Psalm Saturday 9c

I will praise thee, O LORD, with my whole heart; I will shew forth all thy marvelous works.  I will be glad and rejoice in thee: I will sing praise to thy name, O thou most High.  When mine enemies are turned back, they shall fall and perish at thy presence.  For thou hast maintained my right and my cause; thou satest in the throne judging right.  Thou hast rebuked the heathen, thou hast destroyed the wicked, thou hast put out their name for ever and ever. O thou enemy, destructions are come to a perpetualend: and thou hast destroyed cities; their memorial is perished with them.  But the LORD shall endure forever: he hath prepared his throne for judgment.  And he shall judge the world in righteousness, he shall minister judgment to the people in uprightness.  The LORD also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble.  And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, LORD, hast not forsaken them that seek thee.

Psalm 9:1-10

This Psalm tells us about Praising the Lord.  It then reminds us of what will eventually happen to the enemies of the Lord.  “They shall fall and perish at thy presence.  It is an interesting contrast.  As Christians who know the Lord, we are waiting for His appearance.  His appearance is precious and important to us.  We are even told to look for Him and to love His appearing.  But the wicked are not so.  They fall and perish at His very presence.  Just being in the presence of the Lord destroys the wicked.  We need to be thankful that we have a truly blessed hope!

Saturday Pslam 9b

I will praise thee, O LORD, with my whole heart; I will shew forth all thy marvelous works.  I will be glad and rejoice in thee: I will sing praise to thy name, O thou most High.  When mine enemies are turned back, they shall fall and perish at thy presence.  For thou hast maintained my right and my cause; thou satest in the throne judging right.  Thou hast rebuked the heathen, thou hast destroyed the wicked, thou hast put out their name for ever and ever. O thou enemy, destructions are come to a perpetualend: and thou hast destroyed cities; their memorial is perished with them.  But the LORD shall endure forever: he hath prepared his throne for judgment.  And he shall judge the world in righteousness, he shall minister judgment to the people in uprightness.  The LORD also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble.  And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, LORD, hast not forsaken them that seek thee.

Psalm 9:1-10

In this Psalm, the Psalmist tells us that he is going to be glad and rejoice in the Lord.  He is going to sing praises to His name.

That is what many of the Psalms are about – being glad, rejoicing in the Lord, and singing praises to Him.  Those are three components of praising the Lord.  First, we need to make a conscious decision to be glad.  Happiness is a decision, not a “feeling.”  Second, we need to understand that our happiness and gladness is possible only because of the Lord.  That will cause us to rejoice in Him.  And, we need to let that rejoicing out by singing praises to Him.

How are we doing?

Psalm Saturday, 9a

I will praise thee, O LORD, with my whole heart; I will shew forth all thy marvelous works.  I will be glad and rejoice in thee: I will sing praise to thy name, O thou most High.  When mine enemies are turned back, they shall fall and perish at thy presence.  For thou hast maintained my right and my cause; thou satest in the throne judging right.  Thou hast rebuked the heathen, thou hast destroyed the wicked, thou hast put out their name for ever and ever. O thou enemy, destructions are come to a perpetualend: and thou hast destroyed cities; their memorial is perished with them.  But the LORD shall endure forever: he hath prepared his throne for judgment.  And he shall judge the world in righteousness, he shall minister judgment to the people in uprightness.  The LORD also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble.  And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, LORD, hast not forsaken them that seek thee.

Psalm 9:1-10

In reading the first verse of this passage, the thing that stood out the most to me was the question it raised. The Psalmist says that he is going to praise the Lord with his whole heart and that he is going to show forth his wonderful works.  The question I have is this – am I doing either of those things?  Do I praise Him with my whole heart?  Or do I just praise Him a little?  Also, am I really showing others just how good He is, or am I walking around seeming miserable, and complaining about everything?  Do others see Him and hear Him in me?  That is a good question for all of us!

Psalm Saturday, 9

I will praise thee, O LORD, with my whole heart; I will shew forth all thy marvelous works.  I will be glad and rejoice in thee: I will sing praise to thy name, O thou most High.  When mine enemies are turned back, they shall fall and perish at thy presence.  For thou hast maintained my right and my cause; thou satest in the throne judging right.  Thou hast rebuked the heathen, thou hast destroyed the wicked, thou hast put out their name for ever and ever. O thou enemy, destructions are come to a perpetualend: and thou hast destroyed cities; their memorial is perished with them.  But the LORD shall endure forever: he hath prepared his throne for judgment.  And he shall judge the world in righteousness, he shall minister judgment to the people in uprightness.  The LORD also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble.  And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, LORD, hast not forsaken them that seek thee.

