Go and teach all nations
Psalm 105 Parts 3 of 4
Psalm 105: 23 - 36
v23 Then (all) Israel came into Egypt and Jacob lived in the land of Ham.
v24 (The LORD) gave many children to his people. He made them more powerful than their enemies.
v25 He made the Egyptians hate his people (Israel). They thought of bad things to do against (the LORD’s) servants.
v26 (The LORD) sent his servant Moses (to Egypt). (Also), he chose Aaron.
v27 (Moses and Aaron) told everybody the things that (the LORD) would do. (He would do) miracles in the land of Ham.
v28 He sent darkness so that it was dark (everywhere in the day-time). But (the Egyptians) did not obey him.
v29 He changed their rivers into blood and killed their fish.
v30 Then frogs filled their land; they even went into the bedrooms of their rulers!
v31 (The LORD) spoke and there came millions of flies. Insects called lice were everywhere in their country.
v32 He changed their rain into hail and there was lightning over all their land.
v33 He attacked their vines and fig trees and he destroyed the trees (everywhere) in their country.
v34 (The LORD) spoke and there came locusts. There were too many locusts to count!
v35 They ate all the plants in their country, they ate all their crops.
v36 Then (the LORD) killed all the oldest (sons) in the land (of Egypt). (He killed) all the firstborn sons.
Comments
What Psalm 105: 23 - 36 means
"Then", in verse 23, means after Joseph became leader of the government. The story is in Genesis 46:1-27. In this verse, Jacob now means "all the people of Israel". (Not the man Jacob as in verse 10.) They lived for 430 years in the land of Ham. This is another name for Egypt. This part of the story is in Exodus 1:7-2:25. Exodus 1:7 tells us "the people of Israel had many children, their numbers grew and they became very powerful". Verse 24 repeats some of this. The enemies were the Egyptians. They were not enemies at the start, but they became enemies. This was because the Egyptians were not kind to the Israelites. They were very cruel to them after Joseph died. Verse 25 tells us that the LORD made the Egyptians hate (or not like) the Israelites. This was because God wanted his people Israel to go home. He wanted the Egyptians to send Israel away. But the Egyptians did bad things to Israel instead!
The LORD sent Moses and his brother Aaron to Pharaoh. They told Pharaoh what God would do if Pharaoh did not obey God. He would do miracles (things that only God could do). These were the plagues, or the bad things that happened in Egypt. They did not happen to God’s people. They only happened to the Egyptians. Here is a list of the ten plagues.
Where to Find the plagues in Exodus and Psalms
Plague 1 – water to blood – Exodus 7:17-21; Psalm 105:29; Psalm 78:44
Plague 2 – frogs – Exodus 8:1-7; Psalm 105:30; Psalm 78:45
Plague 3 – lice (insects) – Exodus 8:16-19; Psalm 105:31
Plague 4 – Flies – Exodus 8:20-24; Psalm 105:31; Psalm 78:45
Plague 5 – cows died – Exodus 9:1-7
Plague 6 – boils – Exodus 9:8-12
Plague 7 – hail and storm – Exodus 9:18-26; Psalm 105:32; Psalm 78:47
Plague 8 – locusts – Exodus 10:1-20; Psalm 105:34; Psalm 78:46
Plague 9 – darkness (when there is no light) – Exodus 10:21-29; Psalm 105:28
Plague 10 – death of first sons – Exodus 11 and 12; Psalm 105:36; Psalm 78:51
Psalm 78 includes 6 of the plagues; Psalm 105 has 8 of them. Neither includes the death of their animals, or the boils. Boils are big red places on your skin that hurt you. Both psalmists use some of the plagues to show that God is very powerful. The frogs in verse 30 are small animals that can live on land or in water. Hail and lightning in verse 32 come in storms. Hail is small bits of ice that fall as rain falls; lightning lights up the sky. The vines and fig trees in verse 33 gave them food and drink. The vines gave grapes that make a drink called wine. It has alcohol in it. People still eat figs. Locusts, (verses 33-34), are large insects. They eat all the green parts of plants. These plants were the crops that the Egyptians used to make food.
The last plague was the worst. The LORD killed all the oldest male children in Egypt, including animals. The terrible (very, very bad) story is in Exodus 11 and 12. But it made Pharaoh let Israel go back to their own country. Sometimes God lets bad things happen to make people do what is right.
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Text from the EasyEnglish Bible Version and Commentary - used with permission - © 2001-2002, Wycliffe Associates (UK) - For more information about EasyEnglish Publications, visit their website: www.easyenglish.info
Go and teach all nations
Friday, June 30, 2006
Thursday, June 29, 2006
Go and teach all nations - Psalm 105 Parts 2 of 4
Go and teach all nations
Psalm 105 Parts 2 of 4
Psalm 105: 7 – 22
v7 He, the LORD, is our God. What he says is to everyone (that lives) on the earth.
v8 He will always remember his covenant. He will never, never forget his promises.
v9 (He will remember) the covenant that he made with Abraham and the special promises that he made to Isaac.
v10 He made it sure to Jacob with a law and to (the people of) Israel with a covenant
that will never have an end.
v11 He said, "I will give to you (Jacob) the land of Canaan. It will belong to you, (people of Israel).
v12 Once, there was only a small number of them (the people of Israel). (There were) only a few of them and they were nomads (in Canaan).
v13 They moved from country to country, from one kingdom to another.
v14 (The LORD) did not let anyone hurt them. He was angry with kings and gave help to (his people).
v15 He said, "Do not hurt my special servants. Do not harm my prophets".
v16 (The LORD) sent a famine to the land (of Canaan). He destroyed all the food that they were storing.
v17 But he sent a man (into Egypt) before them. (He was) Joseph, (that his brothers) sold as a slave.
v18 (In Egypt) they put his feet into fetters and his neck into irons.
v19 (They did this) until what he prophesied really happened. Until the word of the LORD showed that he (Joseph) was right.
v20 The king sent (someone) to let him out (of prison). The ruler of the peoples made him free.
v21 He (the king) made him (Joseph) master of his house. He made him ruler of all that he had.
v22 He gave him power over his princes and authority over the leaders of the country.
