Introduction I'm going to take these two psalms together, because they're both short. And, of course, they are both songs of ascents. So, they were perhaps written for the returning exiles who were making their way back from Babylon to Jerusalem. Or perhaps more likely they were written for God's people who were making their … Continue reading Psalms 123+124 →

Introduction Psalm 122 is the third song of ascents, which were perhaps written for the returning exiles who were making their way back from Babylon to Jerusalem; or, as is more likely, they were written for God's people who were making their way to Jerusalem for one of the annual religious festivals which they were … Continue reading Psalm 122 →

Introduction Psalm 121 is the second of the fifteen psalms of ascents which were written perhaps for God's people who were returning from exile, but it's more likely that they were written for God's people who were making their way up to Jerusalem for one of the annual festivals. And as they made their way … Continue reading Psalm 121 →

Introduction You can see from the title of Psalm 120 that this is a song of ascents. And if you take a look at the following psalms, you'll see that each psalm up to and including Psalm 134 all have the same title. They are all songs of ascents. So, there are fifteen of them … Continue reading Psalm 120 →

Introduction Psalm 119 is an acrostic poem. There are other acrostic poems in the psalter and you might recall that four of the five chapters of the book of Lamentations were acrostic poems. But none of them have matched the scale of Psalm 119, because this acrostic poem comprises not 22 verses to correspond with … Continue reading Psalm 119 →

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 →

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 →

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 →

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 →

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 →