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Meditations on the Psalms

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Volume Twelve: Psalms 111-120

All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

All scripture quotations marked "NIV" are from THE HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION(r). NIV(r). Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.

Psalm One Hundred and Eleven
The Goodness of the Lord

1 Praise the LORD! I will praise the LORD with my whole heart, in the assembly of the upright and in the congregation.

2 The works of the LORD are great, studied by all who have pleasure in them.

3 His work is honorable and glorious, and His righteousness endures forever.

4 He has made His wonderful works to be remembered; the LORD is gracious and full of compassion.

5 He has given food to those who fear Him; He will ever be mindful of His covenant.

6 He has declared to His people the power of His works, in giving them the heritage of the nations.

7 The works of His hands are verity and justice; all His precepts are sure.

8 They stand fast forever and ever, and are done in truth and uprightness.

9 He has 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; A good understanding have all those who do His commandments. His praise endures forever.

Psalm 111 and 112 are related and similar in language, structure and content. They both open with the phrase "Praise the LORD!" At the beginning of Psalm 111 we can see God's power, goodness and uprightness, and in Psalm 112 the prosperity, goodness and uprightness of the godly. The goodness of the Lord leads the believer to godliness, and stamps the attributes of his Lord on his heart. The two psalms explain Christ's command: "Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect" (Matthew 5:48), and the apostolic command: "Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma" (Ephesians 5:1,2). The difference between God's attributes and the believer's attributes is that God's attributes are absolute and perfect from eternity past to eternity future, whereas the believer's righteousness is relative to how faithful he is to the Lord. This righteousness begins the day he comes to know the Lord, and lets Him be Master of his life.

Psalm 111 and 112 together make up an acrostic of ten verses, divided into twenty-two lines, with each line beginning with a consecutive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Psalm 112 picks up where Psalm 111 leaves off. Psalm 111 ends with "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom," and Psalm 112 opens with blessing "the man who fears the LORD," because the fear of the Lord leads to happiness in life.

After Psalm 111 and 112 come six psalms (113-118), which the Israelites called "Psalms of Egyptian Praise" because in them they praise the Lord who set them free from the slavery of Pharaoh. They used to sing Psalms 113 and 114 before having the Passover meal. Then after the meal they would sing Psalms 115 and 118, which are the songs Christ and His disciples are said to have sung before going out to the Mount of Olives the night Christ was arrested (Mark 14:26).

The psalm contains the following:

  • First: Glorifying the good God (verse 1)

  • Second: Evidences of the Lord's goodness (verses 2-9)

  • Third: Fear of the good Lord (verse 10)

First: Glorifying the Good God
(verse 1)

  1. We glorify Him with praise: "Praise the LORD!"(verse 1a). The Hebrew simply says "Hallelujah", which has become an international word in the languages of the world, just like another Hebrew word "Amen", which means "steadfast, constant and trustworthy". When we say "Amen" after a prayer, we mean, "May it be so," or "May you answer, Lord, because You are constant, steadfast and trustworthy. You must fulfil Your promises to answer whoever calls upon You." The psalm praises the Lord and calls others to do the same, "For it is good to sing praises to our God; for it is pleasant, and praise is beautiful"(Psalm 147:1).

  2. We glorify Him with a whole heart: "I will praise the LORD with my whole heart"(verse 1b). The psalmist praises the good Lord with his whole heart because of their love relationship, for "The secret of the LORD is with those who fear Him, and He will show them His covenant" (Psalm 25:14). The Lord deserves to be praised with a heart united in fear of Him, for He is the one and holy God to whom we pray both in public and in secret, at times of joy as well as at times of sadness, as the apostle admonishes: "Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms"(James 5:13).

  3. We glorify Him with the upright: "In the assembly of the upright and in the congregation"(verse 1c). The psalmist praises Him in the assembly of his private circle, where he meets his upright friends. They are the godly ones who agree with him in loving the Lord. His motto is: "As for the saints who are on the earth, they are the excellent ones, in whom is all my delight" (Psalm 16:3). As though he says to them, "Rejoice in the LORD, O you righteous! For praise from the upright is beautiful"(Psalm 33:1). For He is a God who "...is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be held in reverence by all those around Him" (Psalm 89:7).

Second: Evidences of the Lord's Goodness
(verses 2-9)

The manifestations of God's goodness are many. The psalmist lists five of them:

  1. The Lord's works are great: "The works of the LORD are great, studied by all who have pleasure in them"(verse 2). The goodness of the great Lord is evident in the great good works of the Lord, in terms of their power, impact and abundance. "How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand; when I awake, I am still with You"(Psalm 139:17,18). He gives to all liberally and without reproach, and He is good to all those who truly seek Him. "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures" (James 1:17,18). He created the universe and man, then saw that what He made was very good (Genesis 1:31). His care is great and good, for "He waters the hills from His upper chambers; the earth is satisfied with the fruit of Your works ... O LORD, how manifold are Your works! In wisdom You have made them all. The earth is full of Your possessions ... May the glory of the LORD endure forever; may the LORD rejoice in His works" (Psalm 104:13,24,31).

    Great also are the works of Christ; all of which are in agreement with His statements. He fed five thousand people with five loaves of bread and two fish (John 6:1-15) because He did not want to send them away hungry to their own houses, in case they should faint on the way. Then He said "I am the bread which came down from heaven" (John 6:41). Again he said, "I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life" (John 8:12), then opened the eyes of the one born blind (John 9). Again He said, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die" (John 11:25,26), and commanded Lazarus, who had died four days earlier, to come out of his tomb, and Lazarus rose again (John 11:43).

    Yet the greatest of all God's good works is changing man's heart and forgiving his sins. This is the work of divine grace. In this respect the Scriptures say about the believers, "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them" (Ephesians 2:10). The Lord makes a new man out of the wicked, as the Bible says, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation" (2 Corinthians 5:17). This is what happens to the penitent person who returns to God.

    These good works are "studied by all who have pleasure in them" People must study them, ponder on them and think them over. "Blessed is the man ... [whose] delight is in the law of the LORD, and on His law he meditates day and night"(Psalm 1:2).

  2. The Lord's works are just: "His work is honorable and glorious, and His righteousness endures forever"(verse 3). The Lord's works are honourable and glorious, showing His constant, unchangeable justice. This powerful Lord is just in all He does. His spokesman Moses said about Him, "He is the Rock, His work is perfect; for all His ways are justice, a God of truth and without injustice; righteous and upright is He" (Deuteronomy 32:4). And God said through His prophet Isaiah, "Ask Me of things to come concerning My sons; and concerning the work of My hands, you command Me. I have made the earth, and created man on it. I—My hands—stretched out the heavens, And all their host I have commanded" (Isaiah 45:11,12).

