Day #149

Sermon - Audio
Pslam 111-118 - Audio
Pslam 111-118 - Reading

Daily Insights - Please Comment

Many Psalms, Many notes--you may want to read the intro to each Psalm in the notes and then refer to the notes when you have a question.

Psalm 111 is a psalm that praises God for his mighty acts in Israel’s history. The psalm also contains elements of a wisdom psalm (other wisdom psalms are Psalm 1, 19, 119). Psalm 111 and 112 are both alphabetic acrostics--each line begins with a succeeding letter of the 22 letter Hebrew Alphabet.

• 111.1: Praise the LORD-Psalm 111, 112, and 113 all begin with this call to praise Yahweh (God’s covenant name).
• 111.2: Works-The word works has two meanings in this context. First, the things that God has made. Second, the actions of God in history. The psalmist praises God for His actions and creation.
• 111.3: Righteousness- God’s actions confirm his character and these actions stand forever. The psalmist praises God for the historical works God has done to confirm his covenantal promises.
• 111.4: Remember- The theme of remembrance in the Bible is central because it is the account of the history of God doing things for his people. When they remembered God’s mighty actions, the people would respond with devotion and obedience. Here the Psalmist praises God for the gift of being able to remember.
• Gracious and Compassionate- God’s grace and compassion are also central themes in the Bible. The psalmist praises the LORD for these attributes because the psalmist recognizes that Israel’s sin made them undeserving of the works he praised in vs. 2.
• 111.5: Provide Food- This most likely refers to God’s provisions for the people while they were wandering in the desert.
• 111.6: The psalmist is alluding to the conquest of the promised land. It is an example of how God remembers his covenant.
• 11.9: God redeems his people. In the New Testament Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist, praises the Lord for redeeming his people through sending the Messiah. (Luke 1.68)
• • 111.10: The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom- This is the theme of biblical wisdom. In the Wisdom Psalms, Proverbs, Job, and Ecclesiastes wisdom begins by standing in awe of God. A wise person in the bible is someone who knows how to live rightly in God’s world based on God’s wisdom and expertise in creating the world.

Psalm 112 celebrates the life of a righteous person. In the celebration it gives us key insights into what makes for a praiseworthy life and the rewards of that life.

• Psalm 112 is a “wisdom” Psalm i.e. it has close ties with the type of literature we find in Proverbs. This means the Psalm when it refers to the blessings the come to the righteous is talking in general, not absolute terms.
• Psalm 112 and Psalm 111 are closely connected. Psalm 111 focuses on God and his deeds while Psalm 112 celebrates the person who fears God and does deeds that bring pleasure to God.
• Psalm 112.1 The opening of the Psalm speaks praise to Gods, but then it quickly switches to speaking praise of the person who lives the righteous life. This Psalm may feel a bit strange to us since we are used to Psalms focusing on God, not on a type of person.
• Psalm 112.2-3: The blessings that flow (note verse 1 “Blessed is the man”) to a righteous person. To have “mighty” children means that they will be like their father, they too will be righteous and strong in that righteousness all their lives. It also means that his children will have a great reputation and be known in the land. The idea that having one’s name known and acclaimed
• seems strange to many who see acclaim as reflecting a lifting up of one’s self, rather than lifting up God.
• Psalm 112.4: “Darkness” reflects the struggles of life. For all the blessings the Psalmist recognizes that even the righteous have their dark days--but there is hope for such a person in the midst of
• Psalm 112.5: Good is the Hebrew word “tov” it is a broad ranging word whose content is partially understood from verses 2 and 3.
• Psalm 112.6: “never be shaken” means that he will hold on to this faith so that he is always welcomed into the temple for worship.
• Psalm 112.6-8: These verses are lived out in the life of Christ. He is never shaken in his connection to God, because of his righteousness he is remembered, he had no fear of where his life brought him always trusting in his Father and finally he looks in triumph on his foes.
• Psalm 112.7: To have a steadfast heart means to be a person who keeps following after God no matter what. A steadfast heart is based in trusting God and especially trusting that he will be faithful to his covenant promises.

Psalm 113 celebrates God and all that he does. The Psalm is pure praise, no petition to be found in it. God is to be praised every moment of the day and every place on earth. Enjoy the reading of this Psalm and using it to give praise.

