Tag Archives: Psalms 117

Daily Bible Study

July 5, 2024 Bible Study — Let All Nations Praise the Lord

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Today, I am reading and commenting on  Psalms 117-118.

I am struggling with a lot of stress in my life right now.  So, today’s two psalms really lifted my spirits.  I am not quite sure how to express why that is the case, but part of it comes from reading them as if the break between the psalms came after Psalm 118:1, rather than before:
Praise the Lord, all you nations;
    extol him, all you peoples.
 For great is his love toward us,
    and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever.
Praise the Lord.
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
    his love endures forever.
Let everyone praise the Lord. let everyone from every nation praise Him because of His great love for us, and let us thank Him because He is good.  The psalmist then goes on in 118 to tell us that when he cried to the Lord, the Lord brought him into a good space.  He reminds us that when the Lord is with us we should not fear, because who, or what, can threaten us when the Lord defends us?  It is better to put our trust in the Lord than in any human being, even if they are a powerful government official.  We may be surrounded on all sides by trouble, but if we trust in the Lord we will cut through those troubles with ease.  Even though I see no way through the troubles around me, I know that I will soon be able to proclaim what the Lord has done to take those troubles from me.

 

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Daily Bible Study

July 5, 2023 Bible Study — Fear of the Lord Means That You Need Fear Nothing Else

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Psalms 117-118.

One of the recurring themes throughout Psalms is that God’s love endures forever.  The psalmist begins by telling us that God loves us, and that the “us” to which he is referring encompasses all people.  Rather than trust in people, even those with great wealth and power, put your trust in God.  If God is with you, what can any mortal, or group of mortals, do to you?  And if you fear the Lord, He will be with you.  Every time I write about fear of the Lord, I think about what that means.  If we fear the Lord, we will do as He commands because we fear making Him angry, and we fear disappointing Him.  As a child, and even as a young man, I feared disappointing my parents.  That fear kept me from many acts which would have destroyed my life.  In the same way, I fear disappointing God…although I know that I have and do.  Yet, that fear of disappointing God inspires me to strive to change.  More importantly, it inspires me to allow Him to change me.  I fear the Lord, therefore I need fear no one and nothing else.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Daily Bible Study

July 5, 2022 Bible Study — The Lord Has Done Mighty Things

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Psalms 117-118.

God’s love endures forever.  Which means that we need not fear anyone, or anything, except for God Himself.  Our enemies may surround us, our problems may seem insurmountable, but, if God is with us, our enemies will fall and our problems will be resolved.  Put your faith in God and you will see Him do mighty things.  I read these psalms and they remind me to put my trust in God, to do the things which He has told me to do.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Daily Bible Study

July 5, 2021 Bible Study — Putting Your Trust In God Does Not Mean Sitting And Waiting For Him To Act

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Psalms 117-118.

The psalmist tells us to praise the Lord because His love and faithfulness endure forever.  Put your trust in the Lord and you need fear nothing.  If you truly have faith that God loves and cares for you, you will act as He directs and fear nothing and no one.  If God is with you, who or what can possibly harm you?  Relying on God is better than relying on any person.  When he was hard pressed, the psalmist cried out to God and God delivered him.  He did not passively wait for God to act, he fought against the difficulties he faced.  Yet, he acknowledged that it was not his actions which delivered him.  Instead, the psalmist credited God with his salvation from his foes.  Let us act similarly.  Trusting in God does not mean passively waiting for God’s deliverance, but it also does not mean thinking that our actions will save us.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Daily Bible Study

July 5, 2020 Bible Study His Faithful Love Endures Forever

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Psalms 117-118.

God’s love is powerful, unfailing, and faithful.  Therefore, every person, and every group of people, should praise the Lord.  Those who fear the Lord should remember that God’s love is enduring and thus they need not fear anything else.  If God is for us, what can people do to us?  I want to circle back around to the power of God’s love.  We tend to think of power in terms of violence and destruction, but the power of God’s love is the power of building and uplifting.

In that light, I want us to look at what is going on around us and think about it differently.  There is the pandemic going on  There are the riots and looting accompanying protests  Protests which result from the abuse of power by the police.  I could go on.  Yet, the psalmist tells us that this is the day that the Lord has made.  We should rejoice and be glad in it.  Instead of viewing what is going on as a trial and a difficulty, let us view it as an opportunity to display God’s love.  Remember, today is the day that the Lord has made in love and His love is faithful.

Daily Bible Study

July 5, 2019 Bible Study — Align Yourself With God and You Will Be Victorious, Otherwise Everything Will Collapse Around You

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Psalms 117-118.

Everyone should praise God because He loves us deeply and faithfully.  He will never stop loving us.  His love means that we need not fear anything.  God acts for our best interest and no one and nothing can harm us against His will.  We may be outnumbered and surrounded on all sides by those who wish us harm, but we can stand and fight for the cause to which God directs us without fear.  God’s strength will over come whatever stands against us.  The metaphor of battle which the psalmist uses here powerfully applies to many of the problems we will face.

However, the psalmist uses a second metaphor in today’s passage, one which we often overlook.  This metaphor was applied to Himself by Jesus which often leads us to miss some of the meaning which it has.  “The stone that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone.”  Jesus was rejected by the religious leaders of His day.  Those who presented themselves as the experts on doing God’s will rejected the centerpiece of God’s will.  In the same way, many of those today who strive to present a moral code for others to live by reject the central assumptions upon which any actual moral code must be built.  In pre-modern buildings, all parts of a building were aligned off of the cornerstone.   If the cornerstone was not cut properly and then positioned properly, all of the rest of the building would not line up properly and will fall apart.  In the same way, if try to build our lives without God we will end up with a misshapen mess that constantly falls apart around us.

 

 

Daily Bible Study

July 5, 2018 Bible Study — God’s Faithful Love Endures Forever!

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Psalms 117-118.

    The theme today is for us to give thanks to the Lord and to praise His name. Everyone on the earth should praise the Lord because He has unfailing love for everyone. No matter who you are, no matter where you live, God’s love for you is powerful and life changing. When times are difficult, turn to the Lord, call out to the Lord for help. For, if the Lord is for you, what reason would you have to fear anyone else? Take refuge by seeking to do what God wills for you and you will be secure in the knowledge that you will be successful. No matter how numerous your opponents, you will defeat them with God’s authority. Do God’s will and you cannot fail: God will give you victory. Always trust God before you trust people. Choose which people can be trusted by how closely what they ask of you aligns with what God asks of you. God faithfully loves us and His love will endure forever.

Daily Bible Study

July 5, 2017 Bible Study — I Live To Tell What the Lord Has Done

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Psalms 117-118.

    I really like today’s Psalms, but was struggling with how to express what it said to me. Then I thought some more about what the psalmist said in Psalms 117. He calls on all people to praise the Lord because God is faithful, and His faithfulness will endure beyond the end of time. The psalmist continues that theme into 118. Here he explains his reasons for praising the Lord. What the Lord did for the psalmist He will do for us, if He has not already. God will be our strength and protection. If you find yourself surrounded by enemies, call upon God and you will have no reason to fear those enemies any longer. If we allow our actions to be determined by fear of the Lord, we will have no reason to fear any person or group of people because God will take our side. If we trust in God, and therefore follow His instructions, we will be more secure than if we put our trust in any other person or thing. If we put our trust in God, He will give us victory over every enemy and trouble we face in life. Then we, like the psalmist, will be able to tell what the Lord has done.