Meditations on the Psalms

A general rule: He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty(verse 1). These words are not catch phrases to set people's minds at ease, but rather truths and life experiences. Those who claimed that religion is the opium for the nations have given way and come to an end. But God's words are living and steadfast truths, experienced by the believers down the ages, and they will be there for them to experience and trust in until His kingdom comes. They are not a matter of the past, but are ever present as a daily reality. The psalmist says that he who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. The one who dwells is the one who lives peacefully, and abides under His shadow and protection. It is he whose life is in Christ, who has known what it means to live in victorious resurrection and to sit with Christ in the heavenly places (Philippians 1:21; 3:10; Ephesians 2:6).

A personal experience (verse 2):

The psalmist tells his neighbour what God does: Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the perilous pestilence. He shall cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler(verses 3,4).

The psalmist speaks to his neighbour about what a neighbour should do (verses 5-8):

The Lord promises the believer that His protection will continue: Because you have made the LORD, who is my refuge, even the Most High, your dwelling place, no evil shall befall you, nor shall any plague come near your dwelling(verses 9,10). The believer takes courage from the truth of the Lord's words with which he began the psalm, saying, Because You have made....The believer did not love God in word only, but in deed and in truth. He told the truth when he said, He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.He told the truth when he encouraged his neighbour with the thought that thousands would fall around him, while no evil would befall him. The believer testified about his experience, and spoke with his neighbour about the goodness of the LORD, so in turn God testified about the believer that he was faithful and trusting. Whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance(Matthew 13:12). Therefore, the Lord confirmed His assurance to the believer that He would continue with him, and that no evil shall befall him personally, nor shall any plague come near his dwelling, namely his body, family, church or society. Christ entered the ship of the believer's life, therefore it could not sink regardless how strong the tempest or how high the billows may rise! Christ said, Abide in Me, and I in you (John 15:4). No harm would befall the branch that abides in the heavenly vine, and no plague would come near his house. If God allows a plague to afflict the believer, it is because all things work together for good to those who love God (Romans 8:28). The Lord will turn the plague that He has permitted to come near the home of the believer into a blessing that will make its foundation deeper and increase its stability and strength.

The LORD promises the believer an angelic service: For He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways. In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone. You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra, the young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot(verses 11-13). Angels are ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation (Hebrews 1:14). The believer seldom sees the angels with his physical eyes but they are there around him nonetheless. The angel opened Hagar's eyes to see the well of water in order to give Ishmael to drink and not die of thirst (Genesis 21:19). The angels reassured Jacob, the father of the Israelite tribes, as he was sleeping in the desert all alone (Genesis 28:12). The angel of the LORD came to Elijah in the desert with a cake and a cup of water. He drank and slept from the intense fatigue, and was later awakened by the angel in order to have yet another meal (1 Kings 19:4-8). Daniel said in the den of lions, My God sent His angel and shut the lions' mouths (Daniel 6:22). The angel opened the prison gates for Peter, woke him up and let him out to freedom (Acts 12:7-10). The angels ministered to Christ after His triumph over of the three temptations of the devil in the desert (Matthew 4:11). The angels rejoice over a penitent sinner (Luke 15:10), as well as carry the soul of the believer to heaven (Luke 16:22), and in the last day they will be the harvesters of men's souls (Matthew 13:39). The angel of the LORD encamps all around those who fear Him, and delivers them (Psalms 34:7). Even Satan knows of the angels' ministry to the believers; for Christ quoted verses 11 and 12 of our psalm when He was tempted to cast Himself down from the mountain, so that the angels might preserve Him, and that men might follow Him (Matthew 4:6).

God's angels protect the believers from the obvious dangers which the psalmist points at using the figure of the lion and the young lion, as well as the hidden dangers such as the cobra and the snakes. The Bible describes Satan as a roaring lion (1 Peter 5:8) and the serpent of old (Revelation 12:9; 20:2) but the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly (Romans 16:20). Let the believers rest assured, because the seed of the woman, who crushed the head of the serpent, will deliver them from both lions and snakes and give them the opportunity to tread on them. The word "tread on" has a military significance. A victorious leader used to put his foot on the neck of his defeated opponent, and that would be a declaration of the surrender of the defeated party and the triumph of the conqueror. And in Christ we can say, We are more than conquerors through Him who loved us (Romans 8:37).

For thus says the LORD: 'Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river, and the glory of the Gentiles like a flowing stream. Then you shall feed; on her sides shall you be carried, and be dandled on her knees. As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you'(Isaiah 66:12,13).

The Lord promises the believer an intimate relationship (verses 14-16):

In verse 2 the psalmist gives three descriptions to his personal relationship with God. What are these descriptions?

God does three things to the psalmist's neighbour. What are these three?

Description of singing (verses 1-3):

Two motives to singing (verses 4-7):

The righteous rejoices in God's justice which punishes the sinner: But You, LORD, are on high forevermore. For behold, Your enemies, O LORD, for behold, Your enemies shall perish; all the workers of iniquity shall be scattered(verses 8,9). In these two verses the psalmist speaks to his high and uplifted LORD, who sees all things and nothing is hidden from Him, and who must reward each and every one according to their work (Matthew 16:27). The psalmist uses two adjectives to describe the sinners; he calls them "the enemies of the Lord", and "workers of iniquity". Can someone dare antagonise the Lord, as exalted and eternal as He is? He must have lost all good sense, because It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God (Hebrews 10:31). The apostle Paul explains to us the cause of such folly when he says, ...whose minds the god of this age (the devil) has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them(2 Corinthians 4:4). Their antagonism to the Lord is not caused by the Lord's vague revelation of Himself to them, but because Satan has blinded their hearts and minds. God sent them prophet and apostles, and even Christ came to them as a Saviour, yet although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened (Romans 1:21). Christ said to the people of Jerusalem who rejected Him, O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! See! Your house is left to you desolate (Matthew 23:37,38). Those who work iniquity fulfil Satan's will, and they're the sons of the devil. They must pay the price for their deviation and receive the recompense of their evils, For the moth will eat them up like a garment, and the worm will eat them like wool; but My righteousness will be forever, and My salvation from generation to generation (Isaiah 51:8).

The righteous rejoices in God's justice which rewards the believer (verses 10-15):

Let us thank the Lord and rejoice in Him, and proclaim that He is upright. For this would make us fresh and flourishing in our spiritual lives.

Mention two things that motivate us to praise God.

The righteous is happy with his Lord. Mention two reasons for this happiness.

The Lord is King: The LORD reigns(verse 1a). This is a fact that manifests itself in the works that God performs all around us, making us pray, For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever(Matthew 6:13). Some expositors claim that the psalmist's statement that the LORD reigns means that God created the angels, the cosmos, nature and mankind, then rested on the seventh day. After this He sat on His throne as King, subjecting all angels and nature under Him, making all mankind fulfil His will, whether willingly or not. Others have said that such a statement means that God created the world, but that The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying, 'Let us break their bonds in pieces and cast away their cords from us' (Psalms 2:2,3). But He shall break them with a rod of iron; He shall dash them to pieces like a potter's vessel (Psalms 2:9). For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet (1 Corinthians 15:25). For the casual spectator, it may seem that the Lord's opponents have managed to suspend His dominion, that the wicked have ruled over the world, and that the Lord has lost control of the cosmos. Therefore they cry out along with Isaiah, Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the LORD! Awake as in the ancient days... Are You not the One who dried up the sea? That made the depths of the sea a road for the redeemed to cross over? (Isaiah 51:9,10). In response, the Lord steadies the faith of the week, establishes their feet, and removes the scales that cover their eyes, in order to see that He is King. They shout out loud, How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who proclaims peace, who brings glad tidings of good things, who proclaims salvation, who says to Zion, Your God reigns! (Isaiah 52:7). Salvation consists in the fact that the LORD reigns,and that now He has returned His people from the Babylonian captivity to rebuild the temple, and offer Him their worship in it according to the law of Moses.

Going through such an experience, when the devil oppresses us, anxiety defeats us or doubts overcome us. we cry out to God and He answers our prayers, delivers us and lifts us up. We shout with the psalmist, The LORD reigns and say with King David, Blessed are You, LORD God of Israel, our Father, forever and ever. Yours, O LORD, is the greatness, the power and the glory, the victory and the majesty; for all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours; Yours is the kingdom, O LORD, and You are exalted as head over all. In Your hand is power and might; in Your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all (1 Chronicles 29:10-12). How beatiful was King Jehosaphat's prayer: O LORD God of our fathers, are You not God in heaven, and do You not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations, and in Your hand is there not power and might, so that no one is able to withstand You? (2 Chronicles 20:6). Knowing this and believing it we rejoice with the Arab poet who said:

The King's majesty: He is clothed with majesty(verse 1b). Majesty is glory, greatness and high status. God put on majesty as a garment to fight the enemies of His people. For He put on righteousness as a breastplate, And a helmet of salvation on His head(Isaiah 59:17). He did not put on an appearance of majesty, but majesty itself as a unique and peculiar garment! The leader of singers calls us to sing: Oh, clap your hands, all you peoples! Shout to God with the voice of triumph! For the LORD Most High is awesome; He is a great King over all the earth. He will subdue the peoples under us, and the nations under our feet (Psalms 47:1-3). When we see the children of the Kingdom suffering from persecution, we must pluck up courage because the Lord has put on majesty. Christ came to us in absolute humility and was born in a manger, but He put on majesty. Angels sang His praises at the time of His birth. Wise Men from far lands came to bow down before Him after seeing His star in the east. Simeon the elder carried Him in his arms with joy, saying, For my eyes have seen Your salvation (Luke 2:30). He is God's salvation, even when He put on a poor appearance For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich. (2 Corinthians 8:9). He was lifted up on the cross to die, and ascended to heaven, from which He will come back to the earth as Judge of the living and the dead.

