Psalm 150:1 Praise Everywhere

Psalm 150:1 Praise the LORD. Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens.

The whole psalter is rounded off by this famous brief and ebullient psalm of praise. The psalm not only begins with hallelujahs but speaks of praise throughout. The word praise appears some 12 times, twice in every verse. After the opening Praise the LORD the call is to Praise God both in his sanctuary and in his mighty heavens. Time is to be set aside to praise God where his people gather but praise is to extend out into the whole world. He is to be praised for his acts of power and his surpassing greatness. The psalmist calls for a variety of instruments to be used in the praise of God. He mentions the sounding of the trumpet ... the harp and lyre ... tambourine and dancing ... strings and flute ... the clash of cymbals ... resounding cymbals. Some want to bring this sort of thing back into worship today. Mostly it is strings and flutes, there is less enthusiasm for trumpets and harps and even less for dancing and loud cymbals. In fact, New Testament worship is to be of a very simple sort and what verses like this teach us today is the continuing need for variety of expression rather than dictating that we use only trumpets, harps and lyres, tambourines, strings and flutes and cymbals but not snare drums or tom toms. It would be very hard to argue for dancing as a New Testament worship practice. His final point is that everything that has breath should praise the LORD. That is how it should be and how it must be and how, one day, it will be.

Psalm 149:6 Praise War

Psalm 149:6 May the praise of God be in their mouths and a double-edged sword in their hands

Psalm 149, the penultimate psalm in the psalter, is very much a psalm of two halves. The first "half" (verses 1-6a) is characterised by praise and is very much the praise band's delight. Beginning with a hallelujah, the psalmist says Sing to the LORD a new song, his praise in the assembly of the saints. He calls on Israel to rejoice in their Maker, the people of Zion to be glad in their King. He urges praise with dancing and the music of "tambourine and harp". The reason for this is, of course, that (4) the LORD takes delight in his people and crowns the humble with salvation. The psalmist wants the saints to rejoice in this honour and sing for joy on their beds. He wants God's praise to be in their mouths. Most people are quite happy with this side of serving God and not too many object. Verse 6, however, is pivotal and there the psalm takes a turn. What we see on the other side of the coin is not so popular. Yes, people are happy about the praise of God being in the mouths of his people but what is that in their hands? A double-edged sword in their hands!? And look what it is for - to inflict vengeance on the nations and punishment on the peoples, to bind their kings with fetters, their nobles with shackles of iron, to carry out the sentence written against them. Yet the psalmist says This is the glory of all his saints and adds a final hallelujah. Part of the problem is the very physical way in which Israel fought against the nations but even when we come to the New Covenant and ruthlessness against the world, the flesh and the devil there is still some reluctance or at least a lack of delight. We need, somehow, to keep this psalm's balance - praise and destruction, rejoicing and defeating, worship and mortification.

Psalm 148:13 Praise Him

Psalm 148:13 Let them praise the name of the LORD, for his name alone is exalted; his splendour is above the earth and the heavens.

Again beginning and ending with hallelujah, Psalm 148 lists those who should prasie praise God and gives reasons for them to praise him. First, the psalmist calls for Praise the LORD from the heavens. he says praise him in the heights above. Secondly, he says Praise the LORD from the earth (7). From the heavens praise should come from all his angels and all his heavenly hosts ... sun and moon ... all you shining stars ... highest heavens (heaven itself) ... waters above the skies. They should praise the name of the LORD, for he commanded and they were created and he set them in place forever. From the earth he mentions you great sea creatures and all ocean depths, lightning and hail, snow and clouds, stormy winds ... mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars, wild animals and all cattle, small creatures and flying birds, and then human beings - kings of the earth and all nations, you princes and all rulers on earth, young men and maidens, old men and children. The reason we and all these should praise the LORD is that his name alone is exalted; his splendour is above the earth and the heavens. In other words, there is no-one more worthy of praise. Of all the things he mentions God alone deserves the sort of prasie this psalm gives. Nothing matches his splendour. Verse 14 appears to be an extra reason why God should be praised. He has raised up for his people a horn, the praise of all his saints, of Israel, the people close to his heart. Perhaps it refers firstly to David or some other king but ultimately it refers to the Messiah who was to come and has now come.

Psalm 147:1 Fitting Praise

Psalm 147:1 Praise the LORD. How good it is to sing praises to our God, how pleasant and fitting to praise him!

