God’s Encouragement – Psalm 42

Posted on August 6, 2024 by dkoop

Have you ever been discouraged?  Discouragement is something all people and even close followers of God such as Moses, Elijah, Job, David, Jonah, John the Baptist and even Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane.   In times of discouragement, God will encourage us and has called us to keep going or to persevere in times of trouble. This is the point of the three-repeat refrain “Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.” To get through the turmoil, we need God. While we wait for God, we cannot allow our emotions to spin out of control and rule our lives. Nor should we get angry at others if they’re not able to help us.   We are to look up and endure. God will get us through.

Psalm 42 begins Book 2 in the Psalms. For the first time we are told a psalm is written by a different author than David. The sons of Korah penned this psalm and few of the other psalms found in Book 2.

Psalms 42–49 were written by the descendants of Korah. Korah was a Levite who led a rebellion against Moses (Numbers 16:1–35). He was killed, but his descendants remained faithful to God and continued to serve God in the Temple. David appointed men from the clan of Korah to serve as choir leaders (1 Chronicles 6:31–38), and they continued to be Temple musicians for hundreds of years (2 Chronicles 20:18, 19).

42:1, 2 As the life of a deer depends upon water, so our lives depend upon God. Those who seek him and long to understand him find eternal life. Feeling separated from God, this psalmist wouldn’t rest until he restored his relationship with God because he knew that his very life depended on it. Do you thirst for God?

God Encourages Me as I

  1. Worship Him

Thirsting for the living God only begins when we realize that it is a matter of our own soul’s life and death. Just as the deer requires water for life and therefore thirsts for it, so also we will thirst for the living waters of God if we will see its need.

The psalmist’s desire is so strong that he wants to “meet with God.” It is not enough to go and worship for God. Nor is it enough to have a longing for the Lord. The thirst can only be quenched when he goes to meet God. This is the drive and goal of life. The psalmist wants to experience God, be with God, and spend time with God. The psalmist does not see worship, singing, fellowship with others  believers and reading scripture as God’s rules to keep. Rather, the psalmist realizes that worship, singing, fellowship with other believers and reading scripture are the ways to be with God. These are the only ways to get to know and experience God until we can see him face to face.

We also must see that this thirst is sustained even through his personal times of oppression and skepticism. We see the psalmist’s pain in the words, “My tears have been my food day and night.” We also see the scorn the psalmist is enduring as others say to him all day long “Where is your God?” He is remembering the good times with God and continues to thirst for God even though he is enduring an undisclosed oppression.

42:4, 5 The writer of this psalm was discouraged because he was exiled to a place far from Jerusalem and could not worship in the Temple. During these God-given holidays, the nation was to remember all that God had done for them.

2.  Remember Him

42:5, 6 Depression is one of the most common emotional ailments. One antidote for depression is to meditate on the record of God’s goodness to his people. How has God been faithful to you in the past? How has God answered your prayers? How has God worked in your family?  How has God blessed you?   This will take your mind off the present situation as you focus your thoughts on God’s ability to help you rather than on your inability to help yourself. When you feel depressed, take advantage of this psalm’s antidepressant: Read the Bible’s accounts of God’s goodness, and meditate on them.  Focus on gratitude for what God has done and all that God has given.

Also, in our efforts to help others deal with their emotions and we see the scriptural foundation for this advice in this psalm. We have to talk to ourselves when we are enduring oppression, suffering, or begin to be skeptical of what God is doing for us. Notice how the psalmist talks to himself, “Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me?“  Talk to yourself instead of letting your feelings talk to you.  Our feelings can lead us astray.

The psalmist is speaking to his emotions. He is not allowing his emotions to dictate his mind. He is going to keep his feelings in check, realizing that he must keep his hope in the Lord. This is absolutely critical for us to understand and commit ourselves to do in the midst of trouble. We cannot allow our emotions to get the best of us and control our lives. We cannot allow our actions and rationale be dictated by how we feel. To be governed by our feelings and emotions is spiritual suicide and makes us an emotional disaster. The psalmist is telling us that we have to talk ourselves through many of the hard times of life and especially we need to talk to God.

