PSALM 118:6 According to Paul

Hebrews   13:6   NIV
God has said,
"Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you."
So we say with confidence
"The LORD is my helper; I will not be afraid
What can man do to me?

PSALM 118:6 NIV
5 In my anguish I cried to the LORD
        and he answered  by setting me free.
6 The LORD is with me; I will not be afraid
        What can man do to me ?

PSALM 117 (118) Septuagint.
   The Lord is my helper;
   and I will not fear what men shall do to me.

Psalm 118: 8-9 NIV
8   It is better to take refuge in the LORD
        than to trust in man.
9   It is better to take refuge in the LORD
        than to trust in princes.

With Paul we say;-"The LORD is my helper".

PSALM 116:10 According to Paul

Amos 3:8 KJV
The lion hath roared who will not fear ?
The Lord God hath spoken, who can but prophesy ?

Psalm 116:10 KJV
I believed, therefor I have spoken:

Psalm 115  (116)  The Septuagint Brenton's translation.
I believed, wherefore I have spoken:

2nd Corinthians 4;13 Good News Bible
13 The scripture says, "I have spoken because I believed."
In the same spirit of faith, we also speak because we believe.

2nd Corinthians 4:13 Jerusalem
13 But as we have the same spirit of faith
     that is mentioned in scripture--
14" I believed, and therefor I spoke"--
       we too believe and therefore we too speak ,
      knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus to life
      will raise us up with Jesus in our turn,
      and put us by his side and you with us.

Paul's take on Psalm 116:10 is revealed in the New Testament
and is therefore the inspired word of God.
This passage is therefore worth our close and careful attention.

PSALM 116 Sons of the Resurrection.

Psalm 116:17 KJV
I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving
And will call upon the name of the Lord.

It is about prayer. The human experience of gratitude
is close to prayer. the experience of heartfelt gratitude
takes us even farther but heartfelt thanksgiving is
another step again !
Calling upon the name of the Lord,
with heartfelt thanksgiving..... is grace in prayer.

 Psalm 116; 14, 18-19 RSV.
14   I will pay my vows to the LORD
       in the presence of all the people.
18   I will pay my vows to the LORD
       in the presence of all his people
19   in the courts of the house of the LORD
       in your midst, O Jerusalem. Praise the LORD.

Luke 20:37-38  NKJV
37   But even Moses showed in the burning bush passage
       that the dead are raised, when he called the LORD
       "the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob"
38   For he is not the God of the dead but of the living,
       for all live to him.

So when we offer the sacrifice of  thanksgiving in the presence
of ALL his people, in the courts of the house of the LORD
to whom all men are alive and present,
"we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses"
                                                                     Hebrews 12:1 NKJV 

Psalm 116: 9   I will walk before the LORD
                         In the land of the living.

We realize that in walking before the LORD
we are compassed about with the household of God.

Now you are no longer strangers or guests,
but fellow citizens of the holy people:
you are of the household of God.
                                                      EPHESIANS 2:19
                                                      CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY BIBLE
                                                      THIRTY-SEVENTH EDITION

Every time we sing this Psalm,
we sing twice "I will pay my vows to the LORD
in the presence of all his people."
It is true:-
" A psalm a day helps you work rest and pray."
Psalm 116 reminds us that we work, rest and pray
as members of the household of God.

indeed our fellowship is with the Father
and with his Son Jesus Christ.                1 John 1:3  ESV

PSALM 115 Remember God's Presence.

Psalm 115:4  RSV
Their idols are silver and gold, the works of men's hands.

People still put their trust money and financial speculation.
They make desirable property and fashionable possessions
the focus of their efforts, and they make social status the
desire of their hearts.  These idols have been around for many
generations and continue to appeal to self centered, self indulgent
folk
.
Psalm 115:9-11 AMPLIFIED BIBLE
9 O Israel, trust and take refuge in the LORD !
   ( Lean on, rely on, and be confident in Him !)
   He is their Help and their Shield.
10 O house of Aaron ( the priesthood )
         trust in and lean on the LORD
   He is their Help  and their Shield.
11 You who ( reverently ) fear the LORD,
   trust in, and lean on the LORD !
   He is their Help and their Shield.

Those who fear the LORD enough to put their trust
in His will and purpose, can truly say
"His steadfast love endures forever"   (Psalm 118:4)
Because those who have put their trust in Him--in everyday life--
have found that "He is their Help and Shield" Psalm 115:11
and that He blesses them and their households.

