Praise – Old Testament Survey

Psalm 150

This marks the fifth of the five “Hallelujah Psalms” that close the book of Psalms. Each of these psalms begins and ends with “Hallelujah.” Compare this psalm with Psalm 1. Both have six verses. Psalm 1 opens with the man who is blessed and Psalm 150 closes with the God who is praised.

How do you praise Him? How do you worship? Think about your reaction to your favorite singer, show, or team. What do you do when you hear them, watch them, or see them? That exuberance should dominate your response to God who is everywhere evident. Is it?

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Psalm 149

This marks the fourth of the five “Hallelujah Psalms” that close the book of Psalms. Each of these psalms begins and ends with “Hallelujah.”

This psalm is a bit more disturbing in its nature and has caused many to wage war in the name of God. The Peasants’ Revolt and the Thirty Years’ War to name two used verses 6-9 as their marching orders (Davidson, 1989). This is the worst possible interpretation of these verses. This is merely a psalm of praise to God who gave victory over nations to Israel. It is not a call to arms but a proclamation of praise for what has occurred as are the other psalms in this group.

After reading this psalm, where and how do you praise God most often?

Psalm 148

This marks the third of the five “Hallelujah Psalms” that close the book of Psalms. Each of these psalms begins and ends with “Hallelujah.”

Everything is made to praise Him. All creation is made to praise Him, not merely those with breath. The heavens are command to praise Him (1-6), the earth is commanded to praise Him (7-10), and we are called to praise Him (11-14). We are called to praise Him without regard to what others are doing. Praise Him.

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Let Everything That Has Breath – Phillips, Craig and Dean

Psalm 147

This marks the second of the five “Hallelujah Psalms” that close the book of Psalms. Each of these psalms begins and ends with “Hallelujah.”

What is the proper response to the majesty of creation? Praise to God. It’s not that He created all and left; He created all and sustains it for the express purpose of drawing our attention to Him (Colossians 1.16-18). Who alone can truly praise Him? Only those who call Him by Name.

I think we have confused praise with encouragement in our day. We are to praise the efforts of even those who do not do well. We should rephrase this to encourage those who have not done too well to continue toward excellence. We need to cease trivializing what true praise is. Again, is this demeaning of praise and attempt to take the glory from God that is due Him, to belittle what true praise is by praising that which is truly not praiseworthy?

What will God say to us, to you, to me, for what we have allowed to happen to praise? Those who know Him most should praise Him most. Declare your praise!

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Chris Tomlin – Indescribable

Psalm 134

This is the shortest psalm. It is the last of the Pilgrim Psalms. It is a response of those in fellowship with God, who are giving Him the praise due His name. This praise is to be continual (1 Thessalonians 5.16-17). Praise God on purpose today despite your circumstances. Oh, and this Sunday, give an “Amen” to your pastor during his sermon.

Psalm 119.105-176

נ Nun Verses 105-112

God’s Word gives light, or understanding, to those who read and obey it. Jesus stated that He is the Light of the World. He is the fulfillment of God’s Word. He is the ultimate source of understanding (John 8.12-20). What is your fellowship with Him like? The essence of this section is for us to understand that we are living in increasingly dark times. For those who know Him, they will discern that they walk in dark times and they need His light to guide them.

The lamps in the psalmist days were small lights that lit only the next step or two. To often today, we desire God’s Word to be a bonfire or the sun revealing everything so we can get on with our life. The problem with this is self-evident. If God’s Word revealed all at once, we would be over-whelmed and then we would not rely daily on God and our fellowship with Him.

ס Samek Verses 113-120

In order to pursue what God has called us to, we must not merely dislike evil; we must hate it. However, this is still not enough. A case can be made that people who bomb abortion clinics have an hatred for evil. The man of God also must pursue God’s Word. This will keep us from becoming those who bomb abortion clinics. This is because we know that God would not do this. We need to realize that without God’s Word as our guide and His Holy Spirit sustaining us, we will be no different than those who do that activities we are called to hate. When we walk half in this world and half in God’s world, we are unstable and will fall (1 Corinthians 10.12; James 1.5-8; 2 Peter 3.17–18; and Jude 20–25).

An example of instability today is the thought that we can help people by giving them things, which is the entitlement programs found in today’s government. We believe we are doing the right thing (I don’t), but the result is always disastrous. We believe (I don’t) that doing something, even though it doesn’t end well, is better than doing nothing.

A graphic portrayal of this is found in 1 Kings 18 where Elijah is battling the priests of Baal (see verse 21 for a description of an unstable man).

See our sermon on John 6.16-21 on scrapping dross (DRW, 1998).

ע Ayin Verses 121-128

Only those who choose to obey God’s Word are His servants. They are the only ones who should expect God’s protection from calamitous people. This does not mean they will not suffer but that God’s hand is on them even in their trials. The psalmist prays for God to stand for his well-being. Jesus becomes this guarantee for us according to Hebrews 7.22.

פ Pe Verses 129-136

For what do we weep? Is it that God’s Word goes disobeyed? The only way for this to be our way of life is for us to live in God’s presence, before His face. These tears are for those who are missing the life that each of us were created for in God’s presence.

צ Tsadde Verses 137-144

Again, the only way for us to truly know God’s Word is for us to obey and act on His Word. Compare this section with Romans 7.12.

ק Qoph Verses 145-152

The Hebrew word for cry begins with a qoph. Thus, this section is centered around the word cry. What are your habits of studying God’s Word. Is it in the morning before your day begins? Is it during the night when sleeplessness is your lot. Every opportunity should be taken to understand, know, and love God’s Word. Our prayer life is enhanced by our study life (Acts 6.4 and John 15.7).