3. Pray to Him

“The Lord will command His lovingkindness in the daytime,
And in the night His song shall be with me—
A prayer to the God of my life.”  Psalm 42:8

Its a great reminder that God is loving, kind and with us all day and all night! He is available to pray to and talk to anytime!

Let’s focus on the last statement in this repeated refrain, “Put your hope in God.” The psalmist is reminding himself to put his hope and trust in the Lord. When are backs are to the wall and things do not seem to be working out the way we expected, it is time to repeatedly tell ourselves to put our trust in God.

The repetition of the phrase should tell us that it is not going to be enough to tell ourselves to trust God once. We have to keep reminding ourselves of this! Things will not go according to plan and how we deal with it is a test to our ability to trust in the Lord.

Like the psalmist, you may be struggling with depression and despair in your life right now or know someone who is.   There are many things that lead to depression: distressing burdens, disobedience, disappointment, defeat or failure, defiance against God, dread or fear,  the rejection of people, despondency or hopelessness, desolation or sorrow, danger, debilitating pain and suffering, a disposition of selfishness, disdain for others, and the death of a loved one. Have you dealt with this menu before? Many have been in this boat, yet the Lord can help us to overcome our discouragement.
God’s Word has given practical instruction for us on how to get our wind back when life has punched us in the stomach. It gives important principles on how to bring order, peace, and calm back into our lives if we have been sinking down emotionally.

God encourages us as we: Worship Him, Remember Him and Pray to Him

www.Upwards.Church

Message Audio/Video and Outline: https://upwards.church/watch-now/leander-campus-videos

Watch Messages: YouTube-Upwards Church

Facebook: Upwards Church

Sources:

Brent Kercheville, Looking Up When You’re Feeling Down

Life Application Bible Notes (Tyndale, 2007), 888.

Rod Mattoon, Treasures from Treasured Psalms, vol. 2, Treasures from Scripture Series (Springfield, IL: Rod Mattoon, 2007), 108–109.

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God’s Word – Psalm 1:2-6

Posted on August 1, 2024 by dkoop

What does it mean to delight in God’s Word?  The word is used in the Old Testament (Gen. 34:19; Esther 2:14) of a man delighting in a woman. Now, that tells us something! Have you noticed that when a young man delights in a woman, he rearranges his priorities so that suddenly he has plenty of time to spend with her? And he doesn’t do it because he has to; he wants to! Nothing interferes with his time with the object of his delight!  That was so true when I met Niki, I was very busy with a full load of classes at seminary, managing a 300 acre ranch, teaching driver’s Ed in the evenings and being a youth minister on the weekends, but I made time for her and still do.

Do you delight in God’s Word in that sense? Do you make time to spend in the Word because you delight in it? Or has it become a duty? It’s easy to fall into the duty mentality toward the Word: “A chapter a day keeps the devil away!” Besides, it alleviates your guilt to read it. So you grind through a chapter and check it off on your list, but you didn’t commune with the living God or apply His Word to where you need to change.

The Bible is God’s love letter to you. You’re reading the counsel of a loving, all‑wise Heavenly Father as to how you should live. His commandments are for your blessing and good. It should be no more of a duty to spend time in God’s Word than it is for a young man to spend time with an attractive woman. The way to true happiness is to delight in God’s Word.

We are responsible not only to delight in God’s Word, but also to meditate on it continually. To meditate means to think about what the Word says and how it applies to all of life. Meditation is to reading what digestion is to eating: chewing on it, letting it become part of you. We’re to be doing it continually (“day and night”), which implies knowing the Word well enough to think about it all day long.

As we saw in verse 1, the mind is the first bastion we must defend. Whatever shapes your thinking will shape your life. The only way for a person to reject the counsel of the ungodly which bombards him from every side is to be continually meditating on, thinking about, chewing on in his mind, the Word of God and how it applies to life.

