1 I will extol you, my God and King,
and bless your name forever and ever. 2 Every day I will bless you
and praise your name forever and ever. 3 Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised,
and his greatness is unsearchable.
4 One generation shall commend your works to another,
and shall declare your mighty acts. 5 On the glorious splendor of your majesty,
and on your wondrous works, I will meditate. 6 They shall speak of the might of your awesome deeds,
and I will declare your greatness. 7 They shall pour forth the fame of your abundant goodness
and shall sing aloud of your righteousness.
8 The Lord is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. 9 The Lord is good to all,
and his mercy is over all that he has made.
10 All your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord,
and all your saints shall bless you! 11 They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom
and tell of your power, 12 to make known to the children of man your mighty deeds,
and the glorious splendor of your kingdom. 13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
and your dominion endures throughout all generations.
The Lord is faithful in all his words
and kind in all his works. 14 The Lord upholds all who are falling
and raises up all who are bowed down. 15 The eyes of all look to you,
and you give them their food in due season. 16 You open your hand;
you satisfy the desire of every living thing. 17 The Lord is righteous in all his ways
and kind in all his works. 18 The Lord is near to all who call on him,
to all who call on him in truth. 19 He fulfills the desire of those who fear him;
he also hears their cry and saves them. 20 The Lord preserves all who love him,
but all the wicked he will destroy.
21 My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord,
and let all flesh bless his holy name forever and ever.
REFLECTION:
This is an acrostic psalm: we might call it “Praising God from A through Z”, as each letter brings to mind a different reason to praise the Lord.
David resolved to praise the Lord daily and forever. And urged parents to declare God’s great acts and awesome deeds to their children. And praise the Lord for His greatness, goodness and righteousness.
God’s grace is His favor and divine enablement to those who do not deserve it. He is merciful to those who deserve His wrath. He is patient with those who arouse His anger with sinning. His loyal love is amazingly strong and long-lasting. He is good to everyone, even sending rain and many other blessings on the unjust as well as the just. God consistently sustains the fallen, uplifts the oppressed, and provides for all. He cares for His creatures faithfully and lovingly all the time.
God is attentive to those who pray to Him sincerely. He will grant the petitions of believers and will deliver them in times of need. He will protect those who love Him, but destroy those who do not. For these reasons, David said he would praise God, and all people will bless Him forever.
How do you retell God’s awesome deeds and praise the Lord for His greatness, goodness and righteousness among fellow-believers? Among your non-Christian friends and relatives?
PRAYER:
Stay with God for a little longer. Continue to converse with God and listen to what He wants to tell you. Then write down any thought and/or prayer in your spiritual journal.
1 Blessed be the Lord, my rock,
who trains my hands for war,
and my fingers for battle; 2 he is my steadfast love and my fortress,
my stronghold and my deliverer,
my shield and he in whom I take refuge,
who subdues peoples under me.
3 O Lord, what is man that you regard him,
or the son of man that you think of him? 4 Man is like a breath;
his days are like a passing shadow.
5 Bow your heavens, O Lord, and come down!
Touch the mountains so that they smoke! 6 Flash forth the lightning and scatter them;
send out your arrows and rout them! 7 Stretch out your hand from on high;
rescue me and deliver me from the many waters,
from the hand of foreigners, 8 whose mouths speak lies
and whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood.
9 I will sing a new song to you, O God;
upon a ten-stringed harp I will play to you, 10 who gives victory to kings,
who rescues David his servant from the cruel sword. 11 Rescue me and deliver me
from the hand of foreigners,
whose mouths speak lies
and whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood.
12 May our sons in their youth
be like plants full grown,
our daughters like corner pillars
cut for the structure of a palace; 13 may our granaries be full,
providing all kinds of produce;
may our sheep bring forth thousands
and ten thousands in our fields; 14 may our cattle be heavy with young,
suffering no mishap or failure in bearing;
may there be no cry of distress in our streets! 15 Blessed are the people to whom such blessings fall!
Blessed are the people whose God is the Lord!
REFLECTION:
David began this prayer by praising God for training him to be a successful warrior and for granting him victories in the past. He piled image upon image to describe his loving God as my rock, my fortress, my stronghold, my deliverer, my shield. David is confident that God would be all this for him, and God will be all this for us, too!
The psalmist described God’s intervention in the present battle David faced in terms of nature. In the past, God had used rain, thunder, lightning, and hail to give His people victory (vv5-8). And David appealed for similar deliverance from his enemy army.
The outcome of deliverance is peace and prosperity. David cried, “Blessed are the people to whom such blessings fall! Blessed are the people whose God is the Lord!” (v15)
God saves us from all our troubles and He intends to bless.
Are you a blessed person? Where do you see God’s salvation and God’s blessings in your life?
PRAYER:
Stay with God for a little longer. Continue to converse with God and listen to what He wants to tell you. Then write down any thought and/or prayer in your spiritual journal.
1 Hear my prayer, O Lord;
give ear to my pleas for mercy!
In your faithfulness answer me, in your righteousness! 2 Enter not into judgment with your servant,
for no one living is righteous before you.
3 For the enemy has pursued my soul;
he has crushed my life to the ground;
he has made me sit in darkness like those long dead. 4 Therefore my spirit faints within me;
my heart within me is appalled.
5 I remember the days of old;
I meditate on all that you have done;
I ponder the work of your hands. 6 I stretch out my hands to you;
my soul thirsts for you like a parched land. Selah
7 Answer me quickly, O Lord!
My spirit fails!
Hide not your face from me,
lest I be like those who go down to the pit. 8 Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love,
for in you I trust.
Make me know the way I should go,
for to you I lift up my soul.
9 Deliver me from my enemies, O Lord!
I have fled to you for refuge. 10 Teach me to do your will,
for you are my God!
Let your good Spirit lead me
on level ground!
11 For your name’s sake, O Lord, preserve my life!
In your righteousness bring my soul out of trouble! 12 And in your steadfast love you will cut off my enemies,
and you will destroy all the adversaries of my soul,
for I am your servant.
REFLECTION:
Once again, fears drove David to the Lord. Again he was helped. He meditated on God’s past works, and ultimately reached a clear understanding of how he must deal with his trials.
No one likes to feel helpless. David probably felt like this when he wrote this psalm. He cried out to God for mercy and relief. He realized he had no right to expect God’s help. Yet his desperate situation filled him with dismay. David recalled what God had done and reaffirmed his trust in the Lord.
We may be helpless to improve our situations. But there is still something we can do! “Make me know the way I should go” (v8b) and “teach me to do your will” (v10). Each day, each hour, as we wait for God to deliver us, we can concentrate our attention on doing God’s will for that day, for that hour.
What a sense of relief comes over us as we make David’s discovery. We are not helpless after all. There is something we can do. The most important thing of all. We can do God’s will. So, when you can’t change your situation, make it your priority simply to do each hour, each day, what God wills.
What is God’s will for you for this day? For this hour?
PRAYER:
Stay with God for a little longer. Continue to converse with God and listen to what He wants to tell you. Then write down any thought and/or prayer in your spiritual journal.
