June 23, 2015

IF YOU NEED A REMINDER OF HOW GREAT THE ONE YOU SERVE IS, READ THIS!

Psalms 111–118

Addie Tamlyn
Tuesday's Devo

June 23, 2015

Tuesday's Devo

June 23, 2015

Central Truth

Who is this Lord we serve? One totally and completely worthy of our praise. PRAISE THE LORD!

Key Verse | Psalm 118:28

You are my God, and I will praise you!
You are my God, and I will exalt you!
(Psalm 118:28)

Psalms 111–118

Great Are the LORD's Works

1 111:1 This psalm is an acrostic poem, each line beginning with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet Praise the LORD!
I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart,
    in the company of the upright, in the congregation.
Great are the works of the LORD,
    studied by all who delight in them.
Full of splendor and majesty is his work,
    and his righteousness endures forever.
He has caused his wondrous works to be remembered;
    the LORD is gracious and merciful.
He provides food for those who fear him;
    he remembers his covenant forever.
He has shown his people the power of his works,
    in giving them the inheritance of the nations.
The works of his hands are faithful and just;
    all his precepts are trustworthy;
they are established forever and ever,
    to be performed with faithfulness and uprightness.
He sent redemption to his people;
    he has commanded his covenant forever.
    Holy and awesome is his name!
10  The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom;
    all those who practice it have a good understanding.
    His praise endures forever!

The Righteous Will Never Be Moved

2 112:1 This psalm is an acrostic poem, each line beginning with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet Praise the LORD!
Blessed is the man who fears the LORD,
    who greatly delights in his commandments!
His offspring will be mighty in the land;
    the generation of the upright will be blessed.
Wealth and riches are in his house,
    and his righteousness endures forever.
Light dawns in the darkness for the upright;
    he is gracious, merciful, and righteous.
It is well with the man who deals generously and lends;
    who conducts his affairs with justice.
For the righteous will never be moved;
    he will be remembered forever.
He is not afraid of bad news;
    his heart is firm, trusting in the LORD.
His heart is steady; 3 112:8 Or established (compare 111:8) he will not be afraid,
    until he looks in triumph on his adversaries.
He has distributed freely; he has given to the poor;
    his righteousness endures forever;
    his horn is exalted in honor.
10  The wicked man sees it and is angry;
    he gnashes his teeth and melts away;
    the desire of the wicked will perish!

Who Is like the LORD Our God?

Praise the LORD!
Praise, O servants of the LORD,
    praise the name of the LORD!

Blessed be the name of the LORD
    from this time forth and forevermore!
From the rising of the sun to its setting,
    the name of the LORD is to be praised!

The LORD is high above all nations,
    and his glory above the heavens!
Who is like the LORD our God,
    who is seated on high,
who looks far down
    on the heavens and the earth?
He raises the poor from the dust
    and lifts the needy from the ash heap,
to make them sit with princes,
    with the princes of his people.
He gives the barren woman a home,
    making her the joyous mother of children.
Praise the LORD!

Tremble at the Presence of the Lord

When Israel went out from Egypt,
    the house of Jacob from a people of strange language,
Judah became his sanctuary,
    Israel his dominion.

The sea looked and fled;
    Jordan turned back.
The mountains skipped like rams,
    the hills like lambs.

What ails you, O sea, that you flee?
    O Jordan, that you turn back?
O mountains, that you skip like rams?
    O hills, like lambs?

Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord,
    at the presence of the God of Jacob,
who turns the rock into a pool of water,
    the flint into a spring of water.

To Your Name Give Glory

Not to us, O LORD, not to us, but to your name give glory,
    for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness!

Why should the nations say,
    “Where is their God?”
Our God is in the heavens;
    he does all that he pleases.

Their idols are silver and gold,
    the work of human hands.
They have mouths, but do not speak;
    eyes, but do not see.
They have ears, but do not hear;
    noses, but do not smell.
They have hands, but do not feel;
    feet, but do not walk;
    and they do not make a sound in their throat.
Those who make them become like them;
    so do all who trust in them.

O Israel, 4 115:9 Masoretic Text; many Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint, Syriac O house of Israel trust in the LORD!
    He is their help and their shield.
10  O house of Aaron, trust in the LORD!
    He is their help and their shield.
11  You who fear the LORD, trust in the LORD!
    He is their help and their shield.

12  The LORD has remembered us; he will bless us;
    he will bless the house of Israel;
    he will bless the house of Aaron;
13  he will bless those who fear the LORD,
    both the small and the great.

14  May the LORD give you increase,
    you and your children!
15  May you be blessed by the LORD,
    who made heaven and earth!

16  The heavens are the LORD's heavens,
    but the earth he has given to the children of man.
17  The dead do not praise the LORD,
    nor do any who go down into silence.
18  But we will bless the LORD
    from this time forth and forevermore.
Praise the LORD!

I Love the LORD

I love the LORD, because he has heard
    my voice and my pleas for mercy.
Because he inclined his ear to me,
    therefore I will call on him as long as I live.
The snares of death encompassed me;
    the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me;
    I suffered distress and anguish.
Then I called on the name of the LORD:
    “O LORD, I pray, deliver my soul!”

Gracious is the LORD, and righteous;
    our God is merciful.
The LORD preserves the simple;
    when I was brought low, he saved me.
Return, O my soul, to your rest;
    for the LORD has dealt bountifully with you.