That’s our responsibility: to delight in and meditate on the Word of God. Do you do it? Matthew Henry wisely comments, “We may judge of our spiritual state by asking, “What is the law of God to us? What account do we make of it? What place has it in us?”  To the extent that you build your life on God and His Word, you will have true happiness.

This “law” means all of Scripture: the first five books of Moses, the Prophets, and the other writings. The more we know of the whole scope of God’s Word, the more resources we will have to guide us in our daily decisions.   God’s Word not only blesses us but,

  • God’s Word Proper’s Me  (1:3).

The psalmist describes the person who delights in God’s Word as a tree planted by streams of water. This is a tree that has been deliberately cultivated, surrounded by these canals or streams so that its roots have a continual supply of water. It is solid and able to withstand drought or storms. It is fruitful and has continual evidence of life and vitality‑‑its leaves do not wither. He sums it up by applying it: “In whatever he does, he prospers.” There’s a truly happy person: the person God blesses with His prosperity, no matter what circumstances of life he finds himself in.

God is not promising financial prosperity here, but rather, soul-prosperity. The so-called “health and wealth” teaching being promoted by some TV preachers, which claims that God promises financial prosperity, is false. God’s servants may be poor in this world’s goods and afflicted by many trials. But they are rich toward God (Luke 12:21), which is true prosperity.

But perhaps, if you were honest, you’d admit that you question the truthfulness of Psalm 1. You may know people who leave God out of their lives and who seem to be genuinely happy and prosperous. They seem to have good marriages and happy families. They seem to be doing just fine without God. And you may know others who are godly people, who build their lives on God and His Word, and yet they are hit with adversity and difficulties. What about that? The psalmist goes on to show that…

  • God’s Word Protects Me  (1:4‑6).

The psalmist describes the wicked in contrast to the righteous. The righteous is like a sturdy tree‑‑rooted, firm, fruitful. The wicked is like chaff from the wheat‑‑rootless, weightless, useless. This is not man’s view. From our viewpoint, many who leave God out of their lives are glamorous, powerful, exciting people. Rather, this is God’s view, as verse 6 shows. God’s view takes eternity into account and says, “Those who leave Me out of their lives are like chaff.” They have no substance. They may be great before men, but before God they will be blown away like chaff in the final judgment.

“The wicked will not stand in the judgment” (1:5), which means, they won’t have a leg to stand on. Their case won’t hold up in God’s court. They won’t be in heaven, where those who have been made righteous through faith in Christ will be assembled. Even though it may not look like it at times, “the Lord knows” (is intimately acquainted with) “the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.” (6) The wicked will be condemned to eternal punishment in the lake of fire (Rev. 21:8).

You may say, “Isn’t that a cop‑out? That’s the old pie‑ in‑the‑sky‑when‑you‑die bit.” No, it’s not a cop‑out. It is the plain teaching of God’s Word, which says, “It is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment” (Heb. 9:27). We all must stand before God. If you take God and eternity out of the picture, all you are is an accident‑‑the chance product of random chance. Your birth was an accident, your death will be an accident. All you are is an accident suspended between two accidents! There’s no happiness in that view.

The Word of God declares that you are not an accident. You are here as the creation of God, made in His image, designed to find true happiness in Him and in His Word. But due to your rebellion, as seen in your running your own life rather than in submitting to Christ as Lord, you are alienated from God. He could rightfully judge you, but because of His love and mercy, He sent Jesus Christ to die in your place on the cross. You must turn from your rebellion, trust in Him and accept the pardon He offers. If you will do that and then build your life on God and His Word, you will live happily ever after, both now and throughout eternity! And that’s no fairy tale.

www.Upwards.Church

Message Audio/Video and Outline: https://upwards.church/watch-now/leander-campus-videos

Watch Messages: YouTube-Upwards Church

Facebook: Upwards Church

Sources:

Bible.Org – Psalms

Life Application Bible Notes (Tyndale, 2007), 843.

