Accomplishing What Concerns Me - Psalm 138 (part 3)

"I will give Thee thanks with all my heart;

I will sing praises to Thee before the gods.

I will bow down toward Thy holy temple,

and give thanks to Thy name

for Thy loving-kindness and Thy truth;

for Thou hast magnified Thy word

according to all Thy name....

Though I walk in the midst of trouble,

Thou wilt revive me;

Thou wilt stretch forth Thy hand

against the wrath of my enemies,

and Thy hand will accomplish what concerns me;

Thy loving-kindness, O LORD is everlasting;

Do not forsake the works of Thy hands."

(Psalm 138:1-2, 7-8)

This is the final section of Psalm 138 and the last in this group of psalms of hallelujah. This psalm of David encourages us - as do all the hallelujah psalms - to thanksgiving and praise. In the opening verses we are challenged to give wholehearted thanksgiving ("with all my heart") and whole-worldly praise ("before the gods"). There is no part of us that should not be worshipful and there is no place where we should not be worshipping! As has so often been the case in these psalms, the glorious loving-kindness and tested truth of our God are held before us as a grand catalyst for all of these things.


In the next group of verses we were exhorted to become humble humans and not haughty ones! "For though the LORD is exalted, yet He regards the lowly; but the haughty He knows from afar."


Pride goeth before a fall.
Humility is a guarantee of grace.


This morning, in the final two verses of the psalm we are reminded of the care that God takes for His precious people in the midst of awful affliction and of His providential dealings to make them more Christ-like in the process.

A Prelude to Thanksgiving - Psalm 136

"Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good;

for His lovingkindness is everlasting.

Give thanks to the God of gods,

for His lovingkindness is everlasting.

Give thanks to the Lord of lords,

for His lovingkindness is everlasting.

To Him who alone does great wonders,

for His lovingkindness is everlasting;

to Him who made the heavens with skill,

for His lovingkindness is everlasting;

to Him who spread out the earth above the waters,

for His lovingkindness is everlasting;

to Him who made the great lights,

for His lovingkindness is everlasting:

the sun to rule by day,

for His lovingkindness is everlasting,

the moon and stars to rule by night,

for His lovingkindness is everlasting."

(Psalm 136:1-9)

This is a psalm of thanksgiving. (Kind of obvious, eh?!) It is a hallelujah of gratitude for who God is and for what He has done. We have much to thank Him for and just in case we are suffering from some form of Ebenezer amnesia the psalm writer is about to jog our memories.


In these 26 verses (of which I am only going to give a brief intro to this morning) we will be reminded of the greatness of God in and of Himself,of His creative and sustaining power over the entire universe, of His role as Israel's God and Savior and King, of His condescending act of redeeming us from our hopeless and helpless estate, and of His never-ceasing beneficence. He is a good God, a great God, a gracious God, and a giving God. Won't you give thanks with me?


There is a repetitive phrase used very effectively in this particular hymn of thanks:

"for His lovingkindness is everlasting."

Just in case you were wondering, it is used 26 times in 26 verses - I think this everlasting lovingkindness is a point that our lyricist wants to drive home!!

Hallelujah!! - Psalm 135 (part 1)

"Praise the LORD!

Praise the name of the LORD;

praise Him, O servants of the LORD,

you who stand in the house of the LORD,

in the courts of the house of our God!

Praise the LORD for the LORD is good;

sing praises to His name, for it is lovely.

For the LORD has chosen Jacob for Himself,

Israel for His own possession."

(Psalm 135:1-4)

Psalm 135 begins the final contextual group of psalms in God's hymnbook. The previous group (120-134) is known as the psalms of ascent. These (135ff) are the psalms of praise. Matthew Henry refers to them as the "hallelujah psalms" - I like that!


Each of these begins with a hallelujah and ends with a hallelujah and in between they are full of the reasons why we should shout hallelujah to our great God.


Henry says that hallelujah is the "alpha and omega" of each of these songs. How I pray that examining these hymns of Zion would move me to make praise the alpha and omega of my songs and of my life!