    We may wonder: Since God is so honourable and glorious in all He does, and since His justice is constant and active, why does He then allow the weak to be harmed? Why does He let the believers suffer at the hands of the wicked? Why does He allow the strong to hurt others, or to force their will on them? How often do we see injustice done by employers to employees, by landowners to labourers, and by rulers to their subjects? The answer is that God's treatment of the wicked is one of justice. He gives him freedom of action because He forces no one to do good, and He is patient with the wicked person that he may repent. But at the same time He must deliver the believer from his temporary trouble, just as Christ said that the tribulation of the angel of the church of Smyrna will only last "ten days" (Revelation 2:10). It neither lasts nor continues. The Scriptures say to the suffering believers, "In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ" (1 Peter 1:6,7).

  3. The Lord's works are wonderful (verses 4-6):

    1. His dealings are wonderful: "He has made His wonderful works to be remembered"(verse 4a). We make God's wonderful works to be remembered when we celebrate Christmas and Easter, remembering God's love as seen in Christ, the incarnated Word, and in Christ's death and resurrection for our salvation. The Israelites celebrated the Passover to remember the miracle of the Exodus from Pharaoh's bondage. God had commanded them, "This day shall be to you a memorial; and you shall keep it as a feast to the LORD throughout your generations. You shall keep it as a feast by an everlasting ordinance ... And it shall be, when your children say to you, 'What do you mean by this service?' that you shall say, 'It is the Passover sacrifice of the LORD, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt when He struck the Egyptians and delivered our households'" (Exodus 12:14,26,27). Christians celebrate their Passover by taking part in the Lord's Supper, because they remember "Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us" (1 Corinthians 5:7). They celebrate Him according to the Scripture: "For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, 'Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.' In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, 'This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.' For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes" (1 Corinthians 11:23-26).

      Every one who experiences the new life in Christ remembers how Christ set him free from the bondage of the devil, which is a glorious, unforgettable experience. This experience is clear with some, with a story to be remembered and retold, as was the case with Saul of Tarsus (Acts 9:4). But with others there is no dramatic story, as was the case with Timothy, to whom Paul said, "I call to remembrance the genuine faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am persuaded is in you also ... and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus" (2 Timothy 1:5; 3:15). But Timothy would never forget the Holy Scriptures that made him wise to know the way of salvation.

    2. His compassions are wonderful: "The LORD is gracious and full of compassion"(verse 4b). Perhaps the best description of this gracious One is the statement: "There is none righteous, no, not one; there is none who understands; there is none who seeks after God ... There is none who does good, no, not one ... for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed" (Romans 3:10-12,23,24,25). There is a beautiful description of divine mercy that says, "God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)" (Ephesians 2:4,5). The Lord is gracious and compassionate even if His people sin, as Nehemiah said about the children of Israel, "They refused to obey, and they were not mindful of Your wonders that You did among them ... But You are God, ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, abundant in kindness, and did not forsake them ... In Your great mercy You did not utterly consume them nor forsake them; for You are God, gracious and merciful" (Nehemiah 9:17,31). "Can a woman forget her nursing child, and not have compassion on the son of her womb? Surely they may forget, yet I will not forget you"(Isaiah 49:15).

    3. His gifts are wonderful: "He has given food to those who fear Him"(verse 5a). God is a generous host. The psalmist said to Him, "You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over" (Psalm 23:5). He said to His people in the wilderness of Sinai, "Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you. And the people shall go out and gather a certain quota every day ... So it was that quails came up at evening and covered the camp, and in the morning the dew lay all around the camp ... And Moses said to them, 'This is the bread which the LORD has given you to eat'"(Exodus 16:4,13,15). When the people were thirsty, God commanded Moses to strike the rock to bring forth water (Exodus 17:6). Christ calls to us, "Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?" (Matthew 6:26).

      True satisfaction, however, is the spiritual satisfaction in Christ, who said, " am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world" (John 6:51).

    4. His covenant is wonderful: "He will ever be mindful of His covenant"(verse 5b). God said to His friend Abraham, "Know certainly that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them, and they will afflict them four hundred years. And also the nation whom they serve I will judge; afterward they shall come out with great possessions"(Genesis 15:13,14). God was true to His promise. For when Pharaoh humiliated the children of Israel "God heard their groaning, and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob... And I have also heard the groaning of the children of Israel whom the Egyptians keep in bondage, and I have remembered My covenant"(Exodus 2:24; 6:5). God's promises to the believer are true and Amen, for He says, "I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:20). When He enters the ship of our life, He calms down the waves and causes the wind to subside, because He says, "Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid" (Mark 6:50). If our strength fails on the way or if we are buffeted by the waves of life, He rushes to our aid.

    5. His inheritance is wonderful: "He has declared to His people the power of His works, in giving them the heritage of the nations. The works of His hands are verity and justice"(verses 6,7a). Moses said that God promised His people that He would "drive out before you nations greater and stronger than you and to bring you into their land to give it to you for your inheritance" (Deuteronomy 4:38 NIV). The Lord gave the land to the oppressed people, who left Egypt in humiliation, unlearned in military skills, carrying no weapons and incapable of defending themselves. Giving the land to the descendants of Abraham was an act of truth and justice, because the inhabitants of those lands were sinful and they corrupted the land. Moses said to the people, "It is not because of your righteousness or the uprightness of your heart that you go in to possess their land, but because of the wickedness of these nations that the LORD your God drives them out from before you, and that He may fulfill the word which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob... You shall not worship the LORD your God in that way; for every abomination to the LORD which He hates they have done to their gods; for they burn even their sons and daughters in the fire to their gods... and because of these abominations the LORD your God drives them out from before you"(Deuteronomy 9:5; 12:31; 18:12).

      Believers look forward to the eternal inheritance in heaven, which Christ promised them. They respond to such faithfulness by saying, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time"(1 Peter 1:3-5)

  4. The Lord's words are good (verses 7b,8):

    1. The Word is recorded faithfully: "All His precepts are sure"(verse 7b). They are good and sure precepts in that they make the man who obeys them happy, and make the foolish who are willing to learn from them wise. "The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple; the statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes; the fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether" (Psalm 19:7-9). They are sure and are meant to reassure, because "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work" (2 Timothy 3:16,17). This is so because "prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit" (2 Peter 1:21). "So it was, when Moses had completed writing the words of this law in a book, when they were finished, that Moses commanded the Levites, who bore the ark of the covenant of the LORD, saying: 'Take this Book of the Law, and put it beside the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, that it may be there as a witness against you'" (Deuteronomy 31:24-26). This means that the text of the Torah has been recorded since Moses' time, and every king had to keep a copy of the Torah as the constitution of his government. The Word of God was passed around year after year among the believers who loved God and His Word, who kept it more dearly than their own lives.

    2. The Word is steadfast: "They stand fast forever and ever, and are done in truth and uprightness"(verse 8). God does not change, and therefore His Word cannot change or be altered, because it's the Word of the King of kings. The psalmist said, "Forever, O LORD, Your word is settled in heaven" (Psalm 119:89). And the prophet Isaiah said, "The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever" (Isaiah 40:8). Christ confirmed this and said, "Assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled" (Matthew 5:18), and also, "Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away" (Matthew 24:35). God inspired His Word, and He Himself guarantees that it will not be tampered with. If an earthly king does not allow his word to be tampered with, how much more will God keep His own Word from alteration, falsification or change, especially since it is the only way to salvation!

