s God. They worship idols that are inanimate objects. The ridiculousness of creating something with your own hands in order to worship it is emphasized.

These idols have fake mouths, eyes, ears, noses, hand, and feet.

They are not alive. They are not persons. They do not communicate with those who worship them.

And worst of all, they make those create them and worship them as they are. “Those who make them become like them; so do all who trust in them.” Idol worship is not neutral.

O Israel, trust in the Lord!
     He is their help and their shield.
O house of Aaron, trust in the Lord!
     He is their help and their shield.
You who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord!
     He is their help and their shield.

Those who worship God should not only worship him like idol worshippers do. They should trust the Lord. Why? Because God is a person. He is the creator. He is not a worthless inanimate object. God is our help and our shield.

The Lord has remembered us; he will bless us;
     he will bless the house of Israel;
     he will bless the house of Aaron;
he will bless those who fear the Lord,
     both the small and the great.

In the midst of challenging circumstances, this can be a difficult prayer to pray. It is also essential to thriving in the life of faith. In good times and bad, notice the times you are aware of God’s presence and that he has remembered you. Turn your mind to trusting that God will bless you, even when you can’t yet see it. And be open to his blessing being different than your expectations.

May the Lord give you increase,
you and your children!
May you be blessed by the Lord,
who made heaven and earth!

Read the words above slowly. Take a deep breath. Ask God to help you receive every blessing he has for you. Amen.

The heavens are the Lord’s heavens,
     but the earth he has given to the children of man.
The dead do not praise the Lord,
     nor do any who go down into silence.
But we will bless the Lord
     from this time forth and forevermore.
Praise the Lord!

We are called to steward the earth, which the Lord has entrusted to our care. This is a sacred responsibility.

How can you faithfully steward your part of God’s good creation today?

As you do so, make an intentional effort to praise the Lord for the gift of creation.

Tremble – Psalm 114

August 01, 2023 by Andrew Forrest in Bible

Psalm 114

1 When Israel went out from Egypt,
    the house of Jacob from a people of strange language,
2 Judah became his sanctuary,
    Israel his dominion.
3 The sea looked and fled;
    Jordan turned back.
4 The mountains skipped like rams,
    the hills like lambs.
5 What ails you, O sea, that you flee?
    O Jordan, that you turn back?
6 O mountains, that you skip like rams?
    O hills, like lambs?
7 Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord,
    at the presence of the God of Jacob,
8 who turns the rock into a pool of water,
    the flint into a spring of water.

By Kevin M. Watson, Ph.D

What beautiful imagery is contained in this psalm!

When Israel went out from Egypt,
     the house of Jacob from a people of strange language,
Judah became his sanctuary,
     Israel his dominion.
The sea looked and fled;
     Jordan turned back.
The mountains skipped like rams,
     the hills like lambs. (v. 1-4)

Why did the sea look and flee? The Jordan turn back?
Why did the mountains skip like rams? The hills like lambs?

What is going on here?

The psalmist asks the question to make sure we don’t miss it:

What ails you, O sea, that you flee?
O Jordan, that you turn back?
O mountains, that you skip like rams?
O hills, like lambs? (v. 5-6)

The answer comes in the final two verses:

Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord,
at the presence of the God of Jacob,
who turns the rock into a pool of water,
the flint into a spring of water. (v. 7-8)

The sea flees, the Jordan turns back, the mountains skip like rams, and the hills like lambs because the Lord is coming!

The earth trembles at God’s presence. The presence of the God of Jacob causes creation to tremble because the Lord is the creator of all that is. God is the one who can make water come from a rock.

In this psalm, the sea, a river, mountains, and hills serve as examples of the posture we ought to have toward the Lord: humble awe and reverence.

God is in charge. He is the creator. We are part of his creation.

This is good news, if we put our hope and trust in the Triune God.

Praise the Lord! – Psalm 113

July 31, 2023 by Andrew Forrest in Bible

Psalm 113

1 Praise the Lord!
Praise, O servants of the Lord,
    praise the name of the Lord!
2 Blessed be the name of the Lord
    from this time forth and forevermore!
3 From the rising of the sun to its setting,
    the name of the Lord is to be praised!
4 The Lord is high above all nations,
    and his glory above the heavens!
5 Who is like the Lord our God,
    who is seated on high,
6 who looks far down
    on the heavens and the earth?
7 He raises the poor from the dust
    and lifts the needy from the ash heap,
8 to make them sit with princes,
    with the princes of his people.
9 He gives the barren woman a home,
    making her the joyous mother of children.
Praise the Lord!

By Kevin M. Watson, Ph.D

Tremper Longman III offers an excellent summary of just how the call to Praise God in Psalm 113 is connected to the narrative of Scripture:

Psalm 113 calls on the congregation to praise God for being a glorious and transcendent God, who remains involved in the life of his people. In particular, this psalm gives hope to the socially vulnerable, the poor and the childless woman. In terms of the latter, the Old Testament narratives are full of stories of God opening the wombs of barren women: Sarah (Gen. 11:30; 21:1-5), Rebekah (25:21), Rachel (30:22), Samson’s mother (Judg. 13:2-3), Hannah (1 Sam. 1:2), the Shunammite (2 Kgs 4:16), Elizabeth (Luke 1:7). Of these, the story of Hannah deserves special mention, because, after she gives birth to Samuel, she sings praises [to] God in a song that shares a number of elements with Psalm 113 (1 Sam. 2:1-10). Turning to the New Testament, we, of course, read the story of the most famous birth of all, that of Jesus. Mary was not barren; she was a virgin. Even so, God opened her womb to give birth to the Saviour of the world, and she responded with a song that celebrated the One who ‘has lifted up the humble’ (Luke 1:52; see 1:46-55). As part of the Egyptian Hallel, this psalm would have been sung by Jesus and his disciples during their last Passover meal together (Matt. 26:30; Mark 14:26).

Take a moment and set aside all the cares and worries you are carrying. Fix your eyes on Jesus Christ. Read Psalm 113 again and turn your heart to give God praise for who he is in all circumstances. Praise the Lord!

