Psalm 116 - Resolve to Worship

The fourth of the Hallel psalms describe the personal experiences of the author. He had been in very difficult circumstances, and he had called earnestly on the Lord. God had listened intently to him (inclined his ear) and granted his request. Therefore he would pray throughout life. His prayer, as we can see from verse 4, was short, straightforward, and energetic (saying ‘O Lord’ tells us that). Providence, especially in answered prayer, had increased his love for the Lord (vv. 1-4).

Why did the Lord help him? It was not because the psalmist deserved it. Instead, the reason is found in the character of God – he is gracious, righteous and merciful. We may find it surprising that the psalmist should mention God’s righteousness because as a sinner he would have known that he should have been punished by God. But he also knew that the Lord’s anger at sin had been met by an atoning sacrifice, and that the Lord would therefore be faithful to his many promises. When he describes himself as simple, he does not mean that he is stupid. Basically, to be simple means to take God at his word (vv. 5-6).

Since God had been so gracious to him, he had discovered spiritual rest and comfort. He had been prevented from falling into sin with its dire sorrowful effects. Now he could move around, conscious that he was always in the Lord’s presence, aware that his God was favourable to him (vv. 7-9). In verses 10-11, he describes what his problem had been. Other people had proved unreliable. But he had discovered that God was faithful.

What could the psalmist do in response to the Lord’s faithfulness and kindness to him? He would participate in public worship at the temple and renew his commitment to God in a manner that others would see. Of course, he would not be the only person doing so, which means that he would not be drawing attention to himself. In fact, the way to draw attention to himself would be by not participating (vv. 12-14).

It is not clear why he refers to the death of believers in verse 15. Perhaps he had been thinking of his mother because he mentions her in verse 16. Whatever the reason, he knew that the Lord valued highly their deaths as they went into his presence.

In verses 17-19, he restates his determination to participate in acts of public worship. And at Passover time, there would be hundreds of thousands of others doing the same, and even singing his words.

Psalm 115 - Prayer for Divine Blessing

The psalm is the third of the Hallel psalms that were sung at the Passover, and it begins with a reminder that God alone should be praised. The psalmist, on behalf of other worshippers, asks God to continue to act in ways that would bring glory to himself. The worshippers knew that he had done so in the past when he delivered the Israelites from Egypt and brought them to the promised land. At Passover time, it was, or should have been, straightforward to think about God’s steadfast love and faithfulness!

A visitor to Jerusalem at Passover time might wonder why all the crowds had gathered there. He would be informed that they had gathered to meet with their God. ‘But where is he?’ the visitor might ask. ‘You don’t seem to be worshipping anything.’ The reply that would have been given is stated in verse 3: ‘Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases.’ That statement is a reminder of his supremacy and his sovereignty.

In contrast to the supreme and sovereign God the vanity of idols is described in verses 4-8. They cannot speak or move because, being made by humans, they have no life. Yet they have an effect on those who use them and depend on them. Such are unable to praise God in any way or live for his glory.

In verses 9-11, the author calls on different groups in Israel to worship the Lord because he has helped them and protected them in the past. Groups mentioned include the nation as a whole, the priests and those who fear God. Those who fear God could be Gentiles who had become proselytes and there would have been many of them attending the Passover.

It looks as if there is an arrangement of choral responses here. The call issued in verses 9-11 is answered by another section of the worshippers who affirm that the Lord in the past has blessed the three identified groups of the nation, the priests and those who fear God and will continue to do so (vv. 12-13).

Then another response is given in verse 14 that asks God to bless those who previously called for divine blessings, and for him to extend his blessing to their descendants.

Further calls for blessing are made in verses 15 and 16. It is easy to wish for a person to be blessed by God, but what is the evidence that he can do it. One obvious evidence is his ability to make the universe (v. 15). Connected to that is his sovereignty revealed in deciding who goes where (v. 16). But alongside his sovereignty is his kindness in giving such a world to humans. In addition, there is also his expectation that humans will praise him. 

In verse 17, the dead are described as being unable to participate in the praise of God. Who are the dead here? Perhaps the author has in mind those who worship idols in this life. The author may even be commenting on the fact that death is a divine judgment on the idolaters because in verse 18 he indicates, in contrast to those described as dead, that those who bless God, who worship him, will do so forever. 

The psalm closes with an expression of determined dedication to the God who blesses his people.

Psalm 113 - Call to Praise

This psalm is the first of the six Hallel psalms that were sung by the Jews at the time of Passover. Apparently, two were sung before the Passover meal and four after it. So Jesus and his disciples would have sung those psalms when they met for the Passover.

The psalm begins with a call to praise the Lord given to those serving him in the temple (v. 1). The focus is to be on his name, as we can see from the last line of verse 1, the first line of verse 2, and the last line of verse 3. His name is Yahweh, the eternal, self-existing God who is the covenant God of his people. His name is connected to his character as faithful and true, as dependable and consistent.