      All God's promises are true and sure. Moses, who talked to God face to face, said, "Therefore know that the LORD your God, He is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments" (Deuteronomy 7:9). Joshua added, "Behold, this day I am going the way of all the earth. And you know in all your hearts and in all your souls that not one thing has failed of all the good things which the LORD your God spoke concerning you. All have come to pass for you; not one word of them has failed"(Joshua 23:14). Solomon also said, "Blessed be the LORD, who has given rest to His people Israel, according to all that He promised. There has not failed one word of all His good promise, which He promised through His servant Moses" (1 Kings 8:56). And finally Paul said, "God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord"(1 Corinthians 1:9).

  5. The Lord's redemption is good: "He has sent redemption to His people; He has commanded His covenant forever: Holy and awesome is His name"(verse 9). A redeemer is someone who ransoms a prisoner, or releases the debtor from his debts. The redeemer is also the next of kin, the care-taker and the saviour. To say that the Lord redeemed His people is to say that He is near them, that He is their care-taker. Christ declared that He had come to proclaim the Jubilee, "the acceptable year of the LORD"in which the prisoners are to be released and the broken-hearted are to be set free (Luke 4:19). Thus He declared that He is our Redeemer, our care-taker, our next of kin, who alone can redeem us from our sins. He also said, "No longer do I call you servants... but I have called you friends" (John 15:15). God sent redemption to His people when He brought them out of Pharaoh's bondage, and made Pharaoh and his army a ransom for them. Then again He sent redemption to His people when He brought them back from captivity, and said to them through the prophet Jeremiah, "If you can break My covenant with the day and My covenant with the night, so that there will not be day and night in their season, then My covenant may also be broken with David My servant, so that he shall not have a son to reign on his throne, and with the Levites, the priests, My ministers. As the host of heaven cannot be numbered, nor the sand of the sea measured, so will I multiply the descendants of David My servant and the Levites who minister to Me" (Jeremiah 33:20-22).

    Through this redemption from the bondage of the devil and the bondage of Pharaoh the Lord showed that He is the holy One who deserves our love, glorification, reverence, fear, adoration and worship, so that every knee should bow to Him, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth (Philippians 2:10).

Third: Fear of the Good Lord
(verse 10)

  1. The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; a good understanding have all those who do His commandments"(verse 10a,b). The kind of wisdom meant here is not the mere head knowledge of philosophical matters, but rather the practical application of God's commandments. This is true piety. Moses advised his people, saying, "And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul"(Deuteronomy 10:12). Solomon the wise admonished, "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man’s all" (Ecclesiastes 12:13). And the apostle Peter gives us this piece of wisdom, "Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king" (1 Peter 2:17).

    Piety and fear of the Lord give a man understanding and wisdom in all he does. Job says, "Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to depart from evil is understanding" (Job 28:28). Solomon the wise also says, "Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom. And in all your getting, get understanding" (Proverbs 4:7). And Hosea adds, "Who is wise? Let him understand these things. Who is prudent? Let him know them. For the ways of the LORD are right; the righteous walk in them, but transgressors stumble in them" (Hosea 14:9). Christ said, "Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock" (Matthew 7:24,25). And finally: "Good understanding gains favor" (Proverbs 13:15).

  2. The fear of Lord inspires praise to Him: "His praise endures forever"(verse 10c). The psalmist ends the psalm with praise, just as he started it. He said, "His righteousness endures forever"(verse 3), and so do all His attributes, which inspire the believer and encourage him to lead a life of piety and to praise God here on earth. Later, when the believer comes into his heavenly inheritance, he will continue to praise Him for ever. "I will sing to the LORD as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have my being. May my meditation be sweet to Him; I will be glad in the LORD" (Psalm 104:33,34).

Questions

  1. What is the meaning of "hallelujah" and "amen"?

  2. What do we mean when we say that God is our Redeemer?

Psalm Hundred and Twelve
The Goodness of the God-Fearing Man

1 Praise the LORD! Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, who delights greatly in His commandments.

2 His descendants will be mighty on earth; the generation of the upright will be blessed.

3 Wealth and riches will be in his house, and his righteousness endures forever.

4 Unto the upright there arises light in the darkness; He is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous.

5 A good man deals graciously and lends; He will guide his affairs with discretion.

6 Surely he will never be shaken; the righteous will be in everlasting remembrance.

7 He will not be afraid of evil tidings; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD.

8 His heart is established; he will not be afraid, until he sees his desire upon his enemies.

9 He has dispersed abroad, He has given to the poor; His righteousness endures forever; His horn will be exalted with honor.

10 The wicked will see it and be grieved; He will gnash his teeth and melt away; The desire of the wicked shall perish.

Whenever we reflect on God's attributes and works, His holy and loving nature is stamped on our hearts, because we usually imitate those we respect and walk in the footsteps of those we love. This is why we want to become good, as He is good. Nations follow the religion of their kings, so if God became King over the heart, the entire life would be affected by Him. The psalmist listed God's attributes in Psalm 111, and in this psalm he explains how the believer is affected by his God in his daily walk. There is an apostolic word of advice that says, "Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 2:5). Let us always reflect on God's attributes and works so that He may mould our lives in the crucible of His divine goodness, so that our light may so shine before men, that they may see our good works and glorify our Father in heaven (Matthew 5:16).

The previous psalm ends with the statement: "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; a good understanding have all those who do His commandments. His praise endures forever" Our psalm opens with the statement: "Praise the LORD! Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, who delights greatly in His commandments." When we reflect on God we fear Him, and when we fear Him we are blessed and take delight in His commandments. No one will force us to obey His commands because of "the perfect law of liberty" (James 1:25). This perfect law sets us free from fear, so that we may obey God not under pressure, but voluntarily, out of love.

The psalm contains the following:

  1. First: The house of the God-fearing person (verses 1-5)

  2. Second: The steadfastness of the God-fearing person (verses 6-10)

First: The House of the God-fearing Person
(verses 1-5)

  1. The father of the house: "Praise the LORD! Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, who delights greatly in His commandments"(verse 1). To fear the Lord is to love, revere and obey Him. The man who fears the Lord enjoys obeying His commandments day after day, and "his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night" (Psalm 1:2). He says, "I delight to do Your will, O my God, and Your law is within my heart" (Psalm 40:8). He calls on God to "Make me walk in the path of Your commandments, for I delight in it ... Oh, how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day" (Psalm 119:35,97). Our conduct is shaped by the ideas with which we feed our minds. If we read disturbing news we get disturbed, and if we read profane books we make ourselves vulnerable to profane temptations. But if we read the Word of God and really enjoy it we find that it encourages us to fear God. How happy is the man who fears the Lord, because fearing the Lord is the basis of happiness for both the father of the house and its individuals. He raises a banner that says, "But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD" (Joshua 24:15). The God-fearing father of the house lifts up this prayer: "You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore" (Psalm 16:11).

