Praise for God's Goods to Israel
A good psalm of praise
1 - 12 The psalmist begins by describing how the community praises God for powerful acts for Israel, both in the past (the exodus from Egypt and the entry into the land) and in the present (deliverance from a recent but unspecified calamity) (my notes). They went through many trials, but God's plan was being unfolded all along. You let captors set foot on our neck; we went through fire and water; then you led us out to freedom.
13 - 15 The psalmist prays as an individual who has offered sacrifice.
16 - 19 The psalmist invites all who fear God to hear what God has done for him.
20 The psalmist concludes by praising God. Blessed be God, who did not refuse me the kindness I sought in prayer.
2 comments:
I had circled vs 9 as important. "He has preserved our lives and kept our feet from slipping." We, as Christians, must realize how much sin we'd have in our lives had we NOT chosen Christ. God keeps us out of a lot of trouble in spite of ourselves. Sure we still sin, but not like we would if He weren't "keeping our feet from slipping".
1 "Everyone on earth, shout with joy to God!" This, as usual sets the point of the psalm. This is a great praise to God. This would be good to start every prayer / devotion time with.
10-11 God tested us, refined us, and laid burdens on our backs (and still does). We have to realize that the point of these hardships is that we continue to choose God to get us through these things. We can't try to get by on our own resources. God will reward our faithfulness just has he always throughout history (HIS story).
18 "If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord wold not have listened." Literally, we must confess all sins before we pray. Even though God knows our sin already. We must be honest, just as with children and parents. If children break something and try to hide or ignore it. The parent always knows and tries to get them to confess, even if it makes them cry and feel bad. We SHOULD learn from these times but we're ok if we keep repeating them as long as we DO confess.
Yes, we must confess our sins before we pray (and before we worship, take communion, etc.)
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