Psalms
132:1-18 - ‘Let us go to the Lord’s House; let us worship before His throne’ (7). God is calling us to worship Him. We are to gather together as His worshipping people. As we gather for worship, we remember that ‘the Lord is King’. We do not only give Him the praise of our lips. We give Him the praise of our lives. We do not only sing to Him. We live for Him. We come ‘before His throne’ with this prayer, ‘Take my heart - it is Thine own; It shall be Thy royal throne’. God hears and answers our prayer. He gives us His strength. We rise to His challenge: ‘Rise up, O Church of God! Have done with lesser things; Give heart and soul and mind and strength to serve the King of kings’ (Church Hymnary, 36,462,477). The service of worship comes to an end. Let our service of living begin - and never end!
132:1-18 - ‘Let us go to the Lord’s House; let us worship before His throne’ (7). God is calling us to worship Him. We are to gather together as His worshipping people. As we gather for worship, we remember that ‘the Lord is King’. We do not only give Him the praise of our lips. We give Him the praise of our lives. We do not only sing to Him. We live for Him. We come ‘before His throne’ with this prayer, ‘Take my heart - it is Thine own; It shall be Thy royal throne’. God hears and answers our prayer. He gives us His strength. We rise to His challenge: ‘Rise up, O Church of God! Have done with lesser things; Give heart and soul and mind and strength to serve the King of kings’ (Church Hymnary, 36,462,477). The service of worship comes to an end. Let our service of living begin - and never end!
133:1-134:3
- God sends ‘His blessing’ when His people gather together for
worship: ‘How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity!’
(133:1,3). Many people like to think of themselves as ‘believers’, yet
they show no interest in worshipping together with God’s people. What
does God’s Word say about this? - ‘Let us not give up meeting together,
as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another...’
(Hebrews 10:25). ‘Praise the Lord, all you servants of the Lord who
minister by night in the House of the Lord’ (133:1; 134:1). Some
people never miss a Sunday morning service - but they always miss the
Sunday evening services! They are missing out on so much of God’s
blessing. ‘May the Lord... bless you...’ on Sunday evenings as well as
Sunday mornings (134:2)!
135:1-21
- ‘Praise the Lord’ (1-3,19-21). ‘The Lord is good... The Lord is
great’ (3,5). In our worship, we focus on both God’s greatness and His
goodness. God is great in power: ‘Great is our Lord and mighty in power’
(147:5). He is also great in love: ‘How great is the love the Father
has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!’ (1 John
3:1). When we praise the Lord, singing of His greatness, let us not
think only of the greatness of His power: ‘I see the stars, I hear the
mighty thunder, Thy power throughout the universe displayed’. Let us
think also of His goodness, the greatness of His love: ‘And when I think
that God His Son not sparing, sent Him to die - I scarce can take it
in, that on the Cross my burden gladly bearing, He bled and died to take
away my sin’ (Mission Praise, 506).
136:1-26
- ‘His love endures for ever’. This is the great message contained in
every single verse of this Psalm. It’s a message worth repeating - over
and over again! God’s love is an everlasting love - ‘I have loved you
with an everlasting love’ (Jeremiah 31:3). God’s love is an unfailing
love - ‘My unfailing love for you will not be shaken’ (Isaiah 54:10).
Let us ‘give thanks’ to God for His love (1-3,26). In His love, the Lord
has provided for us ‘an everlasting salvation’. His ‘salvation will
last for ever’ (Isaiah 45:17; 51:6). We must not be like those who
refuse to love the Lord - ‘Pharaoh... great kings... mighty kings ...’
(15,17-20). Those who reject God’s love will not receive ‘eternal life’.
Their future will be very different - the ‘raging fire that will
consume the enemies of God’ (John 3:16-18; Hebrews 10:26-27).
137:1-138:8
- ‘How can we sing the songs of the Lord while in a foreign land?’
(137:4). It is not easy to keep on worshipping the Lord when so many
show no interest in worshipping Him. What are we to do when our faith
seems so weak and we are on the verge of giving up? ‘Ask the Saviour to
help you, comfort, strengthen and keep you’. What will we find when we
come to the Lord, looking to Him for strength? ‘He is willing to aid
you. He will carry you through’. God gives us strength - ‘You answered
me when I called to You. With Your strength, You strengthened me’
(138:3). ‘To him that o’ercometh, God giveth a crown. Through faith we
shall conquer, though often cast down. He who is our Saviour, our
strength will renew. Look ever to Jesus. He will carry you through’ (Church Hymnary, 482).
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