Week 33: Psalms 105 – 119

THE BOOK OF PSALMS – Chapters 105 through 119

Psalm 105 – God’s wondrous works in Israel’s history. Verses 1-15 are the same as 1 Chronicles 16:8-22, at the time David brought the ark of the covenant to Jerusalem.
A call to thanksgiving (1-6). The Abrahamic covenant (7-15). God sends Joseph to Egypt (16-22). Israel in Egypt (23 – 25). Moses and the plagues (26-36). The exodus and the wanderings (37-42). The settlement of Canaan (43-45).

Psalm 106 – Israel’s failure. The faithfulness of God (Psalm 105) contrasted with the faithlessness of His chosen people. “It is a rare thing to find a national hymn commemorating the sins of the people.” “The psalm is a monument to the utter realism of the Bible” (Purkiser). A prayer for mercy (1-5). Sin at the Red Sea (6-12). Sin in the wilderness (13-15). The sin of Dathan and Abiram (16-18) (Num. 16; Deut. 11:6). The golden calf at Horeb (19-23). Refusal to enter Canaan (24-27). Baal of Peor (28-31)(Num. 25). Sin at Meribah (32,33)(Num. 20:2-13). Idolatry in Canaan (34-39). Israel’s punishment (40-43). God’s mercy (44-46). Final appeal (47).

106:48 – The doxology ending Book IV. Book V consists of Psalms 107 to 150.

Psalm 107 – Song of the Redeemed. Thanksgiving to a delivering God (note the refrains — 6, 8, 13, 15, 19, 21, 28, 31). Call to God in your need! He hears! He answers! Then thank Him for His love!

Psalm 108 – My heart is steadfast. This psalm is composed of sections of two psalms previously found in the psalter: verses 1-5 in Psalm 57:7-11 and verses 6-13 in Psalm 60:5-12 of Book II.

Psalm 109 – Be not silent, O God: vindication. Here we find the strongest language in the Psalms calling for vindication. Such psalms are called “imprecatory psalms” (“to call down evil or curses) and are troubling to us. Some things to think about: The thought is more directed to God’s judgment than to man’s. They were moved by a zeal for the clearing of God’s name. “Is it right to pray that God will avenge His persecuted people?” The passages involved are prayers (compare Revelation 6:10). The writers are honestly expressing their feelings and desires, like Job. C.S. Lewis pointed out that a failure to be disturbed by sin is actually an alarming symptom! This is poetry and some poetic license must be given.

Psalm 110 – The king’s dominion. Quoted 21 times in the NT in reference to Jesus and His kingdom and priesthood. Quoted by Jesus Himself (Matt. 22:44). “Both the Jews of Christ’s day and the early church viewed it as Messianic in meaning” (Purkiser).
Messiah the king (1-2)( cf. Acts 2:34). Messiah the priest (3-5)(Hebrews 5:6; 6:20; 7:17,21). Messiah the victor (6,7).

Psalm 111 – The trustworthiness of the LORD. In the original Hebrew language psalms 111 and 112 are obviously paired. Both are alphabetic, with each of 22 lines beginning with the next letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Psalm 111 describes God as shown in His works and Psalm 112 describes the one who fears God as shown in his works. The call to praise (1). The
cause for praise (2-9). The spirit of praise (10).

Psalm 112 – The trustfulness of the godly. This would be classified as a wisdom poem, describing the life of the person who fears God (see 111:10).

Psalms 113 to 118 are known as the “Hallel”(praise) psalms, also the “Egyptian Hallel” because of the reference to the Exodus in 114:1. They are sung the night of the Passover meal (113 and 114 before the meal and 115 to 118 after). Thus we know what Jesus and the apostles likely sang at the conclusion of the Last Supper (Matthew 26:30)!

Psalm 113 – Hallelu-Yah – Praise the LORD. Verse 9 reminds us of Hannah, Samuel’s mother (1 Samuel 1, 2).

Psalm 114 – The great deliverance. “The movement in the psalm is very rapid as the psalmist advances from Egypt to Canaan…”(Miller).

Psalm 115 – The true God. The LORD as contrasted with idols. Israel must have often been taunted about their unseen God (1-2). The impotence of idols, lifeless forms which cannot respond to their creators (3-8). Verse 8 states a great truth: we become like what we worship and can rise no higher than our God! Israel is enjoined to trust the LORD (9-11). The LORD will bless Israel (12-18). Ancient Israel had no information about life in the realm of the dead (Sheol) so are to praise the LORD throughout their time on earth (17,18). “Christians, in light of God’s perfect revelation in Christ, praise both God and Christ in anticipation of the privilege of rendering a more perfect praise in eternity…”(Miller).

Psalm 116 – A song of personal testimony. Acknowledgement of deliverance (1-11). A resolve to respond appropriately to God’s goodness (12-19). The deliverance may have been personal (note the use of first person pronouns) but the psalmist knows he must make public his gratefulness to the LORD (14,18,19).

Psalm 117 – Doxology (Praise) – God’s mercy to the Gentiles foretold (1) and so used by Paul in Romans 15:11.

Psalm 118 – Strength, song and salvation. The Lord’s mercy (1-4). The LORD”S response to prayer (5-9). Compare v. 6 to Hebrews 13:6. The LORD’S deliverance (10-14). The LORD’S mighty right hand (15-20). The LORD’S wisdom (21-27). Verses 22 and 23 are quoted in the NT regarding Jesus’ rejection by His own and exaltation by God (Matt. 21:42; Acts 4:11; 1 Pet. 2:4,7). Verse 26 was quoted at the time of the Triumphal Entry (Matt. 21:9).

Psalm 119 – Love for the Law. The psalmist loves the law because it is God’s will and he loves God! The psalm is alphabetic. There are 22 stanzas of 8 two-line verses, each stanza beginning with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. All 8 verses of each stanza begins with the Hebrew letter of that stanza. The NIV, ASV, and ESV versions have inserted the Hebrew letter at the head of each stanza – for our benefit. Over and over we are told that the word of God is to be treasured, declared, loved, delighted in, meditated on, clung to, trusted in, understood, revered, learned and not forgotten. But we must not miss that we are also reminded over and over that the word of God is also to be walked in, kept, observed,
performed, and fulfilled in our life!