Psa 113:9 He maketh the barren woman to keep house, and to be a joyful mother of children. Praise ye the LORD.

The content of Psalm 113 is simple. The psalmist calls on all people to praise the LORD (verses 1-3), because He is great (verses 4-6), and because He cares for the poor and needy (verses 7-9). One group of people will certainly praise the LORD – the barren women whom God has caused to conceive: “He maketh the barren woman to keep house, and to be a joyful mother of children. Praise ye the LORD” (v.9). In ancient time, motherhood was considered a crowning achievement of any woman. A barren woman was a social outcast; she was a disappointment to her husband, especially to her husband’s family, to other women, and to herself. We recall the ungrateful Hagar despising her mistress as soon as she became pregnant with child by Abraham (Genesis 16:4). Probably she considered herself superior to Sarai because she could conceive while her mistress could not. A woman that could not conceive was considered less a woman. God’s covenant to Abraham that he would be a father of multitude depended on the women able to conceive. But God gave him a barren wife, a barren daughter-in-law, and a barren grand-daughter-in-law; all the women of his household were barren (Genesis 21:2; 25:21; 29:31). Rachel was despised by her own sister, Leah, when she could not conceive. How happy she was when God finally opened her womb and she gave birth to Joseph. She said: “God hath taken away my reproach” (Genesis 30:23). Indeed, it was a general reproach in those times for a woman to be barren. Sarah, Rebekah, and Rachel were in the line of Christ, but they were initially unable to conceive. In those days, they did not have today’s technology to help women conceive; everything was natural conception – a man and a woman coming together. Those women were taught to trust in God. One example was Hannah. Hannah was barren. Her heart literally ached inside of her, as many women even today feel, from the pain of not being able to have a child. The Scripture says she was in bitterness of soul, and as she prayed to God, she was weeping bitterly (1 Samuel 1:10). That was how earnest she asked for a child. God answered her prayer. She became a joyful mother of children. I will never know what it’s like to be pregnant with child. But looking at the women of the Bible who were rejoicing when they knew they had become successful mothers, I believe motherhood is a joy. But the journey to become a mother is hard. I recall my daughter-in-law had a terrible time during the early stage of her pregnancy. I jokingly said to her that when the baby comes out, the first thing she should do is to give him two tight slaps for making her suffer. Of course she didn’t (I won’t allow it either). My grandson is super adorable; it was love at first sight! Our Lord says: “A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world” (John 16:21). Raising children is a bitter-sweet experience; you will never know it until you have children of your own! The psalmist asks: “Who is like unto the LORD our God, who dwelleth on high?” (v.5). No one! He creates parenthood so that we can understand how much He loves us. He creates children so that we can understand how much we are depending on Him. Let us praise the Lord for His goodness to men: “The LORD is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy. The LORD is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works” (Psalm 145:8. 9).

Psa 114:7 Tremble, thou earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob.

“Tremble at the presence of God” is the message of this psalm. It is a reverential fear when we come into the presence of God. God is love and merciful, but He is also God. It means He deserves our respect. It means we cannot talk to God like He is our equal. But we are to come to His presence with reverential fear. It is the same way we should treat our parents. Our parents love us very much. They shower us with love and compassion. But we should not take their love for granted. We are to treat them with respect. We are to honour and obey them: “Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. Honour thy father and mother” (Ephesians 6:1, 2). We are to speak to our parents in a respectful manner and address them as father and mother. So, likewise we are to approach God in a respectful manner. The Bible exhorts to fear God: “Fear God, and keep his commandments” (Ecclesiastes 12:13). What does it mean to fear God? The fear of the LORD in the Bible is reverential fear. It is not the same kind of fear we have to a tyrant, or a dictator. We don’t need to fear God’s anger unless we sin: “But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath” (Romans 2:8). Sinners will need to fear the wrath of God (2 Thessalonians 1:7-9). A reverential fear is a fear that results when we reverence God. We know who we are talking to. We know whose presence we are appearing. We will display the right attitude when we worship Him: “But the LORD is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him” (Habakkuk 2:20). Our worship must be in spirit and according to His truth (John 4:24). Hence, to fear God is to have the proper reverence and awe for Him. What happens when we do not fear God? 1. We will not take sin seriously. 2. We will not take our worship seriously. 3. We will not take our faith seriously. 4. We will not take His word seriously. 5. We will not take eternity seriously. In Isaiah 66:2, God says: “But to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.” If God looked upon you, would you not tremble? If you were looking upon God, would you not tremble? God fearing men in the Bible trembled at the presence of God. Moses was up on the mountain of God and was in the presence of God forty days and nights receiving the Ten Commandments that he said: “And so terrible was the sight, that Moses said, I exceedingly fear and quake’” (Heb 12.21). When Isaiah saw a vision of the holy God, the prophet trembled, saying: “Woe is me, for I am undone!” (Isaiah 6:5). The word “undone” means “cut off; destroy”. He was so terrified that he thought he was going to die. He remembered God once said of Himself: "There shall no man see me, and live" (Exodus 33:20). We should tremble as Moses and Isaiah did when they were in the presence of God. Even the devil trembles at the mention of God (James 2:19). They trembled when they saw Jesus (Matthew 8:29). What about you? Do you tremble when you come to His presence in worship? Think about it.