  2. The children of the house: "His descendants will be mighty on earth; The generation of the upright will be blessed"(verse 2). Since the time when God saw that it was not good that man should be alone, and He made him a helper suitable to him, we find that the Bible emphasizes the importance of the family and the necessity of both parents and children fearing God. The upright God-fearing man is blessed in his house and in his mighty descendants who are known for their good reputation. The aroma of their piety spreads throughout the earth. The Scriptures say about them, "Who is the man that fears the LORD? Him shall He teach in the way He chooses. He himself shall dwell in prosperity, and his descendants shall inherit the earth" (Psalm 25:12,13). "But the meek shall inherit the earth, and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace" (Psalm 37:11). Such a blessing was also given to Abraham: "Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? For I have known him, in order that he may command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the LORD, to do righteousness and justice, that the LORD may bring to Abraham what He has spoken to him" (Genesis 18:18,19).

    The God-fearing person will also have mighty descendants on earth. These are the spiritual descendants he wins over from the sinful world, like the apostle Paul did when he gave birth to spiritual descendants in the faith. He said to some of them, "I do not write these things to shame you, but as my beloved children I warn you. For though you might have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet you do not have many fathers; for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel. Therefore I urge you, imitate me" (1 Corinthians 4:14-16). All those who return to God in repentance will hear: "Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God" (Ephesians 2:19).

  3. The riches of the house (verse 3):

    1. The material riches: "Wealth and riches will be in his house"(verse 3a). The Lord blesses the godly person who fears him so that he may lack nothing. Such a man says, "The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want" (Psalm 23:1). The psalmist said, "Oh, fear the LORD, you His saints! There is no want to those who fear Him. The young lions lack and suffer hunger; but those who seek the LORD shall not lack any good thing" (Psalm 34:9,10). And he said again, "I have been young, and now am old; yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his descendants begging bread. He is ever merciful, and lends; and his descendants are blessed" (Psalm 37:25,26). The righteous is blessed in his house, descendants and personal piety: "They shall not labor in vain, nor bring forth children for trouble; for they shall be the descendants of the blessed of the LORD, and their offspring with them"(Isaiah 65:23).

    2. The spiritual riches: "...and his righteousness endures forever"(verse 3b). The God-fearing person is rich in righteousness, which is to be blameless before God. Hence he acts justly, giving everyone what they deserve. This righteousness endures forever because it is a gift from the good God to the man who will be justified by faith. Such a man must recognize first that he is a sinner, and cry out, "God, be merciful to me a sinner!" (Luke 18:13). He must believe that "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9). Then he can say, "Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ" (Romans 5:1).

      There are riches of grace in the house of the God-fearing person, so much so that Paul said, "as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things" (2 Corinthians 6:10). True riches are not material wealth or scientific knowledge. For these two will never be satisfied: a seeker for knowledge and a seeker for money. True riches, however, are the riches of godliness, which are profitable in all things, for it has the promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come (1 Timothy 4:8). How beautiful was Paul's description of Timothy's family when he said, "I call to remembrance the genuine faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am persuaded is in you also" (2 Timothy 1:5). The grandmother lifted up prayers for the daughter, and both grandmother and daughter prayed for Timothy, and thus grandmother, daughter and grandson were all blessed. How happy is the man who can say, "I thank you, Lord, for the faith of my father and mother." If you do not have the chance to say so, you can still begin to be a blessing to your children and grandchildren in this way!

  4. The light of the house: "Unto the upright there arises light in the darkness; He is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous"(verse 4). God may sometimes permit darkness to surround the righteous, or allow them to walk in darkness. But in the valley of the shadow of death they fear no evil, for the Lord is with them (Psalm 23:4). Christ said, "In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world" (John 16:33). God's light will shine in darkness upon the upright, those who have a right standing with God, and it will be said about them: "Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart" (Psalm 97:11). It will be said also, "If you extend your soul to the hungry and satisfy the afflicted soul, then your light shall dawn in the darkness, and your darkness shall be as the noonday" (Isaiah 58:10). Because the light of God "shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it" (John 1:5). In God's light we see light (Psalm 36:9).

    As to the source of the light that arises over the believer in the midst of his darkness, it is the Lord's grace, compassion and righteousness. Therefore he says along with his fellow believers, "Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but to Your name give glory, because of Your mercy, because of Your truth" (Psalm 115:1). It is an act of the Lord's mercy that darkness does not alter the faith of the believer; rather it deepens it. When storms blow on a living tree planted by rivers of water, its roots grow even deeper into the earth. When a harsh trial afflicts the believer, it deepens his faith within him. Christ said much the same thing to Peter, "Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren" (Luke 22:31,32).

  5. The generosity of the house: "A good man deals graciously and lends"(verse 5a). Despite the darkness that may surround the believer, he is generous and charitable, because he wants to be like the loving God, because he realizes that all he has is a gift from God. He is not the owner, but a steward entrusted by God to dispense what he has. He should use what he has wisely, sharing mercy, money, knowledge and good advice with those around him. In doing so he obeys the commandment: "If there is among you a poor man of your brethren, within any of the gates in your land which the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart nor shut your hand from your poor brother, but you shall open your hand wide to him and willingly lend him sufficient for his need, whatever he needs" (Deuteronomy 15:7,8). Solomon the wise said, "Cast your bread upon the waters, for you will find it after many days" (Ecclesiastes 11:1). Isaiah advised, "Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out; when you see the naked, that you cover him, and not hide yourself from your own flesh?"(Isaiah 58:7). Christ Himself also commanded, "Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you" (Luke 6:38). Paul encourages us to "share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality" (Romans 12:13 NIV).

    David gave a generous donation for the building of the Lord's temple, then said, "But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly as this? For all things come from You, and of Your own we have given You" (1 Chronicles 29:14). Think of someone you can help to get back on his feet, so that your own heart may be filled with joy, for God loves a cheerful giver (2 Corinthians 9:7).

  6. The discretion of the house: "He will guide his affairs with discretion"(verse 5b). The God-fearing person who deals graciously and lends mercifully manages all his affairs in business and work with discretion, integrity and justice. He never wrongs anyone just to get rich or accepts a bribe to increase his wealth. Money is a stern master, and once love of money rules the heart corruption sets in. The rich are tempted to wrong the poor and the helpless, although Solomon the wise says, "He who oppresses the poor reproaches his Maker, but he who honors Him has mercy on the needy" (Proverbs 14:31). The rich may also be afflicted with the disease of pride, because they assume that their wealth was a product of their own intelligence. They may make money their god and put their trust in it rather than in God. They may become too miserly to give to the poor, live in fear of losing their wealth, or be given to believe that their friends love them only as long as they can take advantage of them. But fearing God spares the God-fearing person these temptations and grants him victory over them. "Now godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out"(1 Timothy 6:6,7).

