July 31, 2019 (Wednesday)
(From the Easy English Bible): Bible students call the last 5 psalms The *Hallelujah Psalms. This is because they all start and end with the Hebrew word “Halelujah”. The *Jews spoke the Hebrew language and wrote their psalms in Hebrew. “Halel” means “*praise”, or “tell someone that they are very great”. The “u” means “you” … all of you! “Jah” is one of God’s names. Most Bibles translate it *LORD with 4 capital letters. It has a meaning and a use. The meaning may be that he will always be alive. The use is as a *covenant name. A *covenant is when two people (or groups of people) agree. Here, God agrees to love and give help to his people. And his people agree to love and obey him. Bible translators do not often translate the word “halelujah” into another language. Usually we spell it “*hallelujah”, but the Hebrew word is “halelujah”.
We do not know who wrote Psalms 146-150. And we do not know when they wrote them. Most Bible students think that the *psalmist wrote them for the new *temple in Jerusalem. The *psalmist was the person that wrote the psalms. For half of the psalms David was the *psalmist. But there were many other *psalmists, most of them after David died. Some Bible students think that maybe Ezra or Nehemiah was the *psalmist for Psalms 146-150. The *temple was God’s house in Jerusalem. Enemies destroyed it 600 years before Jesus came to the earth. But 70 years after the army of Babylon destroyed it, the *Jews built it again. They made the Book of Psalms at this time to use in the new *temple.
New International Version (NIV)
I. THE HAPPINESS OF TRUSTING IN THE LORD (1-7)
1 Praise the Lord.
Praise the Lord, my soul.
2 I will praise the Lord all my life;
I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.
3 Do not put your trust in princes,
in human beings, who cannot save.
4 When their spirit departs, they return to the ground;
on that very day their plans come to nothing.
5 Blessed are those whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the Lord their God.
6 He is the Maker of heaven and earth,
the sea, and everything in them–
he remains faithful forever.
7 He upholds the cause of the oppressed
and gives food to the hungry.
II. THE HELPFULNESS OF THE HOLY GOD (8-10)
The Lord sets prisoners free,
8 the Lord gives sight to the blind,
the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down,
the Lord loves the righteous.
9 The Lord watches over the foreigner
and sustains the fatherless and the widow,
but he frustrates the ways of the wicked.
10 The Lord reigns forever,
your God, O Zion, for all generations.
Praise the Lord.
Click here for Easy English Explanations about Psalm 146
Click here for Cambridge Bible Commentary notes on Psalm 146
Click here for Spurgeon’s Treasury of David on Psalm 146
Click here for Enduring Word Commentary on Psalm 146
Leaning on the Everlasting Arms
Elisha A. Hoffman and Anthony J. Showalte1887, 1894
Chorus:
Leaning, leaning,
Safe and secure from all alarms;
Leaning, leaning,
Leaning on the everlasting arms.
Verses:
What a fellowship, what a joy divine,
Leaning on the everlasting arms;
What a blessedness, what a peace is mine,
Leaning on the everlasting arms.
Oh, how sweet to walk in this pilgrim way,
Leaning on the everlasting arms;
Oh, how bright the path grows from day to day,
Leaning on the everlasting arms.
What have I to dread, what have I to fear,
Leaning on the everlasting arms?
I have blessed peace with my Lord so near,
Leaning on the everlasting arms.
Click here for a list of Psalms we will study from June 5, 2019 to August 28, 2019