The King's power: He has girded Himself with strength. Surely the world is established, so that it cannot be moved(verse 1c,d). Once again the psalmist compares God's power with a unique and peculiar garment. He is the One Who established the mountains by His strength, being clothed with power(Psalms 65:6). How great is the One who girded Himself with power for the love of His people. Love is power in the greatness of its service, whereas oppression is power in the impotence of its tyranny. On the eve of the Last Supper, Christ took the towel with which He was girded, poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel (John 13:5). He established their hearts in love, humility and service. He girdled Himself with justice, which is permanent power, as opposed to injustice, which is only a temporary power. For He is coming to judge the earth. With righteousness He shall judge the world, and the peoples with equity (Psalms 98:9). The Lord put on power as a garment, and the earth was established according to the laws which He had set up O LORD God of hosts... the heavens are Yours, the earth also is Yours; the world and all its fullness, You have founded them (Psalms 89:8-12). The Lord put on power to establish the moral laws. The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD, and He delights in his way (Psalms 37:23), for the rule of whatever a man sows, that he will also reap(Galatians 6:7) has no exceptions. Everyone who defies the divine laws hurts himself. The Lord said to Saul of Tarsus, It is hard for you to kick against the goads (Acts 9:5). Goads are the sharp points of the plough. When an ox does not like pulling the plough anymore, it kicks against the goads, hurting only itself. But the goads remain intact to continue tilling the soil.

The King's everlasting existence: Your throne is established from of old; You are from everlasting(verse 2). With the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day (2 Peter 3:8). It is He who said, 'I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,' says the Lord, 'who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty'(Revelation 1:8). Since time immemorial He has taken care of His people and saved them, and numbered even the very hairs of their heads (Matthew 10:30; Luke 12:7). The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms (Deuteronomy 33:27). The Israelites will never forget the event of the exodus. The Jewish year begins with the Passover, when they got their freedom from Pharaoh. In the same way our new life in the faith begins with our second birth when Jesus Christ enters our hearts to change us and deliver us from the wages of sin, which is death (Romans 6:23), and from the oppression of sin, because whoever commits sin is a slave of sin (John 8:34). God provided for our redemption even before He established the world, and Christ, through the eternal Spirit, offered Himself on our behalf (Hebrews 9:14). And when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, the Virgin Mary (Galatians 4:4). Truly known to God from eternity are all His works (Acts 15:18). So, let us rejoice and be glad because we are the children of the King who has reigned since time immemorial. He is the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honour and glory forever and ever. Amen (1 Timothy 1:17).

Enemies resist: The floods have lifted up, O LORD, the floods have lifted up their voice; the floods lift up their waves(verse 3). The Land of Israel lay between three countries that formed two major powers, Babylon and Assyria in the North, and Egypt in the South. If the people of the North fought those in the South, or if the people of the South fought those of the North, always the Israelite would be crushed on both sides! Here the psalmist lifts up the matter of his enemies to the Lord, as Hezekiah did when he spread out the letter from his enemy (Isaiah 37:14). The psalmist describes the enemies as floods beating against the banks, without ever hurting them. He says to the Lord, You rule the raging of the sea; when its waves rise, You still them (Psalms 89:9), and the prophet says, When the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD will lift up a standard against him (Isaiah 59:19). The Scriptures compare the two major powers to rushing rivers wanting to overwhelm the land, but to no avail. The Bible says that Assyria is like the Euphrates (Isaiah 8:7,8), and Egypt like the Nile (Jeremiah 46:7,8). But this resistance is futile because the Lord defends His people, just as Christ commanded the winds to calm down and the waves to subside (Matthew 8:26).

Resistance is crushed: The LORD on high is mightier than the noise of many waters, than the mighty waves of the sea.(verse 4). Resistance makes a very loud noise, but the Lord on high is mighty, and His word is final. The prophet Isaiah describes the mighty king of Assyria in the North as being the servant and messenger of the Lord who fulfils His purposes. He says, Now therefore, behold, the Lord brings up over them the waters of the River, strong and mighty; the king of Assyria and all his glory; He will go up over all his channels and go over all his banks. He will pass through Judah, He will overflow and pass over, He will reach up to the neck; and the stretching out of his wings will fill the breadth of Your land, O Immanuel.(Isaiah 8:7,8). The prophet Jeremiah describes the pride of the king of Egypt by saying, Who is this coming up like a flood, whose waters move like the rivers? Egypt rises up like a flood, and its waters move like the rivers; and he says, 'I will go up and cover the earth, I will destroy the city and its inhabitants' (Jeremiah 46:7,8). And from the terror of the enemy's danger the prophet shouts, Woe to the multitude of many people who make a noise like the roar of the seas, and to the rushing of nations that make a rushing like the rushing of mighty waters! The nations will rush like the rushing of many waters; but God will rebuke them and they will flee far away, and be chased like the chaff of the mountains before the wind, like a rolling thing before the whirlwind. Then behold, at eventide, trouble! And before the morning, he is no more. This is the portion of those who plunder us, and the lot of those who rob us (Isaiah 17:12-14). Then shouts the prophet again with the psalmist, God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, even though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; though its waters roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with its swelling. There is a river whose streams shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacle of the Most High (Psalms 46:1-4). Yes, they roar and are troubled, but the victory is the Lord's, who granted victory to Moses and His people over Pharaoh, for which Moses raised his voice to sing this song of triumph: The LORD is my strength and song, and He has become my salvation; He is my God, and I will praise Him; my father's God, and I will exalt Him. The LORD is a man of war; the LORD is His name. Pharaoh's chariots and his army He has cast into the sea; His chosen captains also are drowned in the Red Sea. The depths have covered them; they sank to the bottom like a stone. Your right hand, O LORD, has become glorious in power; your right hand, O LORD, has dashed the enemy in pieces (Exodus 15:2-6).

God's word is sure: Your testimonies are very sure(verse 5a). The testimonies of the Lord are His steadfast and faithful promises; they are sure because they're the manifestations of the Lord, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning (James 1:17). Where the word of the Lord is, there is the authority of the Lord. When Christ called out, Lazarus, come forth, the dead man rose (John 11:43,44). If He just said, Come forth without specifying the name of the dead person, all those buried in the tombs would have risen! As Christ commanded the paralytic Arise, take up your bed, and go to your house, he immediately rose, took up the bed and went out in the presence of them all (Mark 2:11,12).

A Roman Emperor who persecuted the church asked a carpenter right before he was martyred, What does the Carpenter of Nazareth do today? The carpenter answered, He is preparing a casket for the Roman Empire. Then came the first Christian Emperor, Constantine, who was the first Christian Emperor to stop the persecution of the church, and convened the Nicene Council in defence of the Christian faith which was attended by 318 bishops. The Emperor kissed one of the bishops on his missing eye, which was lost because of persecution. He ordered the copying of 50 Bibles at the expense of the state, thus was the casket prepared for the enemies of the Nazarene Carpenter. Moses told the truth as he said to the Israelites, For what great nation is there that has God so near to it, as the LORD our God is to us, for whatever reason we may call upon Him? And what great nation is there that has such statutes and righteous judgments as are in all this law which I set before you this day? (Deuteronomy 4:7,8).

Your testimonies are very sure,testifying to the believers that the Lord is faithful, giving His people a good land. The eyes of the LORD your God are always on it, from the beginning of the year to the very end of the year (Deuteronomy 11:12). He says to His people, I will never leave you nor forsake you (Hebrews 13:5). His testimonies are also very sure about His enemies, who are like the chaff which the wind drives away. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish(Psalms 1:4-6).

The place for revealing His word: Holiness adorns Your house, O LORD, forever(verse 5b). The house of the Lord is the temple, or the holy land of which God said, So you shall know that I am the LORD your God, dwelling in Zion, My holy mountain. Then Jerusalem shall be holy, and no aliens shall ever pass through her again (Joel 3:17). Also the prophet Isaiah said of it, Many people shall come and say, 'Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, and we shall walk in His paths' (Isaiah 2:3). When King Solomon completed the building of the temple, the priests sang, For His mercy endures forever, the house of the LORD was filled with a cloud, so that the priests could not continue ministering because of the cloud; for the glory of the LORD filled the house of God (2 Chronicles 5:13,14). And as Solomon prayed at the inauguration of the temple, the glory of the LORD filled the Lord's house (2 Chronicles 7:2). God consecrates His house and His land by being in its midst. The house of the Lord is the place for revealing His word, where people worship Him, and where Christ is present according to His promise: For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them (Matthew 18:20). The bodies of the believers are also the house of Lord, because they are the temple of the Holy Spirit who dwells in them, according to the statement of the apostle: For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said, 'I will dwell in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they shall be My people' (2 Corinthians 6:16,17). In much of the same way the houses of the believers are the house of the Lord, because the believer says, But as for me and my house, we will serve (worship) the LORD (Joshua 24:15). Christ said to Zacchaeus after the latter's repentance, Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your house (Luke 19:5). So do not be yoked with unbelievers; neither should a believing woman marry anyone else but a believing man, nor should a believing man marry anyone else but a believing woman, so that their house would be a house for the Lord. At the beginning of the church there were no buildings for the church. Believers used to gather in their own houses, which made each house a spiritual, as well as an actual, church (Philemon 2). May the Lord make our houses churches that testify to His grace, so that holiness may adorn the place where He reigns forevermore, as we gratefully say, The LORD reignsover all the earth. Every knee shall bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and fulfil His will, whether willingly or not.

