Psalm 130
God’s Lovingkindness and Redemption are My Hope
7 O Israel, hope in the LORD;
For with the LORD there is lovingkindness,
And with Him is abundant redemption.
· “Albeit the throne of God be most high, yet he delighteth to hear the petitions of hearts that are most low;” (Smyth)
· God is not angry with us for being in great trouble about our iniquities.
· “God exerts forgiveness for the very purpose of kindling the fear of God in a more vivid and powerful manner.”
· “We never feel Christ to be a reality till we feel him to be a necessity.”
· “The Lord Jehovah is the only hope for distressed souls.” (Owen)
· A saving participation of grace and forgiveness leaves a deep impression of its fullness and excellency on the soul of a sinner.”
Psalm 129
Only God Can Preserve Me
2 Many times they have persecuted me from my youth up;
Yet they have not prevailed against me.
· It is fatal . . . to the cause of cruelty and persecution that God’s righteousness endureth forever. Because his throne is established in equity and plenty of justice, all wicked schemes must prove utter failures.
Psalm 127
God Blesses the Family
1 Unless the LORD builds the house,
They labor in vain who build it;
Unless the LORD guards the city,
The watchman keeps awake in vain.
· “The only way of having a quiet mind and good success, is to use the means without anxiety, and to commit the success to God.” (Dickson)
· Were our gratitude what it ought to be, each season of refreshing rest would be followed by a song of praise.
· Children themselves will but wring our hearts with anguish, except as God leads them in the paths of peace and virtue. “Children are to us what God makes them, comforts or crosses.”
Psalm 126
God Established the Law of Sowing and Reaping
6 He who goes to and fro weeping, carrying his bag of seed,
Shall indeed come again with a shout of joy, brings his sheaves with him.
· If God save us by Cyrus, it is no less his deliverance than if he sent Samson, Jephtha, Ehud or David to our side.
· “So far as I have observed the course of God’s providence with me, such of my labors as have been performed in the greatest straits, and under the greatest difficulties, have had the happiest issue.”
· There is no more precious fruit gathered from earth than that which springs from seed sown in tears, and pain, and sighing, and persecution.
· “We infants in grace, we poor little children, under our tears and our sighs understand not the voice, or the mind, or the will of our heavenly Father in these afflictions.” (Luther)
Psalm 125
God Surrounds and Preserves Me
4 Do good, O LORD, to those who are good
And to those who are upright in their hearts.
· “It is much easier to learn than to believe that we who have by us the word of God and receive it, are surrounded with divine aid.” (Luther)
· “All that deal with God must deal upon trust, and he will give comfort to those only who give credit to him, and make it to appear they do so, by quitting other confidences and venturing to the utmost for God.” (Henry)
· Let us not be cast down at conflicts in the spirit. The warfare with corruption in the heart shall not last always. No man ever perished who lived and died fighting against sin. Fight on, Christian hero. The victory shall be thine at last. Satan shall not always oppress thy spirit. By and by the Master will say, Come up higher, and the days of thy mourning shall be ended.
· But to his own people God gives pardon, acceptance, adoption, renewal, strength, wisdom, increase of grace, eternal life and blessings.
· “The end of the poor flock of God, even though the church be proved and tried by a thousand fires and deaths, though it appear a thousand times over to be oppressed, destroyed and extirpated, is—eternal life, eternal consolation, eternal glory!” (Luther)
· They have a great dread of sin. Their fear of apostasy is a great means of preservation from it.
· It should greatly alarm the wicked to remember that the certainty of the happiness of the saints depends upon the certainty of the overthrow of sinners.
Psalm 124
God Delivers Me from My Enemies
8 Our help is in the name of the LORD,
Who made heaven and earth.
· We cannot too often remember that none but God can save us from sins, or foes, or perils.
· Christian men suffer their vindictive passions for a while to overcome their principles, an occasion for repentance and regret, and an injury to the cause of religion.
· The world thinks it a fine thing to spread snares for the feet of the righteous; but the weapons of the church’s warfare are not carnal. God’s cause needs not the help of man’s strategies.
· It is a shame to us that we so soon and so easily forget the deliverance wrought for us, yea, and the very perils from which we have been saved.
· The help of all the righteous is in the name of the Lord who made heaven and earth.
Psalm 123
I Lift My Eyes to the God Who Rules the Universe
1 To You I lift up my eyes,
O You who are enthroned in the heavens!
· He who permits our distresses to come upon us, can take them away, or sustain us under them, and bring good out of them.
· Let us not forget that we are servants of God, and not our own masters. Our business is to please him, not ourselves; to serve him, not ourselves; to do his will, not our own; to rely on his protection, not on an arm of flesh.