Second: The Steadfastness of the God-Fearing Person
(verses 6-10)

  1. The steadfastness of the God-fearing person in this life: "Surely he will never be shaken"(verse 6a). The God-fearing person is not afraid of injustice, the wicked or the future. He "will never be removed" (Proverbs 10:30) because he obeys the commandment: "Cast your burden on the LORD, and He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved" (Psalm 55:22). When bad news came to Job, one thing after the other, he did not sin nor charge God with wrong, so the Lord accepted him, restored his losses and gave him twice as much as he had before (Job 42:9,10). The prophetic utterance was fulfilled to him, "You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You. Trust in the LORD forever, for in YAH, the LORD, is everlasting strength" (Isaiah 26:3,4).

  2. The steadfastness of the God-fearing person's memory after his death: "The righteous will be in everlasting remembrance"(verse 6b). The good memory of the righteous will remain forever with both men and God. The memory of many world leaders has been lost, and many others are only remembered for what they did wrong. The name of the righteous, however, is written in the book of life and his memory is sweet to God and to the heart of the people of his household and the members of his church. Who amongst us can forget David's psalms or Joseph's purity as he refused to sin? Who can forget God's answer to Hezekiah's prayer? Or ignore the apostle Paul's journey to take the good news of Christ to the nations? Who amongst us can forget their own God-fearing mother or righteous father? Truly "The memory of the righteous is blessed, but the name of the wicked will rot" (Proverbs 10:7).

  3. The steadfastness of the God-fearing person in spite of the evil tidings: "He will not be afraid of evil tidings; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD. His heart is established; he will not be afraid, until he sees his desire upon his enemies"(verses 7,8). When one's conscience is set at ease he does not fear evil tidings, but says, "My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast" (Psalm 57:7). "Say to the righteous that it shall be well with them" (Isaiah 3:10). "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose" (Romans 8:28). It is like Peter who was sleeping in prison, although he was bound by chains, waiting for his execution the next day (Acts 12:1-11). As to the wicked, he flees when no one pursues (Proverbs 28:1) just like Cain said, "Anyone who finds me will kill me"(Genesis 4:14). It is very true that "The fear of the wicked will come upon him, snd the desire of the righteous will be granted" (Proverbs 10:24).

    Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, who delights greatly in His commandments. He will not be afraid until he sees God's judgment inflicted upon his enemies, for "He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty ...A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand; but it shall not come near you. Only with your eyes shall you look, and see the reward of the wicked" (Psalm 91:1,7,8).

  4. The steadfastness of the God-fearing person in giving: "He has dispersed abroad, he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever; his horn will be exalted with honor"(verse 9). The God-fearing person is generous and open-handed, for "Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world" (James 1:27). He disperses abroad and gives to the poor, and "There is one who scatters, yet increases more; and there is one who withholds more than is right, but it leads to poverty" (Proverbs 11:24). "He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully" (2 Corinthians 9:6). The apostle Paul quoted what the psalmist says here in Psalm 112 in his second epistle to the Corinthians (2 Corinthians 9:9). Paul was talking about the rich churches that helped the poor churches. True believers disperse abroad and give to the poor, so their righteousness endures forever in God's sight and before men. On the Last Day they will hear Christ say, "Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world ... Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me" (Matthew 25:34,40). Even if all he has is a dry morsel of bread, the Lord will bless it for the believer who will eat with his family in peace and harmony. The Lord will make it better than a house full of feasting with strife (Proverbs 17:1). Solomon was right as he said, "Better is a dinner of herbs where love is, than a fatted calf with hatred" (Proverbs 15:17).

    The Lord rewards the believer who disperses abroad and gives to the poor by making his horn exalted with honour. This figure of speech is borrowed from the horn of an animal that lifts up its head after fighting another animal and defeating it. Hannah, the mother of the prophet Samuel, lifted up a song to God when He gave her a child after many years of barrenness, during which the other wife of her husband provoked her severely to make her miserable. She said, "My horn is exalted in the LORD" (1 Samuel 2:1). When the believer gives the tenth of his income to the Lord's work and to charity, the Lord lifts up his head.

  5. The steadfastness of the God-fearing person in the face of evil-doers: "The wicked will see it and be grieved; he will gnash his teeth and melt away; the desire of the wicked shall perish"(verse 10). It is very strange that a man who fears God should have enemies. But unfortunately when God honours the godly, the wicked resents those blessings! But the resentment of the wicked and their gnashing of teeth will harm no one but the wicked himself. He will melt away in rage and grief, while the godly lifts his voice with grateful singing to God, saying with the psalmist, "The LORD is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me? The LORD is for me among those who help me; therefore I shall see my desire on those who hate me ... The LORD is my strength and song, and He has become my salvation. The voice of rejoicing and salvation is in the tents of the righteous; the right hand of the LORD does valiantly" (Psalm 118:6,7,14,15).

    In the final verse in the psalm, the psalmist calls the sinner to repentance in that he declares the blessing God bestows upon God-fearing people. They delight in the Lord who shall give them the desires of their hearts, while evildoers shall be cut off (Psalm 37:4,9). "Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful ... He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper. The ungodly are not so, but are like the chaff which the wind drives away" (Psalm 1:1,3,4).

Would you not like to be God-fearing, so that the Lord may bless your life, house, offspring and work? Then "Depart from evil, and do good; and dwell forevermore. For the LORD loves justice, and does not forsake His saints; they are preserved forever, but the descendants of the wicked shall be cut off" (Psalm 37:27,28).

Questions

  1. Explain this statement: "Our conduct is shaped by the thoughts with which we feed our minds."

  2. How can you explain verse 3b of this psalm in the light of the statement, "as poor, yet making many rich"(2 Corinthians 6:10)?

Psalm Hundred and Thirteen
From the Rising of the Sun to its Going Down

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 going down the LORD’s name is to be praised.

4 The LORD is high above all nations, His glory above the heavens.

5 Who is like the LORD our God, Who dwells on high,

6 Who humbles Himself to behold the things that are in the heavens and in the earth?

7 He raises the poor out of the dust, and lifts the needy out of the ash heap,

8 That He may seat him with princes— With the princes of His people.

9 He grants the barren woman a home, like a joyful mother of children. Praise the LORD!

Psalms 113 through 118 are known as "Psalms of Egyptian Hallel". This links them to the song the Israelites lifted up at the time of the Exodus when God set them free from the captivity of Pharaoh, and sets them apart from the psalms of "Great Hallel" (Psalms 120-134), known also as "the Songs of Ascents". The Jews used to sing psalms of the "Great Hallel" on three of their feasts: the Passover, Pentecost and the Feast of Tabernacles. They also sang them at the beginning of every lunar month (except the first month of the year).