How do you see the sovereignty of God when you meet difficulties?

Explain verse 3 of this psalm.

Running to the God of justice: O LORD God, to whom vengeance belongs; O God, to whom vengeance belongs, shine forth! Rise up, O Judge of the earth; render punishment to the proud(verses 1,2). The psalmist cried out requesting vengeance on his enemies, because God is mighty and uplifted, the Judge of the earth, the only One who has the right to take vengeance. Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, 'Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,' says the Lord (Romans 12:19, quoted from Deuteronomy 32:35). He is the God of recompense. He will surely repay (Jeremiah 51:56). He establishes the balances of justice and gives everyone what is due him, because there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account (Hebrews 4:13). To Him we say, Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; mercy and truth go before Your face (Psalms 89:14).

Requesting the God of justice:

The first question (verses 3-15):

The second question (verses 16-19):

The third question (verses 20-23):

What are the three questions the psalmist raised in Psalm 94?

What are the two answers to the third question?

Because He is the rock of our salvation: Oh come, let us sing to the LORD! Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving; let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms(verses 1,2). The psalmist shouts joyfully to the Lord, offering Him worship and adoration, because He is the rock of salvation on whom we can build our spiritual house, knowing that it would stand, in spite of howling winds and heavy rains. Our spiritual house can only be built upon Christ, the Rock of Ages, For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 3:11). He is the rock of our salvation, who satisfies our lives. When the Israelites thirsted in the wilderness, the Lord commanded Moses to beat the rock with his staff, whereupon water gushed forth and all the people drank to satisfaction (Exodus 17:1-7). The rock is a symbol of Christ, the Rock of Ages, who was beaten on our behalf on the cross, to give us the water of life, of which He said to the Samaritan woman, If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, Give Me a drink, you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water (John 4:10). He is the rock, in Whom we take shelter, as David said to Him, I will love You, O LORD, my strength. The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised; so shall I be saved from my enemies (Psalm 18:1-3).

Our meditation on the Rock of our salvation makes us approach Him with thanksgiving and shout out loud with songs, because Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised(Psalms 48:1). We give Him thanks for His bountiful love with which He loved us. All those who come to the Lord rejoice in Him. But let the righteous be glad; let them rejoice before God; yes, let them rejoice exceedingly (Psalms 68:3). It is written, Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord after His resurrection from the dead (John 20:20). The two disciples of Emmaus were walking, overcome by gloom, but their gloomy frame of mind ended as He broke the bread, when at once they recognized that Christ was alive. They were immediately filled with great joy and went back to Jerusalem to tell the rest of the disciples (Luke 24:13-35). As we partake of the body and blood of the Lord, we rejoice in our Saviour, as we rejoice every time we recall how we became His own through our spiritual rebirth by the Holy Spirit, when we committed our lives to Him. So, let us sing and shout joyfully, for worship is not an obligatory duty we have to perform, but a privilege and a real joy to us. As we appear in the presence of the Lord, we meet Him personally, and thank Him and sing to Him out of gratitude for His favour.

Because He is the only God: For the LORD is the great God, and the great King above all gods(verse 3). Moses said to the people, The LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome (Deuteronomy 10:17). By "gods" the psalmist may have meant "idols". In our world there are many man-made gods; such as idols, which heathens worship, money, which materialists adore and sex which the licentious bow down to. As the Philistines brought the ark of the Lord's covenant into the house of their god Dagon, they found Dagon fallen on its face to the earth before the ark of the LORD next morning. So they took Dagon and set it in its place again. And when they arose early the next morning, there was Dagon, fallen on its face to the ground before the ark of the LORD again, with its head and both the palms of its hands broken off on the threshold (1 Samuel 5:3,4). All those who worship Mammon realize that its purchasing power waning, not to mention the things it cannot buy, such as health and love. One's life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses (Luke 12:15). Whoever trusts his health, finds it failing with the advance of years, and whoever counts on friends may be deserted by them in time of need. The Lord, however, is the great God and the great King above all gods. They do not satisfy, help or last, for satisfaction and help are found only in the Lord.

God's greatness over all gods was evident when Elijah challenged the heathen priests of Baal to offer a sacrifice to it, while he would offer one to the Lord. The God who would send fire down on the sacrifice would be the true God. Elijah gave them the first chance to offer their sacrifices. And despite all their calls and howls to attract their idol's attention, no fire came down on their sacrifice. Then Elijah called the Lord, who sent fire down from heaven that devoured Elijah's sacrifice. At this the people shouted, The LORD, He is God! (1 Kings 18:21-39).

Perhaps by "gods" the psalmist meant judges and rulers, according to the statement: "God stands in the congregation of the mighty; He judges among the gods." The Lord said to the Israelites, I said, 'You are gods, and all of you are children of the Most High' (Psalms 82:1,6). This may be due to the fact that a judge pronounces the litigants either as innocent or guilty, through the commissioning of God and according to His law. The Lord is the great God, and the great King above all judges, because a high official watches over high official, and higher officials are over them (Ecclesiastes 5:8). Rulers come and go, and others replace them, but as to the Lord, He is the same yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8). His kingdom neither changes nor ends.

Because He is a rich God: In His hand are the deep places of the earth; the heights of the hills are His also. The sea is His, for He made it; and His hands formed the dry land(verses 4,5). The deep places of the earth could be the mines and the oil wells; they are places rich in God's wealth. The treasures of the high hills are also His, with all the forests and pastures that cover them. The sea is also His, which is a symbol of instability and unrest, as well as the dry land, which is a symbol of stability. The Lord commanded Moses to divide the Red Sea with his staff; it was split apart and dry land showed in the midst of it, on which the people of God could cross. Later, the water returned to its natural state, causing all Pharaoh's hordes to be drowned (Exodus 14:21,22). The same thing was repeated with the water of the Jordan River during the time of Joshua (Joshua 3:13). And Christ Himself walked on the sea as though He were walking on dry land, and even gave His disciple Peter the same privilege (Matthew 14:29). As Lord of nature, Christ told Peter to catch a fish with a hook to find a piece of money in it, which he could pay as tax for the Lord and himself (Matthew 17:24-27). So, let us sing to the Lord, because He is rich and almighty.

Because He is our Maker: Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the LORD our Maker(verse 6). The psalmist offers praise to God by worshipping, bowing down and kneeling before Him, because He is the Creator who made him and us. It is not central here to assume a specific posture in prayer, but simply being reverent and respectful, for The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart; these, O God, You will not despise (Psalms 51:17). David sat to pray, and the Lord accepted his prayer (1 Chronicles 17:16). Believers may also stand lifting up their hands toward heaven (Psalms 141:2). King Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall to pray, and God accepted his prayer (Isaiah 38:2). When sin corrupted the first creation, God created man afresh as follows: If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new(2 Corinthians 5:17). God revealed this to his prophet Jeremiah as he went to a potter's shop to see how he made a clay pot. He saw the potter holding a clump of clay to make a vessel out of it, but the clay would not respond to the work of the potter's hands and it all but crumbled. He put it together again and started to work it afresh, turning it into a vessel such as a craftsman would like to make. Thereupon the Lord God said to Jeremiah, 'O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter?' says the LORD. 'Look, as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel!' (Jeremiah 18:6). How wonderful was the first cre-ation that sin damaged, and how magnificent is the second creation that is justified by the blood of Christ! Let us pray: Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my anxieties; and see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting (Psalms 139:23,24). Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my strength and my Redeemer (Psalms 19:14).

Because He is our Shepherd: For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture, and the sheep of His hand(verse 7a). The Lord is our God because He created us, guides us, watches over us and provides for all our physical, spiritual, and mental needs. He chose us to be His own people, and planned to bring us into a new covenant with Himself, of which He said, 'Take, eat; this is My body.' Then He took the cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, 'Drink from it, all of you'(Matthew 26:26,27). Thus we became His own people, and the sheep of His pasture. He is the Good Shepherd who said, I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep (John 10:11). He is the One who gave us the privilege to say, The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters (Psalms 23:1,2). So we, Your people and sheep of Your pasture, will give You thanks forever; we will show forth Your praise to all generations (Psalms 79:13). Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, You who lead Joseph like a flock; You who dwell between the cherubim, shine forth!(Psalms 80:1).

For fear of a hard heart: Today, if you will hear His voice: do not harden your hearts(verses 7b,8a). Life is short and tomorrow does not belong to us, because God holds the future in His hands. Therefore we must hear His voice "today" and obey it, because postponing repentance hardens the heart of him who presumes to be the holder of his own destiny, who relies on his health or wealth, and supposes to repent "on the morrow." But behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation (2 Corinthians 6:2). Today is a day of repentance and salvation. God not only invites us to accept them, but orders us to embrace them "today"! This is a clear invitation to us all to make an immediate and conclusive decision to live with the Lord. Christ said, Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me (Revelation 3:20). Do not leave Christ standing at the door of your heart knocking any longer than you already have. If you do not take a step of repentance toward Him today, you may never take it at all. The Spirit of God shall not strive with any straying man forever (Genesis 6:3). Enough of long-held carelessness, because every day that passes you without the personal knowledge of Christ is a true loss to you. You will never find life meaningful unless you live with God, enjoying intimacy with Him.

