Day 184: Psalms 146-150

(This post covered the final psalms of prayer and the first of six psalms of praise. The final five psalms were psalms of praise...)

Psalm 146
¹ Praise ye Jehovah. Praise Jehovah, O my soul.
² While I live will I praise Jehovah: I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being.

(The psalmist stated he would praise God all his days.)

³ Put not your trust in princes, Nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help.
⁴ His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; In that very day his thoughts perish.

(We ought to trust (have faith in) God, not man.)

⁵ Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, Whose hope is in Jehovah his God:
⁶ Who made heaven and earth, The sea, and all that in them is; Who keepeth truth for ever;

(God created heaven and earth and was always truthful. Everything God did was for the right reason (why) and the right way (how)...forever.)

⁷ Who executeth justice for the oppressed; Who giveth food to the hungry. Jehovah looseth the prisoners;
⁸ Jehovah openeth the eyes of the blind; Jehovah raiseth up them that are bowed down; Jehovah loveth the righteous;

(God loved the righteous…this did not mean that God did not love the unrighteous.)

⁹ Jehovah preserveth the sojourners; He upholdeth the fatherless and widow; But the way of the wicked he turneth upside down.
¹⁰ Jehovah will reign for ever, Thy God, O Zion, unto all generations. Praise ye Jehovah.

(The Lord would rule for eternity.)




Psalm 147
¹ Praise ye Jehovah; For it is good to sing praises unto our God; For it is pleasant, and praise is comely.
² Jehovah doth build up Jerusalem; He gathereth together the outcasts of Israel.
³ He healeth the broken in heart, And bindeth up their wounds.

(God gave life: the ability to repair, which healed broken hearts and bound up wounds.)

⁴ He counteth the number of the stars; He calleth them all by their names.
⁵ Great is our Lord, and mighty in power; His understanding is infinite.

(God’s understanding had no end! Notice, this verse did not state God's knowledge was infinite. Some people attempt to use this verse to prove God was all-knowing, to the point He knew everything that would ever happen.

God being all-knowing according to the Bible meant God knew all the facts that existed. God being all-understanding meant God knew the causes of all the facts that existed.

Remember, knowledge was a right what, and could still lead to deception. Understanding was a right why which resulted in creation. The devil had knowledge, but did not have understanding nor wisdom.)

⁶ Jehovah upholdeth the meek: He bringeth the wicked down to the ground.

(God "upholdeth" the humble. God exalted those who humbled themselves.)

⁷ Sing unto Jehovah with thanksgiving; Sing praises upon the harp unto our God,

(The psalmist encouraged the reader/singer to sing to God with thanks and then continued with reasons to do so…)

⁸ Who covereth the heavens with clouds, Who prepareth rain for the earth, Who maketh grass to grow upon the mountains.
⁹ He giveth to the beast his food, And to the young ravens which cry.
¹⁰ He delighteth not in the strength of the horse: He taketh no pleasure in the legs of a man.
¹¹ Jehovah taketh pleasure in them that fear him, In those that hope in his lovingkindness.
¹² Praise Jehovah, O Jerusalem; Praise thy God, O Zion.

(More encouragement to praise God and more reasons to do so…)

¹³ For he hath strengthened the bars of thy gates; He hath blessed thy children within thee.
¹⁴ He maketh peace in thy borders; He filleth thee with the finest of the wheat.
¹⁵ He sendeth out his commandment upon earth; His word runneth very swiftly.
¹⁶ He giveth snow like wool; He scattereth the hoar-frost like ashes.
¹⁷ He casteth forth his ice like morsels: Who can stand before his cold?
¹⁸ He sendeth out his word, and melteth them: He causeth his wind to blow, and the waters flow.
¹⁹ He showeth his word unto Jacob, His statutes and his ordinances unto Israel.
²⁰ He hath not dealt so with any nation; And as for his ordinances, they have not known them. Praise ye Jehovah.

(These psalms of praise were eternal and focused on the unlimited ability of God to rule forever.)




