Only one of the Psalms between Psalms 96 and 102 is credited to David that being Psalm 101. The rest of them the author is unknown. We are going to go from singing God's praise to praying to God in our hour of need for help.
In Psalm 96 the Psalmist is singing God's praise. "For the Lord is great, and greatly to be praised; He is to be feared above all gods." We are told that the Lord is coming to earth to judge the world in righteousness and truth.
Psalm 97:1 "The Lord reighneth; let the earth rejoice; let the multitude of isles be glad thereof." When the Lord comes he will destroy His enemies and He will save the souls of His saints and deliver them from the wicked.
In Psalm 98 and Psalm 99 we are told to sing praise to make a joyful noise unto the Lord for He comes to judge the world. The Lord will reign and so we are to sing praise and worship Him.
I have always thought of Psalm 100 as the Thanksgiving chapter. I remember, as a child, hearing this chapter every year around Thanksgiving. It tells us of God's goodness and mercy.
Psalm 101 is the only chapter in this group that is credited to David. In it he says that he will sing of mercy and judgment. He will walk with the faithful and turn away from the wicked. We need to do this. If we walk with the wicked, we will find ourselves becoming like them so we need to walk with the faithful and keep ourselves strong. That does not mean that we are to turn our backs to the wicked. We must witness to them but not become a part of them.
Psalm 102 is a prayer of the afflicted. As I read this chapter, I thought, how much we can relate to this today. Times are hard for many people right now. We find ourselves struggling to make ends meet. People are losing their homes, their jobs, etc. Their lives are at a very low point. They don't know what to do or where to turn. They feel as if everything and everybody has turned against them. The author of this Psalm was feeling the same as what many of us are feeling today. In his agony, he turned to the Lord and cried out to Him. He remembered God's promises and it renewed his hope and trust in God.
Perhaps this psalmist was one of the Israelites who had been deported to Babylon. Wanting to go home, he was wondering if God heard his cries for help. How many of us are hurting today, crying out to God for help and wondering if He is hearing our prayers. Do we to feel alone in our misery? Do we have trouble sleeping at night because we are worried about our condition; wondering what we did to deserve this?
Through all this, we can rest assured that God hears our prayers. He knows and understands what we are going through. He may not answer us as soon as we wish for Him to do. Know this, God hears our prayers and He is in control. He can and will deliver us from our problems. Lean on the Lord for strength let Him be your anchor in these troubled times for we know, " Our anchor holds."
"The anchor holds, though the ship is tattered and the sails are torn." :) Where do we place our trust? There is such encouragement found in reading the Psalms! Thank you for sharing that, Ms Boots. See you in a few minutes, we'll praise Him together!
ReplyDeleteTwice in today's reading we were challenged by the psalmist to "sing to the Lord a NEW song." I think it was Beth Moore I heard talk on this...maybe not, but when was the last time you sang a new song of praise to God? It's easy to fall into thanking God for the things he did for us in the past (which is good!), but forgetting that He's still doing a work in us now! I'm challenged to head to worship this morning expecting God to do something NEW...and I'm excited about it! See you ladies there!
ReplyDeleteGood job Mommy!
ReplyDeleteI think it is interesting to try to think of the situation the psalmist may have been going through at the time he wrote the psalm, particularly for the Psalms for which we do not know the author. It is also very interesting to me how there is "nothing new under the sun". Men and women have been going through the same emotions we are experiencing today for thousands of years. There is only ONE response...all praise and glory to Him and Him alone...just as Amy's beautiful singing this morning spoke to us about!!! As always Ms. Boots, such wise insights in your wonderful post!!!
ReplyDeleteMs.Boots, another comforting and uplifting post. "God hears our prayers AND He is in control." Praise God He is in control of all things even when we don't like the circimstances or we are uncertain of what the future holds. When I think I am the only one to ever go through my circumstance God reminds me through people and/or scripture -You are not alone. Thank you ladies for the daily encouragement and Godly counsel.
ReplyDeleteProclaim his salvation day after day. Okay, I had to stop right there for a few minutes :) Day after day, we are to tell the good news. These Psalms certainly give us good news to tell! Our words should be praising Him. In Sunday School this week, we studied James, specifically the verses on the tongue. When our hearts and minds are full of God's word, it's easier to use our tongues for good!
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