The Righteous Will Never Be Moved – Psalm 112

July 30, 2023 by Andrew Forrest in Bible

Psalm 112

1 Praise the Lord!
Blessed is the man who fears the Lord,
    who greatly delights in his commandments!
2 His offspring will be mighty in the land;
    the generation of the upright will be blessed.
3 Wealth and riches are in his house,
    and his righteousness endures forever.
4 Light dawns in the darkness for the upright;
    he is gracious, merciful, and righteous.
5 It is well with the man who deals generously and lends;
    who conducts his affairs with justice.
6 For the righteous will never be moved;
    he will be remembered forever.
7 He is not afraid of bad news;
    his heart is firm, trusting in the Lord.
8 His heart is steady; he will not be afraid,
    until he looks in triumph on his adversaries.
9 He has distributed freely; he has given to the poor;
    his righteousness endures forever;
    his horn is exalted in honor.
10 The wicked man sees it and is angry;
    he gnashes his teeth and melts away;
    the desire of the wicked will perish!

By Kevin M. Watson, Ph.D

Psalm 112 is an alphabetic acrostic just like Psalm 111.

Psalms 111 and 112 go together. Psalm 111 gave a summary of God’s mighty acts on behalf of his chosen people.

Psalm 112 provides a short and punchy summary of how God’s people ought to live in light of who God is and what God has done for them.

Blessed is the man who fears the Lord,
who greatly delights in his commandments!
His offspring will be mighty in the land;
the generation of the upright will be blessed.

This psalm provides a beautiful description of the peace and steadfast focus on the Lord and God’s will that characterizes the person who reveres God.

Contentment in Christ leads to joyful generosity.

“The wicked man,” on the other hand, becomes angry when he sees the righteous exalted and honored:

The wicked man sees it and is angry;
he gnashes his teeth and melts away;
the desire of the wicked will perish! (v. 10)

Acrostic – Psalm 111

July 29, 2023 by Andrew Forrest in Bible

Psalm 111

1 Praise the Lord!
I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart,
    in the company of the upright, in the congregation.
2 Great are the works of the Lord,
    studied by all who delight in them.
3 Full of splendor and majesty is his work,
    and his righteousness endures forever.
4 He has caused his wondrous works to be remembered;
    the Lord is gracious and merciful.
5 He provides food for those who fear him;
    he remembers his covenant forever.
6 He has shown his people the power of his works,
    in giving them the inheritance of the nations.
7 The works of his hands are faithful and just;
    all his precepts are trustworthy;
8 they are established forever and ever,
    to be performed with faithfulness and uprightness.
9 He sent redemption to his people;
    he has commanded his covenant forever.
    Holy and awesome is his name!
10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;
    all those who practice it have a good understanding.
    His praise endures forever!

By Kevin M. Watson, Ph.D

There are times when even the best translations of a poem lose some of the beauty and elegance of the original language.

Psalm 111 is an excellent example of this.

If you went line by line and wrote down the first letter of each line of Psalm 111 from the ESV, you would not get anything meaningful. It would be something like:

I
I
G
S
F
A
H
T
H
H
H
I

You get the point… The first letters of the English translation have no meaning or significance.

Psalm 111, however, is an alphabetic acrostic. An acrostic is a poem that uses the first letter to spell out a word or the alphabet. Here is an example of an acrostic:

Kevin’s
Election
Victory
Is
Next

This was used on campaign posters when I ran for student council President in Middle School, thanks to my dad’s creativity. (The above is not an example of prophecy. Despite my dad’s creativity, I lost the election.)

After the opening “Praise the Lord!” the first letter of each line is a letter of the Hebrew alphabet.

The English translation faithfully passes on the meaning of Psalm 111. It is a beautiful summary of God’s deliverance of his chosen people.

But acrostics are just about impossible to translate and so that lovely poetical detail is lost in all English translations of this Psalm.

This is one reason it is important for leaders in the church to study the languages the Scriptures were originally written in and use commentaries written by those who are experts in the original languages in their preparation to teach and preach the Scriptures.

The Psalm Most Quoted in the New Testament – Psalm 110

July 28, 2023 by Andrew Forrest in Bible

Psalm 110

1 The Lord says to my Lord:
    “Sit at my right hand,
until I make your enemies your footstool.”
2 The Lord sends forth from Zion
    your mighty scepter.
    Rule in the midst of your enemies!
3 Your people will offer themselves freely
    on the day of your power,
    in holy garments;
from the womb of the morning,
    the dew of your youth will be yours.
4 The Lord has sworn
    and will not change his mind,
“You are a priest forever
    after the order of Melchizedek.”
5 The Lord is at your right hand;
    he will shatter kings on the day of his wrath.
6 He will execute judgment among the nations,
    filling them with corpses;
he will shatter chiefs
    over the wide earth.
7 He will drink from the brook by the way;
    therefore he will lift up his head.

By Kevin M. Watson, Ph.D

Psalm 110 is the most frequently quoted psalm of all 150 psalms.

Reread Psalm 110 and ask yourself: Why is it the most quoted of all the psalms in the New Testament?

1 The Lord says to my Lord:
    “Sit at my right hand,
until I make your enemies your footstool.”
2 The Lord sends forth from Zion
    your mighty scepter.
    Rule in the midst of your enemies!
3 Your people will offer themselves freely
    on the day of your power,
    in holy garments;
from the womb of the morning,
    the dew of your youth will be yours.
4 The Lord has sworn
    and will not change his mind,
“You are a priest forever
    after the order of Melchizedek.”
5 The Lord is at your right hand;
    he will shatter kings on the day of his wrath.
6 He will execute judgment among the nations,
    filling them with corpses;
he will shatter chiefs
    over the wide earth.
7 He will drink from the brook by the way;
    therefore he will lift up his head.

