“And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives” (Matthew 26:30). According to Jewish tradition, Psalms 113 and 114 were sung prior to the Passover meal and Psalms 115 through 118 were sung after its completion. As…
Though Psalm 117 is the shortest psalm, it packs a powerful punch. Its first verse is quoted by the apostle Paul in Romans 15 as a proof text of his inspired declaration that Jewish and Gentile Christians ought to “receive one another, just as…
Because the cattle on a thousand hills belong to Jehovah (Psalm 50:10), what God finds of great value is quite different than the typical thinking of humans. Jesus recognized the profundity of this frequent difference when He told the Pharisees: “what is highly…
“Praise the Lord!” is the theme and focus of the book of Psalms. It is the expressed theme and focus of Psalm 115. This composition begins with “Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but to Your name give glory, because of Your mercy, because…
God is no respecter of persons. “He will bless those who fear the Lord, both small and great” (Psalm 115:13). Send article as PDF
Several years ago, the word “worshiptainment” was coined to describe a popular phenomenon occurring in our society. The word sought to reflect the fact that entertainment has been injected into the worship activities of various religious organizations. It is a sad testament to…
The importance of worship is clearly enunciated in the first eight verses of Psalm 115. Here, it is written: “Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but to Your name give glory, because of Your mercy, because of Your truth. Why should the Gentiles…
The foundation of acceptable worship is a proper reverence for God’s sovereignty and might. The final psalm recited by a Hebrew prior to his observance of the Passover was Psalm 114. It reads: “When Israel went out of Egypt, the house of Jacob from a people…
At the Passover meal, the faithful Jew would traditionally sing Psalms 113 and 114 at the beginning of his observance and then sing Psalms 115, 116, 117, and 118 at its close. Matthew 26:30 lends credence to the possibility that Jesus did this…
From the outset of the book of Psalms, there is a clear distinction between the righteous and the wicked. Psalm 1 declares that it is like the difference between a deep-rooted, healthy tree and chaff which can easily be blown about by the…