Comments
What Psalm 105: 7 - 22 means
"What he said" in verse 5 and "what he says" in verse 7 is the same word in Hebrew. The person that wrote the psalm (the psalmist) wrote it in Hebrew, the language of the Jews. Bible students translate it with the word "judgments". These are words that God says. People must obey them.
The covenant in verses 8, 9 and 10 is what God and his people agreed. God agreed to protect them if they agreed to love and obey him. "Protect them" means "stop people hurting them". This covenant was so special that God made it a law, or rule, (verse 10). You will find the promises to:
• Abraham in Genesis 12:7 and 17:8;
• his son Isaac in Genesis 26:3-4;
• Isaac’s son Jacob in Genesis 28:13-14.
Israel is another name for Jacob but, in verse 10, it means all the Jewish people that agreed with God. Sometimes Isaac and Jacob are names for all the people, but here they are the people themselves.
The land of Canaan was where the Jews came to live. It belonged to them until 70 A.D. A.D. means "years after Jesus came to the earth". The war in Israel now is because of this promise. Some Bible students think that the promise is still true. Other students think that the Promised Land (of Canaan) means heaven, where they will go when they die. You must decide for yourself what to believe. When you have decided, do not argue with other Christians about it! We will know who is right when we go to heaven ourselves!
Psalm 105: 12 – 22 – This part of the psalm tells bits of the story of the people of Israel from Abraham to Joseph. At the start, there were only a few of them, (verse 12). They were nomads in Canaan. Nomads move from place to place. They do not have a place of their own. There were many countries in Canaan, some of them kingdoms. This means that kings ruled over them. But they did not only move round Canaan. They also went to Egypt. One king that God was angry with was one of the Pharaohs of Egypt. Another was Abimelech, king of Gerar in South Canaan. The stories are in Genesis 12:17 and 20:1-8.
The "special servants" in verse 15 is "my messiahs" in Hebrew. Here it means the leaders of the people, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph. "Harm" is another word for "hurt". These leaders were also prophets. Prophets told people what God would do. A man put Joseph in prison until what he said would happen (prophesied) really did happen, (verse 19). What the LORD said is in Genesis 37:5-10, and 41:1-36. "Fetters" are what they fixed people’s feet in so they could not walk in the prison, (verse 18). They did the same with their necks in irons, or collars (circles) of iron. A famine, verse 16, is when there is no food to eat. The story of the famine is in Genesis 41:53-57.
Then the king of Egypt (the Pharaoh) understood that Joseph was right. Joseph had prophesied (said there would be) a long famine. So, the king took Joseph out of prison, (verse 20). He made him an important man. "His house" in verse 21 means "his government". "All that he had" is the country of Egypt and the other countries that Pharaoh ruled. "Princes" are the sons of kings, but here they mean "important people in the government". Some Bible students translate "power" and "authority" with words meaning "to teach the best thing to do".
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Text from the EasyEnglish Bible Version and Commentary - used with permission - © 2001-2002, Wycliffe Associates (UK) - For more information about EasyEnglish Publications, visit their website: www.easyenglish.info
Go and teach all nations
Psalm 105 Parts 2 of 4
Psalm 105: 7 – 22
v7 He, the LORD, is our God. What he says is to everyone (that lives) on the earth.
v8 He will always remember his covenant. He will never, never forget his promises.
v9 (He will remember) the covenant that he made with Abraham and the special promises that he made to Isaac.
v10 He made it sure to Jacob with a law and to (the people of) Israel with a covenant
that will never have an end.
v11 He said, "I will give to you (Jacob) the land of Canaan. It will belong to you, (people of Israel).
v12 Once, there was only a small number of them (the people of Israel). (There were) only a few of them and they were nomads (in Canaan).
v13 They moved from country to country, from one kingdom to another.
v14 (The LORD) did not let anyone hurt them. He was angry with kings and gave help to (his people).
v15 He said, "Do not hurt my special servants. Do not harm my prophets".
v16 (The LORD) sent a famine to the land (of Canaan). He destroyed all the food that they were storing.
v17 But he sent a man (into Egypt) before them. (He was) Joseph, (that his brothers) sold as a slave.
v18 (In Egypt) they put his feet into fetters and his neck into irons.
v19 (They did this) until what he prophesied really happened. Until the word of the LORD showed that he (Joseph) was right.
v20 The king sent (someone) to let him out (of prison). The ruler of the peoples made him free.
v21 He (the king) made him (Joseph) master of his house. He made him ruler of all that he had.
v22 He gave him power over his princes and authority over the leaders of the country.
Comments
What Psalm 105: 7 - 22 means
"What he said" in verse 5 and "what he says" in verse 7 is the same word in Hebrew. The person that wrote the psalm (the psalmist) wrote it in Hebrew, the language of the Jews. Bible students translate it with the word "judgments". These are words that God says. People must obey them.
The covenant in verses 8, 9 and 10 is what God and his people agreed. God agreed to protect them if they agreed to love and obey him. "Protect them" means "stop people hurting them". This covenant was so special that God made it a law, or rule, (verse 10). You will find the promises to:
• Abraham in Genesis 12:7 and 17:8;
• his son Isaac in Genesis 26:3-4;
• Isaac’s son Jacob in Genesis 28:13-14.
Israel is another name for Jacob but, in verse 10, it means all the Jewish people that agreed with God. Sometimes Isaac and Jacob are names for all the people, but here they are the people themselves.