Can I Really Pray Like This? – Psalm 109

July 27, 2023 by Andrew Forrest in Bible

Psalm 109

1 Be not silent, O God of my praise!
2 For wicked and deceitful mouths are opened against me,
    speaking against me with lying tongues.
3 They encircle me with words of hate,
    and attack me without cause.
4 In return for my love they accuse me,
    but I give myself to prayer.
5 So they reward me evil for good,
    and hatred for my love.
6 Appoint a wicked man against him;
    let an accuser stand at his right hand.
7 When he is tried, let him come forth guilty;
    let his prayer be counted as sin!
8 May his days be few;
    may another take his office!
9 May his children be fatherless
    and his wife a widow!
10 May his children wander about and beg,
    seeking food far from the ruins they inhabit!
11 May the creditor seize all that he has;
    may strangers plunder the fruits of his toil!
12 Let there be none to extend kindness to him,
    nor any to pity his fatherless children!
13 May his posterity be cut off;
    may his name be blotted out in the second generation!
14 May the iniquity of his fathers be remembered before the Lord,
    and let not the sin of his mother be blotted out!
15 Let them be before the Lord continually,
    that he may cut off the memory of them from the earth!
16 For he did not remember to show kindness,
    but pursued the poor and needy
    and the brokenhearted, to put them to death.
17 He loved to curse; let curses come upon him!
    He did not delight in blessing; may it be far from him!
18 He clothed himself with cursing as his coat;
    may it soak into his body like water,
    like oil into his bones!
19 May it be like a garment that he wraps around him,
    like a belt that he puts on every day!
20 May this be the reward of my accusers from the Lord,
    of those who speak evil against my life!
21 But you, O God my Lord,
    deal on my behalf for your name's sake;
    because your steadfast love is good, deliver me!
22 For I am poor and needy,
    and my heart is stricken within me.
23 I am gone like a shadow at evening;
    I am shaken off like a locust.
24 My knees are weak through fasting;
    my body has become gaunt, with no fat.
25 I am an object of scorn to my accusers;
    when they see me, they wag their heads.
26 Help me, O Lord my God!
    Save me according to your steadfast love!
27 Let them know that this is your hand;
    you, O Lord, have done it!
28 Let them curse, but you will bless!
    They arise and are put to shame, but your servant will be glad!
29 May my accusers be clothed with dishonor;
    may they be wrapped in their own shame as in a cloak!
30 With my mouth I will give great thanks to the Lord;
    I will praise him in the midst of the throng.
31 For he stands at the right hand of the needy one,
    to save him from those who condemn his soul to death.

By Kevin M. Watson, Ph.D

Psalm 109 is the intense prayer of a person who has been falsely accused by enemies. The psalmist cries out to God to act. And what is asked for can shock our sensibilities about what ought to be in Scripture.

For example:

May his days be few;
     may another take his office!
May his children be fatherless
     and his wife a widow!
May his children wander about and beg,
     seeking food far from the ruins they inhabit!
May the creditor seize all that he has;
     may strangers plunder the fruits of his toil!
Let there be none to extend kindness to him,
    nor any to pity his fatherless children! (v. 8-12)

Can we really pray like this?

This is a question that nearly every interpreter of Psalm 109 has wrestled with. Here is an example from Nancy deClaissé-Walford I find helpful:

How then, indeed, shall we read and appropriate the harsh words of this psalm? How does the psalm contribute to the “story” of Book Five of the Psalter? This writer reads Psalm 109 as an imprecatory psalm, calling on God to condemn the foe and vindicate the psalmist. Is such language permissible in the context of the biblical text? The overwhelming consensus seems to be “Yes; by all means, yes.” People are accused unjustly; goodness is sometimes rewarded with bad; justice is not always served. How should the people of God respond? With silence? With indifference? With long-suffering? Yes – sometimes. And yet at other times, God calls upon us to speak out, to protest, and to say, “This is not right!” ….

In the act of protesting vehemently to God, the psalmist points out the acts of violence that so often accompany injustice and unexplainable suffering. The psalmist calls out to God to prosecute and condemn the adversary, thereby obviating the need of the psalmist to take matters into his own hands.

Notice how the Psalm ends:

With my mouth I will give great thanks to the Lord;
I will praise him in the midst of the throng.
For he stands at the right hand of the needy one,
to save him from those who condemn his soul to death.

This prayer is intense because it is standing with God in favor of the one who defends the righteous and the defenseless. And it is standing with God in firm opposition to the evil who unjustly condemn others to death.

Two Conclusions, One New Psalm – Psalm 108

July 26, 2023 by Andrew Forrest in Bible

Psalm 108

1 My heart is steadfast, O God!
    I will sing and make melody with all my being!
2 Awake, O harp and lyre!
    I will awake the dawn!
3 I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples;
    I will sing praises to you among the nations.
4 For your steadfast love is great above the heavens;
    your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.
5 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens!
    Let your glory be over all the earth!
6 That your beloved ones may be delivered,
    give salvation by your right hand and answer me!
7 God has promised in his holiness:
    “With exultation I will divide up Shechem
    and portion out the Valley of Succoth.
8 Gilead is mine; Manasseh is mine;
    Ephraim is my helmet,
    Judah my scepter.
9 Moab is my washbasin;
    upon Edom I cast my shoe;
    over Philistia I shout in triumph.”
10 Who will bring me to the fortified city?
    Who will lead me to Edom?
11 Have you not rejected us, O God?
    You do not go out, O God, with our armies.
12 Oh grant us help against the foe,
    for vain is the salvation of man!
13 With God we shall do valiantly;
    it is he who will tread down our foes.

By Kevin M. Watson, Ph.D

A good Study Bible will point out an interesting detail of Psalm 108: It is the combination of the conclusion of two previous Psalms.

Compare Psalm 57:7-11 to Psalm 108: 1-5.

Now compare Psalm 60:5-12 to Psalm 108:6-13.

Two conclusions, one new psalm! That’s Psalm 108.

How is the message of Psalm 108 different than Psalms 57 and 60?