Passover was the greatest feast (Deuteronomy 16:1-6), because it was a memorial of the Israelites' deliverance from the bondage of Pharaoh and the Exodus out of Egypt. They used to sing Psalms 113 and 114 before having the Passover meal. Then after the meal they would sing Psalms 115 to 118.

Pentecost, or the Feast of Weeks, came fifty days after the Passover, and it served as an expression of thanksgiving for the harvest (Exodus 34:22).

The Feast of Tabernacles was the last major annual feast (Deuteronomy 16:16). During that feast the children of Israel used to live in huts made of tree branches, as a memorial to their living in the desert for forty years (Leviticus 23:43). The Church chose Psalm 113, 114 and 118 to be sung on the evening before Easter, because this feast replaced the three Jewish feasts, Passover, Pentecost and the Feast of Tabernacles.

If you remember the story of the Israelites' Exodus from Egypt, after Pharaoh had humiliated them severely, you will be amazed at the miracles that took place. The firstborn of the Egyptians were destroyed and the firstborn of the Israelites were spared, because the destroying angel passed over the houses on whose doors he saw the blood of the Passover lamb. Another amazing fact is that God fed a whole nation on manna and quail for forty years in the desert and provided them with water from the rock. The Exodus was a confrontation between the true God, the invisible "Jehovah", and the gods of the Egyptians, such as Apis, the Nile, etc... The Lord adopted a group of underdogs to save them from the tyranny of the most powerful ruler of the greatest empire at the time. It was expected that the superpower should crush the weaker, harmless nation. But the Lord saved the weaker nation and parted the Red Sea for them. In our amazement of the divine miracles we say, "Praise the LORD! Praise, O servants of the LORD, praise the name of the LORD! ... For He who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is His name ... If God is for us, who can be against us?" (Psalm 113:1; Luke 1:49; Romans 8:31). Truly, "Among the gods there is none like You, O Lord; nor are there any works like Your works... For You are great, and do wondrous things; You alone are God" (Psalm 86:8,10).

As for us today, even if we are of little significance or in a minority, we still have Christ's promise: "Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom" (Luke 12:32). The living God still works miracles in our day. Perhaps you have not experienced a miracle like that of the Exodus in its magnitude, but you must have prayed for something, and then the Lord opened up a way of salvation that you had not seen. He might have protected you from an oppressive power from which you could not deliver yourself. There are also miracles that the good Lord performed for you when he rescued you from dangers you could not see or feel, so that you cannot even thank Him for removing them. But once you know them, you will recognize how greatly He works for you. You will join the psalmist in a psalm of thanksgiving and praise to the wonder-working God, saying, "When the LORD brought back the captivity of Zion, we were like those who dream... The LORD has done great things for us, and we are glad" (Psalm 126:1,3).

Everyone who receives the new life in Christ will share the joy of the children of Israel as they crossed the Red Sea, because the new life is a crossing from bondage to freedom, from death to life, and from darkness to light. And those who were born again will say, "though I was blind, now I see" (John 9:25), and shout out loud, "Praise the LORD! Praise, O servants of the LORD, praise the name of the LORD!"

The psalm contains the following:

  • First: A general call to praise the Lord (verses 1-3)

  • Second: Praising the Lord for the greatness of His character (verses 4,5)

  • Third: Praising the Lord for the greatness of His work (verses 6-9)

First: A General Call to Praise the Lord
(verses 1-3)

  1. The servants of the Lord praise the Lord: "Praise the LORD! Praise, O servants of the LORD, praise the name of the LORD!"(verse 1). The psalmist calls his hearers to praise the Lord because they are His devoted, faithful servants, to whom the Lord says, "But you, Israel, are My servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the descendants of Abraham My friend. You whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and called from its farthest regions, and said to you, 'You are My servant, I have chosen you and have not cast you away'" (Isaiah 41:8,9). The believers are the servants of the Lord because He bought their souls and all that they possess. A servant or a slave used to be purchased with money, but the believers were purchased by Christ, not with gold or silver, "but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot" (1 Peter 1:19). By means of this purchase we became His own property, thus we begin to call to Him, submit to His directions and praise His name.

    All creation belongs to the Lord who brought it into being, perfected it and sustained it. So, what can a servant offer to his Creator and Master but continual praise, for angels sing to Him, "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory" (Isaiah 6:3). "TThe heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork ... You shall go out with joy, and be led out with peace; the mountains and the hills shall break forth into singing before you, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands" (Psalm 19:1; Isaiah 55:12). "Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name" (Hebrews 13:15).

    True believers cherish the title "servant of the Lord". It was the title given to Moses 18 times in the Old Testament (starting in Deuteronomy 34:5 and ending in 2 Chronicles 24:6,9). It was also the title of Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' successor (Joshua 24:29; Judges 2:8), as well as the title of Elijah the prophet who said to the Lord, "I am Your servant" (1 Kings 18:36). This was the title given by Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, to the three young men whom he cast into a fiery furnace because they obeyed God rather than himself (Daniel 3:26). Even Mary, the mother of Jesus, used that title when the angel Gabriel gave her the good news of giving birth to the Saviour Messiah: "Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word." (Luke 1:38). It is a title that Paul held dear and almost always used in the introduction of his epistles. He wrote in Romans 1:1, "Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ" and in Titus 1:1, "Paul, a bondservant of God." He did not forget that he fell facedown before Christ's light, saying, "What shall I do, Lord?" (Acts 22:10). Both Peter and Jude cherished that title and used it to identify themselves in 2 Peter 1:1 and Jude 1:1 respectively.

    When we disobey the Lord and take control of our life's rudder, we grow weary and find out that we have made a big mistake. We cry out to Jesus to be the King, the One who has control over our lives. We learn the lesson Jonah learned in the belly of the fish, as he headed in the direction opposite to where God wanted him to go. Instead of heading for the Iraqi Nineveh to the north-east, he headed for the Spanish Tarshish in the far west. He boarded a ship bound there, but a strong storm blew over the ship and threatened to sink it, endangering the passengers, the cargo and Jonah himself. Only when they threw him overboard were they saved. Then the fish swallowed Jonah and took him where God wanted him to be, back to the starting point (Jonah 1:3,17; 2:10). As Jonah obeyed God's command, God blessed him and the people of Nineveh through his preaching. As a result, the whole city repented and sat in sackcloth and ashes. Let us remember that we are God's servants, that we have no right to go anywhere other than where He wants us to go. Let our prayer be: "Make me Your servant, for then I will be free. Force me to give up my sword to You, for then I will be victorious. To reach the throne I must cast down my crown at Your feet, and to stand erect with my head lifted up I must bow down before You." Then we will praise God because we will be the servants of the Lord.