Psalm 147 again begins and ends with a hallelujah. It seems to have been written in Jerusalem after the return from exile. The psalmist begins by saying how good it is to sing praises to God. It is pleasant and fitting to praise him! At two later points in the psalm he calls on others to praise the LORD. Verse 7 - Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving; make music to our God on the harp; verses 10-12 point out that God's pleasure is not in the power of armies (the strength of the horse ... the legs of a man). No, he delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love. Therefore Extol the LORD, O Jerusalem; praise your God, O Zion. The rest of the psalm gives reasons why it is good and pleasant to praise. First, the fact God has built up Jerusalem and gathered the exiles. He heals the broken-hearted and binds up their wounds. But then he is the God also who determines the number of the stars and names each one. Mighty in power he has an understanding that has no limit. He is also just. He sustains the humble but casts the wicked to the ground. In the rest of the psalm it is God's power in creation and love to Israel that alternately he focusses on. In creation, he sends clouds that lead to rain, which makes grass grow providing food for the animals. Later, he talks of how God sends his command to the earth; his word runs swiftly and we see snow like wool ... frost like ashes ... hail like pebbles. Who can withstand his icy blast? He also produces the thaw that follows. In the midst of this meditation, however, the psalmist is also reflecting on how God strengthens the bars of your gates and blesses your people within Jerusalem, grants peace to their borders, satisfies you with the finest of wheat. He concludes (19, 20) He has revealed his word to Jacob, his laws and decrees to Israel something he has done for no other nation. Many are aware of the wonders of creation and all believers must be aware of his salvation. How pleasant and fitting to meditate on these things and to praise him for them.

Psalm 146:2 Lifelong Praise

Psalm 146:2 I will praise the LORD all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.

Psalm 146, like all five of the psalms found at the very end of the psalter, begins and ends with a hallelujah of praise to the LORD. Following a brief introduction, in verse 3 the writer warns against trusting in men because they are mortal. Men do not last and so cannot be worth trusting in as God is worth trusting in. Real blessing is reserved for the one who relies not on human help first and foremost but (5) whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God. In the rest of the psalm, he reminds us of why this God is the one who deserves all our praise. He is the one who is the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them ... the LORD, who remains faithful forever. He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry ... sets prisoners free ... gives sight to the blind ... lifts up those who are bowed down ... loves the righteous ... watches over the alien ... sustains the fatherless and ... widow, but ... frustrates the ways of the wicked. He reigns for ever, your God, O Zion, for all generations. It is a brief summary then of God's character emphasising his creating power, his faithfulness, his love and justice and his eternal reign. How ever brief, it is enough to show that the determination expressed in verse 2 - to praise the LORD all my life, to sing praise to my God as long as I live is an appropriate ambition well worth having. Every person on earth ought to have the same ambition. What better way could there be to live than for the praise of such a great God?

Psalm 145:3 Unfathomable Greatness

Psalm 145:3 Great is the LORD and most worthy of praise; his greatness no-one can fathom.

This is A psalm of praise. Of David. It is an acrostic. In verse 3 David says, firstly, Great is the LORD, God is great. Part of God's greatness is explored in this psalm - the glorious splendour of your majesty ... your wonderful works, his awesome works ... his great deeds ... his abundant goodness and ... righteousness. Then there is the fact that (8, 9) The LORD is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love. The LORD is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made. There are again his mighty acts and the glorious splendour of your kingdom, the fact that he is faithful to all his promises and loving towards all he has made (13) and upholds all those who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down (14). God truly is great. It is this greatness that makes him, secondly, most worthy of praise. It is seen in David's reaction to God's greatness and in his confidence that others, as it has proved, in generations to come, will want to praise God too. Your saints will extol you says David, but first All you have made will praise you (10). As people speak so all men will know of your mighty acts and the glorious splendour of your kingdom. My mouth will speak in praise of the LORD says David in the final verse but Let every creature praise his holy name for ever and ever. Of course, the third thing to remember is that his greatness no-one can fathom. The psalm only touches on some of the things that make God great and only mentions them at that. It will take eternity to begin to fully explore all that is great in God. His greatness is unfathomable.

Psalm 144:3, 4 Fleeting Shadow

Psalm 144: 3, 4 O LORD, what is man that you care for him, the son of man that you think of him? Man is like a breath; his days are like a fleeting shadow.

