Please read Psalm 138 (8 verses)

The sovereignty of the God who is involved with us and our world stands supreme. We praise Him with great joy for His unfailing love and how He has stood by His people through all trials. As we enter His temple we bow ourselves to His power and authority. The commands of God are our daily delight as He has exalted them for they are written on the psyche of every human and testified to by our conscience. We obey them and have the liberty to call out to His name with great boldness, for He has promised to answer us and work all things for our good. This is the privileged position of the Christian believer.

The high and lifted up members of society are also included, for the queens and kings of the earth also bow to the Lord. He lifts them to their position and they depend on Him for daily sustenance, just as the rest of society. All knees will bow, and how much wiser to bow in love rather than fear? Most do not realise their situation before the Lord and take privilege for granted, and therefore are proud and conceited in their opinions and beliefs.

Those who are lifted up are regarded by the Lord at a distance, but the needy He relates to close up and personal. Pride always gets in the way of our personal relationship with Christ, and when we are regarded in this world, it can distract us from humility and deviate our thinking from dependency on God. Those who walk through this life with trouble are singled out for blessing and the especial presence of the Lord. No one can touch them or take them away from His nearness and the daily realisation that they are His. Though many refute and neglect the believer; though they may be left out of this world’s reckonings; though enemies may rise up to oppress, yet the Lord remains faithful. They will one day be vindicated and enter into their spiritual and everlasting inheritance in the coming kingdom.

God does not see as we see. We do not understand His dealings with the whole world, but we trust His sovereign love and power in our own lives, which we can see. Let us do all necessary to remain close to Him and throw off all that hinders our progress in holiness. The Lord will never abandon us.

Please read Psalm 137 (9 verses)

The people of God are locked in captivity and longing for their homeland. The Lord has brought them there because of their sinfulness and wandering from Him. They are prisoners in a strange land and have no sense of belonging to that place. They are strangers and pilgrims there and cannot return to where they belong. They weep in remembrance of their home and their instruments of praise are hanging in the Poplar trees waiting for the day of release when they can again rejoice.

The capturing nation makes demands of them – to sing their songs of Zion in the land of captivity, but the people weep and cannot sing the songs of their Lord in this strange land. They cannot perform for their tormentors and therefor remain silent and still. Perhaps to sing would encourage them to settle in this foreign place and help them to get a sense of home and security about where they are. The people of God have no wish to do so, for they are intent on going home in the long term. They would wish to forget how to play their songs rather than forget their land that the Lord has given to them. They would rather forget how to sing at all, rather that amalgamate into the land of captivity. It is not their home. To forget Jerusalem is unthinkable…

The enemies do not care about Jerusalem but call for it to be torn down. The people of God will never forget their city, but will mourn and weep until the day they get to return to it. Their enemies have destroyed their homes, their families and their children, and the psalmist calls for the Lord to exact just recompense on the enemies for their cruelty.

Similarly, we also long for heaven and home and do not allow this present society to dictate the song we sing and the attitude of our hearts. We remember where we belong and that we have been rescued from this age and belong to the eternal age that is coming. There we will sing the Lord’s songs with great joy. In the meantime we sing praises to our God for all His lovingkindness towards us and still rejoice as we view the eternal future in our soul’s eye. We do not forget that heavenly Jerusalem.

Please read Psalm 136 (26 verses)

“His love endures forever” is a phrase repeated in this Psalm twenty six times. It is an enduring truth! But sometimes we need to hear it repeated, as we quickly forget it. We give thanks for God’s enduring love which is central to the character of God. There is no greater love than His love. His love made the heavens and the earth and He upholds it and cares for it constantly. Nothing escapes His tender care, even though we are tempted to think He does not always see or hear what goes on in our world. His mercies spread out across the globe every day and we are provided for.

God spreads out the days and made the sun and moon in His great love, to provide light to humankind and all living things on the planet. He made the depths of the sea and the spectacular displays of weather that we so often observe, that radiant His glory and ceaseless power.

God’s love delivered His people from the Egyptians and gave a demonstration of that love and power in releasing them from the grip of the enemy. He showed signs and wonders to show His love for His people and set them free from the tyranny of worldly kings and gave an inheritance to them. He split the Red Sea and His people walked through, protected by His great love for them, but throwing their enemies into the midst of it and drowning them all. Egypt was destroyed, but the people of God were set free and protected. The Lord provided for them a land where they could live, driving out their enemies and giving them peace, such is His love for undeserving people.

