THE LORD GOD DELIGHTS IS HIS PEOPLE

Proclamation:

“For The Lord takes delight in His people; He crowns the humble with victory.  Let His faithful people rejoice in this honor and sing for joy on their beds.  May the praise of God be in their mouths …”  Psalm 149:4-6 (NIV)

Explanation:

The words of this psalm are also thought to have been written by King David and it is clear they were written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God.  This psalm is another one of the “Hallelujah” psalms.  This psalm is about the “new song” which the people of God will sing regarding Jesus, The Christ, as our redeemer. (Psalm 149:1)  The people of Zion will be glad and celebrate with singing, dancing, and making music. (Psalm 149:2-3)  This will be pleasing to The Lord God.

Application:

There will come a time when all of God’s people will celebrate with joy.  We will enjoy the victory over sin, death, and this world.  We will be singing songs of praise and jumping for joy.  We can rejoice now, in the midst of our trials and tribulations here on earth because we know that in the end we will get the victory.  The humble down here will be glorified in heaven with unspeakable joy. (1 Peter 1:8)  Praise The Lord.

MAY THOSE WHO FEAR YOU REJOICE WHEN THEY SEE ME

Proclamation:

“May those who fear You rejoice when they see me, for I have put my hope in Your word.”  Psalm 119:74 (NIV)

Explanation:

The words of this psalm were written by King David under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God.  This is the tenth part, Yodh, of this twenty-two part psalm.  After acknowledging his creator, (Psalm 119:73) David asks The Lord God to let the believers be truly happy to see him when they meet.  He wants to be, and to be seen as, one who believes in and trusts in The Lord.  He knows that God’s punishment of him was just.  He asks for The Lord’s tender mercies and His loving kindness in the forgiveness of his sins. (Psalm 119:76-77)  There were some good men who turned away from him because of his sinful affair with Bathsheba and he wants them to return to him again that he may enjoy the favor of their company. (Psalm 119:79)

Application:

There is value in the good will of the saints and it is good to maintain fellowship with them. (Psalm 133:1)  But we must first get right with God before we can get right with each other.  If we have a problem with one of our brothers, we ought to resolve it and restore the fellowship with them. (Matthew 5:23-24)  The saints should be able to come together in Christian love and truly enjoy one another’s company.  Before that can happen, we must be in Him and He must be in us. (John 6:56 and 15:5)  Believers should be glad when they see us coming.

BLESSED ARE THOSE WHO HAVE LEARNED TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE LORD

Proclamation:

“Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim You, who walk in the light of Your presence, Lord.  They rejoice in Your name all day long; they celebrate Your righteousness.”  Psalm 89:15-16 (NIV)

Explanation:

The words of this psalm were written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God by Ethan the Ezrahite regarding the Davidic Covenant.  Ethan, a singer during the days of King David, who saw the decline of David’s family, is thought to have written this psalm to remind the people of God’s Covenant with David.  This psalm expounds upon the mercies of The Lord God which the psalmist sings about. (Psalm 89:1-2)

Application:

Those of us who believe and acknowledge The Lord God in our lives and worship and praise Him, and who walk in His way are blessed.  We rejoice in His righteousness and we are thankful for His grace and mercy.  We lift His name and He in turn lifts us up and grants us His favor. (Psalm 89:17)

LET THE LORD GOD BE MAGNIFIED CONTINUALLY

Proclamation:

“But may all who seek You rejoice and be glad in You; may those who long for Your saving help always say, ‘The Lord is great!’”  Psalm 70:4 (NIV)  The King James version of The Bible for this verse reads: “Let all those that seek Thee rejoice and be glad in Thee; and let such as love Thy salvation say continually, ‘Let God be magnified.’”

Explanation:

The words of this psalm were written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God by King David.  This psalm is a prayer which was to be sung during worship services.  This psalm is almost a repeat of the words at the end of Psalm 40. (Psalm 40:13-17)  Here David repeats himself and says let that those who seek The Lord and want to know His Holy Word rejoice and be glad.  May those who seek Him continually magnify The Lord God.

Application:

Those who truly seek The Lord God will find Him. (Deuteronomy 4:29, Proverbs 8:17, Jeremiah 29:13, and Matthew 7:7-8)  Also, those who believe in Him and diligently seek Him will find Him and will be rewarded. (Hebrews 11:6)  “O magnify The Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together.” (Psalm 34:3)

LET THE PEOPLE OF GOD REJOICE FOR WHAT HE HAS DONE

Proclamation:

“The righteous will rejoice in The Lord and take refuge in Him; all the upright in heart will glory in Him!”  Psalm 64:10 (NIV)

Explanation:

The words of this psalm were written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God by King David.  This psalm begins with a prayer that God would hear him and preserve him from his enemies.  He spends most of the psalm describing what his enemies would do to him. (Psalm 64:2-6)  Then he focuses on what he wants God to do them. (Psalm 64:7-8)  After the righteous have seen what The Lord God will do to his enemies, they will rejoice and they will trust in Him. (Psalm 64:8-10)