Let Them Thank the Lord for His Steadfast Love – Psalm 107

July 25, 2023 by Andrew Forrest in Bible

Note: we had some technical difficulties this AM and this post wasn’t emailed out as usual. Sorry for the delay. I guess I need to switch my email provider from American Airlines. (Just a little summer travel humor for ya!) —Andrew

Psalm 107

1 Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
    for his steadfast love endures forever!
2 Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,
    whom he has redeemed from trouble
3 and gathered in from the lands,
    from the east and from the west,
    from the north and from the south.
4 Some wandered in desert wastes,
    finding no way to a city to dwell in;
5 hungry and thirsty,
    their soul fainted within them.
6 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
    and he delivered them from their distress.
7 He led them by a straight way
    till they reached a city to dwell in.
8 Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
    for his wondrous works to the children of man!
9 For he satisfies the longing soul,
    and the hungry soul he fills with good things.
10 Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death,
    prisoners in affliction and in irons,
11 for they had rebelled against the words of God,
    and spurned the counsel of the Most High.
12 So he bowed their hearts down with hard labor;
    they fell down, with none to help.
13 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
    and he delivered them from their distress.
14 He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death,
    and burst their bonds apart.
15 Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
    for his wondrous works to the children of man!
16 For he shatters the doors of bronze
    and cuts in two the bars of iron.
17 Some were fools through their sinful ways,
    and because of their iniquities suffered affliction;
18 they loathed any kind of food,
    and they drew near to the gates of death.
19 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
    and he delivered them from their distress.
20 He sent out his word and healed them,
    and delivered them from their destruction.
21 Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
    for his wondrous works to the children of man!
22 And let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving,
    and tell of his deeds in songs of joy!
23 Some went down to the sea in ships,
    doing business on the great waters;
24 they saw the deeds of the Lord,
    his wondrous works in the deep.
25 For he commanded and raised the stormy wind,
    which lifted up the waves of the sea.
26 They mounted up to heaven; they went down to the depths;
    their courage melted away in their evil plight;
27 they reeled and staggered like drunken men
    and were at their wits' end.
28 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
    and he delivered them from their distress.
29 He made the storm be still,
    and the waves of the sea were hushed.
30 Then they were glad that the waters were quiet,
    and he brought them to their desired haven.
31 Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
    for his wondrous works to the children of man!
32 Let them extol him in the congregation of the people,
    and praise him in the assembly of the elders.
33 He turns rivers into a desert,
    springs of water into thirsty ground,
34 a fruitful land into a salty waste,
    because of the evil of its inhabitants.
35 He turns a desert into pools of water,
    a parched land into springs of water.
36 And there he lets the hungry dwell,
    and they establish a city to live in;
37 they sow fields and plant vineyards
    and get a fruitful yield.
38 By his blessing they multiply greatly,
    and he does not let their livestock diminish.
39 When they are diminished and brought low
    through oppression, evil, and sorrow,
40 he pours contempt on princes
    and makes them wander in trackless wastes;
41 but he raises up the needy out of affliction
    and makes their families like flocks.
42 The upright see it and are glad,
    and all wickedness shuts its mouth.
43 Whoever is wise, let him attend to these things;
    let them consider the steadfast love of the Lord.

By Kevin M. Watson, Ph.D

Psalm 107 offers four scenes where people experience God’s deliverance. They are divided up as follows:

Scene 1: v. 4-9
Scene 2: v. 10-16
Scene 3: v. 17-22
Scene 4: v. 23-32

Each scene repeats the same pattern.

Here is how Nancy deClaissé-Walford summarizes the pattern:
1. Description of distress
2. Prayer to the Lord
3. Details of deliverance
4. Expression of thanks

Read v. 4-9 again:

4 Some wandered in desert wastes,
    finding no way to a city to dwell in;
5 hungry and thirsty,
    their soul fainted within them.
6 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
    and he delivered them from their distress.
7 He led them by a straight way
    till they reached a city to dwell in.
8 Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
    for his wondrous works to the children of man!
9 For he satisfies the longing soul,
    and the hungry soul he fills with good things.

Can you see each of these elements?

Nancy deClaissé-Walford again:

We may never find ourselves literally wandering in a desert wasteland, forced to dwell in a place of deep darkness, sick to the point of death, or caught in a tumultuous storm at sea. But each of us have or will face those times when we need desperately the redeeming hand of God. Psalm 107 provides a model for how to handle those times: recognize the situation you are in; cry out to God and tell God what you need; accept the deliverance that God brings; and then give thanks to God. And in the end, remember that God – not any earthly strength or power – can provide a “habitable” place for us and allow us to live the good life that God has given us.