In this psalm of David first, David praises the LORD my Rock, who trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle. The LORD is his loving God his fortress ... stronghold ... deliverer ... shield in whom he takes refuge and who subdues peoples under me. David is amazed at such care when he thinks what nothings we human beings are. He wants the God who has helped in the past, nevetheless, to part his heavens and come down (5) and do the sort of thing he did at Sinai (touch the mountains, so that they smoke; send forth lightning) and give David victory in battle. Deliver me and rescue me from the mighty waters he prays from the hands of foreigners (7) who are full of lies. He then anticipates this victory and promises a new song ... on the ten-stringed lyre (9) to the One who gives victory to kings, who delivers David. Verse 11 goes back to praying for this so that there may be a wonderful future - sons in their youth ... like well-nurtured plants ... daughters ... like pillars carved to adorn a palace. There will be abundant provisions and no breaching of walls ... captivity ... nor cry of distress in our streets. He concludes Blessed are the people of whom this is true; blessed are the people whose God is the LORD. It is easy to take such a prayer for granted and not marvel at what is going on but what is man, after all, that God cares for him in such ways, the son of man that God thinks of him? As David says we are like a breath, our days are like fleeting shadows, so quickly they are over. How thankful should we be that in these brief lives God will give us the victory through Jesus Christ if we look to him. Sing it anew.

Psalm 143:6 Soul Thirst

Psalm 143:6 I spread out my hands to you; my soul thirsts for you like a parched land.

A psalm of David Psalm 143 is brief and pretty much to the point. As so often, there is the call to the LORD to hear my prayer, listen to my cry for mercy. The argument is based on God's faithfulness and righteousness. David wants to avoid a temporal judgment though recognising that no-one living is righteous before God. His enemy pursues him, crushes him to the ground, makes him dwell in darkness like those long dead. This is why his spirit grows faint and his heart ... is dismayed. But the memory of God's past works (5) and his own great need prompt him to seek God. He wants a speedy answer from the one to whom he lifts his soul. The argument is that God should Rescue me from my enemies, O LORD, for I hide myself in you (9) and For your name's sake, O LORD, preserve my life; in your righteousness, bring me out of trouble (11). Because God is his God, he wants to be led on level ground and for his enemies to be silenced and destroyed. If we focus finally on verse 6 we see David there spreading out his hands to God in prayer. His soul thirsts for God like a parched land. In a desert where there has been no rain for some time the land itself is, as it were, thirsty. Whether David was seeing this phenomenon as he wrote we do not know but it pcitures well his own desperate need of the refreshment that God alone can give. Anyone who has known that must recognise that God alone can deal with such thirst. No doubt this verse informed Jesus when he spoke to the woman at the well in John 4. Christ is the living water that once drunk means no more thirst.

Psalm 142:5 Refuge, Portion

Psalm 142:5 I cry to you, O LORD; I say, You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.

Psalm 142 is the last of 13 maskils in Psalms, the sixth of David (see 32, 52-55). We do not know what a maskil is. Unusually here some context is given - When he was in the cave, either Adullam's cave or the one Saul entered and David played a trick on him. It is also a prayer, a heading only found five times in Psalms. In this prayer David cries aloud to the LORD, lifts up his voice to the LORD for mercy, pours out his complaint before God; before him tells his trouble. His spirit is growing faint but the LORD knows his way. The problem he says is that In the path where I walk men have hidden a snare for me. Further, there is no-one who is concerned for him. I have no refuge he says no-one cares for my life (4). And so he looks to the LORD asking him to listen to his cry in his desperate need. Rescue me from those who pursue me he prays for they are too strong for me ... Set me free from my prison. Once that happens he can praise God and the righteous will gather about me because of your goodness to me. There is no difficulty in seeing this as a great insight into Messiah's struggle and how he succeeded. It is also an encouragement to the believer in trouble to know what to do. Like David in verse 5 we need to cry to the LORD. Like David, we need to say to God You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living. God is our shelter and protection. He watches over us and keeps us. So, as he saved David and raised Christ, so he will deliver us. He is our inheritance, our portion. If we have him, we have all. Even in the cave, God continued to be with David as he was with Christ, even in the cave where he was buried. He will remain with believers too and we with him forever.

Psalm 141:4 Their Delicacies

Psalm 141:4 Let not my heart be drawn to what is evil, to take part in wicked deeds with men who are evildoers; let me not eat of their delicacies.

