A Psalm for Thanksgiving Day

Psalm 113 is the first of six psalms (113-118) called “the Egyptian Hallel” (Hallel means praise).The Jews sang the first two psalms before the Passover meal and the other four afterwards. I’m going to go out on that limb and say that Jesus and his disciples probably sang these psalms in the upper room on the night of the Last Supper.

Here it is:

¹ Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord, you his servants; praise the name of the Lord.² Let the name of the Lord be praised, both now and forevermore.³ From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets, the name of the Lord is to be praised.⁴ The Lord is exalted over all the nations, his glory above the heavens.⁵ Who is like the Lord our God, the One who sits enthroned on high,

Psalm 139

Psalm 139 gives us a wonderful depiction of God’s omniscience and omnipresence. It’s amazing how thorough the psalmist, King David, was in his word picture of these attributes.

To make it more personal for you I tried listing what he says as if he were speaking to you:
1. God knows YOU. (verse 1 and 3)
2. God knows YOUR every action and thought. (verse 2 and 3)
3. God knows YOUR every word. (verse 4)
4. God created YOU in your mother’s womb. (verse 13)
5. YOU are wonderfully made by God. (verse 14)
6. God knew all of YOUR days before even one of them came to be. (verse 16)
7. God is all around YOU and touches YOU. (verse 5)
8. God is everywhere. (verses 7-10)
Now go back and read the list again and really ponder (love that word) the ramifications and corollaries of each statement. You might want to change back the word YOU to ME and be sure to take a look at the whole psalm in your Bible.

Psalm 126, A Psalm of Ascent, Going up the Steps

Psalms 120 through 134 are the 15 “songs of ascent” that were sung as the priests walked up the 15 steps to the temple, stopping on each step to sing the next psalm. I have previously posted on Psalm 123 and Psalm 133. Today I’m looking at Psalm 126. Here is the passage:

1 When the LORD restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dreamed.
2 Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy. Then it was said among the nations, “The LORD has done great things for them.”
3 The LORD has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy.
4 Restore our fortunes, LORD, like streams in the Negev.
5 Those who sow with tears will reap with songs of joy.
6 Those who go out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with them.

Every time you see the word LORD in all capital letters it means that the original Hebrew text used the tetragrammaton, God's 4 letter name (you may know it as Yahweh or Jehovah, Jews will say Ha Shem or Adonai to avoid pronouncing it). God’s holy name is used 4 times in this short psalm. This is a wonderful song of praise alluding to the recognition of God’s work given even by the Gentiles/heathens. “The nations” in verse 2 refers to everyone other than the Israelites.

When the Israelites returned from 70 years of exile it must have seemed like a dream. Notice the laughter and the joy (4 times!) and the songs.

At Thanksgiving and Advent (Christmas) many churches include Psalm 126 in the pulpit readings because of its emphasis on rejoicing. The rejoicing comes as a result of the great things God has accomplished on behalf of His people.

I especially like the theme of going from weeping and tears to songs of joy. This is tremendously encouraging. Read it again and then let me know if you hear it in church during this Christmas season.

Psalm 123, A Song of Ascent - Going Up the Steps

Psalms 120 through 134 are the 15 “songs of ascent” that were sung as the priests walked up the 15 steps to the temple, stopping on each step to sing the next psalm. Psalm 123 is an anxious call for divine help (verses 1 and 2), a prayer for mercy (verse 3) and a statement of the circumstances which inspired the psalm (verse 4).

Here it is:

1 I lift up my eyes to you,
to you who sit enthroned in heaven.
2 As the eyes of slaves look to the hand of their master,
as the eyes of a female slave look to the hand of her mistress,
so our eyes look to the LORD our God,
till he shows us his mercy.
3 Have mercy on us, LORD, have mercy on us,
for we have endured no end of contempt.
4 We have endured no end
of ridicule from the arrogant,
of contempt from the proud.


In verse 1 the psalmist says he lifts up his eyes implying that the Lord is above him, exalted. He acknowledges His sovereignty.


In verse 2 there are two comparisons as to how we are to keep our eyes on the Lord. In Bible times they directed their slaves by movements of their hands; hence, the slave had to keep his eyes on his master or he might miss a sign and thus fail to obey it. The second comparison may be used because the women were even more thorough than the men in the training of their servants. It is usually thought that women issued more commands, and were more sensitive to disobedience than men were. A hand could also symbolize protection, giving of gifts and giving of punishment.


Verse 2 also says we’re keeping our eyes on the Lord until He show us mercy (favor in some translations). The Hebrew word (chanan) encompasses mercy, favor, graciousness and pity.


Verse 3 is the prayer. Notice the repetition of the plea. This is an earnest supplication. The situation when this psalm was written was that the Israelites had just returned from 70 years of exile. Their heathen neighbors held them in contempt. In Nehemiah 2: 19 we find that the Horonites, the Ammonites, and the Arabs mocked, scorned and ridiculed them when they were trying to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem after the exile. The word contempt here includes contempt that springs from evil, from prosperity and from judgment. The psalmist complains of the situation in the last verse: they have had no end to the ridicule from the arrogant and the contempt of the proud.


These “arrogant” are translated “those that area at ease” in some versions. The actual Hebrew word here is sha’anan which means both of the above, but also is the word for “oppressor”. The Babylonians, their former oppressors, lived at ease, arrogant, contemptuous and proud.


It always amazes me that there is so much in so few verses.
(I previously blogged on another Psalm of Ascent: Psalm 133
and have since examined other ones so just search the tag psalm)