Matthew Henry’s Commentary [Revell], 3:239.

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Happiness – Psalm 1:1

Posted on July 31, 2024 by dkoop

“And so they lived happily ever after.” So ends many a fairy tale. We enjoyed hearing such stories when we were young, but we all grow up to realize that real life isn’t like that. Life’s too complex.

Just look around. We’re a nation founded upon the inalienable rights from our Creator: of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Ask almost any person what they want out of life, and they will reply, “I want to be happy.” And yet for a people bent on pursuing happiness, we’re not doing so well. Many try to find happiness in love and marriage, but the divorce rate shows that we’re not finding happiness there. Couples hope that having a family will bring them happiness, but often their children cause them more pain than pleasure. Others try to find happiness in a career or in recreational activities. Many try to deaden their pain with alcohol or drugs. But few would admit that they’ve found lasting happiness.

Things can never satisfy us; only God can. Even relationships cannot ultimately satisfy apart from God. Pursuing pleasure, self-fulfillment, or self-centered goals cannot satisfy. Only a life built on God and obedience to His Word will bring true happiness. That’s what this psalm declares.

To live happy or blessed, we must build our lives on God and His Word.

The first verse begins with “blessed,” which in Hebrew is a plural of intensity and may be rendered, “Oh, how truly happy is the person!” or “Oh, the happiness of the person!” The word stems from a verb meaning to go on or advance. If you want to advance to the fullest measure of happiness, the psalmist is going to tell you how.

It’s significant that he begins by telling us some things that the happy person does not do. Your happiness, both now and in eternity, depends upon your choice of one of two ways. Choosing one means rejecting the other. The psalm begins with that which the happy person must reject:

1 Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers.

The writer begins this psalm extolling the joys of obeying God and refusing to listen to those who discredit or ridicule him. Our friends and associates can have a profound influence on us, often in very subtle ways. If we insist on friendships with those who mock what God considers important, we might sin by becoming indifferent to God’s will. This attitude is the same as mocking. Do your friends build up your faith, or do they tear it down? True friends should help you to draw closer to God, not hinder your relationship with him.

God doesn’t judge people on the basis of race, sex, or national origin. He judges them on the basis of their faith in him and their response to his revealed will. Those who diligently try to obey God’s will are blessed. They are like healthy, fruit-bearing trees planted along a riverbank with strong roots (Jeremiah 17:7, 8), and God promises to watch over them. God’s wisdom guides their lives. In contrast, those who don’t trust and obey God have meaningless lives that blow away like dust. Only two paths of life lay before us—God’s way of obedience or the way of rebellion and destruction. Be sure to choose God’s path because the path you choose determines how you will spend eternity[1]

How can you discern the counsel of the wicked from the wisdom of God.  Here are five marks:

  1. The counsel of the wicked denies the sufficiency of Scripture for dealing with the problems of the soul. The Bible claims to be adequate to equip the believer for every good work (2 Tim. 3:16-17) and to produce in us true happiness by dealing with the problems of the soul (Ps. 1). It provides answers for problems of guilt, anxiety, depression, anger, bitterness, and relational conflicts. The world’s wisdom implies that the Bible is not sufficient and often stating “solutions” opposed to what the Bible prescribes.
  2. The counsel of the wicked exalts the pride of man and takes away from the glory of God. The Bible humbles the pride of man and exalts the glory of God (Isa. 42:8; 1 Cor. 1:31). The world’s wisdom builds the self and minimizes the need for absolute trust in God, whether for salvation or for daily living.
  3. The counsel of the wicked denies or minimizes the need for the cross of Christ by asserting either the basic goodness of man or by downplaying the extent and impact of the fall. The Bible teaches that we are all utterly wicked and self-seeking. None of us could or would seek God if left to ourselves (Rom. 3:10-18). The cross humbles human pride and wisdom and exalts Christ alone (1 Cor. 1:18-2:5).
  4. The counsel of the wicked denies God’s moral absolutes and substitutes relative human “goodness.” God is absolutely righteous and His standards of holiness as revealed in His Word are absolute (1 Pet. 1:16). Worldly wisdom rationalizes away God’s absolutes as being too “idealistic” or “harsh” and substitutes some human standard, such as “love.” In other words, human wisdom makes a god in its own likeness, rather than submitting to the true God.
  5. The counsel of the wicked focuses on pleasing self rather than on pleasing God and others. The world’s wisdom does not promote self-denial and love for God and others as of first importance (Mark 8:34; 12:29-31). Often the world’s wisdom provides “help” for a person (relief from the symptoms of his problem) without leading him to confess sin, depend on God, and live in obedience to God. The world’s wisdom counsels you to live first of all for yourself.