Psalm 141 is another Psalm of David. Again he is confronted by evildoers and, as he says, his prayer  is ever against the deeds of evildoers (5). He prays pugnaciously the imprecation that their rulers will be thrown down from the cliffs, and the wicked will learn that my words were well spoken. They will say, As one ploughs and breaks up the earth, so our bones have been scattered at the mouth of the grave (7,8). He wants to be kept from the snares and traps of the wicked (9). Let the wicked fall into their own nets, while I pass by in safety he prays (10). However, David seems to have a strong sense of his own weakness here. He begins with a prayer that the LORD will come quickly to him and hear him. He prays (3) that the LORD will Set a guard over my mouth ... keep watch over the door of my lips. He is more. In you I take refuge he says do not give me over to death. Focusing on verse 4, then, David earnestly prays that his own heart will not be drawn to evil so that he takes part in wicked deeds with men who are evildoers. In a powerful image he prays let me not eat of their delicacies. David does not want to sit down and eat with such men but he recognises the draw their sins can exercise. We all know it and must pray for strength to resist.

Psalm 140:1, 2 Rescue Me

Psalm 140:1, 2 Rescue me, O LORD, from evil men; protect me from men of violence, who devise evil plans in their hearts and stir up war every day.

For the director of music, Psalm 140 is a Psalm of David and an imprecatory one (9-11). Its burden is in the first two verses. It is against evil and violent men, who devise evil plans in their hearts and constantly stir up war. The rest of the psalm refers to their evil tongues and their attempts to trip him and trap him. His prayer from the start is to the LORD seeking protection and deliverance. Keep me, O LORD, from the hands of the wicked; protect me from men of violence he repeats, verse 4. His argument is (6) O LORD, I say to you, You are my God. Hear, O LORD, my cry for mercy. He recognises the Sovereign LORD as his strong deliverer, who shields (his) head in the day of battle (7). On that basis he prays that the desires of the wicked will remain unfulfilled and their plans unsuccessful. In verses 9-11 he prays for their judgement in no uncertain terms (cover their heads with trouble, let burning coals fall upon them; may they be thrown into the fire, into miry pits, never to rise. May they not be established but hunted down by violence.) In conclusion he says he knows the LORD secures justice for the poor and upholds the cause of the needy and so the righteous will praise your name and the upright will live before you. The very fact David's experience forms the basis for a communal song shows that what he knew can be expected by others. There are evil people about and we need the Lord's protection and deliverance. It will be ours in Christ.

Psalm 139:8 He's There

Psalm 139:8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.

Rightly famous, Psalm 139 is a strange psalm in some ways. It is famous for what it says about the omniscience, omnipresence and indeed the omnipotence of God in the first 18 verses (and verses 23, 24). Most people forget about the imprecatory storm that brews up in verses 19-22. Rightly read, the verses either side of the storm are only a meditation. The actual prayer is pretty much in verses 19-22. The main thing the psalm teaches then is not the "omnis" of God but the need to take great care in all things that we do not sin against God, which is so easy to do. Having said that, there are things to learn or at least infer from the whole psalm. So, concentrating just on verse 8, we may speak about God's immensity and omnipresence - the fact that it is not possible to be away from the presence of God. The psalmist imagines going up to the heavens. God is there, of course. Indeed, the Bible teaches us that is where his throne is, where he dwells. That is to say that in heaven his presence is most known. The psalm likes contrasts (sit, rise; going out, lying down; behind and before). Having spoken of God's presence in the heavens above he then turns his attention to the depths beneath. Even if he made his bed there, God would still be present. Even in hell itself there is such a thing as the presence of God - that is no doubt what makes it the place of torture that it is to sinners. Annihilation would be a preferred alternaive. Wherever we go, whatever we do, whatever happens, always God is there. As Francis Schaeffer once put it, he is "The God who is there". That is why he is a terror to those bent on evil and such a blessing to those he saves. He is there.

Psalm 138:6 Lowly, Loved

Psalm 138:6 Though the LORD is on high, he looks upon the lowly, but the proud he knows from afar.