Psa 116:11 I said in my haste, All men are liars.

I said in my haste – The meaning of “haste” is “unnecessarily quick action; thoughtless, rash, or undue speed” (Dictionary.com). I’m sure we can recall some moments in our life we have uttered words in our haste. What happened afterwards? We regret! Yes, hasty words are spoken without due consideration, in a rash, at the spur of moment, often in anger, and only to regret later. O, how terrible we felt later when we have cooled down. What have we done? We have made a fool of ourselves. Hasty words are the result of an agitated state of mind; the mind is not sober. What caused the psalmist to make this hasty conclusion that all men are liars? He said before this: “I was greatly afflicted” (v.10b). That statement was said in the time of his affliction. Probably when he was in great affliction, there were some men who came to him who, instead of helping him, took advantage of him in his most vulnerable situation and cheated him, which increased his affliction. Any man under that circumstance will utter his frustration and conclude all men are alike. The bitter experience of the psalmist made this seems like a logical statement. But that would be a hasty conclusion! Hasty words are never good words. What does the Bible has to say about hasty words and actions? Proverbs 29:20  (KJV)  Seest thou a man that is hasty in his words? there is more hope of a fool than of him. Proverbs 14:29  (KJV)  He that is slow to wrath is of great understanding: but he that is hasty of spirit exalteth folly. Ecclesiastes 5:2  (KJV)  Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few. Solomon says there is more hope of a fool than one who is hasty in his words. How is it so? Solomon answers it in Proverbs 17:27, 28: “Whoever restrains his words has knowledge, and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding. Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise; when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent.” Mark Twain said the same: “It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt.” We made a fool of ourselves when we utter hasty words. We live to regret or made to “eat” our words later. We now look back realizing that had we simply used a little more time to analyze those words and look at the possible consequences our words would unleash, we would never have uttered them. Hindsight is always 20/20, which is how we learn in this life. How can we help ourselves from becoming a fool because of our words? One way is to count one to ten before saying them. Another way is to say nothing and walk away. Another way is to THINK. Yes, think before we talk: “Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath” (James 1:19). God gives us two ears and one mouth so that we can hear more and talk less. Remember this word THINK before we speak: T – Is it TRUE? H – Is it HELPFUL? I – Is it INSPIRING? N – Is it NECESSARY? K – Is it KIND? THINK before we speak; it will prevent hasty words. THINK about it!

Psa 117:1 O praise the LORD, all ye nations: praise him, all ye people. Psa 117:2 For his merciful kindness is great toward us: and the truth of the LORD endureth for ever. Praise ye the LORD.

 

