The Belt of Truth

Along with Psalm 137, Psalm 109 employs some of the harshest language for the enemies of God that is used in the Psalter.  Language of the destruction of life and the suffering even of the wicked’s family has caused many Christians to shy away from this psalm altogether.  Yet it is this psalm that the church in Acts 1 saw as fulfillment of the prophecy concerning Judas. He is the one who lied and...

Psalm 108 stitches together two psalms. Psalm 57 and psalm 60 which both come from low points in David’s life. Yet surprisingly Psalm 108 only takes from the certainly of victory because of God’s rescue.  Being that this is the first psalm with David in Book 5 and the themes used in the psalm, we see here a victory of resurrection and triumph. This psalm is used for Christ’s resurrection and ascen...

Psalm 107 brings us to the 5th and final book of the Psalter that covers 107-150.  This psalms gives us a resounding praise the Lord to the tragedy of Book 4 of the Psalter. Where Psalm 106 spoke of the plea for God to gather his people. Psalm 107 shows how Hod goes about gathering and saving people from the four directions of the world.  The psalms then breaks into four ways that the Lord saves h...

Psalm 107 brings us to the 5th and final book of the Psalter that covers 107-150.  This psalms gives us a resounding praise the Lord to the tragedy of Book 4 of the Psalter. Where Psalm 106 spoke of the plea for God to gather his people. Psalm 107 shows how Hod goes about gathering and saving people from the four directions of the world.  The psalms then breaks into four ways that the Lord saves h...

Psalm 106, the final psalm in Book IV of the Psalter, is the flip side of the coin of Psalm 105.  Whereas Psalm 105 showed God’s faithfulness in all his doings with his people in history. Psalm 106 is a confession of all the failings of God’s people in response.  The person praying Psalm 106 takes all these sins for his own, which means the person praying this psalm is none other than Jesus Christ...

Psalm 106, the final psalm in Book IV of the Psalter, is the flip side of the coin of Psalm 105.  Whereas Psalm 105 showed God’s faithfulness in all his doings with his people in history. Psalm 106 is a confession of all the failings of God’s people in response.  The person praying Psalm 106 takes all these sins for his own, which means the person praying this psalm is none other than Jesus Christ...

Psalm 105 and 106 form another set of twin psalms which bring to an end Book IV of the Psalms (90-106). Each psalm begins and ends the same way with an “Alleluia!” And these two psalms are like both sides of the same coin. Both psalms cover Holy History. Psalm 105 covers it from the perspective of God’s faithfulness and Psalm 106 covers it from the perspective of Israel’s rejection of their Lord. ...

Psalm 105 and 106 form another set of twin psalms which bring to an end Book IV of the Psalms (90-106). Each psalm begins and ends the same way with an “Alleluia!” And these two psalms are like both sides of the same coin. Both psalms cover Holy History. Psalm 105 covers it from the perspective of God’s faithfulness and Psalm 106 covers it from the perspective of Israel’s rejection of their Lord. ...

Psalm 104 is the other twin psalm to Psalm 103 with the same opening and closing line.  While Psalm 103 focused on God’s work of salvation. Psalm 104 picks up God’s work of creation.  The verses wind their way through as a commentary on the days of creation. We see in this psalm God’s care and order of his creation. He is the King of creation.  As the Psalm goes on, it begins to anticipate the bac...

Psalm 104 is the other twin psalm to Psalm 103 with the same opening and closing line.  While Psalm 103 focused on God’s work of salvation. Psalm 104 picks up God’s work of creation.  The verses wind their way through as a commentary on the days of creation. We see in this psalm God’s care and order of his creation. He is the King of creation.  As the Psalm goes on, it begins to anticipate the bac...

Psalm 103 and 104 are a pair of twin psalms that have the refrain of “Bless the Lord, O my soul.”  We see here that the psalm is plumbing the depths of our hearts. The Spirit is searching within us as Paul would put it and we learn through these twin psalms for what to pray and discern in our prayers.  Namely, God work of creation (psalm 104) and his work of redemption (psalm 103).  Psalm 103 high...

Psalm 102 is a psalm of complaint uttered by one who is suffering and is near death.  It begins by lamenting the suffering of their life and how brief we are in comparison to the eternal God.  This teaches us that God is unlike us. But it is this unlike ness that causes us to hope because God can rescue us from it.  And even more, God has become one of us in the person of his Son. He knows our fal...