Psalm 114 is a Psalm that should be savored more than read. The words of each verse build on each other, creation is spoken to, and God’s power is revealed. It is a celebration of Yahweh who has power over creation, but even more he has power over the gods of this world.

• 114.1: This verse is about the people leaving Egypt and beginning the Exodus--the most powerful redemptive act of God in the Old Testament.
• 114.1: “foreign tongue” NIV is literally “strange language”. People in ancient times were not distinguished by their race but by the language they spoke.
• 114.3: The Jordan is the Jordan River. As the Exodus ends and the people enter the land God causes the Jordan to turn back. As with the Red Sea this is not merely a mighty act in nature it is a declaration that Yahweh is God and there is no other.
• 114.4: Mountains are seen to be the most stable thing around--God causes them to shake.
• 114.7: Again, the earth is spoken to as if a person. The call to “tremble” is a call to be terrified in the face of the judgment of God. God is judging the gods of the world and the creation itself that supports those gods by what people perceive in the “actions” of the waters , etc. God tells the earth to tremble for it too will be judged and he is the God who can do as he wishes with the creation--even getting water out of rock.

Psalm 115 celebrates the reality and power of Yahweh verses the nonexistence of the gods of the nations. It calls on the people to trust in Yahweh.

• 115.1: The reason for God’s care and rescue of his people is not so they receive glory, but so he does. The Bible is filled with the idea that one of the main reasons God does things is so his name will be glorified. The Psalmist calls on God to remember how important it is for his name to be glorified.
• 115.2: The nations can’t see the God of Israel because he is not in the form of an image--so they wonder, “where is he?”
• 115.3: The people of Israel declare that God is in heaven i.e. he is in the heavens ruling over all things--unlike the gods of the nations who only rule over a little piece of land which they can “see”.
• 115.3: “he does whatever pleases him” i.e. he is able to do what he desires, he is not limited in any way in his rule and his actions.
• 115.9-11: The Psalmist calls on three groups to trust (rely on) Yahweh: the priests, the nation, and those non-Israelites who have become followers of Yahweh. For God to be the people’s help means that he protects them when attacked (he is a military helper) as well as providing more general care for them.
• 115.15: Since Yahweh made the heaven and the earth (not some other god) he is able to bring blessing.
• 115.16: We are told in Genesis that God gave to human beings the earth and told them to, “Be fruitful an increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves along the ground.” Genesis 1.28
• 115.17: The “dead” in this verse are symbolic of the nations that serve “dead” gods. Like those gods can’t speak, so these people cannot praise.

Psalm 117 is a rather strange Psalm in that it calls on the nations to praise Yahweh for being good to Israel. The text implies that this goodness is particularly shown in the defeat of Israel’s enemies. The Psalmist calls on the nations to praise God because he will defeat them.

• Psalm 117: The apostle Paul also sees this Psalm as Messianic. He sees the Psalm as a picture of the nations coming in to be members of God’s new kingdom under Christ Jesus. We read in Rom. 15:8 For I tell you that Christ became a servant to the circumcised to show God’s truthfulness, in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, 9 and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written, “Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles, and sing to your name.” 10 And again it is said, “Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people.” 11 And again, “Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, and let all the peoples extol him.” 12 And again Isaiah says, “The root of Jesse will come, even he who arises to rule the Gentiles; in him will the Gentiles hope.” In Paul’s understanding the Gentiles/nations join in praise to God because they too are part of his covenant, enjoying his steadfast love.
• 117.1: “Extol” means to commend, to praise the virtues of God with great enthusiasm. This is not a mere nod in God’s direction, it is a worship of awe and wonder.
• 117.2: The Psalm ends with yet another call to praise Yahweh--literally the word is simply “Hallelujah” which means “Praise Yah”.

Psalm 118 The Psalm proclaims confidence in God’s covenant faithfulness that shatters all enemies and their ability to hurt the Psalmist in any meaningful way.

• 118.22-24: The NT writers use this text (Matt. 21:42; Mark 12:10–11; Luke 20:17; Acts 4:11; 1 Pet. 2:7) to indicate that the powerful figures who rejected Jesus (esp. the Jewish leaders) were no wiser than the world powers that thought so little of Israel. ESV Study Bible