The path of sinners refers to their way of life or behavior. To stand in the path of sinners means involvement with sinners in their sinful behavior. The word “sinners” comes from a Hebrew word meaning to miss the mark. It refers to deviating from the standard of God as revealed in His Word.

In that sense, we’re all sinners. We’ve all missed the mark by deviating from God’s Word. But when we trust in Christ as Savior and Lord, we become converted sinners. Instead of living to please self, the converted sinner seeks to please God (Col. 1:10). He grows in learning how to deny self (Mark 8:34) and to love God and others (Mark 12:28-31).

The Bible teaches that the objective of our relationship with lost sinners needs to change after we come to Christ. On the one hand, “Do not be deceived: Bad company corrupts good morals” (1 Cor. 15:33). If we run with worldly people in their godless way of life, we will be wrongly influenced by them.

On the other hand, we are not supposed to cut ourselves off completely from sinners (unless they make claim of being Christians). Otherwise, you would have to go out of the world (1 Cor. 5:9-11).  Rather, our objective changes. Whereas before we associated with sinners as one of them to join in their evil deeds, now we associate with them as a sinner saved by grace to seek to bring them to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. Take note: How truly happy is the person who does not stand in the path of sinners!

Scoffers have rejected God and His Word. They now seek to justify themselves by openly deriding that which they’ve rejected. Scoffers think they know more than God. They’re too smart to believe in the Bible. Many scoffers come from church backgrounds, but they’ve cast it off as too “repressive.” Although they almost always hide under an intellectual smoke screen, invariably scoffers have cast off the Bible because they want to be their own god so that they can follow their own lusts. They don’t want God interfering in their sinful lifestyles.

“The seat” of scoffers refers to the assembly or place where such men gather to reinforce their godless philosophy. Birds of a feather flock together. Those who scoff at God love to get together to reinforce their prejudices. To sit in their seat means to belong to such a crowd. Take note: How truly happy is the person who does not sit in the seat of scoffers!

Before we leave verse 1, please note the downward progression in the life of sin. Satan doesn’t cause a person to fall away and spurn the faith all at once. There are degrees of departure from God, as implied in three sets of three words:

(1) Walk > Stand > Sit. First, you walk‑‑you’re still moving, but now in the wrong direction. Then, you stand‑‑you’re lingering in sin. Finally, you sit‑‑you’re at ease in the company of scoffers.

(2) Wicked > Sinners > Scoffers. First, you’re with the wicked‑‑those who hang loose about God. Then you’re with sinners‑‑those who openly violate God’s commands by missing the mark. Then you’re with scoffers‑‑those who openly reject the truth.

(3) Counsel > Path > Seat. First, you listen to counsel‑‑you begin thinking wrong thoughts. Then, you stand in the path‑‑you engage in wrong behavior. Finally, you sit in the seat‑‑you belong to the wrong crowd and have adopted the fatal attitude of the scoffer. And Satan’s got you!