For you have delivered my soul from death,
    my eyes from tears,
    my feet from stumbling;
I will walk before the LORD
    in the land of the living.

10  I believed, even when 5 116:10 Or believed, indeed; Septuagint believed, therefore I spoke:
    “I am greatly afflicted”;
11  I said in my alarm,
    “All mankind are liars.”

12  What shall I render to the LORD
    for all his benefits to me?
13  I will lift up the cup of salvation
    and call on the name of the LORD,
14  I will pay my vows to the LORD
    in the presence of all his people.

15  Precious in the sight of the LORD
    is the death of his saints.
16  O LORD, I am your servant;
    I am your servant, the son of your maidservant.
    You have loosed my bonds.
17  I will offer to you the sacrifice of thanksgiving
    and call on the name of the LORD.
18  I will pay my vows to the LORD
    in the presence of all his people,
19  in the courts of the house of the LORD,
    in your midst, O Jerusalem.
Praise the LORD!

The LORD's Faithfulness Endures Forever

Praise the LORD, all nations!
    Extol him, all peoples!
For great is his steadfast love toward us,
    and the faithfulness of the LORD endures forever.
Praise the LORD!

His Steadfast Love Endures Forever

Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
    for his steadfast love endures forever!

Let Israel say,
    “His steadfast love endures forever.”
Let the house of Aaron say,
    “His steadfast love endures forever.”
Let those who fear the LORD say,
    “His steadfast love endures forever.”

Out of my distress I called on the LORD;
    the LORD answered me and set me free.
The LORD is on my side; I will not fear.
    What can man do to me?
The LORD is on my side as my helper;
    I shall look in triumph on those who hate me.

It is better to take refuge in the LORD
    than to trust in man.
It is better to take refuge in the LORD
    than to trust in princes.

10  All nations surrounded me;
    in the name of the LORD I cut them off!
11  They surrounded me, surrounded me on every side;
    in the name of the LORD I cut them off!
12  They surrounded me like bees;
    they went out like a fire among thorns;
    in the name of the LORD I cut them off!
13  I was pushed hard, 6 118:13 Hebrew You (that is, the enemy) pushed me hard so that I was falling,
    but the LORD helped me.

14  The LORD is my strength and my song;
    he has become my salvation.
15  Glad songs of salvation
    are in the tents of the righteous:
“The right hand of the LORD does valiantly,
16      the right hand of the LORD exalts,
    the right hand of the LORD does valiantly!”

17  I shall not die, but I shall live,
    and recount the deeds of the LORD.
18  The LORD has disciplined me severely,
    but he has not given me over to death.

19  Open to me the gates of righteousness,
    that I may enter through them
    and give thanks to the LORD.
20  This is the gate of the LORD;
    the righteous shall enter through it.
21  I thank you that you have answered me
    and have become my salvation.
22  The stone that the builders rejected
    has become the cornerstone. 7 118:22 Hebrew the head of the corner
23  This is the LORD's doing;
    it is marvelous in our eyes.
24  This is the day that the LORD has made;
    let us rejoice and be glad in it.

25  Save us, we pray, O LORD!
    O LORD, we pray, give us success!

26  Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD!
    We bless you from the house of the LORD.
27  The LORD is God,
    and he has made his light to shine upon us.
Bind the festal sacrifice with cords,
    up to the horns of the altar!

28  You are my God, and I will give thanks to you;
    you are my God; I will extol you.
29  Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
    for his steadfast love endures forever!

Footnotes

[1] 111:1 This psalm is an acrostic poem, each line beginning with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet
[2] 112:1 This psalm is an acrostic poem, each line beginning with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet
[3] 112:8 Or established (compare 111:8)
[4] 115:9 Masoretic Text; many Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint, Syriac O house of Israel
[5] 116:10 Or believed, indeed; Septuagint believed, therefore
[6] 118:13 Hebrew You (that is, the enemy) pushed me hard
[7] 118:22 Hebrew the head of the corner

Dive Deeper | Psalms 111–118

After reading these eight chapters of Psalms, there is one thing that really stood out to me: the fact that the phrase "Praise the Lord" is written so many times (10, exactly)! When I was younger and growing up in the church, my Bible study teachers and my parents always emphasized that if something was written in the Bible more than once, then it was REALLY important. I guess this stuck with me. If something was written just twice and it was REALLY important, then something written, say, 10 (or more) times must be REALLY REALLY REALLY (times 10) important! Because we are told to praise the Lord so many times, it MUST BE important.

Now when I think of the word praise, I automatically think of worship. And now that I am thinking of worship, I can't help but think of the beloved country of Haiti. I mentioned earlier my love for that country, and now you are going to hear one of the reasons why: the way the people worship. It is unlike anything I have ever seen. They are so wholeheartedly overwhelmed by the goodness of the Lord and their faces beam with this radiant joy! They dance without fear of being judged by others. It is really so incredible, and words will not do it justice.

So why do I tell you about how they worship? Because we, too, should be that excited to serve and praise God. There are many ways we can do this. It doesn't have to be through dancing and singing, but the Bible demands of us that we praise the Lord. So take the time to reread these psalms, because they give us so many reasons that our God is worthy of praise. They sparked in me an energy to genuinely take the time to reflect on the goodness of the Lord and to adore and praise Him for all He has done.

Discussion Questions

1. Why do people who have so little (the Haitians) praise so authentically?

2. When and where do you find yourself praising the Lord wholeheartedly?

3. Which verses in these psalms resonate within you? Will you commit them to memory?