As iron sharpens iron,
one person sharpens another. (Proverbs 27:17)
In Psalm 98:4, God’s people are called to crank up the volume of congregational praise:
Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth;
Break forth into joyous song and sing praises! (ESV).
I’d like to offer a brief exposition of the key terms employed, followed by some practical observations.
The Psalmist employs three expressions in verse 4 that call for exuberant praise.
Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!
Serve the Lord with gladness!
Come into his presence with singing!
Know that the Lord, he is God!
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
and his courts with praise!
Give thanks to him; bless his name!
For the Lord is good;
his steadfast love endures forever,
and his faithfulness to all generations.
(ESV)
In his splendid book, How to Preach the Psalms, Kenneth Langley’s burden is not to teach you how to interpret the psalms. Plenty of folks have already done that.
“Previously, I shared some observations about work from several of the minor prophets. Today, I thought it might be helpful to provide a brief summary of some of the observations about work from the Psalms that I have compiled in my book, Immanuel Labor – God’s Presence in our Profession.” - Russ Gehrlein
“Prayer doesn’t usually change our situation immediately, but it changes us. We grow in trust of our sovereign God, and take refuge that ‘the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment’ (2 Peter 2:9).” - K. Halloran
“…while most hymns written by Watts and his contemporaries are well-written, moving, and scripturally sound, few of them delve into the depths of pain and questioning that characterize some of the Psalms. Anne Steele’s hymns were among these few, as were the hymns and poems by William Cowper” - Cloud of Witnesses
“…if the Psalter is indeed a hymnal for God’s people, then shouldn’t we also make sure that our own singing covers both the full breadth of Christian doctrine and the full range of human emotion? Our singing should consist of more than pithy praise choruses. We need to sing songs that boldly proclaim all the truths contained in God’s Word.” - 9 Marks
John Calvin’s treatment of Psalm 145 offers some great ruminations about the attributes of God. The psalm can be broken down into three parts:
Verses 1-3 are David on his own speaking of the greatness of God celebrating God’s praise.
Verses 4-9 speak of David bringing in the people of whom he is king and bringing them to praise and prompting them to consider God’s greatness and goodness.
“Mike chats with Mark Vroegop, lead pastor of College Park Church in Indianapolis, about a variety of issues including pastoral ministry, worship, and lament.” - GARBC
Read the series.
The Christology of the Psalms continued …
Christ’s Resurrection and Ascension in Psalms 16:10 (resurrection), and 68:18 (ascension).
Psalm 16:10: “For You will not leave my soul in Sheol, Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.”
Discussion