Remembering Our Sins and Thanking God – Psalm 106

July 24, 2023 by Andrew Forrest in Bible

Psalm 106

1 Praise the Lord!
Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
    for his steadfast love endures forever!
2 Who can utter the mighty deeds of the Lord,
    or declare all his praise?
3 Blessed are they who observe justice,
    who do righteousness at all times!
4 Remember me, O Lord, when you show favor to your people;
    help me when you save them,
5 that I may look upon the prosperity of your chosen ones,
    that I may rejoice in the gladness of your nation,
    that I may glory with your inheritance.
6 Both we and our fathers have sinned;
    we have committed iniquity; we have done wickedness.
7 Our fathers, when they were in Egypt,
    did not consider your wondrous works;
they did not remember the abundance of your steadfast love,
    but rebelled by the sea, at the Red Sea.
8 Yet he saved them for his name's sake,
    that he might make known his mighty power.
9 He rebuked the Red Sea, and it became dry,
    and he led them through the deep as through a desert.
10 So he saved them from the hand of the foe
    and redeemed them from the power of the enemy.
11 And the waters covered their adversaries;
    not one of them was left.
12 Then they believed his words;
    they sang his praise.
13 But they soon forgot his works;
    they did not wait for his counsel.
14 But they had a wanton craving in the wilderness,
    and put God to the test in the desert;
15 he gave them what they asked,
    but sent a wasting disease among them.
16 When men in the camp were jealous of Moses
    and Aaron, the holy one of the Lord,
17 the earth opened and swallowed up Dathan,
    and covered the company of Abiram.
18 Fire also broke out in their company;
    the flame burned up the wicked.
19 They made a calf in Horeb
    and worshiped a metal image.
20 They exchanged the glory of God
    for the image of an ox that eats grass.
21 They forgot God, their Savior,
    who had done great things in Egypt,
22 wondrous works in the land of Ham,
    and awesome deeds by the Red Sea.
23 Therefore he said he would destroy them—
    had not Moses, his chosen one,
stood in the breach before him,
    to turn away his wrath from destroying them.
24 Then they despised the pleasant land,
    having no faith in his promise.
25 They murmured in their tents,
    and did not obey the voice of the Lord.
26 Therefore he raised his hand and swore to them
    that he would make them fall in the wilderness,
27 and would make their offspring fall among the nations,
    scattering them among the lands.
28 Then they yoked themselves to the Baal of Peor,
    and ate sacrifices offered to the dead;
29 they provoked the Lord to anger with their deeds,
    and a plague broke out among them.
30 Then Phinehas stood up and intervened,
    and the plague was stayed.
31 And that was counted to him as righteousness
    from generation to generation forever.
32 They angered him at the waters of Meribah,
    and it went ill with Moses on their account,
33 for they made his spirit bitter,
    and he spoke rashly with his lips.
34 They did not destroy the peoples,
    as the Lord commanded them,
35 but they mixed with the nations
    and learned to do as they did.
36 They served their idols,
    which became a snare to them.
37 They sacrificed their sons
    and their daughters to the demons;
38 they poured out innocent blood,
    the blood of their sons and daughters,
whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan,
    and the land was polluted with blood.
39 Thus they became unclean by their acts,
    and played the whore in their deeds.
40 Then the anger of the Lord was kindled against his people,
    and he abhorred his heritage;
41 he gave them into the hand of the nations,
    so that those who hated them ruled over them.
42 Their enemies oppressed them,
    and they were brought into subjection under their power.
43 Many times he delivered them,
    but they were rebellious in their purposes
    and were brought low through their iniquity.
44 Nevertheless, he looked upon their distress,
    when he heard their cry.
45 For their sake he remembered his covenant,
    and relented according to the abundance of his steadfast love.
46 He caused them to be pitied
    by all those who held them captive.
47 Save us, O Lord our God,
    and gather us from among the nations,
that we may give thanks to your holy name
    and glory in your praise.
48 Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
    from everlasting to everlasting!
And let all the people say, “Amen!”
    Praise the Lord!

By Kevin M. Watson, Ph.D

Psalm 106 begins with praise:

Praise the Lord!
Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
For his steadfast love endures forever!
Who can utter the mighty deeds of the Lord,
Or declare all his praise?
Blessed are they who observe justice,
Who do righteousness at all times! (v. 1-3)

This psalm chooses a particular lens to focus the call to praise God.

Verse 6 reveals this lens:

Both we and our fathers have sinned;
We have committed iniquity; we have done wickedness.

Then verses 7-43 rehearse in painful detail the extent of sin and wickedness that has been committed.

Why would a 48-verse psalm that begins and ends with a call to praise the Lord spend the overwhelming majority of the psalm focusing on detailed remembrance of sins that were committed in the past?

Scripture shows us that those who have gone before us have often been unfaithful. The people the Lord chose to enter into covenant relationship with, for the sake of all people, do not keep their promises.

But the Lord always keeps his promises.

It can be helpful to remember times we have fallen short and needed to receive God’s grace. This keeps us humble. And those who have been forgiven much are often the most grateful and joyful people you’ll ever meet.

After all the disobedience and sin, there is a huge word that begins verse 44: “Nevertheless.”

Nevertheless, he looked upon their distress,
When he heard their cry.
For their sake he remembered his covenant,
And relented according to the abundance of his steadfast love.

This is a clear-eyed remembering that God was gracious at the times it was the least deserved.

And when this sinks into your bones, it is reason for rejoicing and testifying to the goodness of God!

Verse 48 concludes Psalm 106 as well as Book IV:

Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
from everlasting to everlasting!
And let all the people say, “Amen!”
Praise the Lord!

God Keeps His Promises – Psalm 105

July 23, 2023 by Andrew Forrest in Bible

Psalm 105

1 Oh give thanks to the Lord; call upon his name;
    make known his deeds among the peoples!
2 Sing to him, sing praises to him;
    tell of all his wondrous works!
3 Glory in his holy name;
    let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice!
4 Seek the Lord and his strength;
    seek his presence continually!
5 Remember the wondrous works that he has done,
    his miracles, and the judgments he uttered,
6 O offspring of Abraham, his servant,
    children of Jacob, his chosen ones!
7 He is the Lord our God;
    his judgments are in all the earth.
8 He remembers his covenant forever,
    the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations,
9 the covenant that he made with Abraham,
    his sworn promise to Isaac,
10 which he confirmed to Jacob as a statute,
    to Israel as an everlasting covenant,
11 saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan
    as your portion for an inheritance.”
12 When they were few in number,
    of little account, and sojourners in it,
13 wandering from nation to nation,
    from one kingdom to another people,
14 he allowed no one to oppress them;
    he rebuked kings on their account,
15 saying, “Touch not my anointed ones,
    do my prophets no harm!”
16 When he summoned a famine on the land
    and broke all supply of bread,
17 he had sent a man ahead of them,
    Joseph, who was sold as a slave.
18 His feet were hurt with fetters;
    his neck was put in a collar of iron;
19 until what he had said came to pass,
    the word of the Lord tested him.
20 The king sent and released him;
    the ruler of the peoples set him free;
21 he made him lord of his house
    and ruler of all his possessions,
22 to bind his princes at his pleasure
    and to teach his elders wisdom.
23 Then Israel came to Egypt;
    Jacob sojourned in the land of Ham.
24 And the Lord made his people very fruitful
    and made them stronger than their foes.
25 He turned their hearts to hate his people,
    to deal craftily with his servants.
26 He sent Moses, his servant,
    and Aaron, whom he had chosen.
27 They performed his signs among them
    and miracles in the land of Ham.
28 He sent darkness, and made the land dark;
    they did not rebel against his words.
29 He turned their waters into blood
    and caused their fish to die.
30 Their land swarmed with frogs,
    even in the chambers of their kings.
31 He spoke, and there came swarms of flies,
    and gnats throughout their country.
32 He gave them hail for rain,
    and fiery lightning bolts through their land.
33 He struck down their vines and fig trees,
    and shattered the trees of their country.
34 He spoke, and the locusts came,
    young locusts without number,
35 which devoured all the vegetation in their land
    and ate up the fruit of their ground.
36 He struck down all the firstborn in their land,
    the firstfruits of all their strength.
37 Then he brought out Israel with silver and gold,
    and there was none among his tribes who stumbled.
38 Egypt was glad when they departed,
    for dread of them had fallen upon it.
39 He spread a cloud for a covering,
    and fire to give light by night.
40 They asked, and he brought quail,
    and gave them bread from heaven in abundance.
41 He opened the rock, and water gushed out;
    it flowed through the desert like a river.
42 For he remembered his holy promise,
    and Abraham, his servant.
43 So he brought his people out with joy,
    his chosen ones with singing.
44 And he gave them the lands of the nations,
    and they took possession of the fruit of the peoples' toil,
45 that they might keep his statutes
    and observe his laws.
Praise the Lord!