Today, if you will hear His voice:Do not harden your hearts.The word "heart" in the Bible may have several meanings:

To keep away from the mistakes of the past: As in the rebellion, as in the day of trial in the wilderness, when your fathers tested Me; they tried Me, though they saw My work(verses 8b,9). The psalmist asks the people not to harden their hearts, admonishing them by the example of their own fathers' hardened hearts, so that they may not sin as they did. We are used to speaking of our fathers with pride and affection, glossing over their errors out of love and respect for them, but the Lord describes things as they really are. He mentions what happened in Meribah (rebellion and strife), and what transpired in Massah (trial or temptation). Those were times when the Israelites murmured against God, Moses and Aaron for the lack of water. Their first rebellion was at Rephidim, at the beginning of the years of wondering in the wilderness (Exodus 17:1-7). They also murmured in Qadesh in the fortieth year of their wandering in the wilderness (Numbers 20:1-3). The Israelites murmured often against the Lord, so that He said about them, These men... have put Me to the test now these ten times, and have not heeded My voice (Numbers 14:22). The place is called both Meribah and Massah; it is a spring that gushed out from a rock in Horeb when Moses struck the rock with his staff, as the Lord commanded him to do. Truly, how wretched is implacable man! Moses called the name of the place Massah and Meribah because of the contention of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the LORD, saying, Is the LORD among us or not? (Exodus 17:7) The painful thing is that the fathers murmured despite the fact that they experienced God's goodness, faithfulness and power, as well as witnessing His mighty deeds. The people did not murmur owing to blindness or ignorance, rather because of their stout hearts and unbelief, and in spite of seeing God's love, care and protection.

To avoid the punishments of the past: For forty years I was grieved with that generation, and said, 'It is a people who go astray in their hearts, and they do not know My ways.' So I swore in My wrath, 'They shall not enter My rest'(verses 10,11). God was grieved by the going astray of man, because He has no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live (Ezekiel 33:11). The expression "grieved with" may also mean "to love less." The Lord lessened His care of them, and removed his protection and provision from them. It was said that whoever wants to follow Christ must hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters (Luke 14:26). This means that his love for the Lord must come before his love for his family. His love for God must be stronger than his love for his own family, in such a way that his love for his family would be like unto a light of a candle in front of the light of the sun. And as God's love reigns over his heart and feelings, he exclaims, For the love of Christ compels us (2 Corinthians 5:14).

The people went astray from the Lord, departed from His straight paths, because they were unbelieving and iniquitous. They went astray in their hearts, so their feet missed His ways. The psalmist said about them, The wicked are estranged from the womb; they go astray as soon as they are born, speaking lies(Psalms 58:3). Also Isaiah said about them, All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way (Isaiah 53:6). This generation is a people who go astray in their hearts. Their going astray issues from within, from their own souls, by their own wills, emotions and minds. Because of this going astray the Lord was grieved with them and denied them entrance to the Promised Land, and their corpses fell like dung over the face of the desert.

Again because of this straying and persistence in going wrong, God swore in His wrath that they would not enter His rest. God said to Moses and Aaron, How long shall I bear with this evil congregation who complain against Me? I have heard the complaints which the children of Israel make against Me. Say to them, ' "As I live," says the LORD, "just as you have spoken in My hearing, so I will do to you: The carcasses of you who have complained against Me shall fall in this wilderness, all of you who were numbered, according to your entire number, from twenty years old and above. Except for Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun" ' (Numbers 14:26-30).

The psalm ends abruptly with these words. There is a piece of advice in it, which must always remain in front of our eyes: God's special favour to us must remind us of our spiritual responsibility, and that the grace that God grants us does not at all mean that we can live as we like, but as our Saviour and Shepherd would have us to. Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts. Let us kneel before the LORD our Maker, for we are the people of His pasture, and the sheep of His hand.

The psalmist presented five reasons for worshipping the Lord. Write down three of them.

The psalmist presented three warnings against the rejection of the call for worship. Write them down.

Glorifying God with a new song: Oh, sing to the LORD a new song! Sing to the LORD, all the earth(verse 1). The Lord's new mercies call us to praise with a new song. It is a holy call for all the inhabitants of the earth to reflect on the divine blessings continually, as the Lord commanded: Sing to the LORD a new song, and His praise from the ends of the earth, you who go down to the sea, and all that is in it, you coastlands and you inhabitants of them! Let the wilderness and its cities lift up their voice, the villages that Kedar inhabits. Let the inhabitants of Sela sing, let them shout from the top of the mountains. Let them give glory to the LORD, and declare His praise in the coastlands (Isaiah 42:10-12). He calls Kedar, the second son of Ishmael, and Sela, the most impregnable fortification of Edom, the descendant of Esau, as well as the inhabitants of the far-flung coastlands to sing, shout joyfully, and proclaim the glory of the Lord: Thus says God the LORD, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread forth the earth and that which comes from it, who gives breath to the people on it, and spirit to those who walk on it (Isaiah 42:5). He is the Provider for their physical and spiritual life, because He is the Life-giver and Renewer of health. He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength. He gives bread to those that hunger, and prosperity in life comes only through Him, because by the skilfulness of His hands He guides and directs. To Him we shout along with Moses, I will sing to the LORD, for He has triumphed gloriously! The horse and its rider He has thrown into the sea! (Exodus 15:1), and with Deborah and Barak, Hear, O kings! Give ear, O princes! I, even I, will sing to the LORD; I will sing praise to the LORD God of Israel (Judges 5:3). He granted us the grace of free salvation, and delivered us from the bondage of sin. He has set us free. He is worthy to be praised every new day, because His mercies are new every morning. As we sing, the clouds lift off and we rise above the pitfalls in our path, and the thorns no longer make our feet bleed, for our eyes are fixed upon the Lord of Providence. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need(Hebrews 4:16).

Glorifying Him by proclaiming His salvation: Sing to the LORD, bless His name; Proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day(verse 2). Salvation in its larger sense means salvation from sickness, hunger, the woes of war and from sin, by virtue of the redemption of Christ, which the angel proclaimed, saying, Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord(Luke 2:10,11). Let us, therefore, sing to Him, bless His name and speak of His perfect salvation, exclaiming, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ (Ephesians 1:3), and Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you(1 Peter 1:3,4). Let all join in praising: Bless the LORD, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name! Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits (Psalms 103:1,2). Let us proclaim the praises of Him who called us out of darkness into His marvellous light, making us sons and heirs of His kingdom, to spread the joyful blessings of the Gospel. For it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes... For in it the righteousness of God is revealed(Romans 1:16,17). It is the glad tidings, revealed by the Lord who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time(1 Timothy 2:4-6). May our motto be: For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for necessity is laid upon me; yes, woe is me if I do not preach the gospel! (1 Corinthians 9:16). Finally, let us obey the commandment of Christ to Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had compassion on you(Mark 5:19).

Glorifying Him by speaking of His miracles: Declare His glory among the nations, His wonders among all peoples(verse 3). No doubt the psalmist recalled the miracle of the Exodus, and that of returning from the Babylonian captivity, which they called "the second Exodus." Miracles and wonders accompanied both events. We today thank God for a spiritual exodus; that is, our deliverance from the humiliation of our sins by forgiveness and sanctification, as well as from the cares of our material life. All of them are miracles and wonders. Now we are surrounded by the Lord's daily miracles, which are so amazing that we cannot enjoy them in silence, but are compelled to proclaim them among the nations and to all peoples, and shout, O LORD, how great are Your works! Your thoughts are very deep... Marvellous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well... I will praise You, O LORD, with my whole heart; I will tell of all Your marvellous works (Psalms 92:5; 139:14; 9:1).

Glorifying God because He is an awesome Creator: For the LORD is great and greatly to be praised; He is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the peoples are idols, but the LORD made the heavens(verses 4,5). The LORD your God, the great and awesome God, is among you. The LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome (Deuteronomy 7:21; 10:17). He is the Lord, who is so great in His might, and much to be praised for His love. He is great and greatly to be praised for His forgiveness, salvation, healing, works, wisdom, goodness and generosity. There is none like You, O LORD (You are great, and Your name is great in might)... For among all the wise men of the nations, and in all their kingdoms, there is none like You. But the LORD is the true God; He is the living God and the everlasting King(Jeremiah 10:6,7,10). All His works are good and His loving kindness is bountiful; His mercies are wonderful and worthy of our thanksgiving We give thanks to You, O God, we give thanks! For Your wondrous works declare that Your name is near (Psalms 75:1). He is almighty, active and to be feared. He commands and it is done. His tender mercies for those who fear Him are bountiful and His love is so vast, as vast as His fathomless knowledge. With God is awesome majesty. As for the Almighty, we cannot find Him; He is excellent in power, in judgment and abundant justice... Therefore men fear Him(Job 37:22-24).

It is sad that some nations worshiped useless idols of wood, rock, gold and silver. And even today, some people have forgotten the Lord, and worshipped Mammon, power or their lusts. For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as there are many gods and many lords), yet for us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we live for Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and through whom we live (1 Corinthians 8:5,6).

Glorifying Him because He is the majestic Creator: Honour and majesty are before Him; strength and beauty are in His sanctuary(verse 6). In the wilderness of Sinai glory and majesty preceded the people of the Lord, in a pillar of cloud by day to protect them from the scorching sun, and a pillar of fire by night to light the way before them and frighten off the beasts of the wild. And it came to pass, when Moses entered the tabernacle, that the pillar of cloud descended and stood at the door of the tabernacle, and the Lord talked with Moses. And he said, 'Please, show me Your glory.' Then He said, 'I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion' (Exodus 33:9,18,19). And in His sanctuary, there is all strength Blessed is the man whose strength is in You, whose heart is set on pilgrimage(Psalms 84:5). In His sanctuary also there is perfect beauty that changes and transforms every one who enjoys it into a glorious image, as it was with Moses when he spent in His holy presence forty days and forty nights. As he descended the mount the skin of his face shone, but he did not know it (Exodus 34:28,29). In the Lord's sanctuary man is sanctified, and obtains salvation. For the LORD takes pleasure in His people; He will beautify the humble with salvation (Psalms 149:4). Therefore the believers intone with David: One thing I have desired of the LORD, that will I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to inquire in His temple (Psalms 27:4).

