DBG - July 9 - Psalms 115-118

No author or superscription is provided for this psalm.  It is the third psalm in the Hallel.  The theme is praise to God.

vs. 1 – Glory and praise are directed to God.

vs. 2 – The wicked surrounding the righteous ridicule them by asking to see the invisible God.

vs. 3 – God is too great to stoop to the demands of the wicked.

vs. 4-8 – The vanity of idols is revealed.  They may appear to have life and power, but they are inanimate objects of no value.

vs. 9-11 – The righteous are called to put their faith in the true God and not false idols.

vs. 12-15 – The blessings of serving God.

vs. 16 – God is greater than man.  He dwells in the universe while He has gifted man one small portion of it.

vs. 17 – A call to praise the Lord while there is life in us.

vs. 18 – The resolution to continue to praise the Lord for all time.

No author or superscription is provided for this psalm.  It is the fourth psalm in the Hallel.  It is a song of praise and thanksgiving for deliverance.

vs. 1-2 – The psalmist goes beyond mere dutiful service to God.  God had heard and answered his prayer, and he returns God’s favor with earnest love.

vs. 3-6 – The place of terror and the prayer for deliverance from it.

vs. 7-11 – The deliverance from God and the response to it.

vs. 12-19 – The acts of worship from a thankful heart.

No author or superscription is provided for this psalm.  It is the fifth psalm in the Hallel. This is the shortest chapter/psalm in the Scriptures and the middle chapter of the Bible.  There are 1,189 chapters in the Bible, and this is the 595^th.  Though brief, it is a powerful call to praise the Lord.

vs. 1 – Praise to God from His people and from the world.

vs. 2 – The reasons for praise: His mercy and grace toward us, and His steadfast and unchanging character.

No author or superscription is provided for this psalm.  It appears to have been sung at the dedication of the Second Temple in Ezra 3:10-11 as the words recorded there match the opening and closing verses of this psalm.  It is the sixth and final psalm in the Hallel.  It is

vs. 1-4 – The psalmist calls all of God’s people to join in praising the Lord for His enduring mercy and love.

vs. 5-7 – A memory of God’s deliverance prompts greater faith in Him.

vs. 8-9 – God’s care is compared to that of men, and there is simply no comparison.

vs. 10-12 – The wicked nations that encircled and threatened the righteous are destroyed.

vs. 13-18 – The deliverance by God’s Hand from trouble and chastening prompts further praise.

vs. 19-21 – There seems to be an allusion here to a king returning from a victory.  There is an air of celebration as he enters Jerusalem and the Temple to praise and thank God.

vs. 22-23 – Once again God subverts expectations.  What man rejected, God exalted.  Matthew 21:42 and Acts 4:11 quote vs. 22 and apply it to Christ the Messiah.

vs. 24-25 – The celebration of God’s deliverance.

vs. 26-29 – An outpouring of praise and thanksgiving.  We see in vs. 27 an allusion to offering a lamb for a peace offering (Leviticus 7:12). 

One of the most common errors made in interpreting the Psalms is to divorce them from their setting.  Many writers and commentators have tried to remake them in image of New Testament revelation.  This robs them of their beauty and often misrepresents what they are saying.  While the truths are eternal, there are details that are founded and rooted in the Old Testament system of worship.  We do not offering sacrifices today at a Temple, but they did.  So, when we come to a passages like Psalm 118 that speak of gates and sacrifices, these were not meant to be interpreted as allegories.  They are literal gates and sacrifices.  Today we speak of offer praise and thanksgiving as a sacrifice that pleases God.  This may not be completely false theology, but too many times I see erroneous doctrine and practice based on reading modern definitions into words and phrases in psalms that were never meant to be used with them.

Our hymn today is “Christ Is Our Cornerstone”, written by John Chandler in 1837.  It is based on 118:22 with allusions to that psalm. 

Christ is our cornerstone;
On him alone we build;
With his true saints above
The courts of Heav'n are filled:
On His great love
Our hopes we place
Of present grace
And joys above.

Oh, then, with hymns of praise
These hallowed courts shall ring!
Our voices we will raise,
The Three in One to sing;
And thus proclaim
In joyful song,
Both loud and long,
That glorious name.

Here, gracious God, we pray,
Forevermore draw nigh;
Accept each faithful pray'r,
And mark each humble sigh:
In copious stores,
On all who pray,
Each holy day,
Your blessings pour.

Here may we gain from Heav’n
The grace we now implore,
And may that grace, once giv’n,
Be with us evermore.
Until that day
When all the blest
In endless rest
Are called away.

Praise to the God of Heav’n,
Praise to his holy Son,
And praise to him be giv’n
Who joins them both in One:
The Holy Dove,
Who gives us grace
To find our place
With God above.