By Kevin M. Watson, Ph.D

Psalm 105 is a hymn that praises God for the history of God’s wonders on behalf of Israel. The psalm should be understood as a lengthy praise meditation on the character of the Lord – because the Lord is a God who keeps promises. It would be easy to read the psalm primarily as a recitation of a narrative of God’s miracles, since the psalm does indeed offer lengthy testimony to those miracles, especially the miracles related to exodus tradition (the plagues, the guidance and provision in the wilderness, etc.; see vv. 27-44). But to focus primarily on the miracles is to miss the forest for the trees – the miracles are recited as evidence of the character of the God who is faithful and keeps promises: He has remembered his eternal covenant – a promise he commanded for a thousand generations (v. 8). - Rolf A. Jacobson

The One Who Provides – Psalm 104

July 22, 2023 by Andrew Forrest in Bible

Psalm 104

1 Bless the Lord, O my soul!
    O Lord my God, you are very great!
You are clothed with splendor and majesty,
2 covering yourself with light as with a garment,
    stretching out the heavens like a tent.
3 He lays the beams of his chambers on the waters;
he makes the clouds his chariot;
    he rides on the wings of the wind;
4 he makes his messengers winds,
    his ministers a flaming fire.
5 He set the earth on its foundations,
    so that it should never be moved.
6 You covered it with the deep as with a garment;
    the waters stood above the mountains.
7 At your rebuke they fled;
    at the sound of your thunder they took to flight.
8 The mountains rose, the valleys sank down
    to the place that you appointed for them.
9 You set a boundary that they may not pass,
    so that they might not again cover the earth.
10 You make springs gush forth in the valleys;
    they flow between the hills;
11 they give drink to every beast of the field;
    the wild donkeys quench their thirst.
12 Beside them the birds of the heavens dwell;
    they sing among the branches.
13 From your lofty abode you water the mountains;
    the earth is satisfied with the fruit of your work.
14 You cause the grass to grow for the livestock
    and plants for man to cultivate,
that he may bring forth food from the earth
15 and wine to gladden the heart of man,
oil to make his face shine
    and bread to strengthen man's heart.
16 The trees of the Lord are watered abundantly,
    the cedars of Lebanon that he planted.
17 In them the birds build their nests;
    the stork has her home in the fir trees.
18 The high mountains are for the wild goats;
    the rocks are a refuge for the rock badgers.
19 He made the moon to mark the seasons;
    the sun knows its time for setting.
20 You make darkness, and it is night,
    when all the beasts of the forest creep about.
21 The young lions roar for their prey,
    seeking their food from God.
22 When the sun rises, they steal away
    and lie down in their dens.
23 Man goes out to his work
    and to his labor until the evening.
24 O Lord, how manifold are your works!
    In wisdom have you made them all;
    the earth is full of your creatures.
25 Here is the sea, great and wide,
    which teems with creatures innumerable,
    living things both small and great.
26 There go the ships,
    and Leviathan, which you formed to play in it.
27 These all look to you,
    to give them their food in due season.
28 When you give it to them, they gather it up;
    when you open your hand, they are filled with good things.
29 When you hide your face, they are dismayed;
    when you take away their breath, they die
    and return to their dust.
30 When you send forth your Spirit, they are created,
    and you renew the face of the ground.
31 May the glory of the Lord endure forever;
    may the Lord rejoice in his works,
32 who looks on the earth and it trembles,
    who touches the mountains and they smoke!
33 I will sing to the Lord as long as I live;
    I will sing praise to my God while I have being.
34 May my meditation be pleasing to him,
    for I rejoice in the Lord.
35 Let sinners be consumed from the earth,
    and let the wicked be no more!
Bless the Lord, O my soul!
Praise the Lord!

By Kevin M. Watson, Ph.D

Like Psalm 103, Psalm 104 begins with a call to “Bless the Lord, O my soul!”

Psalm 104 focuses on God’s majesty and power as the creator of all that is.

O Lord My God, you are very great!
You are clothed with splendor and majesty,
covering yourself with light as with a garment,
stretching out the heavens like a tent.

Read through the entire psalm and underline every reference to God’s mastery over his creation.

Here is my favorite:

You covered it with the deep as with a garment;
     the waters stood above the mountains.
At your rebuke they fled;
     at the sound of your thunder they took to flight.
The mountains rose, the valleys sank down
     to the place that you appointed for them.
You set a boundary that they may not pass,
     so that they might not again cover the earth. (v. 6-9)

Psalm 104 beautifully names the core truth that God provides:

These all look to you,
     to give them their food in due season.
When you give it to them, they gather it up;
     when you open your hand, they are filled with good things.
When you hide your face, they are dismayed;
     when you take away their breath, they die
     and return to their dust.
When you send forth your Spirit, they are created,
     and you renew the face of the ground. (v. 27-30)

God is in charge. His authority extends all the way, even to life and death itself.

Praise God, indeed!

