In Today's Email:
Psalm 96 Notes
No author or superscription is provided for this psalm. It is a song of praise.
vs. 1-6 – Praise for the True God based on His character and characteristics.
vs. 7-10 – A call for all the peoples of the world to worship God.
vs. 11-13 – Creation praises God for His coming judgment on the world.
Psalm 97 Notes
No author or superscription is provided for this psalm. It is a psalm of praise for God’s rule over the earth.
vs. 1-6 – God’s rule is absolute as seen through the display of His power. There are allusions here to the descriptions of His presence on Sinai (Exodus 19:9, etc.).
vs. 7-9 – The wicked and their idols will be revealed for their vanity and will be ashamed. The righteous will be blessed by the True and Living God.
vs. 10-12 – The practical aspect of the psalm. Seeing that the Mighty God rules over all things, we should serve Him faithfully and give Him the praise due to Him.
Psalm 98 Notes
This psalm is simply described as “a psalm” and no author is provided. It is a song of call for the world to praise the Sovereign God who judges all in the End Times.
vs. 1-3 – The salvation of the Lord is made known to all the world. It is tempting to see this as salvation from sin, but the application here is that it is the salvation of the Jews. This fits with the End Times when the Jews will turn and embrace Christ, their Messiah.
vs. 4-6 – The world is called to worship the God who saves the Jews.
vs. 7-9 – All nature rejoices with the arrival of the Righteous Judge.
Psalm 99 Notes
No author or superscription is provided for this psalm. It is psalm of praise for the Holy God.
vs. 1-3 – The God Who reigns is holy.
vs. 4-5 – God is holy in His judgment and justice.
vs. 6-9 – God is holy in His dealings with men and in forgiving them of their sins.
Psalm 100 Notes
No author is given for this psalm, but the superscription aptly describes it: “A Psalm of praise”.
vs. 1 – A call for the world to praise the Lord.
vs. 2 – A call to gather before Him with praise.
vs. 3 – God is rightly our Lord because He created us and He cares for us.
vs. 4 – A call to gather before Him with praise.
vs. 5 – God deserves praise simply because of Who He is. He is good, merciful, and true.
Psalm 101 Notes
This psalm was written by David and is a declaration of intent to serve the Lord faithfully.
vs. 1-2 – A commitment to serve the Lord with heart and hands.
vs. 3-5 – To serve God is in part to shun evil.
vs. 6-8 – The actions of the righteous king.
Psalm 102 Notes
No author is given for this psalm. The superscription aptly describes it: “A Prayer of the afflicted, when he is overwhelmed, and poureth out his complaint before the LORD”.
vs. 1-2 – The suffering saint calls for deliverance.
vs. 3-11 – The suffering saint is described. God has caused this suffering in vs. 10, meaning this is the chastening to purge the saint from sin.
vs. 12-17 – The suffering saint looks to God expecting the mercy from His goodness.
vs. 18-22 – The deliverance of the suffering saint will be a cause for praise to God in the future.
vs. 23-28 – The fates of the suffering saint and the wily wicked are contrasted. God will destroy the wicked and bless the righteous for eternity.
Closing Thoughts
We were reminded in Psalm 99 that God is holy. I believe this to be His chief attribute. There are three aspects to His holiness: perfection (He cannot be anything other than holy), purity (He cannot be defiled), and partition (God cannot contact sin or be corrupted by it). The problem of His holiness is that it bars sinful man from His presence. But Christ’s sacrifice restores that access because He imputes His righteousness to us.
Hymn for Today
Our hymn today is the classic “Holy, Holy, Holy”, written in 1823 by Reginald Heber.
Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!
Early in the morning our song shall rise to Thee;
Holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty!
God in three Persons, blessèd Trinity!
Holy, holy, holy! All the saints adore Thee,
Casting down their golden crowns around the glassy sea;
Cherubim and seraphim falling down before Thee,
Who was, and is, and evermore shall be.
Holy, holy, holy! though the darkness hide Thee,
Though the eye of sinful man Thy glory may not see;
Only Thou art holy; there is none beside Thee,
Perfect in power, in love, and purity.
Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!
All Thy works shall praise Thy name, in earth, and sky, and sea;
Holy, holy, holy; merciful and mighty!
God in three Persons, blessèd Trinity!