The psalmist recounts the history of Israel and praises the Lord because of it.
| Verse | Observation | Interpretation | Application |
| 1Give thanks to the Lord, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done. 2Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts. 3Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice. 4Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always. 5Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced, 6O descendants of Abraham his servant, O sons of Jacob, his chosen ones. 7He is the Lord our God; his judgments are in all the earth. | The psalmist is calling everyone to sing praises to the Lord. seek Him always, and remember His works. | ||
| 8He remembers his covenant forever, the word he commanded, for a thousand generations, 9the covenant he made with Abraham, the oath he swore to Isaac. 10He confirmed it to Jacob as a decree, to Israel as an everlasting covenant: 11“To you I will give the land of Canaan as the portion you will inherit.” 12When they were but few in number, few indeed, and strangers in it, 13they wandered from nation to nation, from one kingdom to another. 14He allowed no one to oppress them; for their sake he rebuked kings: 15“Do not touch my anointed ones; do my prophets no harm.” 16He called down famine on the land and destroyed all their supplies of food; 17and he sent a man before them— Joseph, sold as a slave. 18They bruised his feet with shackles, his neck was put in irons, 19till what he foretold came to pass, till the word of the Lord proved him true. 20The king sent and released him, the ruler of peoples set him free. 21He made him master of his household, ruler over all he possessed, 22to instruct his princes as he pleased and teach his elders wisdom. 23Then Israel entered Egypt; Jacob lived as an alien in the land of Ham. 24The Lord made his people very fruitful; he made them too numerous for their foes, 25whose hearts he turned to hate his people, to conspire against his servants. 26He sent Moses his servant, and Aaron, whom he had chosen. 27They performed his miraculous signs among them, his wonders in the land of Ham. 28He sent darkness and made the land dark— for had they not rebelled against his words? 29He turned their waters into blood, causing their fish to die. 30Their land teemed with frogs, which went up into the bedrooms of their rulers. 31He spoke, and there came swarms of flies, and gnats throughout their country. 32He turned their rain into hail, with lightning throughout their land; 33he struck down their vines and fig trees and shattered the trees of their country. 34He spoke, and the locusts came, grasshoppers without number; 35they ate up every green thing in their land, ate up the produce of their soil. 36Then he struck down all the firstborn in their land, the firstfruits of all their manhood. 37He brought out Israel, laden with silver and gold, and from among their tribes no one faltered. 38Egypt was glad when they left, because dread of Israel had fallen on them. 39He spread out a cloud as a covering, and a fire to give light at night. 40They asked, and he brought them quail and satisfied them with the bread of heaven. 41He opened the rock, and water gushed out; like a river it flowed in the desert. 42For he remembered his holy promise given to his servant Abraham. 43He brought out his people with rejoicing, his chosen ones with shouts of joy; 44he gave them the lands of the nations, and they fell heir to what others had toiled for— 45that they might keep his precepts and observe his laws. Praise the Lord.a | Here the psalmist recounts the whole history of Israel, from Abraham until reaching the promised land Canaan. From the first part, this is the psalmist's way of remembering the works of the Lord. As I can see, the Lord works over a long period of time: a few years is usually not enough to see the complete majesty of His works. It took 300 years of slavery before God sent Moses to free the Israelites. It took 40 years of roaming the desert before reaching the promised land. It took YEARS before Abraham bore Isaac. But we can also see that within this time 'delay' (I don't believe it is a 'delay' since God's timing is always perfect) God continually provided for His people. The Israelites grew in number during the 300 years. God provided quail, manna, and water in the desert. He did not let their sandals wore out. Also, God provided riches to Abraham even before Isaac was born. | God is consistent. Sometimes His timing may not seem right, but we should have faith that He is good and "be still and know that He is God." | Wait for God's instruction especially this Valentine. |
Feel free to correct me if there is anything wrong in my understanding of the Bible. I am not a Bible scholar or anything, I'm just studying the Word of God.
No comments:
Post a Comment