Psalm 102 is a psalm of complaint uttered by one who is suffering and is near death.  It begins by lamenting the suffering of their life and how brief we are in comparison to the eternal God.  This teaches us that God is unlike us. But it is this unlike ness that causes us to hope because God can rescue us from it.  And even more, God has become one of us in the person of his Son. He knows our fal...

Psalm 101 brings David back to our minds, who hasn’t been heard since Psalm 86.  He is in his house, and we can picture him pacing his house desiring to make things right and for his house/kingdom to be ruled well with justice and steadfast love.  David in the Old Testament is also a key for the Messiah. Jesus then, goes about his church and his rule in the creation to make things right.  He despi...

Psalm 100 is a psalm that is a Doxology to God and wraps up nicely the group go psalms 93-100:  In this Psalm, God is praised for his revelation and salvation. God’s two great works, creation and salvation, are both in this psalm. We belong to God because he has made us and has also saved us.  Jesus uses many of the ideas in John 10 from psalm 100. Such as “Good” “Shepherd” and even “Know.”  Final...

Psalm 99 moves us from the sheer awesome and terror of God’s holiness as God’s holiness comes to us.  We are given certainty that holiness is nothing to mess with and that God’s making us holy is a gracious thing.  A lot of thoughts in this psalm are described in the book of Hebrews. God reigns and we are priests in his kingdom.  Ultimately, it is the blood of Jesus Christ that makes us holy and c...

Psalm 98 depicts God’s salvation and righteousness. He has not forgot his steadfast love and faithfulness, something that was called into question back in psalms 88-89. Here this Psalm speaks of triumph.  God’s people then sing a psalm and join in on the victory that God their King has won for them. Worship then, is always an anticipation of the victory of Christ.  Even the whole creation joined i...

Psalm 97 has all the trappings of a theophany, or an appearance of God.  Cloud, and fire, earth shaking and creation being undone are all ways in which the text shows us that God is about to appear and make himself visible.  This calls back to mind Exodus 20 when God did this on Mount Sinai. But there he did not show himself, he rather spoke. God revealing to us that he makes himself visible throu...

Psalm 96 picks up with a new song being sung which denotes a change. The old song was Moses in Exodus 15 when the people were saved from Egypt.  This new song is sung by all the world. This is because a new salvation has occurred. A salvation for all people at the reign of God as King over the nations and as judge. Even the creation signals this change as Paul notes in Romans 8 that when the creat...

Psalm 95 is an admonish to sing to the Lord, praise him, and cry out to him. Popular in the church in the singing of the Venite in the service of Matins. Christians have always sung this psalm in the morning.  Why? For he is our Maker and Creator. He is the Lord and God of all creation and all the gods answer to him. Even the sea, often seen as a place that not even the pagan gods had control over...

Psalm 94 cries out to God who is king and asks him how long evil will endure.  God is a God of vengeance, meaning his will set things right. The psalmist, knowing that, asks God how long that will be.  Then the arrogant are given a voice in the psalm. They murder and kill and think that God does not see or hear.  But their pride and arrogance are misplaced. God has made the eye and the ear, he hea...

Psalm 94 cries out to God who is king and asks him how long evil will endure. God is a God of vengeance, meaning his will set things right. The psalmist, knowing that, asks God how long that will be. Then the arrogant are given a voice in the psalm. They murder and kill and think that God does not see or hear. But their pride and arrogance are misplaced. God has made the eye and the ear, he hears...

Psalm 93 begins a unit of psalms 93-100 that detail God as King and a response of singing as a result.  The image here is God enthroned secure above all terror and threats. Indeed the Lord walks on the water and can save those who suffer from evil.  We can trust the Word of God which created the heavens and earth 

Psalm 92 is a psalm for the Sabbath. It contemplates the work of God. A communal receiving of God’s work.  Reminiscent of Psalm 1, we recount the joy of what God has done. While the wicked are like dumb beast which results in their bad end.  We recount that we are planted in God’s house and he grows us up in Christ our Lord. 

Psalm 91 follows up on the words of Moses from Psalm 90 as we go back to the source: God.  He is our refuge and with him he will protect us. We need not fear any tactic or timing or surprise of the enemy because God will turn the tables. The irony and subtlety of these attacks is made all the more apparent when we consider that the devil quoted Psalm 91 to Jesus to tempt him. But yet the Lord Jesu...