Heart of a Psalmist - Worshipping Christ Through The Psalms

• We will be entrusted with more to give- “Yes, you will be enriched so that you can give even more generously.” (2 Cor. 9:11) • We will glorify God- “You will be glorifying God through your generous gifts.” (2 Cor. 9:13) • We prove our obedience to Christ- “For your generosity…will prove that you are obedient to the Good News of Christ.” (2 Cor. 9:13)

IV GRIND THEIR TEETH - The Wicked Defeated- 10

“The wicked will be infuriated when they see this. They will grind their teeth in anger; they will slink away, their hopes thwarted.” (10)

This psalm is modeled after the style of proverbs; first the positive is mentioned (the generous per- son) and then the negative counterpart (the wicked). The first 9 verses of the psalm accentuate the happy and successful life of the person who delights in God’s ways and whose motivation is godly gen- erosity. This closing verse highlights the frustration of the person who is motivated by coveting. Every- thing they had hoped to accomplish and acquire by a lifetime of greed has been attained by the one who is generous; “It is possible to give freely and become more wealthy, but those who are stingy will lose everything.” (Pr. 11:24)

1 Spurgeon 2 Kraus 3 Spurgeon, page 15

PSALM 113: PRAISE THE NAME OF THE LORD The Updraft of Praise

This psalm calls the people of God to the celebration of his exceeding majesty creating a strong spir- itual ‘updraft’ of praise that lifts up the needy and barren people of the world. It touches upon both his transcendence, (he is high above us) and his imminence, (he is here among us). It is the beginning of the traditional Jewish ‘Hallal’, the chain of psalms 113-118 that are sung the night of the Passover meal. It has been held for centuries by tradition that this was part of the ‘hymn’ sung by Jesus and his disci- ples after the Last Supper: “Then they sang a hymn and went out to the Mount of Olives.” (Mt. 26:30/Mrk. 14:26) Its closing theme of elevating the humble and giving the barren woman children is strongly re- lated to song of Hannah who was blessed in this manner by the Lord and points to the song of Mary who was also visited in her humility. Wherever God’s people respond to this command to praise, the updraft of God’s grace begins to lift and ennoble the downtrodden. Two distinct sections outline it:

I HIGH ABOVE - v 1-5: His Majesty II HE STOOPS TO LOOK - v 6-9: His Mercy

I

HIGH ABOVE - v 1-5, His Majesty

“Praise the Lord! Yes, give praise, O servants of the Lord. Praise the name of the Lord!” (1)

The beginning and ending “hallelujah” classifies this as a “Praise the Lord” psalm; (106, 113, 117, 135, 146-150). The three declarations to “praise” has been recognized as a ‘thinly veiled allusion to the Trinity in unity 1 .” Though hidden behind the veil of the law in the Old Testament; the Father, Son and Holy Spirit reveal themselves in the atmosphere of those who praise him. “O servants of the Lord…” lets us know that this was a psalm given to the priests to be sung in the temple service. Today it encom- passes all the servants of the Lord who have put their trust in Jesus Christ, “You are a kingdom of priests…” (1 Pet. 2:9) and it is to be sung to the entire world. The instruction to “Praise the name of the Lord…” shows us that praise is not a religious exercise but a living relationship with God who has a name and a personality that can be known.

“Blessed be the name of the Lord forever and ever. Everywhere–from east to west–(from the rising of the sun to its going down…NKJ) praise the name of the Lord.”(2, 3)

284