Bless the Lord! – Psalm 103

July 21, 2023 by Andrew Forrest in Bible

Psalm 103

Of David.
1 Bless the Lord, O my soul,
    and all that is within me,
    bless his holy name!
2 Bless the Lord, O my soul,
    and forget not all his benefits,
3 who forgives all your iniquity,
    who heals all your diseases,
4 who redeems your life from the pit,
    who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
5 who satisfies you with good
    so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.
6 The Lord works righteousness
    and justice for all who are oppressed.
7 He made known his ways to Moses,
    his acts to the people of Israel.
8 The Lord is merciful and gracious,
    slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
9 He will not always chide,
    nor will he keep his anger forever.
10 He does not deal with us according to our sins,
    nor repay us according to our iniquities.
11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
    so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;
12 as far as the east is from the west,
    so far does he remove our transgressions from us.
13 As a father shows compassion to his children,
    so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him.
14 For he knows our frame;
    he remembers that we are dust.
15 As for man, his days are like grass;
    he flourishes like a flower of the field;
16 for the wind passes over it, and it is gone,
    and its place knows it no more.
17 But the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him,
    and his righteousness to children's children,
18 to those who keep his covenant
    and remember to do his commandments.
19 The Lord has established his throne in the heavens,
    and his kingdom rules over all.
20 Bless the Lord, O you his angels,
    you mighty ones who do his word,
    obeying the voice of his word!
21 Bless the Lord, all his hosts,
    his ministers, who do his will!
22 Bless the Lord, all his works,
    in all places of his dominion.
Bless the Lord, O my soul!

By Kevin M. Watson, Ph.D

Psalm 103 is a resounding call to praise the Lord.

Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and all that is within me,
bless his holy name!

There is a positive rationale for why we praise God in this psalm:

God forgives.

God heals.

God redeems.

God satisfies.

God works righteousness and justice.

God is merciful and gracious.

There is also a negative rationale for why we praise God.

He does not deal with us according to our sins,
     nor repay us according to our iniquities.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
     so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west,
     so far does he remove our transgressions from us. (v. 10-12)

When we are treated unfairly or we do not get what we deserve, it grates on us. We also tend to remember these times more clearly and frequently than the times we did something similarly unfair or unjust.

At a basic level, God is rightly praised because we have been given far more than we deserve.

What is one thing in your life you have received that you are thankful for and did not deserve? Take a moment to give the Lord thanks for this gift.

Hear Us, O God! – Psalm 102

July 20, 2023 by Andrew Forrest in Bible

Psalm 102

A prayer of one afflicted, when he is faint and pours out his complaint before the Lord

1 Hear my prayer, O Lord;
let my cry come to you!
2 Do not hide your face from me
    in the day of my distress!
Incline your ear to me;
    answer me speedily in the day when I call!
3 For my days pass away like smoke,
    and my bones burn like a furnace.
4 My heart is struck down like grass and has withered;
    I forget to eat my bread.
5 Because of my loud groaning
    my bones cling to my flesh.
6 I am like a desert owl of the wilderness,
    like an owl of the waste places;
7 I lie awake;
    I am like a lonely sparrow on the housetop.
8 All the day my enemies taunt me;
    those who deride me use my name for a curse.
9 For I eat ashes like bread
    and mingle tears with my drink,
10 because of your indignation and anger;
    for you have taken me up and thrown me down.
11 My days are like an evening shadow;
    I wither away like grass.
12 But you, O Lord, are enthroned forever;
    you are remembered throughout all generations.
13 You will arise and have pity on Zion;
    it is the time to favor her;
    the appointed time has come.
14 For your servants hold her stones dear
    and have pity on her dust.
15 Nations will fear the name of the Lord,
    and all the kings of the earth will fear your glory.
16 For the Lord builds up Zion;
    he appears in his glory;
17 he regards the prayer of the destitute
    and does not despise their prayer.
18 Let this be recorded for a generation to come,
    so that a people yet to be created may praise the Lord:
19 that he looked down from his holy height;
    from heaven the Lord looked at the earth,
20 to hear the groans of the prisoners,
    to set free those who were doomed to die,
21 that they may declare in Zion the name of the Lord,
    and in Jerusalem his praise,
22 when peoples gather together,
    and kingdoms, to worship the Lord.
23 He has broken my strength in midcourse;
    he has shortened my days.
24 “O my God,” I say, “take me not away
    in the midst of my days—
you whose years endure
    throughout all generations!”
25 Of old you laid the foundation of the earth,
    and the heavens are the work of your hands.
26 They will perish, but you will remain;
    they will all wear out like a garment.
You will change them like a robe, and they will pass away,
27 but you are the same, and your years have no end.
28 The children of your servants shall dwell secure;
    their offspring shall be established before you.

By Kevin M. Watson, Ph.D

Here is what has most stood out to me in studying lament psalms:

The psalmist is most desperate for God to simply be attentive to him amid their suffering.

Psalm 102 starts:

Hear my prayer, O Lord;
let my cry come to you!
Do not hide your face from me
in the day of my distress!
Incline your ear to me;
answer me speedily in the day when I call! (v. 1-2)

Do you hear me, God?

Do you see how much I am hurting?

Are you listening?

These are often the questions we wrestle with when we are hurting. And what can be most painful in suffering is the lack of a clear sense of God’s presence.

This quote from Rolf A. Jacobson struck me as particularly profound. Read it slowly. You may even benefit from reading it twice. Then reread Psalm 102.