  2. Praising the Lord through all ages: "Blessed be the name of the LORD From this time forth and forevermore!"(verse 2). The name of the Lord is blessed everywhere and at all times. He is called, "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name" (Matthew 6:9). Because people have gone far away from God, we sometimes believe, as Elijah did, that there is no one left to worship the Lord but us. But the Lord encourages us the way he did Elijah and says, "I have reserved seven thousand in Israel, all whose knees have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him" (1 Kings 19:18). The apostle Peter said to the household of Cornelius, "In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality. But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him. The word which God sent to the children of Israel, preaching peace through Jesus Christ—He is Lord of all—" (Acts 10:34-36). He is in truth Lord of all those who get to know Him as Saviour, those who say, "But we will bless the LORD from this time forth and forevermore. Praise the LORD!"(Psalm 115:18).

  3. Praising the Lord everywhere: "From the rising of the sun to its going down the LORD’s name is to be praised"(verse 3). The name of the Lord is always praised everywhere, from East to West. The sun sets in one some place only to rise in another somewhere else on the earth. Everywhere that the sun rises or sets there is someone who praises and glorifies the Lord, because in that place He has a faithful people, of whom He says, "From the rising of the sun, even to its going down, My name shall be great among the Gentiles; in every place incense shall be offered to My name, and a pure offering; for My name shall be great among the nations" (Malachi 1:11). Again He says, "Then I will restore to the peoples a pure language, that they all may call on the name of the LORD, to serve Him with one accord" (Zephaniah 3:9).

Second: Praising the Lord for the Greatness of His Character
(verses 4,5)

  1. The greatness of the Lord owing to His exalted nature: "The LORD is high above all nations, His glory above the heavens"(verse 4). "The LORD Most High is awesome; He is a great King over all the earth ... The LORD reigns; let the peoples tremble! He dwells between the cherubim; let the earth be moved! The LORD is great in Zion, and He is high above all the peoples. Let them praise Your great and awesome name— He is holy" (Psalms 47:2; 99:1-3). Solomon built a great temple for the Lord; it was a marvel of grandeur for Solomon and his people. But in his prayer at the temple's dedication he wondered in humility, "But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain You. How much less this temple which I have built!" (1 Kings 8:27). Solomon's temple was not small, but it was nothing compared to the Lord's greatness. Therefore all creation lifts up its song to Him and says, "You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and by Your will they exist and were created"(Revelation 4:11). The redeemed creation will also shout and say, "Blessing and honor and glory and power be to Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, forever and ever!" (Revelation 5:13).

  2. The greatness of the Lord owing to His uniqueness: "Who is like the LORD our God, Who dwells on high"(verse 5). Moses and the children of Israel chanted this song to Him after the Exodus: "Who is like You, O LORD, among the gods? Who is like You, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?" (Exodus 15:11). Moses said to Him after crossing the Sinai desert, "O Lord GOD, You have begun to show Your servant Your greatness and Your mighty hand, for what god is there in heaven or on earth who can do anything like Your works and Your mighty deeds?" (Deuteronomy 3:24). The prophet Isaiah wondered, "To whom then will you liken God? Or what likeness will you compare to Him?" (Isaiah 40:18). Indeed, is the creature equal to the Creator? Is there any similarity between perfection and imperfection, or between strength and weakness? Is the generous rich person the same as the poor person who receives charity? God is characterized by perfect love; for "God is love" (1 John 4:8,16). He is indeed the Almighty, the Holy One and the absolute Truth. In His love He looks after His creation, be it flowers, birds or human beings. The very hairs of our heads are all numbered by Him (Matthew 10:30). Christ said that two sparrows were sold for a copper coin and five sparrows were sold for two copper coins, but the sparrow that was missed by the seller was not missed by God! Then He added, "You are of more value than many sparrows" (Luke 12:7).

God's greatness appears in the fact that He transforms the sinner to make a new man out of him. The prophet Jeremiah wondered, "Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard its spots?" (Jeremiah 13:23). The answer is No. But in Christ the depraved man becomes a saint, because God creates a new man out of him. He transformed Zacchaeus, the tax-collector, from an unjust dealer to a man of generosity. He changed the Samaritan woman from a sinner with five husbands, who was living with a man out of wedlock at the time, so that after she had repented she became an evangelist to her fellow villagers. This is the Lord our God, who dwells on high, who came down to us in His love in Christ the Word.

Third: Praising the Lord for the Greatness of His Work
(verses 6-9)

  1. The Lord beholds things below: "Who humbles Himself to behold the things that are in the heavens and in the earth?"(verse 6). For the Lord even the heavens are far below Him, not to mention the earth. He is the Creator of all things whether in heaven or on earth, yet He humbles Himself to meet the needs of the needy, deliver the oppressed and save sinners from their sins and troubles. The Lord looked into Pharaoh's prison and saw the righteous Joseph imprisoned for his purity. The Scriptures say about him, "They hurt his feet with fetters, he was laid in irons ... The king sent and released him, the ruler of the people let him go free. He made him lord of his house, and ruler of all his possessions, to bind his princes at his pleasure, and teach his elders wisdom" (Psalm 105:18-22). The Lord humbled Himself to behold the lower regions of the prison of sin that Augustine made when he indulged in impure sexual relations. But God created out of him Saint Augustine, the bishop and expositor of the divine Word. God is still the Father, the Shepherd and the Guardian. For the eyes of the LORD are on the righteous. And His ears are open to their cry (Psalm 34:15), because "For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him"(2 Chronicles 16:9).

  2. The Lord raises the poor: "He raises the poor out of the dust, and lifts the needy out of the ash heap, that He may seat him with princes— with the princes of His people"(verses 7,8). The Lord chose Gideon who was threshing wheat in the winepress, in order to hide it from the invading Midianites (Judges 6:11,14). He chose Saul the Benjaminite who was looking for the lost donkeys of his father (1 Samuel 9:3). And "He also chose David His servant, and took him from the sheepfolds; from following the ewes that had young He brought him, to shepherd Jacob His people, and Israel His inheritance. So he shepherded them according to the integrity of his heart, and guided them by the skillfulness of his hands" (Psalm 78:70-72). The blessed Virgin sang, "My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant; for behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed ... He has put down the mighty from their thrones, and exalted the lowly" (Luke 1:46-48,52). Christ chose a few fishermen to make disciples out of them, and to make them fishers of men (Matthew 4:19). The apostle Paul said, "But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence" (1 Corinthians 1:27-29). You may compare the condition of the prodigal son when he was far away from his father's house and did not even have pig food, with his condition after he returned to his father's house. A big celebration was held in his honour, in which the fattened calf was slaughtered, and he was given a pair of shoes to wear as a sign of sovereignty and a ring to put round his finger because his father's full trust in him was restored (Luke 15:22). In this way God replaces poverty with riches, disgrace with honour, the last row with the place of prominence, sadness with joy, the bondage of sin with the liberty of the glory of the sons of God, and blindness with spiritual sight. The greatest work of all was when Christ descended into the lower parts of the earth that He might fill all things. He gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists and some pastors and teachers (Ephesians 4:9-11).