The land of Canaan was where the Jews came to live. It belonged to them until 70 A.D. A.D. means "years after Jesus came to the earth". The war in Israel now is because of this promise. Some Bible students think that the promise is still true. Other students think that the Promised Land (of Canaan) means heaven, where they will go when they die. You must decide for yourself what to believe. When you have decided, do not argue with other Christians about it! We will know who is right when we go to heaven ourselves!
Psalm 105: 12 – 22 – This part of the psalm tells bits of the story of the people of Israel from Abraham to Joseph. At the start, there were only a few of them, (verse 12). They were nomads in Canaan. Nomads move from place to place. They do not have a place of their own. There were many countries in Canaan, some of them kingdoms. This means that kings ruled over them. But they did not only move round Canaan. They also went to Egypt. One king that God was angry with was one of the Pharaohs of Egypt. Another was Abimelech, king of Gerar in South Canaan. The stories are in Genesis 12:17 and 20:1-8.
The "special servants" in verse 15 is "my messiahs" in Hebrew. Here it means the leaders of the people, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph. "Harm" is another word for "hurt". These leaders were also prophets. Prophets told people what God would do. A man put Joseph in prison until what he said would happen (prophesied) really did happen, (verse 19). What the LORD said is in Genesis 37:5-10, and 41:1-36. "Fetters" are what they fixed people’s feet in so they could not walk in the prison, (verse 18). They did the same with their necks in irons, or collars (circles) of iron. A famine, verse 16, is when there is no food to eat. The story of the famine is in Genesis 41:53-57.
Then the king of Egypt (the Pharaoh) understood that Joseph was right. Joseph had prophesied (said there would be) a long famine. So, the king took Joseph out of prison, (verse 20). He made him an important man. "His house" in verse 21 means "his government". "All that he had" is the country of Egypt and the other countries that Pharaoh ruled. "Princes" are the sons of kings, but here they mean "important people in the government". Some Bible students translate "power" and "authority" with words meaning "to teach the best thing to do".
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Text from the EasyEnglish Bible Version and Commentary - used with permission - © 2001-2002, Wycliffe Associates (UK) - For more information about EasyEnglish Publications, visit their website: www.easyenglish.info
Go and teach all nations
Wednesday, June 28, 2006
Go and teach all nations - Psalm 105 Parts 1 of 4
Go and teach all nations
Israel in Egypt
Psalm 105 Parts 1 of 4
Jesus lived in Egypt until Herod died. So, what the Lord said to the prophet really happened. He said, "I have brought my son out of Egypt". (Matthew 2:15)
Psalm 105: 1 - 6
v1 Say "thank-you!" to the LORD. Tell (everybody) his name. Tell people in every country what he has done.
v2 Sing songs to him, make music for him. Speak about all the great things that he has done.
v3 Be proud of his holy name. Everybody that goes to the LORD (in his house), be very happy!
v4 Visit the LORD, who is so powerful. Always go to him (in his house).
v5 Remember the great things that he has done. (Remember) his miracles and what he said (to Pharaoh).
v6 Abraham your father was (the LORD’s) servant. (The LORD) chose Jacob and you are (Jacob’s) sons.
Comments
The Story of Psalm 105
Some Bible students think this was once a shorter psalm. Perhaps it started at verse 5. Then people made it longer. They put Isaiah 12:4 as a new beginning to the psalm. Then they put verses 3 and 4 to tell people to go to the house of the LORD. This house was the temple in Jerusalem. They believed that the LORD lived in it, when he was not in heaven (his home). Then the psalm started at verse 5, telling the people to remember their story. It started with Abraham, and ended (in this psalm) when they came to their own country.
What Psalm 105: 1 - 6 means
LORD is a special name for God. His people use it. They are the people who love and obey him. They are his servants, as Abraham was, verse 6. He was their father, or forefather. This means that he lived long before them. But they were part of his family, even hundreds of years later! The Hebrew words for "Abraham your father" mean "seed of Abraham". This gives us a picture. The seed that Abraham planted became the country of Israel! Jacob was Abraham’s grandson. The LORD chose Jacob, but did not choose his brother Esau. The 12 sons of Jacob, and their children, and grandchildren, and so on, became the people we call Israel. Israel was another name for Jacob. The Bible often calls them "sons of Jacob", but they lived long after Jacob did. Today we call them Jews, because Judah (say it "Jewdar") was the last name for their country in the Bible. The word "Lord" in the verse at the start is a different word but it means the same. It means God.
"Proud" in verse 3 has a good meaning and a bad meaning. The bad meaning is this. Proud people think that they are more important than they really are. The good meaning is this. We are proud (or happy) when something good has happened. When our football team (group) wins a game, we are proud of them! The psalm tells us to be proud of God’s *holy name. His name means everything about God. This includes the fact that he is holy. This means that he has never done anything bad. He is so good that we all feel a bit afraid of him.
In verse 5, "his miracles" are the things that he did. They were things that only God the LORD could do. Men could not do them. Jesus did many miracles, as when he made the storm quiet and when he gave life to the dead man Lazarus. Jesus could do this because he is God. But the miracles in Psalm 105 are the things that God did in Egypt and later. They include the things that he did to Pharaoh. Pharaoh was the king of Egypt. We call these things the ten "plagues" or "bad things". Psalm 78 includes 6 of the plagues, but Psalm 105 has 8 of them. They are in verses 29-36.
to continue...