God does the same for us. He remembers our weaknesses and sets us free from the effects of our sinful nature and delivers us from the oppression and the power of death. He gives us food and supports our life every day without fail. He feeds our soul from His Word and will bring us finally to a land prepared for us. We give eternal thanks to Him that His love towards us endures forever…

Please read Psalm 135 (21 verses)

We praise the Lord and worship at His feet because of who He is and what He has done. There is no other worthy of praise like this and no one else that we should seek apart from the almighty God. He is the only one who can do as He pleases for only He is perfect in all His will and deeds. He is high above all and is the one necessary being from whom all that exists comes from. No one can touch His throne or challenge His exalted position. He is the Creator of everything that exists and upholds all things by the power of His Word.

The weather in all its guises is sent and controlled by Him. He sends good things and good days and also the storm and winds. They all obey His bidding and we see His power and glory displayed in the demonstrations of the elements.

He is able to deal with the mightiest king, for they are all under His dominion. He put to death the firstborn in Egypt and displayed mighty signs and wonders by the hand of Moses, His servant. The people saw His might and were appalled. God struck down many kings, and put to flight the greatest of their rulers and gave the land to His people, a nation of wandering peoples.

All the idols that we construct are foolish and false. We worship the God who reveals Himself in the Holy Scriptures and are clear about our position before Him. He saves the distressed and all who are put upon by oppressors and abusers. He will not allow His people to be shaken and will put to flight all who hurt and control. We all bow our knees before Him and worship at His feet in repentance and contrition. The people all praise the Lord. The ministers of the gospel all praise the Lord. All His servants praise Him and rejoice before the God of our salvation who dwells in Zion.

Please read Psalm 134 (3 verses)

The constant praise of the Lord reverberates around the globe day and night as the saints of God continually meet to praise His name. They meet in the sanctuaries of the Lord, to lift up holy hands before Him and praise His marvellous works towards us, especially in providing a Saviour who would conquer sin and death on our behalf.

The praise of God rises from His planet earth day and night as His ministers of His grace, the people of God, worship before Him as the sun makes its daily round across the world. We cannot escape the praise of God. It shines out of every blade of grass, every kind word, every Psalm of praise that emanates from the redeemed lips of Christians. Let us keep the hymn of praise singing across the atmosphere continually and make our daily contributions to lifting our God above all the necessary circumstances in our life and giving Him the honour due to His holy name.

As the Lord has made heaven and earth, so may His gracious Spirit inspire us to worship continually and remain at peace in all the situations we face daily. The Lord will bless us, for we will be in constant communion and the knowledge of Him will fill our minds and cause us to rejoice.

Please read Psalm 133 (3 verses)

Christian people are meant to live together and worship together in unity. We are bound together with the bonds of filial love in the everlasting family of God. There should be no falling out as we agree on the matters of salvation and the grace of God. There may be varying opinions about issues of Christian doctrine and life choices, but unity is in the fellowship of the saints of God in the peace of God. If we are serving the same God, believing the same scriptures and obeying the same Holy Spirit, it ought not to be a problem. We are the family of God and our relationships should mirror the love of the Spirit and be a witness to a watching world.

It is a blessing when there is family unity and the bonds of love that hold us to Christ are also extended to each other. Too many are only interested in their own remote faction of the Christian church and have no time for sisters and brothers who may different on some issues. The levels of family tolerance are so low, that there is much exclusivity. We are meant to bear with each other, forgive each other and promote loving relationships in the body of Christ.

Unity is like the blessed oil of the Holy Spirit running down Aaron’s beard and hair, down onto the collar of his clothes. It is a precious blessing to be able to fellowship with people who are different and to practice the art of not taking offence. The beautiful blessing of family love is the refreshing mark of the Holy Spirit like the dew of Mount Hermon falling on the city of Jerusalem. In the holy city the Lord bestows His blessing, even life forever in love, joy and peace, together as the family of God.

Please read Psalm 132 (18 verses)

The psalmist, King David, is so desirous to serve the Lord, specifically to build a temple for the Lord where all His people can go to worship, that he makes a solemn promise. He has taken an oath that he will not rest or lay aside his activity until he has built this house to the Lord. The Lord releases him from this oath because David’s son, Solomon, has been chosen by God to actually build the temple. David has worked tirelessly to gather together all the provisions for the project and these will be kept for Solomon. David has been a man of action for the Lord and has had so many conquests in His name, but Solomon will be a peaceable king and will rule with great wisdom, much of which came from his father, David, in these Psalms.

David spent his youth in Bethlehem, which is the birth place of the King who would sit on David’s throne forever. The field of Jaar was where the Ark of the Covenant rested before David sought a place for it in the city of Zion, where the presence of the Lord dwelt. The Ark will come to its resting place in the temple of the Lord, where the people of God will worship and serve as priests to the Lord. They will be fully righteous and sing for joy at their deliverance from sin and death. David may not live to see the temple built, but the vision is still with him, which he will pass down to Solomon.