Psalm 138 is headed Of David and although, as is usual, one cannot pin this down to any particular period in his life it reminds us of the struggles and deliverances he had throughout. He begins by expressing his determination to praise the LORD with all his heart. Before the "gods" I will sing your praise he says. He is not able to visit the Temple, it would seem, but he (2) will bow down toward it and praise God for his love and faithfulness, who has exalted above all things your name and your word. He has called out to God and God has answered him and made him bold and stouthearted. He wants, therefore, to be a means of stirring up all the kings of the earth to praise the LORD through this psalm. May they sing of the ways of the LORD, he says for the glory of the LORD is great. Then (in verses 6-8) come three statements about the Lord's character and ways with a final prayer do not abandon the works of your hands. To focus here just on verse 6 - Though the LORD is on high, he looks upon the lowly, but the proud he knows from afar - we are touching on a theme often raised in Scripture. Perhaps the best known place is Proverbs 3:34 He mocks proud mockers but gives grace to the humble. There are three things in Psalm 138:6. First, the LORD is on high. He dwells in heaven and that is appropriate because he is Almighty God. His glory is great. However, he looks upon the lowly. He is not haughty like some, unwilling to consort with those beneath him. David can testify that is not the case. The flipside of this is that the proud he knows from afar. If you are proud, you will never know God or come to him. He does not know or love you. He will keep you at a distance. This is what David wants earth's kings to know. We all ought to know it and humble ourselves in the dust before God now, lest he keep us far off from him forever.

Psalm 137:5 Remember Zion

Psalm 137:5 If I forget you, O Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its skill.
Psalm 137 is a mournful and imprecatory psalm from the peiod of the exile that has become very popular, no doubt because of the way that it strikes an emotional chord with every exile or alienated soul. Written in Babylon, in the midst of a pagan culture utterly inimical to the way of truth, one of its concerns is to bolster faith in God and to urge commitment to the Promised Land where Messiah was still yet to be born. In verse 5 the psalmist speaks to himself (always a healthy sign) and recognises the danger of forgetting Jerusalem, the Holy City, where the Temple worship had been. He says to himself that if he forgets Jerusalem then may my right hand forget its skill. That is a paraphrase. Literally, it is very concise indeed, something like - If I forget Jerusalem, forget my right side. The parallel of verse 6 (May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth if I do not remember you, if I do not consider Jerusalem my highest joy) shows that it should be understood as saying "may my right side be paralysed, if I forget Jerusalem". Perhaps the reference is to playing the harp or lyre. It explains why the psalmist cannot sing songs of joy ... the songs of Zion ... the songs of the LORD while in a foreign land. He is afraid of forgetting Jerusalem. Believers today face the danger of forgetting New Jerusalem. Heaven can become remote to us in this foreign land. We must do all we can to maintain our devotion to the world to come, knowing that just as the exile came to an end and there was a return (something the psalmist surely anticipates here) so we will one day be in that place. So even if the world thinks us a little dull and unentertaining, we must maintian our commitment to another place and see this as a foreign land.

Psalm 136:26 Enduring Love

Psalm 136:26 Give thanks to the God of heaven. His love endures forever.

The distinctive thing about Psalm 136 is its continuous and almost ad nauseam use of the refrain His love endures forever. It occurs in every verse. The psalm begins with a call to Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; to Give thanks to the God of gods; to Give thanks to the Lord of lords. Thanks are to go to the one who is the Creator (4-9), Redeemer (10-24) and Provider (25). The Creator alone does great wonders. He by his understanding made the heavens and spread out the earth upon the waters. He made the great lights, the sun and the moon and stars. Israel's Redeemer struck down the firstborn of Egypt and brought Israel out ... with a mighty hand and outstretched arm. He brought Israel through the Red Sea but swept Pharaoh and his army into it. He led his people through the desert and gave them victory over mighty kings like Sihon and Og. He gave his people their land as an inheritance too. He is the One who remembered us in our low estate ... and freed us from our enemies. Finally, he is the God who in providence gives food to every creature. All these are acts of love (even sweeping Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea to protect his people). These are just examples of what God has done in love. The New Testament Christian could add many more examples. The call then is to Give thanks to the God of heaven. His love endures forever. Thank the God of heaven for his work in creation, redemption and providence and remember that his love goes on forever and forever, without end.