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Text from the EasyEnglish Bible Version and Commentary - used with permission - © 2001-2002, Wycliffe Associates (UK) - For more information about EasyEnglish Publications, visit their website: www.easyenglish.info
Go and teach all nations
Israel in Egypt
Psalm 105 Parts 1 of 4
Jesus lived in Egypt until Herod died. So, what the Lord said to the prophet really happened. He said, "I have brought my son out of Egypt". (Matthew 2:15)
Psalm 105: 1 - 6
v1 Say "thank-you!" to the LORD. Tell (everybody) his name. Tell people in every country what he has done.
v2 Sing songs to him, make music for him. Speak about all the great things that he has done.
v3 Be proud of his holy name. Everybody that goes to the LORD (in his house), be very happy!
v4 Visit the LORD, who is so powerful. Always go to him (in his house).
v5 Remember the great things that he has done. (Remember) his miracles and what he said (to Pharaoh).
v6 Abraham your father was (the LORD’s) servant. (The LORD) chose Jacob and you are (Jacob’s) sons.
Comments
The Story of Psalm 105
Some Bible students think this was once a shorter psalm. Perhaps it started at verse 5. Then people made it longer. They put Isaiah 12:4 as a new beginning to the psalm. Then they put verses 3 and 4 to tell people to go to the house of the LORD. This house was the temple in Jerusalem. They believed that the LORD lived in it, when he was not in heaven (his home). Then the psalm started at verse 5, telling the people to remember their story. It started with Abraham, and ended (in this psalm) when they came to their own country.
What Psalm 105: 1 - 6 means
LORD is a special name for God. His people use it. They are the people who love and obey him. They are his servants, as Abraham was, verse 6. He was their father, or forefather. This means that he lived long before them. But they were part of his family, even hundreds of years later! The Hebrew words for "Abraham your father" mean "seed of Abraham". This gives us a picture. The seed that Abraham planted became the country of Israel! Jacob was Abraham’s grandson. The LORD chose Jacob, but did not choose his brother Esau. The 12 sons of Jacob, and their children, and grandchildren, and so on, became the people we call Israel. Israel was another name for Jacob. The Bible often calls them "sons of Jacob", but they lived long after Jacob did. Today we call them Jews, because Judah (say it "Jewdar") was the last name for their country in the Bible. The word "Lord" in the verse at the start is a different word but it means the same. It means God.
"Proud" in verse 3 has a good meaning and a bad meaning. The bad meaning is this. Proud people think that they are more important than they really are. The good meaning is this. We are proud (or happy) when something good has happened. When our football team (group) wins a game, we are proud of them! The psalm tells us to be proud of God’s *holy name. His name means everything about God. This includes the fact that he is holy. This means that he has never done anything bad. He is so good that we all feel a bit afraid of him.
In verse 5, "his miracles" are the things that he did. They were things that only God the LORD could do. Men could not do them. Jesus did many miracles, as when he made the storm quiet and when he gave life to the dead man Lazarus. Jesus could do this because he is God. But the miracles in Psalm 105 are the things that God did in Egypt and later. They include the things that he did to Pharaoh. Pharaoh was the king of Egypt. We call these things the ten "plagues" or "bad things". Psalm 78 includes 6 of the plagues, but Psalm 105 has 8 of them. They are in verses 29-36.
to continue...
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Text from the EasyEnglish Bible Version and Commentary - used with permission - © 2001-2002, Wycliffe Associates (UK) - For more information about EasyEnglish Publications, visit their website: www.easyenglish.info
Go and teach all nations
Tuesday, June 27, 2006
Go and teach all nations - Psalm 104 Part 3
Go and teach all nations
Psalm 104 Part 3 of 3
Psalm 104: 24 - 35
v24 LORD, you have made so many things! The earth is full of the creatures that you have made. You were very wise when you made them all.
v25 There is the sea. It is so big and so wide. It is full of creatures, more than anyone can count. (In it) there are small and large animals and plants.
v26 Ships sail on it. Leviathan, that you made, plays in it.
v27 All of them hope that you will give them food when they need it.
v28 (When) you give it to them they pick it up. (When) you open your hand they have plenty of good things.
v29 (When) you hide your face they become very frightened. When you take away their breath, they die and return to the dust.
v30 (Then) you send out your breath and make new creatures. You make everything on earth new.
v31 I want the glory of the LORD to continue for ever! I want the LORD to be very happy with everything that he has made!
v32 (When the LORD) looks at the earth it becomes frightened. When he touches the mountains, they give out smoke.
v33 I will sing to the LORD all my life. I will always sing praises to my God.
v34 I hope that my thoughts make him happy, because the LORD makes me happy.
v35 I want (the LORD) to destroy bad people from the earth. I do not want very bad people to live any more. I say to myself, "Praise the LORD! Hallelujah!"
Comments
What Psalm 104: 24 - 35 means
The word "creatures" means "things that God created". Usually we use it to mean animals. God was "very wise" when he made them, (verse 24). A wise person knows a lot, and uses what he knows well. God knows more than anybody else, and uses what he knows better than anybody else does. In verses 10 - 23, the psalmist wrote about birds and land animals, including man. In verses 25 - 26, he writes about animals in the sea. He only names one, Leviathan. We do not know what Leviathan was. Bible students think that it was a very large sea-animal, perhaps a whale or even a crocodile.
Verses 27 - 30 are about all the animals, on land, in the sea or in the air. We do not know how animals hope in God … but he does feed them! Verse 28 paints a picture of God opening his hand and the animals finding plenty of good things to eat in it! But when God takes away their breath (the air that goes in and out of their mouths), then they die. They become dust again, part of the ground. Some Hebrew Bibles have "your breath", not "their breath", in verse 29. It is God that breathes into (puts air into) animals and people so that they become alive. So verse 30 has "your breath" in all Hebrew Bibles. When one creature dies, God makes another. He makes everything on earth new by breathing into new animals and people so that they become alive.
These few verses end the psalm.
Verse 31 - Glory is the bright light that shines from God because he is great. Verse 32 makes us remember that God is very powerful. The last verse tells us that the psalmist does not want bad or very bad people to live on the earth. If they did not, it would make the earth much better! The last word, hallelujah, is Hebrew for "praise the LORD!" People now use it all over the world.