Glorifying Him by giving glory to Him: Give to the LORD, O families of the peoples, give to the LORD glory and strength. Give to the LORD the glory due His name(verses 7,8a). Give unto the LORD, O you mighty ones, give unto the LORD glory and strength. Give unto the LORD the glory due to His name; worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness (Psalms 29:1,2). Let all the nations of the earth, and all people of influence and wealth shout that the Lord has all glory and strength. We are indebted to acknowledge this fact before all the world, and also put this acknowledgment to practice by submitting to Him and becoming holy instruments in His hands, ever ready to accomplish His purposes.

Glorifying Him be bringing offerings to Him: Bring an offering, and come into His courts(verse 8b). The Scriptures advise us: They shall not appear before the LORD empty-handed. Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the LORD your God which He has given you (Deuteronomy 16:16,17). The offering that we bring into to the Lord's courts are our worship, tithes and praise. It is He who said, For from the rising of the sun, even to its going down, My name shall be great among the Gentiles; in every place incense shall be offered to My name, and a pure offering; for My name shall be great among the nations (Malachi 1:11). All that we have is a gift from Him, and He gives to all liberally and without reproach, so of His own we have given Him (1 Chronicles 29:14). Christ advised us, Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you (Luke 6:38). Although Scriptures say, You shall not tempt the LORD your God(Deuteronomy 6:16), yet they still tell us to 'Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and try Me now in this,' says the LORD of hosts, 'If I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it' (Malachi 3:10).

Glorifying Him by worshipping Him: Oh, worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness! Tremble before Him, all the earth(verse 9). The Lord commanded Moses to make holy garments for Aaron, for glory and for beauty, which he would wear as he ministered to the Lord (Exodus 28:2). Likewise the people of the Lord ought to appear in His presence in garments of godliness and holiness, showing an attitude of reverence and worship. For it is written, 'You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve' (Luke 4:8). Let our adornment not be merely outward, with fine apparel and costly perfumes, rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God (1 Peter 3:4). Without holiness no one will see the Lord (Hebrews 12:14), who directs the most modern beauty salon, in which He beautifies our lips with words of edification, our eyes by looking at Him and our hands by serving others. Let us come to Him in humility so He may beautify us with justice and sanctify us with righteousness. Since you have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him... Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on...humility, meekness... (Colossians 3:9,10,12). In the presence of the great Lord, all the earth trembles for fear and worship, because The LORD is in His holy temple. Let all the earth keep silence before Him (Habakkuk 2:20).

A King who reassures: Say among the nations, 'The LORD reigns; the world also is firmly established, it shall not be moved; He shall judge the peoples righteously'(verse 10). The Lord is not a King over one nation, but the great King over all His creation. And since He is King, He enforces justice, thus stability is achieved, and the world is firmly established, so that it shall not be moved. Injustice turns things upside down, and makes both oppressor and oppressed unstable in their thoughts and deeds. Often the oppressed are driven to utter despair, and start to practice injustice themselves. But the Lord gives stability and continuity of justice because He is a God of justice. He teaches us: Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap (Galatians 6:7). For when Your judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness [or justice] (Isaiah 26:9). So, let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; then the work of the devil will grow weak, for he would like to sift the earth and shake its stability by injustice, greed and the terror of wars.

A King who gives joy: Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; let the sea roar, and all its fullness; for He is coming, for He is coming to judge the earth. He shall judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples with His truth(verse 11-13). This prophecy has been partially fulfilled in Christ's birth of the Virgin Mary, as Isaiah had prophesied, There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots... with righteousness He shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked. Righteousness shall be the belt of His loins, and faithfulness the belt of His waist(Isaiah 11:1-5). And it will fully come true at the declaration of His happy kingdom, when He comes back to judge the earth righteously and reward every one according to their work, and according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells (2 Peter 3:13). But right now we know that the whole creation groans and labours with birth pangs because of sin and its consequences, for it was subjected to futility when it was cursed and brought forth thorns and thistles (Genesis 3:18). The earth is also defiled under its inhabitants, because they have transgressed the laws (Isaiah 24:5). But it hopes for the declaration of God's truth and the coming of Christ for judgment to set it free from the bondage of corruption. Even those who received Christ as Saviour groan at present within their souls waiting for the fruit of God's adoption of them, which includes the completion of the redemption of their bodies when He will transform their lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body (Philippians 3:21). Likewise the Spirit also helps in the weaknesses of the believers and teaches them how to pray even as they groan in such a way which cannot be otherwise expressed (Romans 8:21-26). When Christ returns, all creation will be able to obey the command: Sing, O heavens, for the LORD has done it! Shout, you lower parts of the earth; break forth into singing, you mountains, O forest, and every tree in it! For the LORD has redeemed Jacob, and glorified Himself in Israel (Isaiah 44:23).

Give three ways you can glorify the Lord in His sanctuary.

According to verses 10-13 the Lord King does two things to His people. What are these two things?

He comes with joy: The LORD reigns; let the earth rejoice; let the multitude of isles be glad!(verse 1). God has established the earth with truth, goodness and beauty; He created it pure and ready for man to dwell in it. But man profaned God's earth with his sin, for which he received the condemning pronouncement: Cursed is the ground for your sake; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life. Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you (Genesis 3:17,18). Because God is a King of love He did not leave man in his error, but visited him with the law through Moses, yet All turned aside; they have together become unprofitable; there is none who does good, no, not one (Romans 3:12). The law exposed man's inability to obey God, but did not help him live the life of obedience. In the fullness of time, God sent His own Son as Redeemer, Saviour and Intercessor, to preach the good news of the kingdom, saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel(Mark 1:15). He redeemed those who were under the law, to grant them the adoption as sons (Galatians 4:4,5), and snatched away from the snare of the devil those who came to their senses, having been taken captive by the devil to do his will (2 Timothy 2:26). In the cross and the resurrection the King declared His victory, and granted this same victory to all those who followed Him. He gave them justice and peace, and truth towered high. The promise was fulfilled to them: Instead of your shame you shall have double honour, and instead of confusion they shall rejoice in their portion. Therefore in their land they shall possess double; everlasting joy shall be theirs. For I, the LORD, love justice (Isaiah 61:7,8).

He comes with majesty: Clouds and darkness surround Him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne(verse 2). He is light, whom no man can see and live (1 Timothy 6:16). Yet we can see His goodness in His works, as we can see the perfection of His glory in Christ, the Word, who became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory (John 1:14). It was said of Him, No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him(John 1:18). The psalmist pictures Him as surrounded by clouds and a dark fog, invisible to human eyes, although His righteousness and justice are visible in His works and judgments. At the time of the exodus from Egypt it happened that the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead the way(Exodus 13:21). But as Pharaoh pursued the people the pillar of cloud went from before them and stood behind them. So it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel. Thus it was a cloud and darkness to the one, and it gave light by night to the other, so that the one did not come near the other all that night (Exodus 14:19,20). Similarly, on the occasion of the transfiguration, Christ took Peter, James and John up a high mountain by themselves and He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light. And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him. Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, 'Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, let us make here three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses and one for Elijah.' While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, 'This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!' (Matthew 17:1-5). In His second coming, He will come with all His majesty with clouds, and every eye will see Him (Revelation 1:7).

On the foundation of righteousness and justice the Lord established His throne in heaven, and made the earth His footstool. Then justice will dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness remain in the fruitful field. The work of righteousness will be peace, and the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance forever. My people will dwell in a peaceful habitation, in secure dwellings, and in quiet resting places (Isaiah 32:16-18).

He comes with victory: A fire goes before Him, and burns up His enemies round about(verse 3). It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God, for our God is a consuming fire (Hebrews 10:31; 12:29). Also His word is like a fire that goes before Him (Jeremiah 23:29), terrifying those who reject it, and gladdening those who receive it. Thus the word of the Lord to Saul of Tarsus was a great light like lightning that struck him down to the ground (Acts 22:6,7). It burned off his enmity and doubts, changed his life, and made him an apostle who preached Christ, who will spend and be spent for His names sake (2 Corinthians 12:15). The Lord said of him, Go, for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel. For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My names sake (Acts 9:15,16). It is at once the fire of love and judgment. It is the light of mercy for whoever accepts justice, and the fire of justice for whoever rejects mercy.

His effect on the earth: His lightnings light the world; the earth sees and trembles(verse 4). Power accompanies the coming of the great King, and signs of divine majesty surround it. His luminous lightning declares the coming of light to a dark world. The earth sees and trembles out of fear and veneration before the awesome God of creation. Lightning also accompanied handing over the law to Moses, for the Bible says, Then it came to pass on the third day...that there were thunderings and lightnings, and a thick cloud on the mountain; and the sound of the trumpet was very loud, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled...Now Mount Sinai was completely in smoke, because the LORD descended upon it in fire. Its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked greatly (Exodus 19:16-18).