His praise is to be constant with regard to the future (v. 2) and global regarding its extent (v. 3). Perhaps this was an aspiration or maybe it was an anticipation of the extending of his kingdom in gospel times, or even into the eternal state where all of life will be praise of God.

The Lord should be praised because of his position as sovereign God. His dwelling place is unapproachable, beyond our reach, above the heavens. No one can see God and come into his presence in a physical sense while they are in this life. We can see nothing of him, but he sees everything about the universe, even although all of it is far below him (vv. 4-6).

Yet when he looks down, he does so full of mercy and compassion. He does not merely look for information or for discovery of what is going on. Rather he looks with intent, to fulfil his own purpose of blessing. The psalmist highlights two areas of life – the political and the domestic.

Because of his involvement, those at the bottom of society can ascend to the top (vv. 7-8). It is possible for the needy to ascend to the height of human greatness, but even when that happens, they are still far below the Most High. Because of his involvement, he can ensure that the family line will be continued, which was very important as far as Israelites were concerned because that is how the inheritance was preserved (v. 9).

The Lord is the God of providence. There seems to be an allusion in the psalm to the experience of Hannah when she came to the temple to worship. Perhaps there is a reminder here to those working in the temple to remind themselves that the God they profess to serve can do great things for anyone he chooses to help. Praise of the great God should never be a formality.

Psalm 112 – Living for God

This psalm celebrates the difference that God can make in a person’s life. The basis of that individual’s life is God’s commands, but his attention to them is marked by great delight. So he has a heart affection for them. Clearly, they are the priority in his life. He focuses on his sanctification, on pleasing his God (v. 1).

We need to bear in mind that in Old Testament times, divine blessing was often given in earthly benefits. So in verses 2 and 3, some of those benefits are mentioned: powerful descendants, prosperity, and a prominent name. Such features are not always a sign of divine blessing in New Testament times, nor is their absence a sign that God is not blessing his people.

The man’s character is mentioned in verse 4. He is like the sun shining on others, no matter the problem or how dark and complex it seems, and that benefit happens because he is a gracious, merciful and righteous person. His presence and his actions change situations because God uses him to bring benefits to others.

His consistency is described in verses 5 and 6. He maintains his devoted lifestyle throughout his life. Nothing can make him change his determination to follow God’s instructions. This consistency is marked by his confidence which is illustrated in verses 7 and 8. News of trouble will not move him away from serving God, no matter how threatening it might seem. Indeed, his strong devotion to God and trust in him will be revealed in his determination to see any source of trouble thoroughly dealt with.

His character, consistency and confidence will be revealed in his conduct, as described in verse 9. As is often the case in the Old Testament, the value of a person is estimated by his concern for the poor, an outlook that was stressed and continued at the Council of Jerusalem in the Book of Acts. Such a lifestyle is lifelong, and it will be rewarded at the Day of Judgement with divine commendation when he will be ‘exalted in honour’.

There is such a contrast between that devout man and a wicked man. Righteous behaviour makes the wicked angry, but his anger is futile, and his plans will perish eventually. God, the judge, will see to that.

The obvious deduction from the first verse of the psalm is that we should praise God for every person who delights in his commandments.

Psalm 111 - The God of Providence

This song of praise to God focuses on his providence, particularly in how he has blest his people Israel. The strong feeling that the psalmist has is one of wholehearted gratitude, and he senses this so strongly that he desires to express it publicly at the temple when God’s people gather to worship him (v. 1).

Yet his gratitude is informed gratitude – he knows why he is grateful because he has thought about what the Lord has done. The research, if we want to describe his consideration by that word, was a delightful process, and the deeper the probing the more incredible the discoveries of God’s abilities and actions. His works are what is expected from a powerful King, but they are also in line with his righteous character. The Lord is a consistent sovereign, and his consistency is at the highest of levels (vv. 2-3). The only proper response to his works is enthusiastic worship.

His activities for Israel are the outworking of his covenant agreement regarding his people. Those actions are easily remembered, and they reveal his constant commitment to that covenant, even to ensuring that they have sufficient provisions, a sign of his grace and compassion. Moreover, he had revealed somewhat of his power when he gave to them the promised land, an inheritance that they did not deserve before they received it and after they received it (vv. 4-6).

In addition to meeting their daily needs and providing them with a rich inheritance, the Lord had also given his law to Israel. This was a unique privilege in his providence regarding Israel. Other nations received food and territory through his providence, but the possession of his law was a sign that he had redeemed the Israelites to be his permanent possession. As his redeemed, the Israelites were under obligation to live according to his terms, expressed to them in his precepts, with faithful adherence to them being the evidence that the Israelites desired to keep their side of the covenant (vv. 7-9).

What can one say about such a great God? The psalmist confesses that the Lord is holy and awesome. Holy is a forgotten word today and awesome falls into the category of the most ill-used of words today. Both are proper words to use of the Lord. He is different from all his creatures, infinitely above them in perfection, and that height is what is meant by his holiness. Because he is ‘holy, holy, holy,’ he is truly awesome (v. 9).