We need to be among those who can say
"I shall pass my life in the presence of Yahweh,
in the land of the living."  Psalm 116:9  NJB

Mine to walk at ease, enjoying the Lord's presence
in the land of the living.    Psalm 114:8  Knox translation.

Remember God's presence.

Psalm 145:5-6  NIV
Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob
whose hope is in the Lord his God.
The  Maker of heaven and earth
the sea and everything in them--
the LORD who remains faithful forever.

No empty theory here. The person who's Hope and Help is,
 in practice, and on an ongoing basis,
  the Lord our God,
is remarkably blessed.

Psalm 115 ESV
May you be blessed by the LORD,
    who made heaven and earth!

                       AMEN.

PSALM 114 Who God Is.

Psalm 114 NLT
1     When the Israelites escaped from Egypt--
       when the family of Jacob left that foreign land--
2     The land of Judah became God's sanctuary
       and Israel became His kingdom.

Psalm 114 is about very dramatic events.
A whole nation finds freedom from enslavement and
oppression,--- from humiliation to renewed life.
They experience the sort of transformation of circumstances
which is beyond our own strength---which , in fact,
can only be brought about by the One who can transform
impossible situations.
It is the testimony of many Christians that the LORD our God
has delivered us personally , transformed our circumstances
and renewed our lives.

To praise God and praise His Holy Name, with all our heart,
we need in our own heart, a really motivating appreciation
of who God is and what He has done for us.
The Children of Israel had just shared such an experience.
To truly engage in heartfelt praise and worship,
we need , in our own heart; the love of God,
the fear of God, and a need, always,
to know His presence.

Psalm 114: 7-8 NLT
7     Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the LORD
       at the presence of the God of Israel.
8     He turned the rock into pools of water
       yes springs of water from solid rock.

John 3:16 KJV
3     For God so loved the world,
       that he gave his only begotten Son,
       that whosoever believeth in him ,
       should not perish, but have everlasting life.

He has made our hearts His sanctuary.
And the body of Christ His Kingdom.

PSALM 113 Know the only true God.

John 17:3 ESV 
And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God,
and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.

Psalm 113:1-3  ESV
1     Praise the LORD!
       Praise , O servants of the LORD,
       praise the name of the LORD!

2     Blessed be the name of the LORD
       from this time forth and for ever more!

3     From the rising of the sun to its setting,
       the name of the LORD is to be praised.

From psalm 112, we know that those who
delight in doing the will of God ,
also Praise the LORD.

From Psalm 113 we realize that those who
praise the name of the LORD, and bless the name of the LORD,
are those who have personal experience of the praiseworthy attributes,
praiseworthy nature, and praiseworthy deeds of the LORD our God.
We can and do testify to God's character, God's reputation, and God's name.
We praise the name of the LORD
at all times of day, now and always.  

PSALM 112 The blessings of the righteous.

In 2nd Corinthians ch1 v12 , the apostle Paul quotes from
The Septuagint Psalm 111    ( 112 in Hebrew )  verse 3
"Glory and riches shall be in your house"
Paul says "Our glory ( Our boast - in modern translations )
is in this; the witness of our conscience.

By  delighting in the precepts of the Lord,
the righteous become more Godly.
So for us, obedience to the Lord is not an imposed burden
but a power which transforms our hearts.

Obedience to the will of God is to let oneself be filled
with the tenderness, forgiveness, generosity, justice,
kindness, love and mercy of the living God.

Psalm 112:1 NCV  
Blessed is the man who fears the LORD,
who greatly delights in his precepts

PSALM 111 Life Lived as God's People

In Christ we live and move and have our being.
The Spirit is poured out in our hearts as love.

Romans 5:5 New Living Translation
.....for we know how dearly God loves us,
because He has given us the Holy Spirit
to fill our hearts with love.

Life lived as God's people is expressed in Psalm 111.
This summary stands as a benchmark
from the days of King David
and is valid for God's people today.
It is a good and necessary thing to fear the Lord.
It is desirable  to have a good understanding.
It is good and necessary to personally
put into practice , the will of God.
It is good and necessary to reverence God
and be zealous in keeping all His laws.
It is good to delight in His commandments,
                to delight in Him and ponder on His deeds.
It is good to be joyful in fearing the LORD and
wholeheartedly participate in His will and purpose.