Psalm 135:5 Great, Greater

Psalm 135:5 I know that the LORD is great, that our Lord is greater than all gods.
Psalm 135 is the third psalm (after 106 and 113) to begin and end with a hallelujah. It also has a series of hallelujahs at the end (19-21) calling on All you Israelites ... house of Aaron ... house of Levi and you who fear him to praise the LORD. The final verse says Praise be to the LORD from Zion, to him who dwells in Jerusalem. Praise the LORD. The psalm begins in the same vein calling for praise from you servants of the LORD, you who minister in the house of the LORD, etc. The reason the LORD is to be praised is because he is good and great. It is also pleasant to sing praise to him. He chose his people Israel to be his treasured possession and does great things in creation and redemption. The psalmist concludes (13, 14) Your name, LORD, endures forever, your renown, LORD, through all generations. For the LORD will vindicate his people and have compassion on his servants. We then have, before the very last verses, four verses decrying idols (15-18). When he says, therefore, I know that the LORD is great, that our Lord is greater than all gods he cannot be suggesting a pantheon with God as head. He makes quite clear that idols are nothing. Rather his point is that the LORD is greater than all so called gods. He is a God who does whatever pleases him throughout creation. He makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth; he sends lightning with the rain and brings out the wind from his storehouses. (7) He is the one who brought the plagues on Egypt and brought about the defeat of Sihon and Og and all the kings of Canaan and who gave their land as an inheritance, an inheritance to his people Israel. This is why he is so much worthy of all praise.

Psalm 134 Continual Praise

Psalm 134 A song of ascents. Praise the LORD, all you servants of the LORD who minister by night in the house of the LORD. Lift up your hands in the sanctuary and praise the LORD. May the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth, bless you from Zion.

Very short once again, Psalm 134 is the last of the songs of ascents and is probably the shortest. The psalm begins with an address to all you servants of the LORD who minister by night in the house of the LORD. These would be the priests and Levites, many of whom who would have duties in the Temple even late at night. They are urged here to Praise the LORD and to Lift up your hands in praise in the sanctuary and praise the LORD. The writer then calls down a blessing from God on these people: May the LORD bless you from Zion, he who is, as we have been reminded before in these songs of ascents, the Maker of heaven and earth. With the coming of Christ there is, of course, no more Temple and no more Temple ritual, day or night. However, the call to continually praise the name of the Lord still stands and God has a worldwide priesthood to carry on the work. Just as it must have been a comfort to the psalmist to wake at night and know that in the Temple the work of worship went on, so we can be sure that someone somewhere is giving praise to God at any moment of the night or day. May the Lord bless all those who give him praise, day or night. May he bless them abundantly from heaven, he who is the Maker of heaven and earth.

Psalm 133 Unity Blessings

Psalm 133 A song of ascents. Of David. How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity! It is like precious oil poured on the head, running down on the beard, running down on Aaron's beard, down upon the collar of his robes. It is as if the dew of Hermon were falling on Mount Zion. For there the LORD bestows his blessing, even life forevermore.

This very brief song of ascents of David has rightly become as loved and famous among Christians as it was and is among the Jews. Its message is summed up in the first verse How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity! The reason why unity among God's people is so good and pleasant is given in the final verse - For there the LORD bestows his blessing, even life forevermore. In between, we have one or two unusual illustrations that describe its goodness. David refers to the ordination of Aaron as High Priest by Moses and how the precious anointing oil would have been poured on the head and would have then run down on the beard ... down on Aaron’s beard and down on the collar of his priestly robe. With this picture there is the less unusual picture of the dew of the very high Mount Hermon falling on Mount Zion, where the Temple was. Presumably the higher the mountain the more the dew, hence Hermon's dew on Zion. Unity among God's people then is something that comes down from above. That is where it begins. However, it has a flowing quality that takes it to more and more people. Perhaps the idea of fragrance and refreshing is also contained in the figures used. Certainly the connection with all things holy is explicit. There is no real unity without holiness and consecration. We must not downplay the importance of unity. As difficult as it is at times, it is both good and pleasant and worth working at.

Psalm 132:17 Messianic Hope

Psalm 132:17 Here I will make a horn grow for David and set up a lamp for my anointed one.

