June 30 A READ PSALMS 146–150
A Lifestyle of Praise
OVERVIEW
It is appropriate in a book with the Hebrew title tehillim—which means “praises”—that the final five selections should be filled with precisely that. First, the individual believer voices praise for God’s trustworthiness (Psalm 146); next, the nation of Israel praises God for his tender care (147); then all creation praises God for his great and glorious name (148); God’s choice servants join the chorus by extolling God for his love (149); finally, accompanied by a grand orchestra of instruments, all living things praise our matchless, mighty God (150).
MY DAILY WALK
Congratulations! Today you will finish reading the longest book of the Bible—Psalms, a believer’s handbook of worship.
While you are catching your breath and preparing to begin the book of Proverbs tomorrow, pause long enough to ask yourself one question: Is there anything different about my walk with God today for having spent the past month in the book of Psalms?
Psalm 147:1 gives three reasons for God’s people to praise him: (1) It is good in God’s eyes; (2) it is pleasant (delightful) to the one doing the praising; and (3) it is appropriate considering who God is.
Praise is like a bride’s wedding ring. The bride’s husband rejoices to see her wear it, she herself delights in it, and it testifies to others of the beauty of the couple’s relationship. Tie a small piece of colored yarn around a ring you are wearing to remind you throughout the day that it’s always in style to adorn your life with praise to God.
PRAISING AND ADORING GOD IS THE NOBLEST PART OF THE SAINT’S WORK ON EARTH, AS IT WILL BE HIS CHIEF EMPLOY IN HEAVEN.
INSIGHT
Restoration Psalm | Ps. 147:1-20
Many scholars believe Psalm 147 was written during the time of restoration after the Babylonian captivity. Try first reading Nehemiah 12:27-47, noticing all the references to choirs and songs, and then reading this psalm in that context. You may be reading one of the songs they sang when they dedicated Jerusalem’s new wall.
INSIGHT
Inspired Psalms, Inspiring Psalms | Ps. 150:1-6
The Psalter—the collection of psalms—has become the hymnbook of the ages. It is read, recited, or sung virtually every day. And in the majestic strains of more recent hymns based on its verses (such as Martin Luther’s “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God” and Isaac Watts’s “O God, Our Help in Ages Past”), the message of the Psalter still rings around the world.
1Praise the LORD!
Let all that I am praise the LORD.
2I will praise the LORD as long as I live.
I will sing praises to my God with my dying breath.
3Don’t put your confidence in powerful people;
there is no help for you there.
4When they breathe their last, they return to the earth,
and all their plans die with them.
5But joyful are those who have the God of Israel* as their helper,
whose hope is in the LORD their God.
6He made heaven and earth,
the sea, and everything in them.
He keeps every promise forever.
7He gives justice to the oppressed
and food to the hungry.
The LORD frees the prisoners.
8The LORD opens the eyes of the blind.
The LORD lifts up those who are weighed down.
The LORD loves the godly.
9The LORD protects the foreigners among us.
He cares for the orphans and widows,
but he frustrates the plans of the wicked.
10The LORD will reign forever.
He will be your God, O Jerusalem,* throughout the generations.
Praise the LORD!