Psalm 111:10 New Living Translation.
Fear of the LORD is the foundation of true wisdom.
All who obey His commandments will grow in wisdom. Praise Him forever !
                

PSALM 111 Ponder the deeds of the LORD

Psalm 111:2 NLT 
How amazing are the deeds of the LORD !
All who delight in Him should ponder them.

Psalm 111:6 points to more deeds of the Lord.
Psalm 111:6 NASB
He has shown his people the power of his works,
giving them the lands of other nations.

Grateful memory of God,s past actions ads to our confidence
in God,s deeds and works in the present and in the future.
We have a oneness in the communion of saints
with people whose life and work transcends the limits of time
to reach us through their written words.
We can be grateful for God,s deeds in their lives.

A sad heritage is left by those who lightly esteemed God
and failed to serve Him and who did not value the will of God.
As the body of Christ we celebrate and remember the works of God
in His people of faith in Old Testament times and in New Testament times.
We gratefully remember His works and deeds in His people of faith
since New Testament times.

We should ponder the deeds of the Lord, done through the lives of
the brave missionaries and hymn writers of each century.
Thank God for all who came to faith and wholeheartedly shared
the source of their hope with friends and family and community.

PSALM 111 Ponder the Will of God

Psalm 111:10 NKJV
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom;
A good understanding have all those who do His commandments.
His praise endures forever.

John Calvin instructs his readers to "Reverence God"
and be zealous in keeping His laws.
John points out that, in practice, those who do not fear God
fail to regulate their lives according to His law.
Those who do not render explicit obedience unto God
clearly have no regard for the will of God or His purposes.
In John Calvin's words; "Many lightly esteem God
and fail to serve Him and submit to the regulation of His word."

Psalm 112:1 NLT
How joyful are those who fear the LORD
and delight in His commands.

Those who take delight in putting God's commands
into practice personally have it right.
Participation in the will of God is a wholehearted activity
rather than an academic or legalistic process.

PSALM 110 Our TRIUNE GOD

Psalm 110   (Vulgate 109)
The Lord (The Father)  said to my Lord (Christ),
"Sit at My right hand"

Jesus is begotten from the Father before all time
( before the morning star ) 
and is the "ETERNAL SON " of the "FATHER"

In this Psalm of David
David calls the future king "my Lord".
Since the future king is the Messiah,
David is calling the Messiah "my Lord" !

Psalm 110:3 NCV
Yours is royal dignity in the day of your birth;
in holy splendor, before the day star
like the dew, I have begotten you.

Psalm 110 (Septuagint 109) is a Royal Psalm and
contains prophecy concerning the Melchizedek
 priesthood of our Lord Jesus  Christ .

In Genesis 14:18 Melchizedek is king of Salem
                            and priest of God Most High
bringing out bread and wine he blesses Abram.
See Hebrews 7 regarding the permanence of the
Royal Priesthood of the Lord Jesus.

Hebrews 1:8 begins "But of the Son he says;---"
and quotes Ps110:1  and Psalm 45:6-7 precisely.

Psalm 110:1 ESV    The LORD says to my Lord;
"Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool"

Psalm 45:6-7 ESV Your throne, O God, is for ever and ever.
The sceptre of your kingdom is a sceptre of uprightness;
you have loved righteousness and hated wickedness.
Therefore God, your God, has anointed you
with oil and gladness beyond your companions.

Since we know from Isaiah 63;10 that God's people
"rebelled and grieved his Holy Spirit"
we can distinguish God the Father, God the Son,
and God the Holy Spirit, while understanding that
God-With-Us comprises all three.

David, the divinely inspired writer of Psalm 110
predicted that the future seed of David was to be our Messiah.
Our Lord Jesus is,in the flesh, descended from David,
and is David's Lord and our Lord. 

Psalm 2:7  ESV and SAAS
The LORD said to me
"You are my son; today I have begotten you.

St Matthew 3:17 KJV
And lo a voice from heaven, saying, 
This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

PSALM 109 Discern what is Good

Discern what is good with the help of Psalm 109.