· It is the bane of our lives that we so easily let go our hold on God and on his promises.
· Let us be specially watchful against carnal security and arrogance. No tempers are more hostile to the true Christian spirit, and there is a consanguinity between these sins, indeed between all the vices of the heart.
Psalm 119
119 Wisdom / Torah
God’s Word Is a Multifaceted Jewel of Surpassing Value and Perfection
Aleph – blessed
2 How blessed are those who observe His testimonies
Who seek Him with all their heart.
· Although the world does groan in misery, and God’s people have their share, yet there is real blessedness secured to all the righteous.
· Although good men are far from being what they ought to be and what they hope to be, yet they long for perfect conformity to God’s entire will.
· It is wise for us to cry, Lord, remember that I am dust and ashes; let not my spirit fail before thee.
Beth – thirsty
11 Your word I have treasured in my heart,
That I may not sin against You.
· Neither hearing, nor reading, nor reciting the holy Scriptures will save us from false ways, unless with the heart we cordially embrace whatever they teach us.
· We should profit more by Scripture if we would meditate more upon it. Meditation is an exercise of the mind purely spiritual, and goes entirely cross to our native indolence. But let us persevere, and cry for help, and put a bridle on our vagaries, and God will give us the victory.
Gimel – needy
18 Open my eyes, that I may behold
Wonderful things from Your law.
· Increase of holiness is the great object for which we should desire to live.
· “We cannot be conformed to the word of God without understanding its blessed truths; and we cannot understand them aright without divine teaching.” (Morison)
· “The pilgrim spirit is the pulse of the soul.”
· But let us not forget . . . that [God] can bring to us great good out of so severe trial.
Daleth – grieving
28 My soul weeps because of grief;
Strengthen me according to Your word.
· Whatever we do, or whatever our state may be, let us deal candidly with God and declare to him our whole case.
· Troubles, which threaten to dissolve our nature, are no novelties.
· [T]he sorrows of the saints . . . [i]f they do but quicken us in our heavenly course, make the word of God to us increasingly precious, give us a distaste for the things that perish, and make us to grow in heavenly mindedness, we may justly welcome them as blessings.
· We are easily deceived. There is a mystery in iniquity. There is a deceivableness in unrighteousness. These will surely work our ruin unless we are mercifully preserved by divine grace.
· If we cannot choose the good, and refuse the evil. We must perish. He, who willingly follows in the course of transgression, must lie down in sorrow.
· We never truly set the Lord before us, until we honestly set his word before us. And we never truly set his word before us, until we regard it as clothed with sovereign authority, binding the understanding to submission, the will to obedience, and the heart to holiness. We must renounce all laws, rules and influences that are counter thereto.
He – steadfast
37 Turn away my eyes from looking at vanity,
And revive me in Your ways.
· The teaching and aid of divine grace are necessary not only at the beginning, but through the entire progress of the spiritual life.
· The spirit of true piety is one of steadfast obedience, and of perseverance in the ways of God.
· Unless God works in us to will, it is certain that we will never do.
· “It is a most dangerous expedient for a child of God to place himself within the sphere of seductive temptations.” (Morison)
Vav – vocal
46 I will also speak of Your testimonies before kings
And shall not be ashamed.
· We know that it is agreeable to the divine will that we earnestly cry for God’s help against our sins and for release from his wrath, (1 Tim 2:4).
· The word of God is powerless unless it is believed. Its vast treasures are unlocked by the hand of faith only.
· Could our faith and hope be raised to assurance, our troubles would be wondrously diminished.
· We never enter God’s service aright till the lowest depths of our souls are moved. When our hearts go out after God’s word, then our feet run in the ways of his commandments, then our hands love to do what he requires, and the whole work of obedience is delightful.
Zayin – comforted
54 Your statutes are my songs
In the house of my pilgrimage.
· “How many drooping hearts which have refused to be comforted by mere human consolation, have found an all-sufficient solace in those views of the divine character and government which are furnished by the Spirit of God.” (Morison)
· Trials do in a remarkable manner sweeten promises. Many a verse has seemed like a dead letter, till by our afflictions we were brought to need its consolations. Then it was life and joy to us.
· God’s word “made me alive when I was dead in sin; it has many a time made me lively when I was dead in duty.” (Henry)
· There must be a strong consoling power in the truth of God to sustain the most solemn and afflicted people on earth, and to make them joyful and of a merry heart in the house of their pilgrimage.
Heth – purposeful
58 I sought Your favor with all my heart;
Be gracious to me according to Your word.