ר Resh Verses 153-160

Would man seek God’s truth if God did not call him to seek it? According to this section, no. God’s Word is Truth (John 17.17-19) and no man can know the truth without it being revealed to him by the author of that truth. The word “quicken” or “preserve” means to bring to life. God is just in doing this too. We would rail against Him for forcing us to do that which we had no desire to do. So, He gives us the desire that we desire but will not grant it to those who do not desire it.

ש Shin Verses 161-168

The bane of man should not keep us from praising God who is by far greater. Each time we open God’s Word we should exult in the treasures we find and praise Him for each of them.

ת Tau Verses 169-176

This closing section of Psalm 119 presents us with the only sacrifice we can truly offer God and that is a repentant heart bent on seeking Him.

Psalm 113

As God is in this world, so are we to be in this world. Do you walk by the poor and needy or do you stoop to help those in need? What would Jesus say about your actions and attitude? Take a moment to read Matthew 24-25 and listen to Keith Green’s song The Sheep and the Goats. There is no faith without action for faith creates action (James 2.14-26).

Psalm 113 (cf. Philippians 2.5-8 [He is immanent] and 1 Timothy 6.11-16 [He is transcendent])

This is the first of the Hallel Psalms or Praise Psalms used at the Passover Meal (Psalms 113-118, 136). Some have attributed this psalm to Samuel because the reference in verse nine imitating 1 Samuel 2.5, 8. Although this could be, it is not the view held here.

Verses 1-3-A call to praise God. All those who are His are to praise Him. We praise Him by thanking Him for who He is in our lives. We are to do this perpetually and everywhere our feet trod.
Verses 4-6-He is to be praised because He is great, He is without equal, and He has humbled Himself to be concerned with the affairs of man.
Verses 7-9-He is to be praised because He cares for the poor, needy, and barren, which are examples of His humbling of self to care for the needs of man.

Is God conceited? Read these articles by John Piper and NewLife Christian Fellowship to determine for yourself.

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Psalm 112

We become consumed with raising our families and making ends meet in this life. We become anxious for everything. This psalm states that God will care for the family and provide for those who earnestly seek Him (Matthew 6.25-34). We can remove anxiety by trusting Him to do what He said He would do (Philippians 4.4-9).

Psalm 112
This psalm begins where Psalm 111 ends. It also mimics the acrostic in the same manner (eight verses with two letters and two verses with three letters). It mimics the outline with a change at the ending. The topic of Psalm 111 is God in His holiness and this psalm is the holiness of the man who follows God.
Verse 1-A call to praise God
Verses 2-9-God is worthy of praise based on what He has done. As with Psalm 111, we should praise God because He is upright, righteous, gracious, compassionate, generous, true, steadfast, benevolent. The rewards for those who fear Him are also great. We will prosper, have insight into His Word, find goodness and security, be generous, have no fear, while growing in honor.
Verse 10-The wicked will be destroyed because they do not seek Him, He cannot bless them as He does those who fear Him.

Psalm 111

True worship is to see God’s works and praise Him for them, to see the truth of God’s Word and praise Him for it, and, then, to go out and apply what you have seen and what you have read. Is this your daily activity of worship (Romans 12.1-2)?

Psalm 111
This is a well-constructed acrostic psalm meant to draw us into praising God. The Hebrew alphabet is presented in each line as presented in the English. The acrostic is presented with two letters for each of the first eight verses with the final two verses having three letters each, which make the twenty-two letters of the Hebrew alphabet. Again, try doing this with the English alphabet and you will see how difficult it is to present a cohesive truth with an acrostic. Great and marvelous is He who reigns.

Verse 1-Praise God! We are called to praise God when we are with those who praise Him and when we are among those who may or may not praise Him. Regardless of our station in life, we must praise the Lord.
Verses 2-9-Why we should praise God. He is great, glorious, wonderful, gracious, compassionate, provider, powerful, true, upright, holy, redeemer, just to name a few from this psalm.
Verse 10-Praise God! When we stand in awe of Him, revere Him, we are beginning to see what wisdom truly is for He is wisdom.

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Holy is the Lord by Chris Tomlin

Psalm 145

We should understand that praising God is not determined by whether we feel like praising Him no more than forgiving another or loving another is based on a feeling. Each one of these is based on a conscious choice to do so. We must choose to praise, forgive, and love despite what we feel or our circumstances.

Psalm 145

In this semi-acrostic psalm (it is missing the letter “nun”), we are called to praise God. We are called to make known His fame to the generation of people to follow. David entreats us to tell of God’s greatness and goodness (1-7), grace and kingdom (8-14), and desire to hear and answer our prayers (15-21). Do people understand this about God as they see your life and hear your words? After reading verse one, we should understand that praising God is not determined by whether we feel like praising Him no more than forgiving another or loving another is based on a feeling. Each one of these is based on a conscious choice to do so. We must choose to praise, forgive, and love despite what we feel or our circumstances.

After reading through this psalm, you should see God as “active, compassionate, faithful, generous, good, gracious, great, judge, king, loving, majestic, near, powerful, righteous, and watchful” (Elwell, 1995). With God being these, it is only natural that the psalm uses nine separate terms for our response: extol, bless, praise, declare, meditate, speak, utter, sing, and make known. Are you doing this?

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Spread His Fame by Shai Linne