His effect on the mountains: The mountains melt like wax at the presence of the LORD, at the presence of the Lord of the whole earth(verse 5). Mountains boast of their height, and God even chose one as a place for His temple (Psalms 68:16). Man looks at the towering snow-capped mountains with awe as they challenge him to scale them to reach their peaks. But those majestic mountains lose their power when hit by earthquakes or volcanoes, and melt at the presence of the Lord of the whole earth like wax does at the presence of fire. But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He is like a refiners fire and like launderers soap (Malachi 3:2). His effect will be apparent at the second coming of Christ: The Lord is not slack concerning His promise...but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up (2 Peter 3:9,10).

His effect on the heavens: The heavens declare His righteousness, and all the peoples see His glory(verse 6). The Lord has His throne in heaven, and round about His angels do His pleasure and perform His just commands, and at His feet lie all the stars. Also The angel of the LORD encamps all around those who fear Him, and delivers them (Psalms 34:7). The stars do His bidding, for when Christ was born a star announced the place of His birth, and led the Wise Men to travel all the way to Bethlehem to worship Him, thus all the representatives of the people saw His glory (Matthew 2:1,2,7). And when He was crucified for our sins, there was darkness over all the land (Matthew 27:45). All nations saw in the crucifixion the meeting together of Gods justice and mercy. The heavens declare Gods justice in lightning and thunder, as all nations saw His glory in the flood on the day He said to Noah, The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with violence through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth... And behold, I Myself am bringing floodwaters on the earth, to destroy from under heaven all flesh in which is the breath of life; everything that is on the earth shall die (Genesis 6:13,17). Truly, the heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork. Day unto day utters speech, and night unto night reveals knowledge. There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard. Their line has gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them He has set a tabernacle for the sun (Psalms 19:1).

His effect on the pagans: Let all be put to shame who serve carved images, who boast of idols. Worship Him, all you gods(verse 7). All who serve idols will be put to shame on the day they discover they have been worshiping the work of their own hands. Will a craftsman worship his own workmanship? They will also be put to shame the day they discover that they neither see, hear, speak nor help. Likewise were the magicians of Pharaoh put to shame as they told him about the plague of the gnats, This is the finger of God (Exodus 8:19). All the heathen gods worship God, for all the stone, metals and animals which the idolaters worship are none but Gods creation. Similarly, what modern man worships today, such as money, fame, health and family, are nothing but God's own gift. The worshippers of all such things will be put to shame as they hear Christ say to the Samaritan woman: You worship what you do not know... But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth (John 4:22-24).

His effect on the believers: Zion hears and is glad, and the daughters of Judah rejoice because of Your judgments, O LORD. For You, LORD, are most high above all the earth; You are exalted far above all gods(verses 8,9). While idolaters are put to shame because their idols are futile, and when they discover that God is high above earth and heaven, the believers will rejoice because the time of the nations to know the true God has come. God has indeed revealed the truth to them, and because there is none like You, O LORD (You are great, and Your name is great in might), who would not fear You, O King of the nations? For this is Your rightful due. For among all the wise men of the nations, and in all their kingdoms, there is none like You (Jeremiah 10:6,7). And How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who proclaims peace, who brings glad tidings of good things, who proclaims salvation, who says to Zion, 'Your God reigns!' Your watchmen shall lift up their voices, with their voices they shall sing together (Isaiah 52:7,8). Christ did bring glad tidings about the covenant of grace for all mankind, and He says to those who receive His salvation and redemption, This is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins (Matthew 26:28), and that There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit(Romans 8:1).

The holiness of His followers: You who love the LORD, hate evil(verse 10a). When the King declares His kingdom, those who love and follow Him, those who keep His commandments, will surround Him. They will even love Him more, because they will be closer to Him, and will hate evil in all its forms, banishing it far away from their hearts, thoughts and homes. They will act on the commandment of the Apostle: Test all things; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil (1 Thessalonians 5:21,22). And because they love the holy Lord, they will become as holy as He who called them, in all their conduct, because it is written, Be holy, for I am holy (1 Peter 1:15,16). Just as the Israelites used to search their houses thoroughly with a lamp on the feast of Passover to find any leaven and remove it from their houses, so do the believers, saying together with the psalmist, If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear (Psalms 66:18). Because they love the Lord, they do not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoice in the truth (1 Corinthians 13:6).

The safety of His followers: He preserves the souls of His saints; He delivers them out of the hand of the wicked(verse 10b). When those who love the Lord hate evil, they no longer fear the wicked, because the Lord preserves their souls, for He is the Keeper who neither slumbers nor sleeps (Psalms 121:4). He shall cover them with His feathers, and under His wings they shall take refuge (Psalms 91:4). The brothers sold Joseph, their own brother, into slavery, and he was thrown into prison unjustly, but the Lord was preparing him to be the Prime Minister of the greatest kingdom in his time. Finally he said to his brothers, You meant evil against me; but God meant it for good (Genesis 50:20). Paul stood up in Neros courtroom, having been left by all believers, and said, At my first defence no one stood with me, but all forsook me. May it not be charged against them... But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me... And the Lord will deliver me from every evil work and preserve me for His heavenly kingdom (2 Timothy 4:16-18). Christ, the Good Shepherd, watches over His flock and keeps them, so that a thief should not steal them by night nor a wolf devour them by day. He says to them what He said to Peter, Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail (Luke 22:31,32). Peter passed the sifting of Satan peacefully, and although he denied Christ three times, Christ preserved his faith, so that he acknowledged his love for Him three times (John 21:15-17). And Christ still affirms us that I will never leave you nor forsake you (Hebrews 13:5).

The enlightenment of His followers: Light is sown for the righteous(verse 11a). The righteous is the person who has a right standing with God. He is not righteous within himself, but because Christ made him righteous, justified him after he had prayed, 'God, be merciful to me a sinner!' ...he went down to his house justified (Luke 18:13,14). His face shone from Gods pleasure with him For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (Ephesians 5:8). God is light and in Him is no darkness at all, and in His light we see light (Psalms 36:9), so that the eyes of our understanding are enlightened (Ephesians 1:18). The light of the righteous has been sown, just as dawn comes before the breaking of daylight, which shows so clearly that none can hide it. Unto the upright there arises light in the darkness (Psalms 112:4).

The King manifests His coming in three ways. Mention them.

According to verses 8,9 the coming of the King influences believers. How?

We praise Him because His works are marvellous: Oh, sing to the LORD a new song! For He has done marvellous things; His right hand and His holy arm have gained Him the victory(verse 1). God's wonders are obvious in the life of the every believer, and they are the cause of praise. God has changed the sinner's stony heart, and given him a heart of flesh through the spiritual second birth, according to God's holy promise: Then I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within them, and take the stony heart out of their flesh, and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in My statutes and keep My judgments and do them; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God (Ezekiel 11:19,20). The believer's mouth was, therefore, filled with a new song of praise to God. God's greatest miracle with the Israelites was the Exodus, which ended their bondage to Pharaoh, after the destroying angel put to death all the firstborn of Egypt, without touching the firstborn of the Israelites who obeyed the command of the Lord and sprinkled blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts (Exodus 12:23). As a result, Pharaoh had to order them out of Egypt. Shortly after, however, he regretted letting them go, so he followed them with his army to bring them back into slavery, but God divided the Red Sea for them to cross, while their enemy was drowned in it (Exodus 14:29,30). As they reached the border of the Promised Land, God divided for them the Jordan River so that they could cross in safety (Joshua 3:17). God performed yet another miracle with the Israelites, which they called "the second exodus," i.e., their return once again to their country from the Babylonian captivity which lasted for seventy years. God commissioned Cyrus, king of Persia, to facilitate for them the matter of returning to their country and rebuilding the temple at the end of the seventy years. God worked all these wonders, saving His people from all their troubles without needing any human agency. The LORD has made bare His holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God (Isaiah 52:10). Therefore His own arm brought salvation for Him; and His own righteousness, it sustained Him (Isaiah 59:16). Between the two exoduses God's love for His people still worked miracles.

Today, we see much more that what the Israelites saw, because Christ is Immanuel, God with us (Matthew 1:21-23). Scriptures revealed to us that great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh(1 Timothy 3:16). When those around us ask, How can God be incarnated? we answer, Is He not the Almighty? Does He not have all power and authority to reveal Himself to mankind in any way He likes? How then can He not be incarnated? He is love, so behold the love of Him Who deigned to come down to save us. He is the heavenly Father from Whom every earthly father and mother learn how to love their children both instinctively and voluntarily. Notice their sacrifices for their children, especially during their initial years of growth or when they are sick. So does it seem strange that God came down to us to take care of us and save us? Christ's cross has revealed the most marvellous wonder of God's; i.e. His deliverance of us by redemption. Christ could come down from the cross, if He wanted to, but the greatest miracle was to stay on the cross to save our souls by His holy arm, defeating Satan and destroying him who had the power of death, through His own vicarious death (Colossians 2:15; Hebrews 2:14). Not only that, but He also rose from the dead on the third day. Peter told the Jewish elders about Christ, Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death; whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it (Acts 2:23,24).

As we meditate on Christ's life on earth, we see His marvellous salvation and the acts of His mercy. Once He stopped suddenly as He was walking with the multitude because a woman that had an issue of blood touched the hem of His garment to get healed, and she was healed on the spot. The Mosaic Law had stated that such a woman was ritually unclean, and would defile whoever she touched. Christ, however, not only allowed her to touch Him and be healed of her physical sickness by the power that issued from His body, but also gave her a new spiritual life when He said to her, Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction (Mark 5:34). He dressed her wounds, healed her broken soul and gave her His great salvation (Mark 5:25-34). We still see today the miracles of His love evident amongst us, for He healed the sick when He was on earth, and now that He has been raised to life by God, He still works the same miracles. So, let us sing to the Lord a new song, because He worked and still works miracles.

