The Strand Study Bible

PSALMS PSALMS ability to play (vs 5) and a vocalist’s ability to sing (vs 6), the passion for life and living would be gone. So it is with the nation of Israel without Jerusalem –it would have no meaning (I Ki 11:36, II Chro 6:6 & 7:16 & 33:7 and Psa 48:1-2 & 132:13). 138:2 Inspired and written down for us by David over 3,000 years ago, Psalm 138:2 makes it a point to differentiate between the God of the Hebrew Scriptures and every other god out there, invented or imagined. Via this one statement, “ for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name, ” the God of the Hebrew Scriptures forever separates Himself from all other deities the world has ever known. God does not establish his Person (who He is) using a mere name, for He gave himself many names within the Hebrew Scriptures to describe certain attributes of his Person ( Gen 1:1 b ). God Almighty established whom He is by the fact that He would always keep his word. The difference between all other gods and the God of this Book is that the God of this Book bases his entire reputation on His word, not His name. THE ADAGE IS TRUE: If your word is no good, what good is your name NOTE - Interestingly enough, people of religion always seem to elevate the name of a god over the word of that god. Whether it be Marduk (chief god of the Babylonians), Re (chief god of the Egyptians), Asshur (chief god of the Assyrians), Baal (chief god of the Canaanites), Teshub (chief god of the Hittites), Chemosh (chief god of the Moabites), or Dagon (chief god of the Philistines ) every religion appears to base what it believes on the name behind the character instead of the character behind the name. God wants men to know that a god that doesn’t have enough character to keep his word shouldn’t be God. Everything about God comes back to His word ( II Pet 1:19 ). God wants His entire creation to acknowledge Him based on His promises, not some pet name. He wants the human race to recognize who He is based on what He says, not on who someone says he is. This, and this alone, makes God who He is ( Gen 32: 24- 29 , Jud 13:18 and I Ki 18:17-39). THE ADAGE IS TRUE: A promise is only as good as the one who made it NOTE – Psalm 138:2 in the NIV (New International Version) and the ESV (English Standard Version) reads: I bow down toward your holy temple and will praise your name for your love and your faithfulness, for you have exalted above all things your name and your word (NIV) 1 I bow down toward your holy temple and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness, for you have exalted above all things your name and your word (ESV) 2 Both the NIV and the ESV’s translation of the Hebrew makes it sound as if God’s name is on equal ground with His Word. It is not. God bases his entire reputation (Who He is) on His word, not His name. Again, if your word is no good, what good is your name? Psalm 138:2 in the Hebrew reads: I will worship towards Your holy temple; and give thanks to Your name for Your mercy, and for Your truth; for You have magnified Your word above all your name. 3 Meaning: God’s Word is not equal to His name; it’s above His name. 139:1 Psalm 139 focuses on of God’s natural attributes (His omniscience , omnipresence , and omnipotence ) and one of )JT moral attributes (His holiness ). Attributes are those virtues or qualities which make known to us His nature and constitute )JT character ( Rom 1:20 a ). If you want to experience the glory of God, all you have to do is observe the holiness of God ( Isa 6:3c , Psa 139:6,7,13 and Mal 3:6 ). NOTE – According to the clear teachings of the Scriptures, the FATHER , SON and HOLY SPIRIT all have the exact same attributes. The FATHER , the SON , and the HOLY SPIRIT are three distinct co-eternal persons, called the Godhead (Acts 17:29, Rom 1:20 and Colo 2:9). They are all equally God ( Isa 63:16 & 64:8 , Jn 5:17-18 & 10:30-33, Isa 9:6 , Acts 5:3-4 & 10:3-6,17-20 and Ezk 3:24-27 ) and each O N E is worthy of our worship ( Jn 4:20-25 , Mt 2:1-2 & 8:2 & 9:18, Jn 9:35-38 and Acts 5:4 ) 139:6 Because G O D is OMNISCIENCE/ALL-KNOWING ( knowledge – Psa 139:1-6, Jn 2:24-25 and I Cor 2:10-12 ), everything the Triune Godhead created was fashioned with a purpose (a reason behind it). Look around you –everything you see is the handiwork of an all-knowing omniscience God, for everything you see is by divine design, whether it be: 1) our bodies ( Psa 139:14 -16); 2) our world ( Job 38: 1- 4 -30); or 3) our universe (Job 38:31-32). NOTE – In order to better understand God (who He is) and His glory ( Isa 6: 1- 3c ), all one must do is observe the divine design of UIJOHT 1TB UP BQQSFDJBUF (PEhT 0.*/*4$*&/$& +BNFT 1 (JMMT JO &YDFFEJOH (SBUJUVEF GPS UIF $SFBUPS T 1MBO OPUFT 926 -BDL PG LOPXMFEHF GPS FYBNQMF PG UIF XPOEFST PG DSFBUJPO XJMM JOFWJUBCMZ SFTVMU JO B MBDL PG BQQSFDJBUJPO GPS UIFN *How did God know to use sound in order to hold all things together ( Colo 1: 16- 17 )? How did He know to do that? *How did God know to place the earth just the right distance from the sun so that man could survive, yea flourish, upon the only livable planet in our solar system ( Acts 17:26b )? How did He know to do that? *How did God know to divide the heavens in such a way that no matter where man is located on earth, man notices that the twelve signs of the Zodiac, which make up the thirty-six constellations, do what is called a 360; the 360 degrees, into which the great circle of the heavens is divided ( Gen 1:14b )? How did He know to do that? *How did God know to divide the nitrogen and hydrogen in the air via lightening in order to fertilize the ground (Job 38:24-27)? How did He know to do that? *How did God know to create certain foods for certain parts of the body? For example: –A sliced carrot looks like the human eye. The pupil, iris and radiating lines look just like the human eye. And yes, science has proven that carrots greatly enhance blood flow to the function of the eyes. Now how did God know to do that? –A tomato has four chambers and is red –a perfect picture of the heart. And yes, science has proven that tomatoes are loaded 'PS FYBNQMF