· God sends the full soul empty away, while he gives grace to the humble.
· We read of some who “took joyfully the spoiling of their goods, knowing that they had in heaven a better and an enduring substance” (Heb 10:34).
· True piety loves to contemplate the riches of God’s goodness and mercy in creation and providence, as well as the riches of his grace in redemption.
Teth – discerning
66 Teach me good discernment and knowledge,
For I believe in Your commandments.
· Were we more prompt and hearty in acknowledging the Lord’s kindness, we should see more kindness to acknowledge.
· Perhaps Christians evince high attainments as much by their conduct under afflictions, and their views of them, as in any other way.
· Blessed is he who when the affliction is over can clearly see and calmly say: It is good for me that I have been afflicted.
· Afflictions teach us lessons we never could otherwise learn (Jer 22:21).
· “I have learned more divinity in these ten days that thou art come to visit me than I did in fifty years.” (Rivet)
· Very precious is God’s word. So the righteous universally judge. It is life from the dead to their souls. It reclaims them when wandering. Thy buy the truth, cost what it may. But they will not sell it at any price.
Yodh – waiting
76 O may Your lovingkindness comfort me,
According to Your word to Your servant.
· We ought to know and to proclaim the faithfulness of God in afflicting us. It is not enough for us that we fly not in his face and charge him foolishly. O no! we must justify him; we must confess that our sins and wanderings called for his correction.
· True, there is nothing in us to merit esteem, but he has bidden us call upon him in the day of trouble.
· Come what will, labor to keep your thoughts right. Out of the heart are the issues of life. Persecution is itself converted into a blessing when by it we are led more intently to muse on God’s word.
Kaph – hoping
83 Though I have become like a wineskin in the smoke,
I do not forget Your statutes.
· “It is not strange to see God breaking the heart of his own child with affliction, even when he is suffering persecution, so that his faith may be tried and trained to more strength.” (Dickson)
· It is a great blessing to be greatly afflicted, if the strokes are sent in covenant love, and if they lead us to seek promised help from God alone. “We ought not to mistrust God’s word, because the execution of his promises is delayed. If our eyes fail, our hearts should not faint; God’s time is always the best. Our dangers may increase, but God’s promises do not decrease.” (Cobbin)
· It is a blessed thought when our trials cure our earnest love for things that perish, and whet our appetites for divine comforts.
· “It is a genuine evidence of true godliness, when although plunged into the deepest afflictions, we yet cease not to submit ourselves to God.” (Calvin)
· The unspeakable comfort of committing their cause to God is always left to the saints.
· It is a good evidence of a saving change of heart when we desire more holiness, more liveliness in God’s service. “The surest token of God’s good will toward us is his good work in us.”
Lamedh – secure
94 I am Yours, save me;
For I have sought Your precepts.
· However fleeting, changeable and unsatisfactory are all things merely temporal; yet the word of God is stable, unchangeable and everlasting. It depends upon his truth and faithfulness, and these are so a part of his nature that if he were without them, he would cease to be God. The divine faithfulness has never failed.
· “Each promise is a staff—if we have but faith to lean upon it—able to bear our whole weight of sin, care and trial.” (Bridges)
· “I have covenanted with my Lord, that he should not send me visions, or dreams, or even angels. I am content with this one gift of the Scriptures, which abundantly teaches and supplies all that is necessary both for this life and that which is to come.” (Luther)
Mem – wise
104 From Your precepts I get understanding;
Therefore I hate every false way.
· “Pause at every verse of Scripture, and shake, as it were, every bough of it; that, if possible, some fruit at least may drop down.” (Luther)
· The greatest wisdom on this earth is holiness. The wisdom taught by Scripture is far reaching and is capable of application to every diversity of case.
· “Spiritual knowledge increases while we tread in the path of obedience. Obedience is the grand means of growth and instruction. Obedience trades with the talent of grace, and thus grace becomes multiplied.” (Clarke)
· Let us never hug delusions, but hate error and sin in every shape. Let us assiduously abhor even darling sins. All sin is a lie. By it we attempt to cheat God. By it we actually cheat our souls (Prov 14:12). There is no delusion like the folly of believing that a course of sin will conduce to our happiness.
Nun – obedient
112 I have inclined my heart to perform Your statutes
Forever, even to the end.
· [L]et us beware of holding the truth in unrighteousness (Rom 1:18).
· “There is need be for the afflictions of the Lord’s people. The stones of the spiritual temple cannot be polished or fitted to their place without the strokes of the hammer. The gold cannot be purified without the furnace. The vine must be pruned for greater fruitfulness.”