The city of God, Zion, the holy city of Jerusalem, has been chosen by the Lord for His habitation forever. He will sit in judgment and rule there on His everlasting throne of authority and power. All people under His care are safe, and will be amply provided for and every priest will be clothed in the righteousness of Christ. God will set up a beacon for His anointed King and He will be given a radiant crown of glory, for He has overcome the grave and has brought many people into His glory. This eternal King, of David’s heritage, is none other than Jesus Christ.

Please read Psalm 131 (3 verses)

There are times when the search for peace and contentment eludes us and we become despondent about our peace and joy in the Lord. This is the ideal time to quieten our hearts and calm our searching minds and humble ourselves before the Lord. We cannot change anything about ourselves or our situation and that realisation is the moment of relief from the striving for meaning and significance, and we find our God to be all in all. He is our provider and we can trust in Him.

If we know God to be trustworthy, why do we not live in peace in all circumstances? Why are we always searching and longing for more? Why do we not trust in our mighty Father like a small child would trust in their parent?

We think we are missing out, if we are not doing activity, and we fail to enjoy the peace of God in our daily life. We do not need to be always on the stress spectrum and seeking to be greater or better or more successful.

The psalmist teaches us to be at peace. We should not be proud and think we should have a super-spiritual life that lifts us high in mood all the time, but humble hearts that wait on the provision of the Lord, especially in our soul life. Our eyes should not be lifted up all the time looking for great experiences and exalted emotion, but calmly living in the light of the Word and obeying it. We calm and quieten the strife within and wait for the Lord. He will lift us up at the right time and in the right way. We hope in Him.

Please read Psalm 130 (8 verses)

This Psalm is full of hope in the love and mercy of the Lord. The Lord is holy and just so we can depend on Him to be fair and measure out recompense as He sees fit. But the Lord is full of tender mercy and is able to deal with our wrong doing and put us on a right path. He does not hold our sin against us, but is willing and able to forgive it all and make us righteous people. The psalmist is struggling with the memory of past sins and is being tormented by guilt and shame, but he comforts himself by knowing that God does not keep a record of sin. If the Lord remembered our sin, we could not stand before Him, for we are deep-dyed sinners. The Lord has made a way of salvation from that sin and ensuing death, through the death of our Saviour Jesus. Because of Jesus there is no more condemnation and we are free from the guilt and shame.

The psalmist is having trouble holding on to this fact, so he rehearses the goodness of God and calls out to Him in the depths of his misery. The writer is waiting for the release of the deep recognition of this fact, that the Lord forgives and is worthy of our trust. The psalmist puts all his hope in the Lord and waits night and day for the realisation to take hold. His mind understands, but his soul and feelings need to catch up so he can have peace again.

At the end of the Psalm, the realisation sinks in and the psalmist remonstrates with us to put our hope in the Lord because His love is unfailing. The psalmist has been in this position before, and knows that God never fails and never leaves those He loves and has redeemed. We cannot save ourselves, or even comfort ourselves, but must know that salvation is of the Lord and He Himself has provided the way of escape from guilt and shame. Out of the depths of our sorrow we can cry out to Him and He will release us.

Please read Psalm 129 (8 verses)

The hand of the oppressor seems to be always lifted against the people of God. The psalmist identifies the oppression as having its roots in his early life and it has grown stronger against him as he has matured. However, no matter how virulent the opposition has been, it has never managed to destroy his faith and trust in the mighty God. His faith has reigned supreme in his life and unbelief and its error, has not been victorious over his mind, thinking or belief.

There is reference here to the sufferings of Christ, as He was scourged by the Roman oppressors against His innocence and majesty. They beat Him so badly, Jesus was unrecognisable. Yet the Lord has highly exalted Him and set Him above all those around Him. The suffering had a measured existence and soon passed, cutting Christ free from all ignominy and degradation and setting Him on the throne of the Almighty God. So also, the people of God will be released from all rebuke and ridicule and will reign with their Saviour Jesus in the kingdom which has now come.

All oppressors will come to nothing. They will wither and die like the baked and dry grass on the rooftops of the houses. They will be gathered like straw to be burned, for it is useless to the reapers, having no food value or human use. No one will bless the wicked, they will be left to the just recompense of their own mindset and ways. There is no sovereign Lord to rescue them, but only fiery judgment and useless consequences for their evil deeds. Because they hated the beloved city of Zion, they are turned away from it in utter shame.