From verse 1    Praising God is a good start.
From verse 4    Being a loving person is good and
                         good people give themselves to prayer.
From verse 16  Lovingkindness is a welcome sign of good.
From verse 17  The good delight in blessing others.
From verse 21  To be merciful is godly.
                          To see people's need and in steadfast love
                           to deliver them, is in the Spirit of Christ.
From verse 22   It is good to be aware of our own inadequacy.
From verse 24   Fasting and prayer is the normal way of life for the good.
From verse 26   Constant reference to the LORD for
                          His help and enabling is the way of the good.
From verse 30  The good are grateful to the LORD
                          and praise Him to everybody.
From verse 31   It is really Christlike to stand beside the needy,
                          the afflicted and the oppressed.

                         

PSALM 109 Recognize Evil

Discern what is bad with the help of Psalm 109.

From verse 1-5     The wicked are deceitful.
It is wicked to lie about other people.
Words of hatred are spoken out of hatred.
Accusers reveal what is in their heart.
People have to be quite bad to return evil for good.
and even worse to return hate for love.
From verse 16-17
Failure to show kindness is a bad sign.
Persecuting the afflicted and needy is bad.
Bringing about the malnutrition and premature death
of underprivileged people is seriously bad.
Cursing the oppressed is a terrible sign
of social and political decline.
Those who would deny medical care to the "undeserving"
are animated by evil.
Those who curse "immigrants" (even the ones who drown
in the Mediterranean) for being a "nuisance" and a "problem"
curse out of their own personal wickedness.
From verse 28 and 29
Those who publish hatred in the social media,wear their disgrace
like a tea shirt, advertising their evil attitudes.
From verse 31        The LORD our GOD stands beside the needy,
the afflicted and the oppressed...every...single...one.

PSALM 108 Ministry of witness

When older people repeat themselves, it shows what is on their mind.
When mothers repeat themselves, it shows that the mother knows
that her child needs to hear it twice.
When we hear something repeated, we may give it a higher priority.
When today's prayer sounds familiar because we have prayed
much the same before, we pray with fresh faith and a new heart.

Psalm 108:2-6      repeats      Psalm 57:8-12       and
Psalm 108:7-14    repeats      Psalm 60:7-14.

Which surely shows what is on God's mind
and indicates that we should give these matters higher priority.
We need grace to live through familiar challenges with a new heart.
We need to recognize where God's love is .
It is love which gives us fresh enabling and fresh smiles

Verse 1-5 is a vow to sing, give thanks, and to sing God's praises
among the peoples and among the nations.
That is an international ministry of witness !
In verse 6 we seek answer to prayer,
rescue for the all the Lord's people and victory for us all.
In verse 12 we express our need of help from the Lord.
In verse 10, 11 and 12 we lament our own inadequacy:
And in verse 13 we declare our hope and trust in the one true God.

PSALM 107 Witness to Steadfast Love

Psalm 107:1-2  NRSV
1     O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
       for his steadfast love endures for ever
2     Let the redeemed of the LORD say so,
       those he redeemed from trouble.

The "Redeemed of the LORD" are particularly qualified
to witness to the LORD'S goodness and steadfast love.
In Psalm 107 the importance of witnessing to his love
and wonderful works is repeated in verses 6, 13, 19, and 28.

Psalm 107:6   &  21-22  NRSV
6     Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble
       and he delivered them from their distress.

21   Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love
       for his wonderful works to humankind.
22   And let them offer thanksgiving sacrifices,
       and tell of his deeds with songs of joy.

Public , joyful, "telling of his deeds", out loud in song,
is a witness to all those for whom we pray who need to know
the steadfast love of the Lord
and his wonderful works to humankind.

Our every experience of recognizing the presence of God;.........

Every awareness of the working of the Holy Spirit;........

Every deliverance which we can acknowledge;......

is an opportunity to witness to the Glory of God
to encourage members of the body of Christ
and to shine a beacon to those who are unaware of
the steadfast love and wonderful works of our LORD.

2nd Chronicles  5:13 NRSV
It was the duty of the trumpeters and singers to make
themselves heard in unison in praise and thanksgiving
to the LORD, and when the song was raised with trumpets
and cymbals and other musical instruments, in praise to the LORD,
     "For he is good,
             for his steadfast love endures forever."

EPHESIANS 5:19 NRSV
but be filled with the Spirit,
as you sing psalms and spiritual songs among yourselves,
singing and making melody to the Lord in your hearts,
giving thanks to God the Father at all times and for everything
in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

PSALM 106 RESTORATION !

Psalm 106:1-2  NCV
1   Give thanks to the Lord, for he is Good
     his kindness endures forever.
2   Who can possibly recount the mighty acts of the Lord
     and fully proclaim his praise ?