We praise Him because His works are revealed: The LORD has made known His salvation; His righteousness He has revealed in the sight of the nations(verse 2). The Lord said, My salvation is about to come, and My righteousness to be revealed(Isaiah 56:1). God's salvation and righteousness (which is His justice) go hand in hand. God's justice is also His faithfulness to His promises, and His working on fulfilling these promises. God has revealed His salvation through the coming of Christ to earth and completing our redemption, then through the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon those who believed in Him, which endowed them with power to bear witness to Him. Thus He fulfilled His promises, which He had spoken through His holy prophets. God revealed His righteousness and mercy through the cross, on which He bore the burden of our iniquity, and by which He fully paid the price for our sins. In the cross Mercy and truth have met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other (Psalm 85:10). The Lord has made His salvation and revealed His righteousness in the sight of the nations who had no revealed book, whose religious insight was darkened and spiritual eyes blinded, because the devil, the god of this world, blinded their minds so that they could not follow the truth. God made known His salvation and revealed His righteousness to those blind folk, to open up their insight and lead them into the paths of righteousness. It was His plan to make known, even to the hardest of men, that He is the God of love, just as He did to Saul of Tarsus, the persecutor of the church He opened His insight and removed the scales that covered it, and said about him, For he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel. For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name's sake(Acts 9:15,16). The man of Tarsus became Paul the Apostle, who said, Nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God (Acts 20:24). Christ opened the eyes of a man born blind, as well as the eyes of those who have been blinded by sickness. One day some friends led their blind friend to Jesus and asked Him to open His eyes. Laying His hands on the man's eyes, Jesus asked him whether he saw anything. The man answered that he saw people walking like trees, but he was not enthusiastic to receive a bigger blessing. In spite of this, Christ laid His hands on his eyes another time, and restored his sight completely. This healing revealed God's righteousness and love, as well as His power for this man and us (Mark 8:22-26). In this miracle, as well as in others, we see the God of salvation who does not just give half a blessing, but a full one. God has made known His salvation and revealed His righteousness, and there is none that can hinder His work or stop the efficacy of His holy arm!

We praise Him because His works are according to His covenant: He has remembered His mercy and His faithfulness to the house of Israel(verse 3a). God cannot forget the covenant in which He entered with His people, for He said, I have made a covenant with My chosen, I have sworn to My servant David (Psalms 89:3). It was also said of Him, You will give truth to Jacob and mercy to Abraham, which You have sworn to our fathers from days of old (Micah 7:20). Yet, the people of God may say in their despair, The LORD has forsaken me, and my Lord has forgotten me (Isaiah 49:14), but He will answer them, Can a woman forget her nursing child, and not have compassion on the son of her womb? Surely they may forget, yet I will not forget you. See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; your walls are continually before Me (Isaiah 49:15,16).

This faithful and righteous God, who entered a covenant with His people in the past, entered in a new covenant with all those who received Christ as their personal Saviour. He said of this new covenant, Take, eat; this is My body. Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink from it, all of you (Matthew 26:26,27). He calls us to be faithful to this covenant with Him, as He is always to His covenant with us, remembering His mercy and His faithfulness.

We praise Him because His works are visible: All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God(verse 3b). God's salvation is great and uplifted; both those far and near can see it, because He reveals it in the sight of the nations (verse 2). The humble shall see this and be glad; and you who seek God, your hearts shall live (Psalm 69:32). The chronicler of the Holy Scriptures says, So it was, when all the kings of the Amorites who were on the west side of the Jordan, and all the kings of the Canaanites who were by the sea, heard that the LORD had dried up the waters of the Jordan... that their heart melted; and there was no spirit in them any longer (Joshua 5:1). God's acts of salvation are obvious to the believers who experience them, as well as to those around them. When Isaac planted his land he reaped in the same year a hundredfold; and the LORD blessed him. The man began to prosper, and continued prospering until he became very prosperous. The Lord has made room for him, and he became fruitful in the land. Then the king of land and the commander of his army came to him and said, We have certainly seen that the LORD is with you. So we said, 'Let there now be an oath between us, between you and us; and let us make a cove-nant with you' (Genesis 26:12-33). Meeting the sinful Samaritan woman, Christ saved her soul from her sins, and she returned to witness to her fellow villagers about this Saviour. They came to Him, heard Him and received His salvation. Then they said to her, Now we believe, not because of what you said, for we ourselves have heard Him and we know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world (John 4:42).

We praise Him with joy: Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth; break forth in song, rejoice and sing praises(verse 4). The psalmist tells all created things to shout joyfully to their Creator Sing, O heavens, for the LORD has done it! Shout, you lower parts of the earth; break forth into singing, you mountains, O forest, and every tree in it! For the LORD has redeemed Jacob (Isaiah 44:23). When a king would first sit on His throne, the people would celebrate Him by shouting to him (1 Samuel 10:24), and singing with the accompaniment of music, as the people did when they celebrated Solomon (1 Kings 1:39). They would also clap their hands, as they did with Joash (2 Kings 11:12). Shouting comes from a joyful man; singing involves words that are set to music and intoned either by an individual or a group, because out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. Blessed are the people who know the joyful sound! They walk, O LORD, in the light of Your countenance. In Your name they rejoice all day long, and in Your righteousness they are exalted (Psalm 89:15,16). When the Lord returned the captivity of His people, the prophet exhorted them, Break forth into joy, sing together, you waste places of Jerusalem! For the LORD has comforted His people, He has redeemed Jerusalem (Isaiah 52:9).

We praise Him with the accompaniment of music: Sing to the LORD with the harp, with the harp and the sound of a psalm, with trumpets and the sound of a horn(verses 5,6a). The psalmist asks that singing to the Lord should be accompanied by a harp, which is a stringed instrument that may have up to ten strings. He asks the people to release their joyful throats in singing to the Lord King, who reassures us, saying, I am with you always, even to the end of the age (Matthew 28:20). To this we answer, I have set the LORD always before me; because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved (Psalm 16:8).

The horn is a trumpet made of the horn of a ram or an ox. It had such a high sound that everyone could hear. It was used to call the people to worship in the house of the Lord, as Moses commanded, Make two silver trumpets for yourself; you shall make them of hammered work; you shall use them for calling the congregation and for directing the movement of the camps. When they blow both of them, all the congregation shall gather before you at the door of the tabernacle of meeting (Numbers 10:2,3). Trumpets were used to call the people to rally in defence of their country in time of war and to rejoice in time of triumph. When you go to war in your land against the enemy who oppresses you, then you shall sound an alarm with the trumpets, and you will be remembered before the LORD your God, and you will be saved from your enemies(Numbers 10:9). The sound of the trumpet called the people to celebrate the feast. The Lord said, Also in the day of your gladness, in your appointed feasts, and at the beginning of your months, you shall blow the trumpets (Numbers 10:10). Also the sound of trumpet declared the Year of Jubilee. The Lord said, And you shall count seven Sabbaths of years for yourself, seven times seven years; and the time of the seven Sabbaths of years shall be to you forty-nine years. Then you shall cause the trumpet of the Jubilee to sound on the tenth day of the seventh month; on the Day of Atonement you shall make the trumpet to sound throughout all your land (Leviticus 25:8,9). The Year of the Jubilee was the year for freeing the slaves and returning the lands given in pledge to their owners. Let us celebrate, therefore, and call one another to enjoy the freedom that Christ gives us: Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed(John 8:36).

We praise Him with respect: Shout joyfully before the LORD, the King(verse 6b). The believers know the great honour awarded to them in having the Lord as their King, in being citizens in the kingdom of His love and having the right to appear in His presence. The Lord is the King who must reign over our lives; He is the God Who bought us from every tribe, nation, people and tongue to be His own. Shouting joyfully before the King is a declaration of love and obedience to God and submission to His authority. It was in that attitude that the multitudes received Christ on His triumphant entry into Jerusalem Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying: 'Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD! Hosanna in the highest!'(Matthew 21:9).

The seas and the rivers: Let the sea roar, and all its fullness...Let the rivers clap their hands(verses 7a,8a). The seas and the rivers are God's creation; the psalmist calls upon them to clap their hands, as though the sound of their waters beating against the shores were a sort of clapping to the One who made them and set a boundary that they may not pass over (Psalm 104:9). Both seas and rivers represent the enemy, or the force that opposes the Lord, even it be His own creation. But the created thing must eventually fulfil the will of the Creator, whether willingly or not. Surely the wrath of man shall praise You (Psalm 76:10). Thereupon, no matter how much the sea roars, in the end it will obey God, its Creator. The Red Sea roared, and the people of old crossed it; the Jordan clapped the hands as it parted for the believers to cross! The prophet said, But now, thus says the LORD, who created you, O Jacob, and He who formed you, O Israel: 'Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; You are Mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you. For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Saviour' (Isaiah 43:1-3). Also the psalmist says, The floods have lifted up, O LORD, the floods have lifted up their voice; the floods lift up their waves (Psalm 93:3), but When the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD will lift up a standard against him (Isaiah 59:19).

The earth and mankind: The world and those who dwell in it(verse 7b). The world and those who dwell in it are invited to praise the Lord who created them and who still watches over them. The inhabitants of the world are divided into two groups: children of the Lord and beggars from the Lord. Both receive from Him who opens His hand and fills them with good things (Psalm 104:28). Yet, what a world of difference there is between those who receive from the Lord and are filled because He has given them the unmerited grace of adoption according the Scriptures: But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name (John 1:12), and the beggars who are fed with the crumbs which fall from the table of the children (Luke 16:21). Have you been adopted by God? Or are you just a beggar begging Him for bread?

