August 18th
Psalm 113
God
lifts up the humble
1:
Praise ye the LORD. Praise, O ye servants of the LORD, praise the
name of the LORD. 2:
Blessed be the name of the LORD from this time forth and for
evermore. 3:
From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same the LORD's
name is to be praised. 4:
The LORD is high above all nations, and his glory above the heavens.
5:
Who is like unto the LORD our God, who dwelleth on high, 6:
Who humbleth himself to behold the things that are in heaven, and in
the earth! 7:
He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth the needy out of
the dunghill; 8:
That he may set him with princes, even with the princes of his
people. 9:
He maketh the barren woman to keep house, and to be a joyful mother
of children. Praise ye the LORD.
Psalm 114
A
passover song
1:
When Israel went out of Egypt, the house of Jacob from a people of
strange language; 2:
Judah was his sanctuary, and Israel his dominion. 3:
The sea saw it, and fled: Jordan was driven back. 4:
The mountains skipped like rams, and the little hills like lambs. 5:
What ailed thee, O thou sea, that thou fleddest? thou Jordan, that
thou wast driven back? 6:
Ye mountains, that ye skipped like rams; and ye little hills, like
lambs? 7:
Tremble, thou earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of
the God of Jacob; 8:
Which turned the rock into a standing water, the flint into a
fountain of waters.
Psalm 115
The
one true God
1:
Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for
thy mercy, and for thy truth's sake. 2:
Wherefore should the heathen say, Where is now their God? 3:
But our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath
pleased. 4:
Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men's hands. 5:
They have mouths, but they speak not: eyes have they, but they see
not: 6:
They have ears, but they hear not: noses have they, but they smell
not: 7:
They have hands, but they handle not: feet have they, but they walk
not: neither speak they through their throat. 8:
They that make them are like unto them; so is every one that trusteth
in them. 9:
O Israel, trust thou 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:
Ye that fear the LORD, trust in the LORD: he is their help and their
shield. 12:
The LORD hath been mindful of us: he will bless us; he will bless the
house of Israel; he will bless the house of Aaron. 13:
He will bless them that fear the LORD, both small and great. 14:
The LORD shall increase you more and more, you and your children. 15:
Ye are blessed of the LORD which made heaven and earth. 16:
The heaven, even the heavens, are the LORD's: but the earth hath he
given to the children of men. 17:
The dead praise not the LORD, neither any that go down into silence.
18:
But we will bless the LORD from this time forth and for evermore.
Praise the LORD.
Today we are
reading Psalms 113, 114 and 115. Psalm 113 is the third of the
Hallelujah Psalms and it begins and ends with praise the LORD. Then
the hymn has two parts both of which have Praise to the LORD and both
have a second part Praise his name and bless his name respectively.
In the first verse the Command to praise the LORD is given and in the
second part the command is obeyed. He begins by calling on all the
servants of the Lord to praise the name of the LORD. Then he says
bless the Lord from this time forward and forever more. I cannot help
but be impressed by the call in these Psalms to praise the name of
the Lord. This has made a deep and lasting impression on my mind and
this has caused me to rethink my devotions, in which I will make
praise to the Lord a specific act of worship every day. Having said
that l now am reproved by the next verse in which the Psalmist says
that from the breaking of the dawn to the close of day my mind is to
be occupied in praise. Then the Psalmist gives the context to this
resolve. He says the LORD is high above all nations and his glory is
seen in the heavens. Of course this will be seen in reality in his
Messianic kingdom. Then the LORD will in the person of Christ rule
every nation and his glory will be seen like lightening from one end
of the heaven to the other. Then he asks Who is like the LORD who
lives on high (in his temple in Zion) and who humbles himself to look
on things in heaven and earth. He is so glorious but his glory is
seen best in his raising up of the poor out of the dust of the earth
and taking the needy from the rubbish tip where they scavenge and he
sets then among princes even the princes of Israel. And he makes the
barren woman keep house as a mother full of the joy of children.
Praise the LORD. Psalm 114 describes Israel’s deliverance from
Egypt. And it is a song that begins and ends with praise to the Lord
for his mercy on the children of Jacob. Then in two verses the
Psalmist gives first two statements of the Lords deliverance in water
and on land and then he asks two questions regarding water and land.
He says when Israel came out of Egypt they escaped from a people who
spoke a strange language and the tribe of Judah was the sanctuary of
the Lord and the whole of the nation was his kingdom. He says when
the Red sea (The gulf of Aqabar) saw Israel, it fled and the same
thing happened at the River Jordan. The mountains were excited like
rams that skipped and the hills were excited too like new lambs. I
asked what is the matter with you Sea? And why river were you driven
back? Why did you mountains and hills, skip for joy? And why did the
earth tremble at the presence of the LORD the God of Jacob? He turned
the rock (of Horeb) into a lake and the flint became a fountain of
water. Psalm 115 is a famous Psalm in which the psalmist describes
Israel’s deliverance from the idolatry of Egypt. The Psalm begins
and ends with negative and positive statements first the praise that
is given and then the praise givers. Then in the centre we have two
double themes of contrast between Heathen theology and Israel’s
theology. He begins says not to us but to you be glory given. May we
never be tempted to bask in the glory that is due to God alone. The
heathen says where is your God? There is nothing physical or tangible
to touch. But Israel replies Our God is in the heavens and he is
totally autonomous. The gods of the heathens are made of precious
metals silver and gold the works of men’s hands. Idol worship is
the religion of men who construct a god of their own imaginations.
They have mouths but they cannot speak. They have eyes but they are
blind. They have ears but they cannot hear. They have noses but they
cannot smell. They have hands but they cannot touch and they have
feet but they cannot walk. They cannot speak through their throats.
Those that make them are like themselves. May God preserve us from
making a god like ourselves. But Israel trusts in the LORD their help
and shield. He calls on those who fear the LORD to trust in him,
because he is your deliverer and protector. The Lord thinks about us
all the time and he will bless the house of Israel and the house of
Aaron. He will bless all those who fear him both small and great. And
the Lord will increase you and your families. You are the blessed of
the Lord who made the whole creation. The heaven of heavens is the
Lords but he has given the earth to the children of men. The dead do
not praise the Lord But we will live and bless the Lord for now and
forever. This describes the particular relation Israel had with the
Lord under law. They were delivered from the death from their enemies
and by remaining faithful they lived long and had many children. And
all these blessings were because they feared the Lord and keep his
commandments. The Christian is not blessed in the same way he comes
before the Lord as a law breaker and as an unworthy sinner and finds
that by faith in what Christ has done he is saved in his soul, though
his body perishes.
- In what way with Psalm 113 come into its own in the Messianic kingdom?
- In Psalm 114 How did the earth react to the deliverance of Israel?
- In Psalm 115 How does Israel describe the God of Israel to Gentiles?
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