Psalm 9:1-10

This Psalm, like many others, is all about the Lord.  It shows Him as the ruler of everything, ready to judge the people who reject Him and ready to Him the people who love Him.  Hopefully, in looking at this Psalm for the next several Saturdays, we will begin to get a sense of the power and glory of God.  And, hopefully, that will make us want to serve Him more and love Him more.

Psalm Saturday, 8g

O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!  who hast set thy glory above the heavens.  Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger.  When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him?  and the son of man, that thou visitest him?  For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.  Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet: All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field; The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever  passeth through the paths of the seas.  O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!

Psalm 8:1-9

This Psalm ends with the words “O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!”  Sometimes we look around and see that the Lord’s name in not honored in the earth.  Sometimes it seems that His name is despised and rejected on earth.  But, despite what men may say of think, His name is still excellent.  His is the one who created all of the earth.  It is all His, whether some men may accept that or not.  His name is excellent to those of us who have believed in Him.  It is the name that can free us from sin and from ourselves.

Whether some people will admit it or not, the name of the Lord is excellent.  It doesn’t matter what people think about it – it’s the truth and it is not going to change.  His name is excellent!

 

Psalm Saturday 8f

O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!  who hast set thy glory above the heavens.  Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger.  When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him?  and the son of man, that thou visitest him?  For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.  Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet: All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field; The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever  passeth through the paths of the seas.  O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!

Psalm 8:1-9

When we look around at just how wonderful God made everything, we have to be amazed at the fact that He put us (man) over it all.  When we look at just how stupid we (people) can be, we have to be even more amazed at this fact.

For whatever reason, God gave man dominion over the works of His hands.  All of the land and the animals and the birds and the fish – all of them have been put under our dominion.  We have been given the earth and should be wise stewards with its resources.  I’m not saying that we should all become environmentalists, because we do not worship the creature over the creator.  But we should be mindful of what God has given us and of how we should treat it and use it.

 

 

Psalm Saturday 8d

O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!  who hast set thy glory above the heavens.  Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger.  When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him?  and the son of man, that thou visitest him?  For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.

Psalm 8:1-5

“When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the sons of man, that thou visitest him?”

Those are interesting questions.  I do not know what the creator of the universe is mindful of me.  I am just a weak, frail human.  I am sinful and evil.  I often don’t do the things I know I should do and I often do the things I know I shouldn’t do.  But God is still mindful of me.  He knows me and He helps me.  This passage even says that He visits us.  He came down to “visit” mankind in the flesh around two thousand years ago.  He still visits us day by day to help and comfort us.  Why does God love us?  I don’t know, but I am thankful for it!

Psalm Saturday, 8e

O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!  who hast set thy glory above the heavens.  Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger.  When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him?  and the son of man, that thou visitest him?  For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.

Psalm 8:1-5

The Psalmist says here that “Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightiest still the enemy and the avenger.”  God has ordained strength because of His enemies.  He is infinitely more powerful than any of his enemies.  This is an important thing for us to remember.  God is in control.  It may not always seem like it, but God is in control and none of His enemies can stand before Him.  It may seem sometimes that the world is winning it’s war against God, but we do not need to be deceived.  God will “still the enemy and the avenger.” That is a comforting thought!

Psalm Saturday, 8d

O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!  who hast set thy glory above the heavens.  Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger.  When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him?  and the son of man, that thou visitest him?  For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.

Psalm 8:1-5

In this passage, the Psalmist asks an interesting question – “What is man, that thou art mindful of him?”  Why does the God of Heaven, the Creator of the universe, take any notice of us?  That is a good question, but the statement that follows just might be a little more interesting!

“For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.”  Why did God choose to crown man with glory and honour?  He did make man in His own image.  He gave man dominion over the Earth.  He allows us to communicate with Him.  He loves us enough to send His Son to die for us.  Why did He do all of these things?  I don’t know.  I don’t understand it.  But I am very happy for it!

 

Psalm Saturday 8c

O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!  who hast set thy glory above the heavens.  Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger.  When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him?  and the son of man, that thou visitest him?  For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.

Psalm 8:1-5

“When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the starts, which thou hast ordained; What is man that thou art mindful of him?”

That is a good question.  When we look at all of creation, we can see the glory and power of the Lord.  We can look at the beauty of an sunset or look at the millions of stars in the night sky and wonder why the God Who created all of that cares anything about us.

The simple answer to those questions is: I don’t know.  But He is mindful of us.  In fact, He loves us.  Why?  We will never know nor understand.  But He does, and, for that we can be eternally grateful!