Read the Bible in 2011 ◊ Week 34: Wednesday
“The LORD reigns, let the peoples tremble;
He is enthroned above the cherubim, let the earth shake!
The LORD is great in Zion,
And He is exalted above all the peoples.
Let them praise Your great and awesome name;
Holy is He.”
Psalm 99:1–3
Wednesday’s Bible reading is Psalms 99–101. These are psalms of praise and thanksgiving. As I read them, I thought these were written by men who knew God, they understood:
He is just and righteous:
“The strength of the King loves justice;
You have established equity;
You have executed justice and righteousness in Jacob.”
Psalm 99:4
He hears His people and is forgiving and holy:
“O LORD our God, You answered them;
You were a forgiving God to them,
And yet an avenger of their evil deeds.”
Psalm 99:8
He is a sovereign Creator and shepherd:
“Know that the LORD Himself is God;
It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.”
Psalm 100:3
He is good and exercises lovingkindness and faithfulness:
“For the LORD is good;
His lovingkindness is everlasting
And His faithfulness to all generations.”
Psalm 100:5
He exercises lovingkindness and justice:
“I will sing of lovingkindness and justice,
To You, O LORD, I will sing praises.”
Psalm 101:1
Although the below words in Jeremiah are a rebuke to those who boast of their own devices,1 they shine in a chapter that speaks of the coming judgment of God upon Judah; I was reminded of them after reading these psalms:
Thus says the LORD, “Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; 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 9:23–24
R. K. Harrison comments on that passage:
“Under such conditions of crisis the only rest which the wise can know is in the mercy (ḥeseḏ [lovingkindness]) and righteousness of God…”2
Knowing Him enables us to praise Him during all of our times, even in our conditions of crisis, even in those times. Not that we do not weep and know sorrow and grief, but as we grow in our understanding and knowledge of God, we learn to “know that the LORD Himself is God,” and to offer to Him our praise.
_________
Isaiah 42 Photograph: ChristianPhotos.net – Free High Resolution Photos for Christian Publications
1John Calvin, “Jeremiah 9:23–24,” Commentary on Jeremiah and Lamentations, vol. 1.
2R. K. Harrison, Jeremiah & Lamentations, p. 92.
Original content: Copyright ©2011 Iwana Carpenter
Kindling for Candles 
And He upholds us with His Righteous right Hand (Psalm 63:8). He helps us to stand when our strength fails; He comforts us when our hearts break; He sings over us with His love. It is the last part of that which always brings me to my knees. I can not fathom how so great a God would sing over me. Truly, He is worthy of our praise. There are no other gods like Him, there can be no other gods before Him.