Praying Through God's Word: Psalms 135-150

Psalm 135:1-21 

‘Praise the Lord’ (Psalm 1-3,19-21). ‘The Lord is good... The Lord is great’ (Psalm 135:3,5). In our worship, Lord, we focus on both Your greatness and Your goodness. You are great in power: ‘Great is our Lord and mighty in power’ (Psalm 147:5). You are also great in love: ‘How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!’ (1 John 3:1). When we praise You, Lord, may we sing of Your greatness and Your goodness. May we think of the greatness of Your power - ‘I see the stars, I hear the mighty thunder, Thy power throughout the universe displayed’ - and the greatness of His love - ‘And when I think that God His Son not sparing, sent Him to die - I scarce can take it in, that on the Cross my burden gladly bearing, He bled and died to take away my sin’ (Mission Praise, 506).

Psalm 136:1-26 

We thank You, Lord, that ‘Your love endures for ever’. What a great message this is! It's a message worth repeating - over and over again! Your love is an everlasting love - ‘I have loved you with an everlasting love’ (Jeremiah 31:3). Your love is an unfailing love - ‘My unfailing love for you will not be shaken’ (Isaiah 54:10). We ‘give thanks’ to You for Your love (Psalm 136:1-3,26). In Your love, You have provided for us ‘an everlasting salvation’. Your ‘salvation will last for ever’ (Isaiah 45:17; 51:6). Lord, Your Word tells us about those who refuse to love You - ‘Pharaoh... great kings... mighty kings ...’ (Psalm 136:15,17-20). Your Word tells us that those who reject Your love will not receive ‘eternal life’. Their future will be very different - the ‘raging fire that will consume the enemies of God’ (John 3:16-18; Hebrews 10:26-27). Why, Lord, do You speak to us about Your righteous judgment? You're speaking to us Your strong Word of warning. You're leading us away from the way of unbelief and into the way of faith. You're leading us to embrace Your precious promises, the promises which speak to us of Your eternal  salvation. Help us, Lord, to listen and learn - as we hear Your Word, with its stern warnings and its wonderful promises. Help us to see our sin. Help us to bring it to our Saviour. Help us to receive His forgiveness.  

Psalms 137:1-138:8

‘How can we sing the songs of the Lord while in a foreign land?’ (Psalm 137:4). Lord, it is not easy to keep on worshipping You when so many show no interest in worshipping You. What are we to do when our faith seems so weak and we are on the verge of giving up? ‘Ask the Saviour to help you, comfort, strengthen and keep you’. What will we find when we come You, Lord, looking to You for strength? ‘He is willing to aid you. He will carry you through’. You give us strength - ‘You answered me when I called to You. With Your strength, You strengthened me’ (Psalm 138:3). ‘To him that o’ercometh, God giveth a crown. Through faith we shall conquer, though often cast down. He who is our Saviour, our strength will renew. Look ever to Jesus. He will carry you through.’

Psalm 139:1-24 

We thank You, Lord that, through Christ our Saviour, You lead us ‘in the way everlasting’: ‘God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son’ (Psalm 139:24; 1 John 5:11). Your great purpose of eternal salvation seems ‘too wonderful’ - ‘too good to be true’! ‘It is a thing most wonderful, almost too wonderful to be, that God’s own Son should come from heaven and die to save a child like me, and yet I know that it is true...’ (Psalm 139:6). You have a glorious future planned for us. We can hardly even begin to take it in: ‘Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain’. We know that ‘no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him’ yet we rejoice in this: ‘God has revealed it to us by His Spirit’ (6; 1 Corinthians 2:9-10). ‘Lead me in the way everlasting!’(24). Thank You, Lord.

Psalm 140:1-13 

When we are threatened by ‘men of violence’, teach us, Lord, to put our trust You, our ‘strong Deliverer’. We pray that the ‘men of violence’ will not succeed in their ‘evil plans’: ‘Do not let their plans succeed... May disaster hunt down the men of violence’ (Psalm 140:1-2,7-8,11). The ‘men of violence’ may seem to be getting things all their own way. Help us, Lord, not to allow them to pull us down to their level. Help us, Lord, in our battle against the ‘men of violence’, to  use Your ‘weapons’: ‘truth... righteousness... peace... faith... salvation... prayer’. These ‘weapons’ have ‘divine power to demolish the strongholds’ of Satan (Ephesians 6:13-18; 2 Corinthians 10:4). Help us never to forget this: ‘“Vengeance is mine, I will repay”, says the Lord’ (Romans 12:19).

Psalms 141:1-142:7 

Help us, Lord, to see the importance of ‘prayer’ in our battle against ‘evildoers’: ‘My prayer is ever against the deeds of evildoers’ (Psalm 141:5). We pray that their ‘wicked deeds’ will not succeed. We pray that they will see ‘the error of their way’, returning to You and being ‘led in the paths of righteousness for Your Name’s sake’ (Psalm 141:5; Psalm 23:3; James 5:19-20). We may feel that our ‘persecutors’ are ‘too strong’ for us. Help us never to think that ‘no one cares’. Help us, Lord, to bring our fear to You, praying, ‘Set me free from my prison, that I may praise Your Name’. When we are faced with powerful enemies, help us to remember this: The Lord is our ‘portion in the land of the living’. In the face of fierce opposition, may we learn to say, ‘Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I shall dwell in the House of the Lord for ever’ (Psalm 142:4-7; Psalm 23:6).