Something to do
1. Study verses 3-9. Can you see why they are examples of Hebrew poetry? Can you find more examples in the psalm?
2. Remember to be kind to animals, because God made them. Read Psalm 8 and think about being kind to animals.
3. Learn to say verses 33 and 34 by heart. (By heart means without looking at the words.)
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Text from the EasyEnglish Bible Version and Commentary - used with permission - © 2001-2002, Wycliffe Associates (UK) - For more information about EasyEnglish Publications, visit their website: www.easyenglish.info
Go and teach all nations
Psalm 104 Part 3 of 3
Psalm 104: 24 - 35
v24 LORD, you have made so many things! The earth is full of the creatures that you have made. You were very wise when you made them all.
v25 There is the sea. It is so big and so wide. It is full of creatures, more than anyone can count. (In it) there are small and large animals and plants.
v26 Ships sail on it. Leviathan, that you made, plays in it.
v27 All of them hope that you will give them food when they need it.
v28 (When) you give it to them they pick it up. (When) you open your hand they have plenty of good things.
v29 (When) you hide your face they become very frightened. When you take away their breath, they die and return to the dust.
v30 (Then) you send out your breath and make new creatures. You make everything on earth new.
v31 I want the glory of the LORD to continue for ever! I want the LORD to be very happy with everything that he has made!
v32 (When the LORD) looks at the earth it becomes frightened. When he touches the mountains, they give out smoke.
v33 I will sing to the LORD all my life. I will always sing praises to my God.
v34 I hope that my thoughts make him happy, because the LORD makes me happy.
v35 I want (the LORD) to destroy bad people from the earth. I do not want very bad people to live any more. I say to myself, "Praise the LORD! Hallelujah!"
Comments
What Psalm 104: 24 - 35 means
The word "creatures" means "things that God created". Usually we use it to mean animals. God was "very wise" when he made them, (verse 24). A wise person knows a lot, and uses what he knows well. God knows more than anybody else, and uses what he knows better than anybody else does. In verses 10 - 23, the psalmist wrote about birds and land animals, including man. In verses 25 - 26, he writes about animals in the sea. He only names one, Leviathan. We do not know what Leviathan was. Bible students think that it was a very large sea-animal, perhaps a whale or even a crocodile.
Verses 27 - 30 are about all the animals, on land, in the sea or in the air. We do not know how animals hope in God … but he does feed them! Verse 28 paints a picture of God opening his hand and the animals finding plenty of good things to eat in it! But when God takes away their breath (the air that goes in and out of their mouths), then they die. They become dust again, part of the ground. Some Hebrew Bibles have "your breath", not "their breath", in verse 29. It is God that breathes into (puts air into) animals and people so that they become alive. So verse 30 has "your breath" in all Hebrew Bibles. When one creature dies, God makes another. He makes everything on earth new by breathing into new animals and people so that they become alive.
These few verses end the psalm.
Verse 31 - Glory is the bright light that shines from God because he is great. Verse 32 makes us remember that God is very powerful. The last verse tells us that the psalmist does not want bad or very bad people to live on the earth. If they did not, it would make the earth much better! The last word, hallelujah, is Hebrew for "praise the LORD!" People now use it all over the world.
Something to do
1. Study verses 3-9. Can you see why they are examples of Hebrew poetry? Can you find more examples in the psalm?
2. Remember to be kind to animals, because God made them. Read Psalm 8 and think about being kind to animals.
3. Learn to say verses 33 and 34 by heart. (By heart means without looking at the words.)
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Text from the EasyEnglish Bible Version and Commentary - used with permission - © 2001-2002, Wycliffe Associates (UK) - For more information about EasyEnglish Publications, visit their website: www.easyenglish.info
Go and teach all nations
Monday, June 26, 2006
Go and teach all nations - Psalm 104 Part 2
Go and teach all nations
Psalm 104 Part 2 of 3
Psalm 104: 10 - 23
v10 You make water come out of the ground into the valleys. (You make the rivers) go between the hills.
v11 They give water to every wild animal. The wild donkeys drink from them.
v12 The birds of the air make their homes (by the streams) and they sing from the trees near (the streams).
v13 You pour water on to the mountains from your home above the sky. The earth is happy with the results of what you do.
v14 - v15 You make grass to grow for the cows and sheep. And (you make) plants (grow) that people can use. This is how people get food from the earth:
• wine (alcohol) that makes people happy,
• oil that makes people’s faces shine, and
• bread that makes people strong.
v16 The trees of the LORD get plenty of rain. (They are) the cedar trees in Lebanon, which he planted.
v17 The birds make their nests in them. The stork makes its home in fir trees.
v18 The wild goats live in the high hills and the rabbits hide in the rocks.
v19 The moon shows (us) which season (it is). The sun knows when to go down.
v20 You created night. When it is dark, all the wild animals come out (of their dens).
v21 The young lions roar while they hunt. They look for the food that God gives to them.
v22 When the sun shines again, they go back to their dens. There they lie down.
v23 This is when people go out to work. They work until it is evening.
Comments
What Psalm 104: 10 - 23 means
The first part of the psalm tells us that God created the earth and the sky. But he did not go away and leave it. The next part of the psalm, verses 10-23, tells us that he stayed with it. He still makes sure that everything happens as he wants it to. In other words, he takes care of everything. As Paul wrote, "By him everything continues to stay alive", (Colossians 1:17). Water comes out of the ground (springs) and goes into streams and rivers. These give water to wild animals and birds, verses 10-12. The donkeys in verse 11 are like small horses. "Like" is another word for "as". Many people have them to carry things but, in verse 11, they are wild donkeys. Verse 13 goes back to the picture of the world that God made. He is still pouring water on to the mountains from above the skies! Now we know that rain comes from the sea.