  3. The Lord gives to those who are deprived: "He grants the barren woman a home, like a joyful mother of children. Praise the LORD!"(verse 9). Maybe the psalmist had Sarah, Abraham's wife, in mind. She had lost hope in giving her husband a child at the age of ninety. So she suggested that he marry her servant Hagar so that God's promise to Abraham could be fulfilled, that he could become the father of many nations. But the Lord performed the miracle with Sarah, and told her she would have a son. The promise was so strange that Sarah laughed and thought it impossible by human means. But God's true promise was fulfilled, and Sarah gave birth to Isaac (whose name means "laughter"). And Isaac was the father of Jacob, the father of the tribes of Israel.

    Hannah, Elkanah's wife, was humiliated by her adversary Peninnah, because Peninnah had children while Hannah was barren. So Hannah went to the temple and complained to God of the bitterness of her soul in such a lengthy prayer that the high priest thought she was drunk. God answered her request and granted her Samuel, of whom she later said, "For this child I prayed, and the LORD has granted me my petition which I asked of Him" (1 Samuel 1:27). Afterward, God made him a great leader of his people.

The Scriptures describe the Church in a spiritual sense as a mother giving birth to believers who love and obey God. A long time may pass till we see people returning to God in repentance, so we begin to pray and implore God to bring people back to Himself. As a result, believing children get born to the Church, and the old believers who have never won someone to repentance become spiritual parents. Thus the prophecy is fulfilled: "'Sing, O barren, you who have not borne! Break forth into singing, and cry aloud, you who have not labored with child! For more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married woman,' says the LORD. 'Enlarge the place of your tent, and let them stretch out the curtains of your dwellings; do not spare; lengthen your cords, and strengthen your stakes. For you shall expand to the right and to the left, and your descendants will inherit the nations, and make the desolate cities inhabited'" (Isaiah 54:1-3). Let us lift up our eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest! Let us go out as labourers in the Lord's vineyard, calling people to repentance, so that every believer may become a spiritual mother who is overjoyed at her blessing. For then we will shout aloud the conclusion of our psalm, just as we started it: "Hallelujah." Praise the Lord!

Questions

  1. Give the names of four persons who were proud to be called "servants of God".

  2. Explain how God sees things below.

Psalm Hundred and Fourteen
The Exodus that Moved Nature

1 When Israel went out of Egypt, the house of Jacob from a people of strange language,

2 Judah became His sanctuary, and Israel His dominion.

3 The sea saw it and fled; Jordan turned back.

4 The mountains skipped like rams, the little hills like lambs.

5 What ails you, O sea, that you fled? O Jordan, that you turned back?

6 O mountains, that you skipped like rams? O little hills, like lambs?

7 Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob,

8 Who turned the rock into a pool of water, the flint into a fountain of waters.

This is the second psalm of the six Egyptian Hallel (Psalms 113-118), which express the praise of the Israelites when the Lord brought them out of the land of Egypt. In the previous psalm we heard the psalmist talking of the Lord God "humbles Himself to behold" the poor and the needy. This psalm, however, proclaims God's power that saved those poor and needy people, because such power serves His active love. Our psalm depicts nature as though it were moved out of fear and trembling at the glory of the Lord who leads His people, saying to them, "Trust in the LORD forever, for in YAH, the LORD, is everlasting strength" (Isaiah 26:4).

The early Church used to sing this psalm as praise to God on Easter, because it expresses resurrection from the grave and death, for the children of Israel were dead in the grave of their slavery, torture and indignity. The Lord raised them up from their grave and set them free. This is what happens also in the New Testament by virtue of Christ's resurrection, who, having been crucified, buried and raised from the dead, became firstborn among many brethren (Romans 8:29). Through His own resurrection He granted the hope and promise of the resurrection from the grave of their sin to all those who believe in Him as Lord and Redeemer, according to His Word: "Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live" (John 5:25).

The miracle of Exodus is repeated in our lives both individually and corporately, just as the Lord repeated it with His people when He brought them back from seventy years of exile in Babylon. The exile was a second grave for the Israelites, after the grave of Egypt's slavery. The Lord brought them out of their exile after they tasted the bitterness of the temple's destruction, the cessation of worship, the humiliation of silence and refraining from singing the Lord's song in a foreign land (Psalm 137:4). The Lord still works new "Exodus" miracles for the souls of the believers, to bring them out of their exile in sickness, poverty and trouble. In response, they sing this psalm with thanksgiving and praise.

The psalm includes the following:

  • First: The Lord brings His people out of Egypt (verses 1,2)

  • Second: The miracles that accompanied the Exodus (verses 3-6)

  • Third: The repetition of the miracles of the Exodus (verses 7,8)

First: The Lord Brings His People out of Egypt
(verses 1,2)

  1. He brought them out: "When Israel went out of Egypt, the house of Jacob from a people of strange language"(verse 1). The Exodus of the Israelites out of Egypt makes every believer proud of the Lord's miraculous deeds for His own people. Equally, it is an object of praise and thanksgiving to the Lord who promised and will fulfil His promise. He remains faithful and cannot deny Himself. The Israelites were given an honourable reception when they first came to Egypt by Joseph's Pharaoh, and left it honourably after the defeat of Pharaoh of Exodus. Both in coming and going, God honoured His people! This is the experience of every believer who loves the Lord. God created man in His image, according to His likeness. Man was modelled after the Merciful One, and was given great authority and position by Him. But when man sinned, he came under God's just judgment. Therefore Christ came to restore everyone who believes in Him as Lord and Redeemer to his former life, through the second birth. For "just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned—... much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ" (Romans 5:12,17).

    Egypt was a land of bondage that did not know the Lord; it used a strange language in speech and worship and it worshipped foreign gods. But the Lord rescued His people from the scribe who recorded the names of slaves, from the tax-collector who received the taxes and from the architects who designed the towers that were built by slave labour. The prophet Isaiah said, "Your heart will meditate on terror: 'Where is the scribe? Where is he who weighs? Where is he who counts the towers?' You will not see a fierce people, a people of obscure speech, beyond perception, of a stammering tongue that you cannot understand" (Isaiah 33:18,19).

  2. He dwelt among them: "Judah became His sanctuary, and Israel His dominion"(verse 2). The Lord brought His people out of the land of bondage and dwelt amongst them. He made them His sanctuary, the object of His attention, care and dominion. He commanded Moses to prepare a tabernacle where He could meet His people to reveal His will to them (Numbers 17:4). The tabernacle was also called "sanctuary", where He dwelt among His people (Exodus 25:8). The tent was in the middle of the camp of the children of Israel, according to the order explained in the Book of Numbers chapter 2. God's holiness was then revealed to them there through the ceremonies of worship that they practiced, as well as His holy presence. His grace was also confirmed, because being holy He humbled Himself to dwell among them so that they could love and worship Him. Every believer says about Him, "the God to whom I belong and whom I serve" (Acts 27:23). The psalmist did not settle for speaking only about the tent, but went on to consider the whole nation as a dwelling-place for t