· “The way of duty affords the best ground for our confidence. To rest on other ground is presumption. We must keep God’s commandments; we must look to him to hold us up; we must continually respect the statutes of God.” (Cobbin)
· “We are not to judge of ourselves by what we sometimes say and do, but by the general disposition and tendency of the heart and its affections.” (Horne)
Samekh – fixed
116 Sustain me according to Your word, that I may live;
And do not let me be ashamed of my hope.
· How can one be regarded as prepared or preparing for heaven, whose mind is a receptacle for worldly, carnal, proud, spiteful, impure, roving thoughts?
· We cannot get on without faith and hope. With these we can walk in darkness, and yet be sure of delivery.
· The companion of a settled hope is a constant attention to the word of God in its various parts.
· Come what will, cost what it may, hold on to God and his word, for that is our last hope.
Ayin – committed
125 I am Your servant; give me understanding,
That I may know Your testimonies.
· Though our eyes fail, yet God’s word does not; and therefore those that build upon it, though now discouraged, shall in due time see his salvation.
· In the meantime the delay of help should increase the constancy and steadfastness of our faith.
· Is my hatred of sin in . . . myself as sincere and as strong as when I see it in mine enemies?
Pe – Longing
131 I opened my mouth wide and panted,
For I longed for Your commandments.
· He who loves not, and longs not, and thirsts not, and hungers not, and pants not, and cries not, and digs not for the truth will not find the knowledge of God.
· Without the influence of the Holy Spirit, we make no progress. As the Scripture is the sole rule of holiness, so the Author of Scripture, applying it to our hearts is the sole Author of sanctification.
· Our great error is that we are too easily satisfied.
Tsadhe – zealous
139 My zeal has consumed me,
Because my adversaries have forgotten Your words.
· True zeal is for God’s glory, not our own. It grieves far more for his dishonor than for our sufferings. It readily forgives wrongs done to ourselves; but it is jealous for the Lord of hosts.
· “The surest evidence of Christian zeal is—when it begins at home—in a narrow scrutiny and vehement revenge against the sins of our own hearts.” (Bridges)
Qoph – desperate
147 I rise before dawn and cry for help;
I wait for Your words.
· We do not pray enough. “Your soul would not be so empty of comfort, if your mouth were not so empty of prayer.”
· If we would succeed at a throne of grace, our pleas must be, not for justice, but for mercy; not for our deservings, but for God’s lovingkindness. We need everything, and have nothing to pay. We are weak, and need strength; blind, and need illumination; vile, and need purification; poor, and need riches; guilty, and need pardon; outcasts, and need acceptance; and all through grace.
Resh – afflicted
153 Look upon my affliction and rescue me,
For I do not forget Your law.
· Is any afflicted? Let him pray, according to the example here set.
· When conscience accuses, and Satan assails, and the world reproaches, and providence frowns, what can we do but betake ourselves to him who never forsakes the clients who commit their cause to him?
Shin – balanced
165 Those who love Your law have great peace,
And nothing causes them to stumble.
· There is a beautiful harmony and symmetry in Christian character. Fear makes the godly man sober; joy makes him lively; abhorrence of sin makes him cautious and watchful; love makes him serve willingly and give liberally; peace makes him tranquil; hope gives an anchor to his soul; faith in an omniscient God makes him serve not man, but his Maker; praise gives him songs in the night; and obedience makes him work righteousness with all diligence.
Tav – supplicating
176 I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek Your servant,
For I do not forget Your commandments.
· As long as we are in our present low estate, we shall never be done asking for instruction.
· There is nothing we need more than such wisdom as God only can give. Otherwise we will never know, nor love, nor do our duty. Our necessities in this matter compel us to repeat over and over again the same petitions and to cry for help from the Spirit of God. None but he can give saving illumination.
· We have need of help from God all the time. Without his aid we are indeed powerless for good . . . .
· As long as we live, we shall need help both from Scripture and from Providence. The more we give ourselves to the work of the Lord, the more deeply shall we feel our need.
Psalm 118
118 Thanksgiving (individual, community) [“the golden psalm – Martin Luther]
Thank God for His Salvation
23 This is the day which the LORD has made;
Let us rejoice and be glad in it.
· [L]et us labor to promote that essential unity which consists in bringing all of every rank and condition to accept and celebrate the amazing mercy of God.
· What a strange sort of creature an old Christian would be, if he had never smarted under the rod of heavenly chastisement!