Two Actions:

  1. Guard your mind! Satan begins there, as he did with Eve (“Has God said ...?”). Wrong thoughts lead to wrong behavior which leads to rejection of God and His truth. Guarding your mind doesn’t mean that you become a non-thinker. It means that you critique everything by the unchanging standard of God’s Word of truth.
  2. Guard your friends! Those whom you choose as close friends should be committed to the things of God. “What fellowship has light with darkness?” (2 Cor. 6:14). Bad company will corrupt good morals.

But, the negative is not enough in and of itself to produce true happiness. The psalmist goes on to show in verse 2 which we will look at in the next post.

www.Upwards.Church

Message Audio/Video and Outline: https://upwards.church/watch-now/leander-campus-videos

Watch Messages: YouTube-Upwards Church

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Sources:

[1] Life Application Bible Notes (Tyndale, 2007), 842.

Bible.org Psalms 1

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PSALMS – Introduction and Invitation

Posted on July 25, 2024 by dkoop

You’re Invited to Our New Series in Psalms!

Description: Psalms, the ancient songbook, written by various authors such as Moses, David, Solomon and Asaph explore the full range of human emotions and experience in a personal and relatable way. Psalms encourages its readers to praise God for who He is and what He has done. Psalms illuminate the greatness of our God, affirm His faithfulness to us in times of trouble, and remind us of the absolute centrality of His Word.  In our series, we will learn to practically apply the truths these magnificent hymns to our own lives.

Dates           Titles                      Scripture                Events

 July 28 – God’s Word (Psalm 1)

Aug. 4 – God’s Encouragement (Psalm 42)

Aug. 11 – God’s Leading (Psalm 23)
Aug. 18 – God’s Forgiveness (Psalm 51)                    Communion

Aug. 25 – God’s Power (Psalm 95)

Sep. 1 – God’s Presence (Psalm 84)                 Labor Day Weekend

Introduction:

“Hi, how are you?” “Fine.” Not exactly an “in-depth” discussion, this brief interchange is normal as friends and acquaintances pass and briefly touch each other with a cliché or two. Actually, clichés are a way of life, saturating sentences and permeating paragraphs. But if this is the essence of our communication, our relationships will stall on a superficial plateau. Facts and opinions also fill our verbiage. These words go deeper, but the true person still lies hidden beneath them. In reality, only when honest feelings and emotions are shared can real people be known, loved, and helped. Often, patterns of superficial communication spill over into our talks with God. We easily slide through well-worn lines recited for decades, or we quickly toss a cliché or two at God and call it prayer. Certainly God hears and understands these feeble attempts, but by limiting the depth of our communication, we become shallow in our relationship with him. But God knows us, and he wants to have genuine communication with us.
At the center of the Bible is the book of Psalms. This great collection of songs and prayers expresses the heart and soul of humanity. In them we find the whole range of human experiences expressed. This book holds no clichés. Instead, David and the other writers honestly poured out their true feelings, reflecting a dynamic, powerful, and life-changing friendship with God. The psalmists confess their sins, express their doubts and fears, ask God for help in times of trouble, and praise and worship him. As you read the book of Psalms, you will hear believers crying out to God from the depths of despair, and you will hear them singing to him in the heights of celebration. But whether the psalm writers are despairing or rejoicing, you will always hear them sharing honest feelings with their God. Because of the honesty expressed by these writers, men and women throughout history have come, again and again, to the book of Psalms for comfort during times of struggle and distress. And through the psalms, they have risen from the depths of despair to new heights of joy and praise as they also discovered the power of God’s everlasting love and forgiveness. Let the honesty of the psalms guide you into a deep and genuine relationship with God.

Vital Statistics

Purpose: To provide poetry for the expression of praise, worship, and confession to God

Authors:  David wrote 73 psalms; Asaph wrote 12; the sons of Korah wrote 9; Solomon wrote 2; Heman (with the sons of Korah), Ethan, and Moses each wrote one; 51 psalms are anonymous. The New Testament ascribes two of the anonymous psalms (Psalms 2 and 95) to David (see Acts 4:25; Hebrews 4:7).