Psalm 148
¹ Praise ye Jehovah. Praise ye Jehovah from the heavens: Praise him in the heights.
² Praise ye him, all his angels: Praise ye him, all his host.
³ Praise ye him, sun and moon: Praise him, all ye stars of light.
⁴ Praise him, ye heavens of heavens, And ye waters that are above the heavens.
⁵ Let them praise the name of Jehovah; For he commanded, and they were created.

(The psalmist encouraged all of God’s creation to praise Him.)

⁶ He hath also established them for ever and ever: He hath made a decree which shall not pass away.
⁷ Praise Jehovah from the earth, Ye sea-monsters, and all deeps.
⁸ Fire and hail, snow and vapor; Stormy wind, fulfilling his word;
⁹ Mountains and all hills; Fruitful trees and all cedars;
¹⁰ Beasts and all cattle; Creeping things and flying birds;
¹¹ Kings of the earth and all peoples; Princes and all judges of the earth;

(This included people who must first choose to praise God.)

¹² Both young men and virgins; Old men and children:
¹³ Let them praise the name of Jehovah; For his name alone is exalted; His glory is above the earth and the heavens.

(We ought to praise God because His name and glory were above all.)

¹⁴ And he hath lifted up the horn of his people, The praise of all his saints; Even of the children of Israel, a people near unto him. Praise ye Jehovah.

(Again, another psalm focused on praising God's enormity.)




Psalm 149
¹ Praise ye Jehovah. Sing unto Jehovah a new song, And his praise in the assembly of the saints.

(This psalm also encouraged the reader to praise God and then gave unique ways to do so…)

² Let Israel rejoice in him that made him: Let the children of Zion be joyful in their King.
³ Let them praise his name in the dance: Let them sing praises unto him with timbrel and harp.

(Dancing, singing, and instruments.)

⁴ For Jehovah taketh pleasure in his people: He will beautify the meek with salvation.
⁵ Let the saints exult in glory: Let them sing for joy upon their beds.
⁶ Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, And a two-edged sword in their hand;
⁷ To execute vengeance upon the nations, And punishments upon the peoples;

(God’s vengeance sometimes came through His followers.)

⁸ To bind their kings with chains, And their nobles with fetters of iron;
⁹ To execute upon them the judgment written: This honor have all his saints. Praise ye Jehovah.

(Now, the final psalm...)




Psalm 150
¹ Praise ye Jehovah. Praise God in his sanctuary: Praise him in the firmament of his power.

(This psalm continued to focus on the enormity of God and gave unique types of praise to God…)

² Praise him for his mighty acts: Praise him according to his excellent greatness.
³ Praise him with trumpet sound: Praise him with psaltery and harp.
⁴ Praise him with timbrel and dance: Praise him with stringed instruments and pipe.
⁵ Praise him with loud cymbals: Praise him with high sounding cymbals.
⁶ Let everything that hath breath praise Jehovah. Praise ye Jehovah.

(All things with breath ought to praise God. That was a fitting conclusion.)

(The Book of Psalms was the second of the five books that made up the poetic section of the Old Testament. The Book of Psalms had five distinct sections that replicated the first five books of the Bible. Psalms 1-41 made up "Genesis" and covered God's blessings and man's rejection. It was compiled by David. Psalms 42-72 made up "Exodus" and covered Israel's redemption. Psalms 73-89 made up "Leviticus" and covered the sanctuary and its relation to man. Psalms 90-106 made up "Numbers" and covered man's progress towards eternal life. Psalms 107-150 made up "Deuteronomy" and covered divine government. We saw prophecy was contained in the Book of Psalms. We have also seen the order of the psalms symbolized the Ark of the Covenant being brought into the temple along with a dedication complete with prayer and praise. The Book of Psalms was seen as David's book even though others wrote portions of it. The next book in this poetic section of the Old Testament was seen as Solomon's book (David's son) even though others wrote portions of it...)

Day 185