A repentant people recall historical sin
but only to confess contemporary sin.
The community of God,s people gather together
to acknowledge the sins of society, nationally and communally,
in order to seek forgiveness and restoration.
We recall God's mercy, the mercy accomplished in Christ
on behalf of God's sinful but believing people:
Forgiveness accomplished in Christ
which opens us up to the experience of God's love
in restored, thankful, praising community.

Psalm 106: 47-48 NCV
47   Save us, O LORD, our God,
       and gather us from among the nations,
       so that we may give thanks to your holy name
       and glory in praising you.
48   Blessed be the LORD, the God of ISRAEL
       from everlasting to everlasting
       Let all the people say , "Amen."

PSALM 106 Historical Precedent

HISTORICAL PRECEDENT

PSALM 106

v14    Your people became greedy.

v16    Everyone was jealous.

v19    they made and worshiped the statue.

v24    They would not trust you.

v25    They would not obey you.

v34    They disobeyed you.

v38    they poured out the blood
          of innocent children.

v41    You put them in the power
          of nations that hated them.

v43    their sins caused their downfall.

PSALM 105 Trust in God's Providence

Psalm 105  N.K.J.V.
1     Oh, give thanks to the LORD !  Call upon His name.
       Make known His deeds among the peoples.
2     Sing to Him, sing psalms to Him
       Talk of all His wonderous works.
4     seek His presence
5     Remember the wonderful works He has done

We have three calls to praise;-
give thanks,   sing psalms,   seek his presence.
Each immediately followed by;-
Make known His deeds,   Talk of His wonderous works
and remember the wonderful works
.
Three times we have it,
making known His deeds,
talking of His woderous works
and remembering the woderful works He has done.

Telling what God has done is the next thing
to actually praising the Lord our God.

Giving testimony of God's works in our own lives
flows naturally from a heart full of praise.

How do we relate to this psalm which draws our attention to
 The Eternal Faithfulness of the LORD
and invites us to
Remember the marvels that God has wrought

We acknowledge that the psalm is the word of God
and we earnestly want to take it to heart
and to be committed to the ongoing implementation
in our lives of all that the Holy Spirit is showing us.

With St Paul we can stand in faith because we have
 come to have faith in God's providence - in God,s 
ongoing influence throughout the trials of history.

Rom 8:28--we know that all things work together
for good to those who love God, to those who are
called according to His purpose.

We stand in faith with Joseph, sold by his brothers into Egypt.
Psalm 105:17-18-19
God sent a man before them sold into slavery.
They humbled his feet with fetters , his soul was shackled
in iron. Until his word came to pass, the word of the Lord
seared through him.

Joseph was able to testify to God's providence.
God sent me before you to preserve life....
But as for you, you meant evil against me,
but God meant it for good.    Genesis 45:5,7  50:20

PSALM 105 God's Worshiping Community

As children of God, the people of faith
are pilgrim people who need the protection
which His Power brings to our situation.
God is on our side.
The same God who made a pact with Abraham
and Sarah, who gave the oath to Isaac
and Rebecca, who established by decree an
everlasting  covenant with Israel, speaks today.....
"Don't touch my people"
the God who has brought us "safe thus far"
has spoken over us.
"Whoever touches them touches me !"

Psalm 105 verses 2 and 6 NKJV
2   Sing to Him, sing psalms to Him
     Talk of all His wondrous works !
6   O seed of Abraham His servant
     You children of Jacob
     His chosen ones !

The designation of the worshiping community as
"Offspring of Abraham  God's servant
and sons of Jacob, his chosen ones....
underlines our privilege to be members of the
historical community of those who worship the Lord our God.
That forms part of our identity,
We are members of God's Worshiping Community.

PSALM 105 Confidence in God

Psalm 105: 15 RSV
"Touch not my anointed ones"

Psalm 105: 43 RSV
So he led forth his people with joy
his chosen ones with singing.

In God's own words we are his people,  his chosen ones.
We are the Lord's anointed.

Psalm 105: verse 8 and 42
8     He remembers his covenant forever,
       his covenant for a thousand generations.
42   for he remembered his holy word,
       which he gave to Abraham his servant.

Prayer is an act of confidence in God.

..with whom we have relationships, promises  and covenants.
We stand in His love as his created creatures.
we stand in His salvation as saved sinners.
we stand in His community as members of the body of Christ.
we stand in History as the people of God, His adopted sons.