It is a prayer specifically designed for times when God’s help seems far away. The superscription’s inclusion [“A prayer of one afflicted, when he is faint and pours out his complaint before the Lord.”] in the canonical Psalter indicates that the editors of the Psalter were aware that the faithful servants of God suffer specific times when they need such prayers. The rhetoric of the psalm exploits this theme masterfully. In effect, the psalm takes the present moment of the psalmist’s crisis and – through prayer – transforms that moment into a microcosm of the incarnation. In the incarnation, the church confesses, the infinite and immortal person of God was “poured” or “emptied” into a finite and mortal body. In this prayer, the psalmist bids the infinite and immortal Lord of Israel (the one who founded the earth, whose years do not end, whose years endure for generation after generation, who is enthroned forever) to humble himself, not counting these divine qualities as things to be exploited, and so to enter into the present moment and redeem Israel: Indeed the time to be gracious to her, indeed the appointed time has come! That is not a bad metaphor for the time of prayer. Prayer is but a moment. It is a moment “in time.” But it is a moment in which the pray-er asks for and awaits deliverance. It is a moment in which the infinite God is asked to enter into the finite world, the everlasting Lord to enter the mortal – in order to deliver.- Rolf A. Jacobson

Don’t Quit – Psalm 101

July 19, 2023 by Andrew Forrest in Bible

Psalm 101

A Psalm of David.
1 I will sing of steadfast love and justice;
    to you, O Lord, I will make music.
2 I will ponder the way that is blameless.
    Oh when will you come to me?
I will walk with integrity of heart
    within my house;
3 I will not set before my eyes
    anything that is worthless.
I hate the work of those who fall away;
    it shall not cling to me.
4 A perverse heart shall be far from me;
    I will know nothing of evil.
5 Whoever slanders his neighbor secretly
    I will destroy.
Whoever has a haughty look and an arrogant heart
    I will not endure.
6 I will look with favor on the faithful in the land,
    that they may dwell with me;
he who walks in the way that is blameless
    shall minister to me.
7 No one who practices deceit
    shall dwell in my house;
no one who utters lies
    shall continue before my eyes.
8 Morning by morning I will destroy
    all the wicked in the land,
cutting off all the evildoers
    from the city of the Lord.

By Kevin M. Watson, Ph.D

Psalm 101 is attributed to King David. The psalm begins with a steadfast commitment to love and justice.

The question in verse 2 is fascinating to me:

I will ponder the way that is blameless.
Oh when will you come to me?

As the rest of the psalm shows, the King is doing everything he can to be just and upright and fight against evil throughout his realm. But there is also a note of loneliness and lament.

If you have ever felt the weight of responsibility that comes with leadership, you almost certainly also know the feeling of lament and loneliness that comes from seeing the gap between where you are wanting to lead and where you are.

Has there been a time in your life when you have done the very best that you could, but there were times you felt overwhelmed by the task? Or, have you ever felt discouraged by the persistence of evil during your best efforts to do good for others?

Verse 2 suggests the King has not experienced all that he hopes; nevertheless, he presses on for justice and in relentless opposition to evil.

Morning by morning I will destroy
all the wicked in the land,
cutting off all the evildoers
from the city of the Lord.

Today, even if you feel weary, keep going!

The Enemy’s number one goal is to get you to quit.

So, don’t.

Note from Andrew on Psalm 100

July 18, 2023 by Andrew Forrest in Bible

Note from Andrew:

Today we read Psalm 100! We started reading through the Psalms on Easter Monday, April 10, and here we are. When we started, I wrote a blog post outlining why we’re doing this. An excerpt:

“But if Asburians develop the habit of beginning their days in silence and in scripture, if we commit to daily consistency and not worry overmuch about intensity, if we learn the practice of praying through our emotions to the Lord, in 150 days we’ll be in fighting shape.”

Now Is the Time to Reset

If you are behind, cut your losses and jump back in. Let’s double down on our psalms reading. 50 days will change your life!

Now, on to our regularly-scheduled programming.

—AF

Psalm 100

1 Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!
2 Serve the Lord with gladness!
   Come into his presence with singing!
3 Know that the Lord, he is God!
   It is he who made us, and we are his;
   we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
   and his courts with praise!
   Give thanks to him; bless his name!
5 For the Lord is good;
   his steadfast love endures forever,
   and his faithfulness to all generations.

By Kevin M. Watson, Ph.D

Today we are two-thirds of the way through the Book of Psalms!

Psalm 100 beautifully and confidently expresses a core conviction of Christian theology: God is good.

1 Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!
2 Serve the Lord with gladness!
   Come into his presence with singing!
3 Know that the Lord, he is God!
   It is he who made us, and we are his;
   we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
   and his courts with praise!
   Give thanks to him; bless his name!
5 For the Lord is good;
   his steadfast love endures forever,
   and his faithfulness to all generations.

Did you notice the three affirmations contained in the last verse of this psalm?

God is good.

God’s love is steadfast and endures forever.

God is faithful to all generations.

Read Psalm 100 one more time and ask yourself: What would lit look like for me to “make a joyful noise to the Lord” in light of God’s goodness?

Holy Is He! – Psalm 99

July 17, 2023 by Andrew Forrest in Bible

Psalm 99

1 The Lord reigns; let the peoples tremble!
    He sits enthroned upon the cherubim; let the earth quake!
2 The Lord is great in Zion;
    he is exalted over all the peoples.
3 Let them praise your great and awesome name!
    Holy is he!
4 The King in his might loves justice.
    You have established equity;
you have executed justice
    and righteousness in Jacob.
5 Exalt the Lord our God;
    worship at his footstool!
    Holy is he!
6 Moses and Aaron were among his priests,
    Samuel also was among those who called upon his name.
    They called to the Lord, and he answered them.
7 In the pillar of the cloud he spoke to them;
    they kept his testimonies
    and the statute that he gave them.
8 O Lord our God, you answered them;
    you were a forgiving God to them,
    but an avenger of their wrongdoings.
9 Exalt the Lord our God,
    and worship at his holy mountain;
    for the Lord our God is holy!

By Kevin M. Watson, Ph.D

Twice Psalm 99 declares: Holy is he! (v. 3 and 8)

Derek Kidner discusses the significance of God’s holiness:

Holy is a word to emphasize the distance between God and man: not only morally, as between the pure and the polluted, but in the realm of being, between the eternal and the creaturely. If the gulf has been bridged, as the paragraph above assures us that it has, it was done from the far side. The repeated cry, Holy is he! forbids us to take it casually.

The psalm ends:

Exalt the Lord our God,
and worship at his holy mountain;
for the Lord our God is holy!

Kidner again:

Holy is he! (3, 5), is not expanded and given warmth, to read (in its actual word-order) For holy is the Lord our God! The majesty is undiminished, but the last word is now given to intimacy. He is holy; he is also, against all our deserving, not ashamed to be called ours. Well may we worship.

What an indescribable gift that the Lord God almighty is our God!