Psalm 143:1-12 

‘Rescue me from my enemies, O Lord’ (Psalm 143:9). When we pray this kind of prayer, may we be concerned about more than our own welfare. May we be concerned about Your glory: ‘For Your Name’s sake, O Lord, preserve my life’ (Psalm 143:11). How, Lord, do You lead us in victory? How are You glorified in our lives? You bring to us the teaching of His Word - ‘Let the morning bring me Word of Your unfailing love’ (Psalm 143:8). You give to us the strength of Your Spirit - ‘May Your good Spirit lead me in good paths’ (Psalm 143:10). Through Your Word and Your Spirit, You show us Your ‘unfailing love’. You enable us to say, ‘You are my God’, ‘I have put my trust in You’ and ‘I am Your servant’. You ‘show us the way we should go’. You ‘teach us to do Yours will’. You give us victory over our ‘enemies’ (Psalm 143:8,10,12). Thank You, Lord.

Psalm 144:1-15 

‘Praise be to the Lord my Rock, who trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle’(Psalm 144:1). Lord, You are ‘the One who gives victory’ to Your people (Psalm 144:10). What a great God You are! You are ‘our loving God, our Fortress, our Stronghold, our Deliverer, our Shield’ (Psalm 144:2). What great blessing You send into our lives! You fight for us (Exodus 14:14; Deuteronomy 1:30; 3: 22; Nehemiah 4:20). You are ‘our Strength’ (Psalm 28:7-8; Psalm 59:17). ‘With God we shall gain the victory’ (Psalm 60:12). We pray You will pour out Your blessing upon us: ‘Part Your heavens, O Lord, and come down... Reach down Your hand from on high...’ (Psalm 144:5,7). Lord, we think of how much You have blessed us. Help us to sing our song of praise to You: ‘I will sing a new song to You, O God’ (Psalm 144:9). 

Psalm 145:1-21 

‘Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised. His greatness is beyond understanding’. We worship You, Lord - our great God: ‘I will exalt You, my God the King. I will praise Your Name for ever and ever. Every day I will praise You and extol Your Name for ever and ever’ (Psalm 145:1-3). You, Lord, are the God whom we worship. You are so much greater than the worship we bring to You. Our worship is to be a ‘joyful celebration’. We celebrate Your great love: ‘The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love’. We rejoice in Your great faithfulness: ‘The Lord is faithful to all His promises’. Here on earth, we have only begun to worship You, our great God. Our worship will continue in Your ‘everlasting Kingdom’. There, we will ‘praise Your Name for ever and ever’ (Psalm 145:7-8,13,21). 

Psalm 146:1-10 

‘I will praise the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live’ (Psalm 146:2). Praising You, the Lord our God: This is a lifelong commitment. We cannot maintain this lifelong commitment in our own strength. We need Your help. Help us never to forget this: ‘Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labour in vain’ (Psalm 127:1). We thank You, Lord, that we are not expected to maintain this lifelong commitment in our own strength. We have Your help. May we always remember this: ‘Our help is in the Name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth’ (Psalm 124:8). ‘Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God, who made heaven and earth, the sea and all that is in them, the Lord who remains faithful for ever’ (Psalm 146:5-6).

Psalm 147:1-20 

‘The Lord builds up Jerusalem. He gathers the exiles of Israel. he heals the broken-hearted and binds up their wounds’ (Psalm 147:2-3). Help us, Lord, to look beyond the building of the city of Jerusalem with bricks and mortar. May we see clearly that this is You blessing Your people as they gather together to worship You. In Christ, we are ‘being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by His Spirit’ (Ephesians 2:22). You, Lord, are drawing us to Yourself. You're  bringing us into fellowship with Your people. You're calling us to worship You: ‘Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving’. You ‘bless’ us through ‘Your Word’. You ‘bless’ us in ‘the Spirit’: ‘You  send Your Word... and the waters flow’ (Psalm 147:7,12-13,18; John 7:37-39).

Psalms 148:1-150:6

‘Praise the Lord.’ We bring to You, Lord, our personal song of praise to God - ‘Praise be to the Lord my Rock... I will sing a new song to You, O God... I will exalt You, my God the King; I will praise Your Name for ever and ever; Every day I will praise You... My mouth will speak in praise of the Lord... I will praise the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live’ (Psalms 144:1,9; 145:1-2,21; 146:2). Our personal worship is just a small part of something so much richer and fuller - ‘Let everything that has breath praise the Lord’ (Psalm 150:6). As we read these great Psalms of praise, may we be inspired to praise You more truly and more fully.