It is God that makes the plants to grow. Men and animals use these plants for food, (verses 14-15). The oil in verse 15 is not the oil we use in cars. It is from a fruit called the olive. It helps people to have good health, so that their faces shine. He makes the tree to grow. Birds make their homes (or nests) in them. The stork is a big bird with long legs, long neck and long beak. The beak is a bird’s mouth. The mountains, hills and rocks near them are homes for other animals, such as wild goats and rabbits, (verses 16-18). A rabbit is a small animal with long ears. Its hair (called fur) is very soft. The rabbits in verse 18 live in places where there are many rocks. Another name for them is coneys.
Verses 19 - 23 are about time. The seasons in verse 19 are not spring, summer, autumn and winter; or wet and dry seasons. They are the months. For the Jews, each month started with a new moon. This is the 28-day lunar (moon) month. The sun goes down each evening, starting a new day for the Jews. Their day started at 6 o’clock each evening.
God made the night. That was when night-animals come out from their dens (their homes). As an example, the psalmist writes about the lion. This large animal eats other animals. It even eats people! It roars (makes a loud noise) while it hunts (looks for) its food. God made the smaller animals for them to eat! When the sun shines again in the morning, these night animals go back to their dens. That is when people go out to their work. The important thing about this part of the psalm is that God still does all these things. He did not just create the world and go away. He stayed with it, and he is still with it. As a man called Minos of Crete wrote, "In him we live and move and have our being". Paul repeated these words in Acts 17:28. These words mean that God created us, and gives us help to stay alive. He does this for all the animals and plants as well. As Jesus said, God even knows what happens to small birds like sparrows!
to continue...
__o
Text from the EasyEnglish Bible Version and Commentary - used with permission - © 2001-2002, Wycliffe Associates (UK) - For more information about EasyEnglish Publications, visit their website: www.easyenglish.info
Go and teach all nations
Psalm 104 Part 2 of 3
Psalm 104: 10 - 23
v10 You make water come out of the ground into the valleys. (You make the rivers) go between the hills.
v11 They give water to every wild animal. The wild donkeys drink from them.
v12 The birds of the air make their homes (by the streams) and they sing from the trees near (the streams).
v13 You pour water on to the mountains from your home above the sky. The earth is happy with the results of what you do.
v14 - v15 You make grass to grow for the cows and sheep. And (you make) plants (grow) that people can use. This is how people get food from the earth:
• wine (alcohol) that makes people happy,
• oil that makes people’s faces shine, and
• bread that makes people strong.
v16 The trees of the LORD get plenty of rain. (They are) the cedar trees in Lebanon, which he planted.
v17 The birds make their nests in them. The stork makes its home in fir trees.
v18 The wild goats live in the high hills and the rabbits hide in the rocks.
v19 The moon shows (us) which season (it is). The sun knows when to go down.
v20 You created night. When it is dark, all the wild animals come out (of their dens).
v21 The young lions roar while they hunt. They look for the food that God gives to them.
v22 When the sun shines again, they go back to their dens. There they lie down.
v23 This is when people go out to work. They work until it is evening.
Comments
What Psalm 104: 10 - 23 means
The first part of the psalm tells us that God created the earth and the sky. But he did not go away and leave it. The next part of the psalm, verses 10-23, tells us that he stayed with it. He still makes sure that everything happens as he wants it to. In other words, he takes care of everything. As Paul wrote, "By him everything continues to stay alive", (Colossians 1:17). Water comes out of the ground (springs) and goes into streams and rivers. These give water to wild animals and birds, verses 10-12. The donkeys in verse 11 are like small horses. "Like" is another word for "as". Many people have them to carry things but, in verse 11, they are wild donkeys. Verse 13 goes back to the picture of the world that God made. He is still pouring water on to the mountains from above the skies! Now we know that rain comes from the sea.
It is God that makes the plants to grow. Men and animals use these plants for food, (verses 14-15). The oil in verse 15 is not the oil we use in cars. It is from a fruit called the olive. It helps people to have good health, so that their faces shine. He makes the tree to grow. Birds make their homes (or nests) in them. The stork is a big bird with long legs, long neck and long beak. The beak is a bird’s mouth. The mountains, hills and rocks near them are homes for other animals, such as wild goats and rabbits, (verses 16-18). A rabbit is a small animal with long ears. Its hair (called fur) is very soft. The rabbits in verse 18 live in places where there are many rocks. Another name for them is coneys.
Verses 19 - 23 are about time. The seasons in verse 19 are not spring, summer, autumn and winter; or wet and dry seasons. They are the months. For the Jews, each month started with a new moon. This is the 28-day lunar (moon) month. The sun goes down each evening, starting a new day for the Jews. Their day started at 6 o’clock each evening.
God made the night. That was when night-animals come out from their dens (their homes). As an example, the psalmist writes about the lion. This large animal eats other animals. It even eats people! It roars (makes a loud noise) while it hunts (looks for) its food. God made the smaller animals for them to eat! When the sun shines again in the morning, these night animals go back to their dens. That is when people go out to their work. The important thing about this part of the psalm is that God still does all these things. He did not just create the world and go away. He stayed with it, and he is still with it. As a man called Minos of Crete wrote, "In him we live and move and have our being". Paul repeated these words in Acts 17:28. These words mean that God created us, and gives us help to stay alive. He does this for all the animals and plants as well. As Jesus said, God even knows what happens to small birds like sparrows!
to continue...
__o
Text from the EasyEnglish Bible Version and Commentary - used with permission - © 2001-2002, Wycliffe Associates (UK) - For more information about EasyEnglish Publications, visit their website: www.easyenglish.info
Go and teach all nations
Sunday, June 25, 2006
Go and teach all nations - Psalm 104 Part 1
Go and teach all nations
Psalm 104 Part 1 of 3
Creator God, Keeping Everything Alive!
