Psalm 146 – A Hymn In Praise Of Zion’s Heavenly King, With Special Focus On His Powerful And Trustworthy Care For Zion’s Citizens
Psalm 147 – Praise Of God, The Creator And Lord Over All, For His Special Mercies To Israel
Psalm 148 – A Call To All Things In All Creation To Praise The Lord
Psalm 149 – Praise Of God For The High Honor Bestowed On His People Israel
Psalm 150 – The Final Great Hallelujah
Thoughts about serving others
This link includes a list of posts about Serving the Least, the Lost, and the Lonely.
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Let the Word evoke words. May your life encourage lives.
Psalm 145:3, “Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom.” This is essentially the theme of this psalm, something to remember! One of my favorite reminders in the Old Testament: “The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love” (Psalm 145:8). The phrase appears several times, though I haven’t indexed them, as a reminder that God is mighty and will discipline, but still loves us through it all. Most importantly, “The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth” (145:18).
Psalm 146. The last five psalms all start and end with “Praise the Lord,” important bookends for us to remember. Before and after whatever happens, praise the Lord. He is the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end. We are his people, sentences in his book of life, but he is the author. “Do not put your trust in princes, in human beings, who cannot save” (146:3).
Psalm 147:7, “Sing to the Lord with grateful praise;” this I will do each day, I am grateful for each day, each opportunity I have to praise the Lord.
Psalm 148. Let everything praise the Lord: heavens, heights, angels, sun, moon, stars, water, creatures…everything!
Psalm 149:4, “For the Lord takes delight in his people; he crowns the humble with victory.” The word “humble” shows up many times throughout the Bible, why do we need so many reminders? Simply because we are a proud and arrogant people, a people who embellish a sense of entitlement. Humility is easy to come by when we stop and think for just a moment, when we consider the overwhelming thought of a God that cares for us all. I can’t even keep track of my friends, let alone everyone for all time! That is our God. That is the creator. And that is why the atheist run rampant these days, those who have become so wise in their own eyes that they reject the notion that there is a God that orchestrates life.
Psalm 150. One of my favorite psalms because it gives us permission to make noise in church! A joyful noise, directed at praise for the Lord. May we all join in the revelry: “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord.” (150:6).
The one thought that keeps coming to mind this morning is this: the Bible is written for everyone, but not everyone will read each passage in the same way. This is quite intentional, and something to remember, as we teach others. It’s not important for everyone to get the same insight out of the text as I do, it’s just important that they get something out of the text! Read the Bible, listen for how God is speaking to each of us, individually. That’s not to say we each can interpret the Bible in our own way, no, not at all. But it is important to understand and appreciate that we all hear things differently and depending on what’s happening around us at the time, we will respond differently. For example, Psalm 145:18 is not a verse to read at a funeral, or maybe it is, it depends. The decision is not a question of validating the verse, it’s an important distinction is discernment. Knowing the Bible is one thing, knowing how to apply each passage is a whole new level of understanding. This is my quest, my greatest desire, to understand the Bible well enough to help those who struggle with some scripture that trips them up, the simply doesn’t make sense to them. Lord, help me to move from knowledge to wisdom, always for your greater good. Help me to remain humble simply by reminding me of the words of these psalms, great are You Lord, great are You!