Psalm 108
With God We Shall Do Valiantly
A SONG. A PSALM OF DAVID.
*Praise of God’s love, and prayer for his help against the enemies–a combination of Psalm 57:7 and Psalm 60:5-12. For a similar composition of a new psalm by combination of portions from several psalms see 1 Chronicles 16:8-36. The celebration of the greatness of God’s love links this psalm thematically with Psalm 103.
My heart is steadfast, O God!
I will sing and make melody with all my being!
-108:1
I will give thanks to you, O Lord,
among the peoples;
I will sing praises to you among the nations.
For your steadfast love is great above the heavens;
your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.
Be exalted, O God, above the heavens!
Let your glory be over all the earth!
That your beloved ones may be delivered,
give salvation by your right hand and answer me!
-108:3-6
Psalm 109
Help Me, O Lord My God
TO THE CHOIRMASTER. A PSALM OF DAVID.
*A prayer for God to judge a case of false accusation. The author speaks of his enemies in the singular in verses 6-19 but in the plural elsewhere. Some curses pronounce against the author, but it is more likely that either (1) the author shifts here to a collective mode of speaking, or (2) the enemies are united under a leader whose personal animosity toward the psalmist has fired the antagonism of others and so is singled out for special attention.
Traditional attempts to isolate a distinct class of psalms called “imprecatory” are mistaken. This prayer has much affinity with Psalm 35. See introduction to Psalm 101.
But you, O God my Lord,
deal on my behalf for your name’s sake;
because your steadfast love is good, deliver me!
-109:21
Help me, O Lord my God!
Save me according to your steadfast love!
-109:26
With my mouth I will give great thanks to the Lord;
I will praise him in the midst of the throng.
For he stands at the right hand of the needy one,
to save him from those who condemn his soul to death.
-109:30-31
Psalm 110
Sit at My Right Hand
A PSALM OF DAVID.
*Oracles concerning the Messianic King-Priest. This psalm is frequently referred to in the New Testament testimony to Christ. Like Psalm 2, it has the marks of a coronation psalm, composed for use at the enthronement of a new Davidic king. Before the Christian era Jews already viewed it as Messianic. Because of the manner in which it has been interpreted in the New Testament–especially by Jesus, but also by Peter and the author of Hebrews–Christians have generally held that this is the most directly “prophetic” of all the psalms.
If so, David, speaking prophetically (see 2 Samuel 23:2), composed a coronation psalm for his great and future Son, of whom the prophets did not speak until later. It may be, however, that David composed the psalm for the coronation of his son Solomon, that he called him “my Lord” in view of his new status, which placed him above the aged David, and that in so doing he spoke a word that had far larger meaning than he knew. This would seem to be in more accord with what we know of David from Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles. See introduction to Psalm 101.
The Lord says to my Lord:
“Sit at my right hand,
until I make your enemies my footstool.”
-110:1
The Lord is at your right hand.
-110:5
Psalm 111
Great Are the Lord’s Works
*Praise of God for his unfailing righteousness. The psalm combines hymnic praise with wisdom instruction, as its first and last verses indicate. Close comparison with Psalm 112 shows that these two psalms are twins, probably written by the same author and intended to be kept together. The two psalms are most likely postexilic. They introduce a series of Hallelujah psalms (Psalms 111-118), but stand apart form them in traditional Jewish liturgical use.
Praise the Lord!
I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart,
in the company of the upright,
in the congregation.
Great are the works of the Lord,
studied by all who delight in them.
Full of splendor and majesty is his work,
and his righteousness endures forever.
He has caused his wondrous works to be remembered;
the Lord is gracious and merciful.
He provides food for those who fear him;
he remembers his covenant forever.
He has shown his people the power of his works,
in giving them the inheritance of the nations.
The works of his hands are faithful and just;
all his precepts are trustworthy;
they are established forever and ever,
to be performed with faithfulness and uprightness.
He sent redemption to his people;
he has commanded his covenant forever.
Holy and awesome is his name!
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;
all those who practice it have a good understanding.
His praise endures forever!
-Psalm 111
Psalm 112
The Righteous Will Never Be Moved
*A eulogy to the godly man–in the spirit of Psalm 1 but formed after the pattern of Psalm 111 and likely intended as its complement.