Jesus said, "Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? But not one of them falls to the ground without your Father knowing". (Matthew 10:29)
Psalm 104: 1 - 9
v1 - v2 I say to myself, "Praise the LORD!" LORD, my God, you are very great! (As a person wears clothes), you wear honor and majesty and light. You have put the skies as a roof (over the earth).
v3 You have built your home above the waters that are over the skies. The clouds carry you and you ride on the wind.
v4 The winds carry your messages and burning fires are your servants.
v5 (The LORD) built the earth on its foundations. Nobody will ever move it.
v6 You covered it with the deep (sea) as clothes (cover a person). The waters were higher than the mountains.
v7 When you shouted (the waters) ran away. At the sound of your thunder they fled.
v8 (The waters) moved over the mountains. They went down into the valleys. They went to the place that you had made for them.
v9 You made a mark that they could not cross. Never again will (the waters) cover the earth.
Comments
The Story of Psalm 104
Many Bible students think that David wrote Psalm 104. But it does not say that he did. It is about God as the Creator. "Creator" means "someone who makes something". The Bible always uses the word "creator" in a special way. It means that the person that makes something is God, or the LORD. LORD is a special name for God that his servants use.
What Psalm 104: 1 - 9 means
This is a long psalm, so it is easier to study it in parts.
Verses 1-9 are about God creating (making) the earth and the sky.
Because God did this, the psalm starts, "Praise the LORD". "Praise" means "say that someone is great". Then the psalmist (the person that wrote the psalm) says three things about God. He is:
• someone with honour. This means someone that is famous because they are honest. You can believe that they will always do what is right. They will always say what is true. They will always be fair to people.
• someone with majesty. Majesty is what a king or a queen has. It describes their power and how great they are.
• someone with light. The easy way to understand this is that God is as the sun. He shines with a very great light. But remember ... he is not the sun! He created (made) the sun, so he is greater than the sun!
God wears all this as people wear their clothes. We do not see people, only their clothes. We do not see God. We only see his clothes … his honour and his majesty, which make him shine as the sun shines.
This part of the psalm then describes what God did when he created (made) everything.
The skies are as a roof over the earth, (verse 2). The skies seem to rest on the mountains! God’s home is heaven. He built it "above the waters that are over the skies", (verse 3). He "built the earth on its foundations", (verse 5). When you want to build something, you start with the foundations. The building is on top of the foundations. The foundations were strong, so nobody would ever move the earth. Then the waters above the skies came down on the mountains. They became rivers and seas when God shouted at them, (verses 7-9). The burning fires in verse 4 maybe lightning, that lights up the sky in a great storm. In verse 7 there is a good example of Hebrew poetry. Poetry is a special way to use words. The psalmist wrote in the Hebrew language. The first part and the second part of verse 7 mean the same thing. Thunder is the loud noise we hear in the sky in a great storm. The Jews thought that it was the voice of God. (Jews are people who were born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.) "Fled" is another word for "ran away". So, "when you shouted they ran away" and "at the sound of your thunder they fled" both mean the same!
We do not speak about the earth and sky as the psalmist did. But we still believe that God created the earth, the sky and everything else. We do not know where heaven, the home of God, really is. But we believe that it is somewhere. Sheol was where Jews believed that they went when they died. Most Christians believe that God’s people go to be with him in heaven (his home) when they die.
In verse 9, we read "never again will the waters cover the earth". Some Bible students think that this is about Noah's Flood, when waters covered the earth. They did cover the earth when they came from above the skies. They are not there any more, but in the rivers and seas. There will never be another flood as Noah’s Flood. This is good news when many people are afraid of "global warming". This means that the earth (a ball or globe) is getting hotter, so the ice will become water and flood (cover with water) the earth. The psalmist said that this would not happen. He knew what God had told Noah in Genesis 9:11: "There will never be another flood to destroy the earth".
to continue...
__o
Text from the EasyEnglish Bible Version and Commentary - used with permission - © 2001-2002, Wycliffe Associates (UK) - For more information about EasyEnglish Publications, visit their website: www.easyenglish.info
Go and teach all nations
Psalm 104 Part 1 of 3
Creator God, Keeping Everything Alive!
Jesus said, "Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? But not one of them falls to the ground without your Father knowing". (Matthew 10:29)
Psalm 104: 1 - 9
v1 - v2 I say to myself, "Praise the LORD!" LORD, my God, you are very great! (As a person wears clothes), you wear honor and majesty and light. You have put the skies as a roof (over the earth).
v3 You have built your home above the waters that are over the skies. The clouds carry you and you ride on the wind.
v4 The winds carry your messages and burning fires are your servants.
v5 (The LORD) built the earth on its foundations. Nobody will ever move it.
v6 You covered it with the deep (sea) as clothes (cover a person). The waters were higher than the mountains.
v7 When you shouted (the waters) ran away. At the sound of your thunder they fled.
v8 (The waters) moved over the mountains. They went down into the valleys. They went to the place that you had made for them.
v9 You made a mark that they could not cross. Never again will (the waters) cover the earth.
Comments
The Story of Psalm 104
Many Bible students think that David wrote Psalm 104. But it does not say that he did. It is about God as the Creator. "Creator" means "someone who makes something". The Bible always uses the word "creator" in a special way. It means that the person that makes something is God, or the LORD. LORD is a special name for God that his servants use.
What Psalm 104: 1 - 9 means
This is a long psalm, so it is easier to study it in parts.
Verses 1-9 are about God creating (making) the earth and the sky.