Application:

When others see or hear of the things that The Lord God has done for us, they are encouraged to believe and trust in Him. (Psalm 64:9-10)  That is why we are to witness to the lost so that they might be saved.  No one can tell our story like we can, and no one has had the same experiences that The Lord has brought us through.  When we could not see our way out of some situations, He made a way.  Not only should we be grateful and thankful for who He is and for what He has done, but by sharing it with others and being His witnesses we help with building the kingdom of God. (Isaiah 43:10)

HOW LONG LORD HOW LONG

Proclamation:

“Look on me and answer, Lord my God.  Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death …”  Psalm 13:3 (NIV)

Explanation:

These words were written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God by King David.  It is believed that David wrote this psalm after his sin with Bathsheba while he was fleeing from his son, Absalom.  Four times he asks The Lord God, “How long …” (Psalm 13:1-2)  He feels that The Lord has forgotten him or is hiding His face from him.  David wants to know how long he will have to counsel himself and how long will his enemy triumph over him.  He is in distress and wants The Lord God to hear him and to answer him.  After he questions God, he prays and asks Him to give light to his eyes that he may see more clearly, that he may understand what is going on and know what he should do.  David goes from lamenting his current situation (Psalm 13:1-2) to rejoicing because he recalls that The Lord has dealt bountifully with him. (Psalm 13:5-6)

Application:

All too often, we tend to forget that The Lord God does things in His time frame and not ours.  When He does not immediately deliver us, or help us, we are ready to conclude that He has forgotten us or has turned His face away for us so as to punish us because of His displeasure with us.  The Lord never stops loving us, and He continues to bless us even though He does not like our sinful behavior.  If we would confess our sins and turn from our sinful ways, He would hear us and deliver us. (1 John 1:9 and 2 Chronicles 7:14)  Our problem is that we want to do what we want to, and that is not usually the same as what He wants us to do.  The question is not how long will God delay in answering us, but how long will we continue to disobey Him.  When Job repeatedly asked The Lord, “How long …” (Job 7:19, 8:2, 18:2, and 19:2) He finally replied by asking Job “Where were you when I …” (Job 38:1-41, 39:1-30, and 40:1-2)  After Job humbly replied that he was not worthy, (Job 40:3-5) The Lord God continued to question him. (Job 40:6-24 and 41:1-34)  The next time that you are tempted to question The Lord God and ask “How long …” you should read these chapters in the Book of Job.  We should also remember what He has already done for us.  Give God the praise, honor, glory, worship, and respect that He is due and deserves.

Rejoice And Praise God All Day Long

"Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim You, who walk in the light of Your presence, O LORD.  They rejoice in Your name all day long; they exult in Your righteousness."  Psalms 89:15-16 (NIV)

This psalm, recorded by Ethan under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God, is a song of lament and of hope.  The psalmist knew that the people of God were suffering, and he knew of God's promise.  He also knew that, regardless of their circumstances, the people of God should praise Him. (Psalms 89:5)  He stated that the people who had learned to make a joyful noise unto The Lord would be blessed.  Those who walk His way, and who praise His name, in spite of their situation, would be exalted.  

We must learn to rejoice and be joyful.  Joy, like the peace of God, the world cannot give it, and the world cannot take it away. (John 14:27)  Joy is a gift from God. (Ecclesiastes 2:26)  When we rejoice in The Lord, our soul will be joyful. (Isaiah 61:10)  Since God has given us the joy in our spirit, it is up to us to learn to look at every situation as part of His purpose for us, and count all things as joyful. (James 1:2)  If we can see God's hand in everything, then it will be easier for us to praise Him and to be joyful all day long.

Enjoy The Joy Of The Presence Of The Lord

"Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, because You will not abandon me to the grave, nor will You let Your Holy One see decay.  You have made known to me the path of life; You will fill me with joy in Your presence, with eternal pleasures at Your right hand."  Psalms 16:9-11 (NIV)

After beginning this psalm with a one line prayer, King David goes on to recount how The Lord has blessed him, and then he restates his commitment to The Lord.  Then he states how glad he is that The Lord has kept him, shown him the right path to take, and filled him with joy.

We can learn a lot from David.  The first thing that we should learn is that a prayer does not have to be lengthy in order to be effective. (Psalms 16:1)  Maybe if we prayed more often, then our prayers would not have to be so long.  The second thing we can learn is to praise The Lord
more often for the good things that He has done for us and for others. (Psalms 16:2-3)  We need to be grateful for what we have already been blessed to receive. (Psalms 16:5-6)  Then we need to listen to, and obey the counsel and instruction of The Lord, and we should always keep The Word of God before us. (Psalms 16:7-8)  God has blessed us, and we should be glad. (Psalms 16:9)  He has shown us the right path to take, and His Word is the light unto the right pathway. (Psalms 16:11 and Psalms 119:105)  The joy that He has given to us, cannot be taken from us. (John 17:13)  He is always with us, and in His presence there is complete joy. (Psalms 16:11)