Psalm 132 is the longest of the songs of ascents. Its theme is firstly the establishment of the Temple, especially David's efforts to find a resting place for the ark, and then the extension of David's line. It begins O LORD, remember David and all the hardships he endured. His hardships arose in part because of his determination not to rest until he found (5) a place for the LORD, a dwelling for the Mighty One of Jacob. The Temple having been established, it says we heard it in Ephrathah, we came upon it in the fields of Jaar: Let us go to his dwelling-place; let us worship at his footstool - arise, O LORD, and come to your resting place, you and the ark of your might. The prayer is that the priests be clothed with righteousness and all the saints sing for joy (an idea that resurfaces in verse 16). Then comes (10) For the sake of David your servant, do not reject your anointed one (ie Messiah). The promise is recalled, that made by God on oath to David to place one of his descendants on his throne. God promised that if David's descendants kept his covenant and the statutes I teach them, then their sons shall sit on your throne for ever and ever. This is then linked with the fact that the LORD has chosen Zion, he has desired it for his dwelling. This is where he will be enthroned and blessing follow. The closing verses expand on what these blessings are. Verse 17 is interesting. It uses two strong images - a horn growing, a lamp set up; one speaking of strength, the other of knowledge or wisdom. Both are Temple features - the horns on the altars and the lamps in the holy place. They also have messianic connotations. See for example Luke 1:69 (He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David) and 2:32 (a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel). The promise then is of a strong, light giving son of David who will establish God's work. This is who the Lord Jesus Christ is.

Psalm 131 Quiet Soul

Psalm 131 My heart is not proud, O LORD, my eyes are not haughty; I do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me. But I have stilled and quietened my soul; like a weaned child with its mother, like a weaned child is my soul within me. O Israel, put your hope in the LORD both now and for evermore.

This is one of the shortest of the songs of ascents or of any psalms and is again Of David. In verses 1 and 2 David says to the LORD of himself that his heart is not proud and his eyes are not haughty. I do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me he says. Rather, he has stilled and quietened his soul. He uses the figure of a weaned child with its mother to describe how his soul is within. "I am not a cry-baby" he says. I do not demand what is mine like a baby crying for its mother's milk. Rather, I am like a weaned child, waiting until the time when the mother has decided to feed her child. He closes the psalm with an exhortation similar to that at the end of the last psalm, O Israel, put your hope in the LORD both now and for evermore. The background is, as so often, not known to us but it is likely to be from that period when although David had been anointed as king and although he knew he would be king one day, he was, nevertheless, a man on the run from murderous Saul. Perhaps the time of Absalom's rebellion fits just as well. There is also something to be said for the view that it was written near the end of his life. It is the sort of psalm one can imagine Abraham or Joseph writing. Certainly those who truly trust in the Lord will take such an approach. Paul is another one who comes to mind here (Philippians 4:11ff). The Lord Jesus himself knew this psalm and no doubt applied to his own situation and circumstances as we may too.

Psalm 130:3, 4 Forgiveness, Fear

Psalm 130:3, 4 If you, O LORD, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness; therefore you are feared.

Another psalm, another song of ascents, and again brief and pointed. This time it is out of the depths that the psalmist cries to the LORD. What those depths are and how he got there, we are not told. O Lord, hear my voice he says (2) Let your ears be attentive to my cry for mercy. He is serious about being heard. He then makes the statement, in verses 3 and 4, that we want to focus on here. The psalmist is not being simplistic when he speaks of forgiveness. In the rest of the psalm he talks first to himself about waiting and hoping and then to Israel about hoping. I wait for the LORD he says (5, 6) my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope. My soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning. In the final verses (7, 8) he apostrophises to Israel O Israel, put your hope in the LORD, for with the LORD is unfailing love and with him is full redemption. He himself will redeem Israel from all their sins. His central point then is a sort of syllogism. The first statement is that if the Lord kept a record of sins, if he noted them all down, then no-one could stand. If the Lord was totally strict and kept his eye fixed on every sin, there would be no hope for any of us. However, according to the second statement, with him there is forgiveness. He is willing to overlook faults. This leads to the conclusion therefore you are feared. On the one hand, he is a God of purity and wrath. Every little sin deserves his punishment. On the other, he is a God of love and mercy, who forgives. Who would not fear a God like that?

Psalm 129:2 Saints Persevere

Psalm 129:2 They have greatly oppressed me from my youth, but they have not gained the victory over me.

