A psalm of David. An imprecatory lament psalm.
v.1 Initial call to God. O God of my praise!
v.2-5 The crisis: character assassination against King David.
v.6-15 Imprecatory petition. See also Ps 35:4-8. v.8 is applied to Judas in Acts 1:20.
v.16-20 Restatement of crisis and more imprecation.
v.21-25 Cry to God concerning the crisis.
v.26-29 Petition for help.
v.30-31 Vow to praise God.
A song. A Psalm of David. A hymn of trust in God.
Praise of God’s love (See Ps 57:7-11)
v.1-3 Call to praise.
v.4-5 Praise God for his steadfast love and his faithfulness.
Prayer for help against enemies (See Ps 60:5-12)
v.6-9 God’s promise to defeat Israel’s enemies.
v.10-11 The crisis, God has rejected us.
v.12 Petition for God to deliver.
v.13 Confidence in God.
In your hour of crisis, recall the promises God has made in his word.
Book V (Ps 107-150)
A praise psalm. God is good!
Call to praise.
v.1 A call to praise God for he is good.
v.2-3 The setting is the deliverance of Israel from exile (answering Ps 106:47).
Praise God for four rescues he has performed.
Pattern: calamity—cry—salvation—thanksgiving.
v.4-9 God delivers people lost in the desert (wandering).
v.10-16 God delivers people suffering in prison. See Lk 1:79.
v.17-22 God delivers people suffering with disease (the wages of sin).
v.23-32 God delivers people at risk in a stormy sea. See Mk 4:35ff.
Praise God for his power over creation.
v.33-38 God is in control of every situation.
v.39-41 God brings princes low and raises the needy.
v.42 The upright see what God has done and are glad.
Epilogue.
v.43 The wise will consider these things.
The 4 rescues in v.4-32 are perhaps 4 different ways to look at Israel’s exile. They are analogous to the sinner’s plight and so directly applicable to all people and all times. As you read the psalm, see yourself in need of rescue and meditate on the great love of the Lord.
A confession of the nation Israel’s long history of rebellion against the Lord and a prayer that God save his people once again. A history psalm.
A prayer for salvation
v.1-2 Call to praise and give thanks. Praise the Lord!
v.3 Beatitude on righteous people.
v.4-5 Prayer for prosperity of the nation.
A prayer of confession
v.6-12 Praise for God’s mercy on the rebellious nation at the red sea. (Ex 14-15)
v.13-23 The people rebel in the wilderness.
v.24-39 The people rebel in the promised land.
v.40-46 The rebellious people turn from God many times and many times God delivered them.
A prayer for restoration
v.47 Prayer for God’s salvation and gathering of Israel from among the nations.
v.48a Beatitude toward God.
v.48b Closing amen and Praise the Lord!
This brings Book IV of the Psalms to a close.
God was merciful to us in that while we were rebellious sinners, he sent his son to die for our sins (Rom 5:8). How much more merciful will he be to Christians as his children.
A song of Israel’s salvation, a historical psalm. Tell of all his wondrous works!
Exhortation to worship God.
v.1-6 Call to: (1) give thanks to the Lord, (2) to praise him, (3) to seek him, (4) remember his works, (5) sing praises to God, (6) tell of his wonderful acts (make known among the nations what he has done), (7) glory in his holy name, (8) rejoice in God, (9) look to the Lord and his strength, and (10) remember the things he has done.
God’s covenant people.
v.7-11 He is the Lord our God! … He remembers his covenant forever.
Covenant—see Gn 15:9-21.
v.12-15 The Lord protected them.
Note: v.1-15 are contained in 1 Chr 16:8-22.
Exile in Egypt.
v.16-22 The psalmist recalls the story of Joseph sent into Egypt ahead of the famine.
v.23-25 Then Israel came to Egypt and the Lord made them fruitful.
Exodus from Egypt.
v.26-36 He sent Moses, who performed signs to the people of Egypt.
v.37-38 Then he brought Israel out of Egypt.
God’s protective care.
v.39-42 God provided for Israel in the desert.
Israel enters the promised land.
v.43-45 He brought them into the promised land that they might keep his statutes and observe his laws. Praise the Lord! (Hallelujah)
The psalm records 500 years of redemptive history (Gn through Jos). This story continues today as God’s eternal purposes are being carried out. The consummation of the age will be in Jesus Christ’s return. History is His story. The psalm also illustrates that the suffering of God’s people does not necessarily lie outside his purposes. Psalm 105 and 106 are companions with Ps 105 detailing the acts of God and Ps 106 the failings of men.
A hymn to the creator. O Lord my God, you are very great!
First day: God created light.
v.1-2a Opening praise to God.
Second day: God created the heavens.
v.2b-4 Nature functions to serve God.
Third day: God created the earth.
v.5-9 Creation of nature by God.
v.10-18 God’s provision for nature on the earth.