Original Audience: The people of Israel

Date Written: Between the time of Moses (approximately 1440 B.C.) and the Babylonian captivity (586 B.C.)

Setting: For the most part, the psalms were not intended to be narrations of historical events. However, they often parallel events in history, such as David’s flight from Saul and his sin with Bathsheba.

Key Verse: “Let everything that breathes sing praises to the LORD! Praise the LORD!” (150:6)

Key Person: David

Key Place: God’s holy Temple

Outline:  

• BOOK ONE PSALMS 1:1–41:13
While the psalms are not organized by topic, it is helpful to compare the dominant themes in each section of the Psalms to the five books of Moses. This first collection of psalms, mainly written by David, is similar to the book of Genesis. Just as Genesis tells how mankind was created, fell into sin, and was then promised redemption, many of these psalms discuss humans as blessed, fallen, and redeemed by God.

• BOOK TWO PSALMS 42:1–72:20
This collection of psalms, mainly written by David and the sons of Korah, is similar to the book of Exodus. Just as Exodus describes the nation of Israel, many of these psalms describe the nation as ruined and then recovered. As God rescued the nation of Israel, he also rescues us. We do not have to work out solutions first, but we can go to God with our problems and ask him to help.

• BOOK THREE PSALMS 73:1–89:52
This collection of psalms, mainly written by Asaph or Asaph’s descendants, is similar to the book of Leviticus. Just as Leviticus discusses the Tabernacle and God’s holiness, many of these psalms discuss the Temple and God’s enthronement. Because God is almighty, we can turn to him for deliverance. These psalms praise God because he is holy, and his perfect holiness deserves our worship and reverence.

• BOOK FOUR PSALMS 90:1–106:48
This collection of psalms, mainly written by unknown authors, is similar to the book of Numbers. Just as Numbers discusses the relationship of the nation of Israel to surrounding nations, these psalms often mention the relationship of God’s overruling Kingdom to the other nations. Because we are citizens of the Kingdom of God, we can keep the events and troubles of earth in their proper perspective.

• BOOK FIVE PSALMS 107:1–150:6
This collection of psalms, mainly written by David, is similar to the book of Deuteronomy. Just as Deuteronomy was concerned with God and his Word, these psalms are anthems of praise and thanksgiving for God and his Word. Most of the psalms were originally set to music and used in worship. We can use these psalms today as they were used in the past, as a hymnbook of praise and worship. This is a book that ought to make our hearts sing.

Main Ideas: 

Praise Psalms are songs of praise to God as our Creator, Sustainer, and Redeemer. Praise is recognizing, appreciating, and expressing God’s greatness. Focusing our thoughts on God moves us to praise him. The more we know him, the more we can appreciate what he has done for us.

God’s power – God is all-powerful; and he always acts at the right time. He is sovereign over every situation. God’s power is shown by the ways he reveals himself in creation, history, and his Word.
When we feel powerless, God can help us. His strength can overcome the despair of any pain or trial. We can always pray that he will deliver, protect, and sustain us.

Forgiveness – Many psalms are intense prayers asking God for forgiveness. God forgives us when we confess our sin and turn from it.
Because God forgives us, we can pray to him honestly and directly. When we receive his forgiveness, we move from alienation to intimacy, from guilt to love.

Thankfulness – We are grateful to God for his personal concern, help, and mercy. Not only does he protect, guide, and forgive us, but his creation provides everything we need.
When we realize how we benefit from knowing God, we can fully express our thanks to him. By thanking him often, we develop spontaneity in our prayer life

Trust – God is faithful and just. When we put our trust in him, he quiets our hearts. Because he has been faithful throughout history, we can trust him in times of trouble.

www.Upwards.Church

Message Audio/Video and Outline: https://upwards.church/watch-now/leander-campus-videos

Watch Messages: YouTube-Upwards Church

Facebook: Upwards Church

 

Source: Life Application Bible Notes (Tyndale, 2007), 841–842.

 

 

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