Introduction Today's psalm is a psalm of thanksgiving in which the psalmist leads the people in praise to the Lord for his steadfast love and for rescuing them from their enemies. It begins with praise; then, in verses 5 to 18, the psalmist describes how the Lord helped them; after that, in verses 19 to … Continue reading Psalm 118
Tag: Old Testament
Ecclesiastes 03–05
Introduction We began to study the book of Ecclesiastes last Sunday evening and it's a difficult book. The scholars debate who wrote it and what it's about and how to divide it up into parts. Some think it was written by King Solomon and others think it was written by someone else: perhaps by a … Continue reading Ecclesiastes 03–05
Ecclesiastes 01+02
Introduction We're beginning a new series of sermons on the Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes and my plan is to divide the book into four sermons. No doubt most, if not all of you, have read Ecclesiastes from time to time. And if you've ever scratched your head when reading it and if you've wondered … Continue reading Ecclesiastes 01+02
Psalm 117
Introduction Psalm 117 is the shortest psalm, but -- as one of the commentators says (Futato) -- its theme is one of the grandest, because it's about the worldwide worship of the Lord our God. The text In verse 1, the psalmist calls on 'all you nations' and on 'all you peoples' to praise and … Continue reading Psalm 117
Psalm 116
Introduction In the previous psalm, the psalmist said about the gods of the nations that they have mouths, but cannot speak; and they have eyes, but cannot see; and they have ears, but they cannot hear; and they have noses, but cannot smell; and they have hands, but they cannot feel; and they have feet, … Continue reading Psalm 116
Psalm 115
Verses 1 to 3 This psalm begins with the psalmist declaring that God should be glorified and not us. 'Not to us, O Lord, not to us but to your name be the glory.' Our chief end in life is not to glorify ourselves, but to glorify God and to enjoy him for ever. And … Continue reading Psalm 115
Psalm 113+114
Introduction I'm going to take these two psalms together, mainly because they're both short. However, some of the commentators say that the Jews in the first century sang both psalms one after the other before eating the Passover. Apparently they then sang Psalms 115 to 118 to conclude the Passover feast. In Psalm 113, the … Continue reading Psalm 113+114
Psalm 112
Introduction Today's psalm, like the one we studied last week, is an acrostic poem so that, if you disregard the opening 'Praise the Lord', the remaining twenty-two lines begin with each successive letter in the Hebrew alphabet. As I said when we were studying the acrostic poems in the book of Lamentations recently, the writer … Continue reading Psalm 112
Lamentations 5
Introduction We come today to the fifth and final chapter of the book of Lamentations. The writer -- who may well have been Jeremiah the prophet -- has been lamenting before the Lord, calling out to him because of everything that has happened to the writer himself and to the people of Jerusalem. The Babylonian … Continue reading Lamentations 5
Lamentations 4
Introduction We've been studying the book of Lamentations for four weeks now. And we've seen how the author of the book -- who may have been Jeremiah -- has been lamenting before the Lord, calling out to him because of everything that has happened to the author himself and to the people of Jerusalem. The … Continue reading Lamentations 4
Sermons and Stuff 