Psalm 117 is the shortest psalm. Yet, it is a messianic psalm. This short psalm was quoted by the apostle Paul in Romans 15:11: “Praise the Lord, all ye Gentiles; and laud him, all ye people.” Psalm 117:1 is a prophecy that the messianic kingdom will include the Gentiles. Paul, in writing Romans, show the Jews that God is also the God of the Gentiles: “Is he the God of the Jews only? is he not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also” (Romans 3:29). It was of great importance to show the Jews that this calling of the Gentiles was foretold in their own Scriptures. Psalm 117 is a call on “all” nations to praise God. The psalmist, prophesying in the Spirit of God, foretold that the Gentiles should become the people of God. It was never God’s plan that the Hebrew people should be the only people for His eternal kingdom. Paul reminded the Jews that the universal gospel was first preached to their great ancestor Abraham when God said: “And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed” (Genesis 22:18). Paul, in making his argument for the universal gospel, quoted Genesis 12:3 and 22:18: “And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed” (Galatians 3:8). In fact, the word “nations” in this psalm is the Hebrew word for Gentiles. It is the same Hebrew word found in Genesis 22:18. Hence, when God told Abraham that in his seed, shall all nations be blessed, He was really saying that in Abraham’s seed, all the Gentile nations will be blessed. Our Lord Jesus, agreeing with Psalm 117, mentioned the gospel of salvation to include all Gentiles in Matthew 24:14: “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations.” That prophecy of Psalm 117 is fulfilled in Revelation 7:9: “After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hand.” Picture that scene, when you will be standing side by side with the redeemed from every nation, tribe, people and language, as we all face the throne of God in joyous worship and praise! What a worship service that will be! But that’s not all. Psalm 117:2 contains an important message. Notice the little word “for” in verse 2. “For” suggests the reason all nations are to praise God. The expression “merciful kindness” is equivalent of the New Testament word grace. Psalm 117:2 is saying: “His grace is great toward us.” Grace means unmerited favour. Indeed, the grace of God is one reason we should be praising God. And the second part verse 2 says: “And the truth of the LORD endureth for ever.” Can you see two wonderful elements in this verse? They are grace and truth. What comes to your mind next? John 1:17: “For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.” Why should the nations of the earth praise God? Because of the grace and truth of God which came by Jesus Christ. Psalm 117 is a messianic message about Jesus Christ for the world. Palm 117 is a little psalm with a BIG message for the world. It is a glorious message; a message of hope. Indeed, we should praise the LORD because of His loving grace and His truth revealed for our salvation.

Does Preaching Matter?

I am a preacher. I know a lot of jokes about preachers and preaching and sermons, and you probably do too, or at least you’ve heard a lot of them. One of the oldest asks, "Who is a preacher?" and the answer is, "A man who talks in other people’s sleep." The late comedian George Burns said, "The secret of a good sermon is to have a good beginning and a good ending, and have the two as close together as possible." Then there was the elder in the church who was introducing a guest preacher on Sunday morning. The elder said, "I’m not up here to make a long, boring speech for him. He can do that for himself." And so it goes. So, what do you think about preachers and preaching? The answer to that depends, of course, on who you ask. The point I want to press home here is that the Bible views authentic, bonafide gospel preaching and gospel preachers in a much different and much more positive light than many people do these days. Don’t believe that? Think about the times you’ve heard someone apologize and say, "I don’t mean to preach" or "I don’t want to sound ‘preachy.’ " Well excuse me, but I want to do a little preaching here, preachy or not! Listen to a few Bible passages on preachers and preaching. In 1 Corinthians 1:18 (King James Version) the Bible declares: "For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God." Now, the New King James, English Standard and New American Standard Versions all make clear in that verse the apostle Paul (who penned it) is stressing the content of what is preached – "the message / word of the cross" – and not the act of preaching in and of itself. The message of the cross of Christ was folly and foolishness to many people in Corinth and other Roman and / or Greek cities in the first century, and still is today. Paul declares that such people are perishing. But that same message is God’s power to save those who believe and obey! Same message, different effect, depending on how hearers evaluate it. Still, the content of God’s message has to be delivered, and the God chosen and God-ordained method / medium to deliver the message of the cross is "preaching." So it is a few verses later in 1 Corinthians 1:21 (New King James) Paul goes on to write – "For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe." There it is – although the message of a crucified, buried, raised-from-the-dead-Jesus is foolishness to many people, ancient and modern, it pleases God when a man with a fire in his belly stands before a crowd on Sunday morning to preach the gospel, if indeed it is the gospel he preaches! And it pleases God when a woman seeks to teach her children or co-workers or neighbors or unbelieving husband the message of Christ! This much I know – whatever culture thinks of preaching Christ, God is pleased with preachers and preaching and sermons that preach the gospel!



Romans 16:25 is part of the apostle Paul’s conclusion to ROMANS. He leaves readers with these words: "Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ." Preaching Christ matters to God, whether it matters to people or not. Does preaching matter to you?

   Dan Gulley, Smithville, TN