The hills: Let the hills be joyful together before the LORD, for He is coming to judge the earth. With righteousness He shall judge the world, and the peoples with equity(verses 8b,9). The psalmist calls the hills, the highest formations on the face of the earth, to praise the Lord, because He is righteous (just) and powerful, without weakness or frailty. Everyone who is being wronged will rejoice because the Lord judges mankind, giving each one his due right. For you shall go out with joy, and be led out with peace; the mountains and the hills shall break forth into singing before you, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands... and it shall be to the LORD for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off (Isaiah 55:12,13). When we will hear the voice of Christ, who will judge the world, say, Surely I am coming quickly, we will shout joyfully, Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus! (Revelation 22:20).

Question 1:The psalmist said, The Lord has made known His salvation. His righteousness He has openly shown in the sight of the nations (verse 2). Have you experienced His great salvation prepared for you on the cross? Are your sins forgiven because of His redemptive work for you?

Question 2:The psalmist said, Break forth in song. Rejoice and sing praises(verse 5b). Are you rejoicing in the Lord? Some people experienced the salvation of the Lord, but they look sad. Show the joy of your salvation with a bright smile and singing a hymn.

Question 3:The psalmist said, All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God (verse 3b). Have you witnessed to His salvation? Many believers are satisfied with the cosy fellowship with their brothers in Christ, and do not pay attention to the crying perishing world. Always proclaim Gods salvation.

Explain this statement: We praise Him because His works are marvellous and visible.

How can the world know Gods great salvation?

The earth and those who dwell upon it tremble: The LORD reigns; let the peoples tremble! He dwells between the cherubim; let the earth be moved!(verse 1). As the Lord reigns, the peoples tremble and the earth moves in reverence, respect and veneration for the Creator who created them. The psalmist said to the Lord, The voice of Your thunder was in the whirlwind; the lightnings lit up the world; the earth trembled and shook (Psalms 77:18). Also the prophet Isaiah said to the Lord, Oh, that You would rend the heavens! That You would come down! That the mountains might shake at Your presence; as fire burns brushwood, as fire causes water to boil; to make Your name known to Your adversaries, that the nations may tremble at Your presence! (Isaiah 64:1,2). When the Lord was revealed in His greatness to the prophet Isaiah, the temple was filled with smoke, and foundations of its doorposts were shaken, he cried out, Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts (Isaiah 6:5). The earth and those who dwell upon it tremble, because they feel unworthy to appear in the presence of the Lord, and realize that they will perish because of the sins and that there is no way out for them except through the divine mercies.

The psalmist says that the Lord dwells between the cherubim. In Hebrew cherubimis a plural word of the singular cherub. They are a chosen group of angels nearest to God, who are also called the angels of the Presence. Jewish scholars also called them "the angels of might". God appointed them as guards to the gates of the garden of Eden when He cast Adam and Eve out of it (Genesis 3:24). God told Moses to make two cherubim of gold, spreading their wings over the ark of the Lord's covenant in the Holy of Holies (Exodus 25:18,19). The expression "the One who dwells between the cherubim" is a figurative one, indicating rest after finishing His work. It also refers to the fact that the angels, as great and mighty as they are, serve and worship God, accomplishing all that He bids them. Hezekiah prayed, O LORD God of Israel, the One who dwells between the cherubim, You are God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth(2 Kings 19:15). The psalmist said, Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel...You who dwell between the cherubim, shine forth! (Psalms 80:1). In another poetic figure of speech David says that He rode upon a cherub, and flew (Psalms 18:10). The prophet Ezekiel saw the cherubim under God's throne (Ezekiel 11:22). Because of the abundance of God's power, who is served by the cherubim, immovable things shake, just as the place where the disciples assembled and prayed was shaken (Acts 4:31). Similarly, the prison gates at Philippi were opened by the power of Paul and Silas' prayer and singing (Acts 16:26), and the hard hearts trembled at the greatness of God's work (Acts 16:29). Truly Every valley shall be exalted and every mountain and hill brought low; the crooked places shall be made straight and the rough places smooth(Isaiah 40:4).

The believers offer praise: The LORD is great in Zion, and He is high above all the peoples. Let them praise Your great and awesome name; He is holy(verses 2,3). In Zion King Solomon built the great temple, and the psalmist says about this, The LORD loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob (Psalms 87:2). Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in His holy mountain (Psalms 48:1). The reason for this praise was that God's great grace appeared in the temple, where the confessing sinner was forgiven as he offered up his sacrifice to obtain mercy, as the Mosaic Law required. Likewise, the perfection of God's law and teaching is evident in the temple, which prompts the believers to praise His great and awesome name, for He is holy. The statement is then fulfilled: The LORD your God, the great and awesome God, is among you (Deuteronomy 7:21). Now it shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established on the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow to it. Many people shall come and say, 'Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, and we shall walk in His paths...' For out of Zion the law shall go forth, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. He shall judge between many peoples, and rebuke strong nations afar off; they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more (Isaiah 2:2-4; Micah 4:1-3).

The Lord King loves justice: The King's strength also loves justice(verse 4a). The Lord is strong because He is the only true God, who has no flaw, lie or deceit. God is light and in Him is no darkness at all(1 John 1:5). Christ said, I am the way, the truth, and the life... And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free... Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed (John 14:6; 8:32; 8:36). Christ said in His intercessory prayer, And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent (John 17:3). He is the true God, as compared with the false gods worshipped by the heathen, and the mystical gods of the Greek pagans. Behold, God is mighty, but despises no one; He is mighty in strength of understanding. He does not preserve the life of the wicked, but gives justice to the oppressed. He does not withdraw His eyes from the righteous; but they are on the throne with kings, for He has seated them forever, and they are exalted (Job 36:5-7).

The Lord King establishes equity: You have established equity(verse 4b). The Lord said, For I, the LORD, love justice; I hate robbery for burnt offering; I will direct their work in truth, and will make with them an everlasting covenant... All who see them shall acknowledge them, that they are the posterity whom the LORD has blessed(Isaiah 61:8,9). Because He loves justice, He removes crookedness from the souls of those who love Him, who follow Him with all their hearts; but He punishes every unrepentant sinner.

The Lord King executes justice: You have executed justice and righteousness in Jacob(verse 4c). Jacob is the father of the tribes, and his name, by extension, covers all the Israelites. The meaning could be that God executed justice in Jacob's life, as well as in what He did to him. He saved Jacob from his sins, and delivered him from his enemies. At the onset of his life, Jacob double-crossed people; deceiving his own father, brother and uncle. But God changed his life and his name from Jacob the deceiver to Israel the diligent. Through such a change He executed justice in Jacob's life. He also executed justice with him when He delivered him from his enemies and made His promises good to him. The meaning could also be that God executed justice in the lives of Jacob's descendants and dealt justly with them. He punished them by the Babylonian captivity when they fell away from worshipping Him and offered sacrifices to idols. But as they finally got rid of idolatry, God brought them back to their country by a direct decree from Cyrus. God, likewise, executed justice with the Israelites when He rescued them from their enemies. The Lord is willing to execute this same justice in our lives. He can radically change our lives, so that the biblical statement is fulfilled in us: Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new (2 Corinthians 5:17). He also acts justly with us and stands by us, so that we can say, If God is for us, who can be against us? (Romans 8:31).

The Lord King is worthy to be King: Exalt the LORD our God, and worship at His footstool; He is holy(verse 5). How do we exalt the LORD our God? Does He need exaltation, being the Most High Himself? The intention is that the Lord should reign over our lives completely, so that we can call Him, the God to whom I belong and whom I serve (Acts 27:23). Also that we should exalt His word by obeying it, so that He would have the final word in our lives. Christ taught us to pray: Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven (Matthew 6:9,10). It is meant that we should venerate His name in worship, and that His kingdom should come into our lives by our submission to it, so that what Saint Augustine said may be fulfilled to us: When you do the will of God as though it were your own, God will do your will as though it were His own.

The psalmist requires that we should worship at His footstool. The Israelites understood the Lord's footstool to be the Ark of the Covenant inside the Holy of Holies. David said to the leaders of his people, Hear me, my brethren and my people: I had it in my heart to build a house of rest for the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and for the footstool of our God(1 Chronicles 28:2). This means that the psalmist requires us to worship in God's holy house. Yet God's footstool can also be the whole earth, as the Lord said, Heaven is My throne, and earth is My footstool (Isaiah 66:1). It seems that the psalmist would like us to consider the whole earth as a place of worship and adoration, that we may not settle for thanking and praising God only in a certain place designated for worship, but wherever we may be.

His dominion appears in what the believers of old had done (verses 6,7):

His dominion appears in what He has done (verse 8):

His dominion appears in what the believers must do today (verse 9):

Verses 4,5 of this psalm say that God, our King, does four things. What are they?

According to verse 8 of this psalm God's dominion appears in three matters. Write them down.

The first call to praise (verses 1,2):

The cause of the first call for praise (verse 3):

The second call for praise: Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name(verse 4). The psalmist calls everybody to enter the house of God which He never shuts in the face of anyone. They may enter the gates with their hearts full of praise and thanksgiving; they may praise Him and bless His name, joyfully shouting, I was glad when they said to me, 'Let us go into the house of the LORD' (Psalms 122:1).

The cause of the second call for praise (verse 5):

Serve the LORD with gladness(verse 2). Write your comment on this verse.

The LORD is good(verse 5). Tell us an experience you passed through that proves the authenticity of this verse.