· “Thou must learn to call and not to sit there by thyself, and lie on the bench, and and shake the head, and bite and devour thyself with thy thoughts, but come on, thou indolent knave, down upon thy knees, up with thy hands and eyes to heaven, take a Psalm or a prayer, and set forth thy distress with tears before God.” (Luther)
· Our theology is never right till in our hearts we invest God with infinite power and perfections. Until we can say: “It is enough for me that God is on my side,” we are not prepared to fight the battles of life.
· All is not lost that is brought into jeopardy. We gain a great advantage in all our trials when we see God’s hand in everything; when we are willing to crucify the flesh with its affections and lusts; when we are submissive to the divine appointment, knowing that the Lord doth not afflict willingly, but for our profit, that we may be partakers of his holiness.
Psalm 116
116 Thanksgiving (individual)
Praise the God of My Salvation
13 I shall lift up the cup of salvation
And call upon the name of the LORD.
· If God’s children are brought into straits and made to suffer sharply, such trials cannot be unprofitable to them so long as they lead them to a throne of grace, and in the end serve to quicken their attachment to him and his cause.
· Among all the afflictions to which we are subject, soul troubles are the worst. Terrors in the soul are worse than any bodily pains. Still even these are useful if they lead us “with holy vehemence to the throne of Jehovah’s mercy.”
· “To wait calmly and silently for those indications of God’s favor which he conceals from us is the undoubted evidence of faith.” No man enters into rest except by faith.
· All God’s mercies ought to lead us not only to hope in him for all coming time, but to form pious resolutions, from which we will not swerve. It is right that we should bind ourselves by solemn engagements to be the Lord’s his only and his forever.
· We should avoid anything like the temper of a sordid bargaining with the Almighty. But we may strengthen our hearts many a time by a fit vow to the Lord.
· Whatever our trials, and however sharp our conflicts, let us seek to come out of them all with a hallelujah on our lips.
Psalm 115
115 Lamentation (trust) / Trust (community)
Trust in God, Not Any Idol
11 You who fear the LORD, trust in the LORD;
He is their help and their shield.
· It has a mighty effect in humbling us, in making us quiet under affliction, and patient under denial of our petitions to know that we deserve all the evil, and none of the good that befalls us.
· “When we have brought ourselves into misery, and our religion into danger of disgrace; we ought to be more careful to have the Lord restored to his honor, and true religion to its own beauty, than to be freed from misery.” (Dickson)
Psalm 114
114 Praise
God Sovereignly Provides for My Rescue and Provision
7 Tremble, O earth, before the Lord,
Before the God of Jacob,
8 Who turned the rock into a pool of water,
The flint into a fountain of water.
· “Whomsoever the Lord redeemeth, and setteth on their way to heaven, he will provide whatsoever is necessary for their sustentation and comfort in their journey, as his providing of drink for the camp of Israel giveth proof.” (Dickson)
Psalm 113
113 Praise
The Lord is Supreme Over All
5 Who is like the LORD our God,
Who is enthroned on high,
6 Who humbles Himself to behold
The things that are in heaven and in the earth?
· “Jehovah reigns supreme over heaven and earth. “He, who made the universe, and who sustains it in being, with all its innumerable tribes, is entitled to govern it, and claims this prerogative as his exclusive and inalienable right. He made all, he provides for all, he upholds all, he governs all; and therefore, let all unite in celebrating his glorious praise.” (Morison)
Psalm 112
112 Wisdom
It Is Wisdom to Fear and Obey the Lord
1 Praise the LORD!
How blessed is the man who fears the LORD,
Who greatly delights in His commandments.
· “Ill-nature and avarice are their own tormentors; but love and liberality do good to themselves by doing it to others, and enjoy all the happiness which they cause.” (Horne)
· “Grace and godliness, sound and fruitful faith, do not make men fools without discretion, but consist well with prudence and foresight, in ordering their affairs wisely, and teach them to give, when, what, and to whom they should give, as the circumstances of time, place, and person, need of the party, and their own ability require.” (Dickson)
· Whatever may befall the children of God, their final salvation is certain. That is enough and more than enough eternally to overbalance any evils, trials, or disadvantages to which they may be subject in time.
Psalm 111
111 Praise
God’s Covenant of Care Is Forever
9 He has sent redemption to His people;
He has ordained His covenant forever;
Holy and awesome is His name.
· In our meditations and writings on religion there is scope for the exercise of all our ingenuity. Nor is it unlawful for us curiously to arrange in poetical or alphabetical order divine truths as the Psalmist has here done. Only we should avoid silly conceits and puerilities.
· It is no easy matter to avoid cold affections.
· Every word of God is pure. Man never so well consults his own temporal and eternal good as when he most exactly conforms his heart and life to Scripture principles.