The Lord is my strength and song, and He has become my salvation; this is my God, and I will praise Him; my father’s God, and I will extol Him. Exodus 15:2 NASB Praise – If we read the praises of the Lord in the Psalms, we are likely to find the verb zamar. In…
O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; for His lovingkindness is everlasting. 1 Chronicles 16:34 NASB Give thanks – The story of this psalm is found in the chronicles of the kings. David receives the ark and offers sacrifices, installing Asaph and his line as priests. Then David offers this song. Its…
I will extol You, my God, O King, and I will bless Your name forever and ever. Every day I will bless You, and I will praise Your name forever and ever. Psalm 145:1-2 NASB Every day – How does the Twelve Step phrase go? “It works if you work it.” Defeating the yetzer ha’ra…
For there are many words which increase futility. What then is the advantage to a man? Ecclesiastes 6:11 NASB Futility – We are the most informed generation of human beings to ever walk the planet. We know quite a bit about quite a bit. But we know almost nothing about what really matters. Believing…
“but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things,” declares the Lord. Jeremiah 9:24 NASB Boast – Go ahead! Brag a little! Let the works of your hands and the thoughts…
Praise Him, sun and moon; Praise Him, all stars of light! Psalm 148:3 NASB Sun and moon – Imagine you live in the ancient world of the Near East. What does the sun mean to you? First, the obvious. The sun designates direction. Oh, were you going to say time? The rising of the sun…
Praise the Lord! Praise God in His sanctuary; Praise Him in His mighty expanse. Psalm 150:1 NASB Praise – One of the consistent themes of pagan worship is the worship of the sun. In fact, the Christian idea of Sunday worship is actually derived from this pagan practice, not, as most preachers suggest, from the…
Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, In the city of our God, His holy mountain. Psalm 48:1 (English Bible) NASB To be praised – You’re probably quite familiar with this Hebrew word. It is found in the expression “Hallelujah!” Literally, this expression means, “Praise for Yah.” The verb is halal, used more than…
I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing praises to you among the nations. Psalm 57:9 ESV Peoples/ nations – What’s the difference? People or nation? Why make this distinction, especially when we realize in Hebrew it is only the difference between Ayin and Aleph (Ayin-Mem = people, Aleph-Mem…
He that conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will find compassion. Proverbs 28:13 NASB Confesses – “Yada, yada, yada,” is a common Hebrew phrase that has made its way into English. We are familiar with its idiomatic meaning – “and more like that” or something similar. You know…