This song of ascents is again brief and to the point. It is also an imprecatory psalm. It begins with the statement that they have greatly oppressed me from my youth with the call and response style found back in Psalm 124 - let Israel say - (epaphanora is the technical term). Though there has been great oppression (2) they have not gained the victory over me. It has been like ploughmen ploughing his back but (4) the LORD is righteous; he has cut me free from the cords of the wicked. The final verses call down a curse on the wicked who have done these things, all who hate Zion. He prays that they will be turned back in shame. May they be like grass on the roof, he says (7) which withers before it can grow (like the grass between the paving stones we might say). When someone pulls it up there is not enough for him to fill his hands or for the collector to fill his arms with all they gather. The cryptic closing verse may those who pass by not say, The blessing of the LORD be upon you; we bless you in the name of the LORD probably refers to how poor such a harvest would be - no happy exchanges in the fields regarding this one. Leaving the imprecations to one side for now, verse 2 says two things. First, negatively, they have greatly oppressed me from my youth. There has been persecution and it has gone on for a long time. Anyone who wants to be godly must expect such an experience. But then secondly, and positively, he says but they have not gained the victory over me. Because the Lord is constantly at our side setting us free then victory eludes these oppressors. The saints persevere. They cannot be stopped.

Psalm 128:1 Blessed Fear

Psalm 128:1 Blessed are all who fear the LORD, who walk in his ways.

Psalm 128 is yet another of these songs of ascents. The psalm begins very simply with a beatitude. It says that all who fear the LORD are blessed. They are contented in God. Those who fear the LORD are defined as those who walk in his ways. The psalmist then describes in general and more specific terms the blessings that such people can expect to receive. You will eat the fruit of your labour he says blessings and prosperity will be yours. He also describes a delightful scene using trees as a metaphor in which this man who fears God is seen with his wife like a fruitful vine within your house and his sons like olive shoots round his table. Thus says the psalmist in verse 4 is the man blessed who fears the LORD. He ends the psalm by calling down God's lifelong blessing on all, specifically asking that they may see the prosperity of Jerusalem and that such people may live to see your children's children. He ends with the words Peace be upon Israel as happens in Psalm 125. The point not to miss here is that all these blessings are reserved for the person who fears the LORD, the one who walks in the ways set down by the Lord himself. Salvation is by grace but if we are stiff necked and refuse to fear God then what hope can there be of his gracious blessing? The fear of the Lord is the route to blessing and we must take it. Any other way will lead slowly but surely to disaster.

Psalm 127:1 In Vain

Psalm 127:1 Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labour in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain.

Psalm 127 is uniquely a song of ascents Of Solomon. It begins with an assertion of the sovereign power of God. Solomon then remonstrates with those who forget this and who in vain engage in a frenetic round of activity where they rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat. Do they not realise that God grants sleep to those he loves and that (3) sons are a heritage from the LORD, children a reward from him? He then expostulates, in typically this worldly terms, as the Old Testament so often does, on the blessing that a large family is (which it still is though sometimes today it will not be a biological one). To reflect just on the opening verse a moment, it is clear that the two statements are parallel. A builder building a house is akin to a watchman watching a city gate in that both are involved in the task of seeking to prosper the people concerned - one by providing and one by protecting. The analogy between building a house and a household is obvious as is watching a city and watching over a family. It is important that they realise that unless the LORD himself is in what they do then their labouring and their guarding will be in vain. Church planters can work very hard and pastors can be ever so diligent but it will all be in vain unless the LORD himself is in it. This is one reason why prayer and seeking the face of God is so very important. Apart from him, all that we do is in vain.

Psalm 126:5 Tears, Joy

Psalm 126:5 Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy.

This next song of ascents, Psalm 126, is from the period after the return from the exile. It describes the delirious joy the people knew when the LORD brought back the captives to Zion after the exile. Their mouths were filled with laughter, their tongues with songs of joy. Even the people around them could see that the LORD had done great things for them for he had and they were filled with joy. However, they now faced the difficult task of resettling the land and it was not going to be easy. Restore our fortunes, O LORD, like streams in the Negev he prays. Then in verse 5 he quotes what must have been a proverb at the time - Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy. He expounds the proverb in the final verse of the psalm, reminding himself that though one goes out weeping, if one is carrying seed to sow and he sows it, that is if they get on with the work in hand, then they will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves. This reflects very clearly the Christian experience which is one of great joy in coming to know the Lord but then of living the Christian life, which is very demanding and which we can easily become discouraged in. It is important to remember then that we are sowing in this life with the prospect of a future harvest. What glorious joy there will be at that time. Isn't this the lesson of the passion of Christ too - the seed put into the ground that died leading to the harvest of souls that has already begun and that will be abundant in due time.