Fourth day: God created the planets.
v.19-23 God provided the heavenly bodies to mark the time.
Fifth day: God created the animals.
v.24 Interlude.
24 O Lord, how manifold are your works!
In wisdom have you made them all;
the earth is full of your creatures.
v.25-26 The provision God provides in the ocean.
Sixth day: God created man.
v.27-30 Summary of God’s provisions in nature.
Every day: God should be praised.
v.31-33 Praise to the God of nature.
v.34 Rejoicing in the Lord, may my meditation be pleasing to him.
v.35a Let sinners be consumed and the wicked be no more.
v.35b Concluding praise the Lord
Man was created in God’s own image in order to know him, worship him, and give glory to his name. Let us live to know God through his son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Note: Division of psalm into days, corresponding to Gn 1, due to HOTC.
Of David. Bless the Lord, O my Soul! A praise psalm. An ode of God’s love and compassion to his people. The length of the psalm is determined by the number of letters in the Hebrew alphabet (22 verses).
David calls on himself and others to praise the Lord for his many blessings.
Praise the Lord
v.1-2 Call to praise. Praise the Lord, O my soul. (v.1a, NIV)
Forget not all his benefits. (v.2b)
Reasons for praise
v.3-5 Great acts of God worthy of praise
• who forgives all your iniquity
• who heals all your diseases
• who redeems your life from the pit (a metaphor for the grave)
• who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy
• who satisfies you with good (things)
• so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s
v.6 The Lord works righteousness and justice.
v.7 The Lord made known his acts to the people of Israel.
v.8 Praise of 4 attributes of God: mercy, grace, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love. (See Ex 34:6)
v.9-10 Praise of 4 acts of God: he does not always chide, he does not remain angry forever, he does not deal with us according to our sins, he does not repay us according to our iniquities.
v.11-13 Praise of God’s attributes (3 similes): great is his love, he removes our sin, he has compassion on those who fear him.
v.14-16 Man is but dust and few are his days.
v.17-18 But God’s love is permanent (to those who obey).
v.19 The Lord rules over all. (See Rom 8:28)
Commands to praise
v.20-22 Four doxologies:
20 Bless the Lord, O you his angels,
you mighty ones who do his word,
obeying the voice of his word!
21 Bless the Lord, all his hosts,
his ministers, who do his will!
22 Bless the Lord, all his works,
in all places of his dominion.
Bless the Lord, O my soul!
We have many reasons to praise God, let’s not forget any of them. God alone is to be praised.
A Prayer of one afflicted, when he is faint and pours out his complaint before the Lord. An intense personal lament. The psalm is messianic.
Lament in the day of my distress.
v.1-2 Cry to God: Hear my prayer O Lord.
v.3-11 The psalmists complaint. “I wither away like grass.” (v.11b)
The appointed time for Zion.
v.12-17 But you, O Lord, a statement of confidence in God: but you will arise and have pity on Zion.
v.18-22 Let the Lord’s certain deliverance be written down for future generations to praise God.
Your (God’s) years have no end.
v.23-24 The speaker’s crisis and petition for God to act.
v.25-27 God is eternal. Heaven and earth are the work of his hands. (v.25-27 Cited Heb 1:10-12)
v.28 Statement of confidence in God.
28 The children of your servants shall dwell secure;
their offspring shall be established before you.
This is a prayer that you can echo when you are at the end of your endurance.
A psalm of David. The king’s pledge to reign righteously. See 2 Kgs 23:3.
Personal Standards
v.1-4 The king’s personal commitments to holiness.
• He will sing praise to the Lord. (1)
• He will lead a blameless life. (2a)
• He will walk with integrity of heart. (2b)
• He will set before his eyes anything that is worthless. (3a)
• He will hate the deeds of faithless men. (3b)
• He will have nothing to do with evil. (4)
Standards in the king’s house
v.5 The king will not endure slanderers or the arrogant of heart.
v.6 The king will look with favor on the faithful.
v.7 The king will not allow the deceitful or liars in his house.
Standards for the public
v.8 The king’s commitment to put the wicked to silence every morning in the land.
Make sure those you choose as companions are faithful to God and his word.
A psalm for giving thanks. Shout for joy to the Lord.
Call to worship
v.1-2 Call to joyful singing to the Lord. (cf. 66:1)
“Worship the Lord with gladness.” (v.2a, NIV)
v.3 “Know that the Lord, he is God!”
He made us and we are the sheep of his pasture (cf. 23:1).
Call to worship
v.4 Call to give thanks to the Lord.
4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
and his courts with praise!
Give thanks to him; bless his name!
v.5 Conclusion.
5 For the Lord is good;
his steadfast love endures forever,
and his faithfulness to all generations.
There is only one God and he alone is to be praised (and not some dumb idol).