Praise the Lord!
Blessed is the man who fears the Lord,
who greatly delights in his commandments!
His offspring will be mighty in the land;
the generation of the upright will be blessed.
Wealth and riches are in his house,
and his righteousness endures forever.
Light dawns in the darkness for the upright;
he is gracious, merciful, and righteous.
It is well with the man who deals generously and lends;
who conducts his affairs with justice.
For the righteous will never be moved;
he will be remembered forever.
He is not afraid of bad news;
his heart is firm, trusting in the Lord.
His heart is steady; he will not be afraid,
until he looks in triumph on his adversaries.
He has distributed freely;
he has given to the poor;
his righteousness endures forever;
his horn is exalted in honor.
The wicked man sees it and is angry;
he gnashes his teeth and melts away;
the desire of the wicked will perish!
-Psalm 112
Psalm 113
Who Is Like the Lord Our God?
*A hymn to the Lord celebrating his high majesty and his mercies to the lowly. It was probably composed originally for the temple liturgy. This psalm begins the “Egyptian Hallel” (Psalms 113-118), which came to be used in Jewish liturgy at the great religious festivals (Passover, Weeks, Tabernacles, Dedication, New Moon; see Leviticus 23; Numbers 10:10). At Passover, Psalm 113 and 114 were sung before the meal and Psalm 115-118 after the meal.
Praise the Lord!
Praise, O servants of the Lord,
praise the name of the Lord!
Blessed be the name of the Lord
from this time forth and forevermore!
From the rising of the sun to its setting,
the name of the Lord is to be praised!
The Lord is high above all nations,
and his glory above the heavens!
Who is like the Lord our God,
who is seated on high,
who looks far down
on the heavens and the earth?
-113:1-6
Psalm 114
Tremble at the Presence of the Lord
*A hymnic celebration of the exodus–one of the most exquisitely fashioned songs of the Psalter. It probably dates from the period of monarchy sometimes after the division of the kingdom. No doubt it was composed for liturgical use at the temple during one of the annual religious festivals.
When Israel went out from Egypt,
the house of Jacob from a people of strange language,
Judah became his sanctuary,
Israel his dominion.
The sea looked and fled;
Jordan turned back.
The mountains skipped like rams,
the hills like lambs.
What ails you, O sea, that you flee?
O Jordan, that you turn back?
O mountains, that you skip like rams?
O hills, like lambs?
Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord,
at the presence of the God of Jacob,
who turns the rock into a pool of water,
the flint into a spring of water.
-Psalm 114
Psalm 115
To Your Name Give Glory
*Praise of the Lord, the one true God, for his love and faithfulness toward his people. It was composed as a liturgy of praise for the temple worship. It may have been written for use at the dedication of the second temple (see Ezra 6:16) when Israel was beginning to revive after the disruption of the exile.
Not to us, O Lord, not to us,
but to your name give glory,
for the sake of your steadfast love
and your faithfulness!
Why should the nations say,
“Where is their God?”
Our God is in the heavens;
he does all that he pleases.
-115:1-3
You who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord!
He is their help and their shield.
The Lord has remembered us;
he will bless us;
he will bless the house of Israel;
he will bless the house of Aaron;
he will bless those who fear the Lord,
both the small and the great.
May the Lord give you increase,
you and your children!
May you be blessed by the Lord,
who made heaven and earth!
The heavens are the Lord’s heavens,
but the earth he has given to the children of man.
-115:11-16
But we will bless the Lord
from this time forth and forevermore.
Praise the Lord!
-115:18
Psalm 116
I Love the Lord
*Praise of the Lord for deliverance from death. It may have been written by a king. Its language echoes many of the psalms of David.
I love the Lord, because he has heard
my voice and pleas for mercy.
Because he inclined his ear to me,
therefore I will call on him as long as I live.
-116:1-2
Then I called on the name of the Lord;
“O Lord, I pray, deliver my soul!”
Gracious is the Lord, and righteous;
our God is merciful.
The Lord preserves the simple;
when I was brought low, he saved me.
Return, O my soul, to your rest;
for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you.
For you have delivered my soul from death,
my eyes from tears,
my feet from stumbling;
I will walk before the Lord
in the land of the living.
-116:4-9