The appropriate response to his greatness is to fear him. There are degrees of fearing God, but if it is absent in any way, it is impossible to be truly wise. Angels fear him for their reasons, and the redeemed fear him for their reasons, including the fact that he has redeemed them. He did not redeem them merely to be delivered from something; he also delivered them to be devout worshippers who live according to his commandments (v. 10).

Psalm 110 - Jesus the Priest-King

This psalm is entirely Messianic, focusing only on what Jesus will experience and do after his ascension. In verses 1-4, David describes the Father’s exaltation of Jesus and in verses 5-7 he speaks to the Father about the exaltation of Jesus and how he will fulfil his role.

In verse 1, the Father invites David’s Lord (Jesus) to sit at his right hand, the place of power on the divine throne. The invitation includes the length of the period of this aspect of his reign, which will last until the Day of Judgement. The location of the throne is Zion (heaven) and from there Jesus rules among his enemies, a description that points to their inability to prevent him doing as he wills (v. 2).

Throughout this period, called ‘the day of his power’, he will lead a volunteer army composed of priests, an indication that they will be devoted to him and will express their devotion through constant praise (v. 3). From the onset of this day (the dew of the morning), Jesus himself will have vigour and strength to accomplish his plans (v. 3).

Moreover, Jesus is from a different line of priesthood; he is not of the line of Aaron but of the line of Melchizedek, a priest of whom nothing his known concerning his ancestry and his future, which enables him to picture Jesus as having no beginning and no end (v. 4).

In verses 5-6, David describes the Day of Judgement which occurs at the close of this stage of the mediatorial kingdom of Jesus. It will be an occasion of complete triumph for Jesus over all kingdoms that oppose him, both the rulers and their subjects who resist his reign. 

What is meant by verse 7: ‘He will drink from the brook by the way; therefore he will lift up his head.’ Does it describe what happens throughout his long campaign? It is a picture of refreshment, but where is the brook? Is John Gill correct to say that it refers to when Jesus ‘drank to his refreshment of the river of divine pleasure, when God showed him the path of life, and raised him from the dead, and gave him glory, and introduced him into his presence; where are fulness of joy, and pleasures for evermore?’

 

Psalm 109 - Prayer for divine vengeance

This psalm is a prayer for judgement on a particular individual who has betrayed David. Verse 8 was cited by Peter in Acts 1 as a reason for replacing Judas with another apostle. At the least, Peter regarded the words of this psalm as containing a guiding principle for action regarding the position that Judas had relinquished by his actions.

Some may wonder whether the sentiments of the psalm are appropriate in light of New Testament statements in which we are to forgive those who oppose us and not take vengeance on those who attack us. David does not personally take vengeance – he asks God to act, and Paul confirms the correctness of this response when he reminded the Romans not to take vengeance because that response belongs only to God (Rom. 12:19).

There is a difference between responding to individual wrongs and wrongs done to the state. A Christian tax collector may tell a person who owes him money to forget about it, but he cannot behave in that way when working for the Inland Revenue.

The situation in the psalm describes treason against the government. Given that it was God’s choice of government, it was a great sin to work against it. The sin was made worse by the fact that the man had rebelled against a righteous king (vv. 1-5), a ruler who was marked by love and prayer, and who had not done anything to justify the plottings against him.

David wanted justice to take place (vv. 6-7) and for the punishment to reflect the crime, which was death for the man and trouble for his family (vv. 8-13). At that time, there was the practice of corporate responsibility in which if the head was guilty of a crime the clan was also punished, as was seen in the earlier case of Achan when he disobeyed God’s command (Judg. 7:19-24). Indeed, there is a hint in verse 14 that family background was at least partly to blame for the man’s actions. The family line should come to an end (v. 15).

The wicked man’s character is described in verses 16-17, and a link is made between his sinful attitudes and his sins of omission concerning the needy (vv. 18-20). Those sins would reap what they had sowed, and David knew about that connection, so he used it in his prayer concerning the man.

In contrast to that man, David was different. He depended on the Lord and had no confidence in himself. Indeed, circumstances had made him a broken man internally and physically (vv. 21-24). His physical state drew scorn from his opponents (v. 25). Therefore he turned for help to his faithful God, the One with whom he was in covenant. By the Lord giving him blessing, the opponents would know that God was on his side. He was God’s special servant and when he was blest they would be dishonoured for their false accusations (vv. 26-29).

David knew that the Lord would hear his prayer. Therefore he anticipated once again taking part in the temple services along with the multitudes who would gather there. He knew that he could depend on God for deliverance and restoration (vv. 30-31).

David had a role in God’s kingdom that others opposed. At this time, he was deprived of human help, but even then he was not alone because God was with him. He knew that his God would yet work everything for his good.