Because God did this, the psalm starts, "Praise the LORD". "Praise" means "say that someone is great". Then the psalmist (the person that wrote the psalm) says three things about God. He is:
• someone with honour. This means someone that is famous because they are honest. You can believe that they will always do what is right. They will always say what is true. They will always be fair to people.
• someone with majesty. Majesty is what a king or a queen has. It describes their power and how great they are.
• someone with light. The easy way to understand this is that God is as the sun. He shines with a very great light. But remember ... he is not the sun! He created (made) the sun, so he is greater than the sun!
God wears all this as people wear their clothes. We do not see people, only their clothes. We do not see God. We only see his clothes … his honour and his majesty, which make him shine as the sun shines.
This part of the psalm then describes what God did when he created (made) everything.
The skies are as a roof over the earth, (verse 2). The skies seem to rest on the mountains! God’s home is heaven. He built it "above the waters that are over the skies", (verse 3). He "built the earth on its foundations", (verse 5). When you want to build something, you start with the foundations. The building is on top of the foundations. The foundations were strong, so nobody would ever move the earth. Then the waters above the skies came down on the mountains. They became rivers and seas when God shouted at them, (verses 7-9). The burning fires in verse 4 maybe lightning, that lights up the sky in a great storm. In verse 7 there is a good example of Hebrew poetry. Poetry is a special way to use words. The psalmist wrote in the Hebrew language. The first part and the second part of verse 7 mean the same thing. Thunder is the loud noise we hear in the sky in a great storm. The Jews thought that it was the voice of God. (Jews are people who were born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.) "Fled" is another word for "ran away". So, "when you shouted they ran away" and "at the sound of your thunder they fled" both mean the same!
We do not speak about the earth and sky as the psalmist did. But we still believe that God created the earth, the sky and everything else. We do not know where heaven, the home of God, really is. But we believe that it is somewhere. Sheol was where Jews believed that they went when they died. Most Christians believe that God’s people go to be with him in heaven (his home) when they die.
In verse 9, we read "never again will the waters cover the earth". Some Bible students think that this is about Noah's Flood, when waters covered the earth. They did cover the earth when they came from above the skies. They are not there any more, but in the rivers and seas. There will never be another flood as Noah’s Flood. This is good news when many people are afraid of "global warming". This means that the earth (a ball or globe) is getting hotter, so the ice will become water and flood (cover with water) the earth. The psalmist said that this would not happen. He knew what God had told Noah in Genesis 9:11: "There will never be another flood to destroy the earth".
to continue...
__o
Text from the EasyEnglish Bible Version and Commentary - used with permission - © 2001-2002, Wycliffe Associates (UK) - For more information about EasyEnglish Publications, visit their website: www.easyenglish.info
Go and teach all nations
Saturday, June 24, 2006
Go and teach all nations - Psalm 103
Go and teach all nations
The Love of God
Psalm 103
Jesus said, "Your Father in heaven knows everything that you need". (Matthew 6:32)
Psalm 103
(This is a psalm) of David.
v1 I say to myself, "Praise the LORD! Everything that is in me, praise his holy name!’
v2 I say to myself, "Praise the LORD! And never forget any of the good things that he has given you!’
v3 (I say to myself) He forgives all your sins. He makes you well again when you are ill.
v4 He redeems you from the Pit. His kind love and mercy are special things that he gives to you.
v5 He gives you the good things that you want. So, you become strong again as a young eagle.
v6 The LORD does righteous and fair things for all oppressed people.
v7 He showed Moses his plans and (he showed) the Israelites what he was going to do.
v8 The LORD likes (people) and is very kind. He is slow to get angry and has a lot of kind love.
v9 He will not always say that we are wrong. He will not always be angry.
v10 We do wrong things. He does not punish us for them as much as he should.
v11 The sky is high above the earth. So his kind love is great to those people that love him.
v12 As far as the east is from the west, so far has he taken our sins from us.
v13 As a father is kind to his children, so the LORD is kind to people that are afraid of him.
v14 Because he knows (how he) made us, he remembers that we are only dust.
v15 The life of a man is as short as (the life of) grass! He lives as short a time as the (wild) flowers in a field!
v16 The wind blows over it and it dies! Nothing remembers it any more.
v17 But the kind love of the LORD will always be with those that are afraid of him. And his righteousness will be with their children’s children.
v18 (They will be) with those (people) that do what they have agreed (to do). (They will be with those people) that remember to obey his rules.
v19 The LORD has built his throne in heaven. He is king over everything.
v20 Praise the LORD, you (who are) his angels. You are strong and powerful. You do what he tells you (to do) and you obey his word.
v21 Praise the LORD, all (you) his armies (in heaven). (You are) his servants that do what he wants you (to do).
v22 Everything that he has made and (everything) that he rules over, praise the LORD! I say to myself, praise the LORD!
Comments
The Story of Psalm 103
Bible students believe that David wrote this psalm when he was an old man. It tells us 7 times to praise the LORD, (tell him that he is very great). The LORD is the covenant name for God. A covenant is when two groups of people agree. Verses 17 and 18 of the psalm tell us about the covenant, or what God and his people have agreed to do.
What Psalm 103 means
Study the psalm in three parts:
• Verses 1 – 5: David must praise the LORD.
• Verses 6 – 18: the love of the LORD to his covenant people.
• Verses 19 – 22: the angels must praise the LORD.
In the first part, David tells himself to praise the LORD. The Hebrew words mean "my soul, praise the LORD". (Hebrew is the language that David spoke.) Our soul is the part of us that lives after our bodies die. It is "everything that is in us", (verse 1). We are to praise the LORD's holy name. The LORD's name means the LORD himself. He is holy because he has never done anything that is wrong. Read the notes on "he is holy" in Psalm 99 in this set of psalms.
In verse 3 David wrote "He (the LORD) forgives all your sins". As he is talking to himself, he means "the LORD forgives all my sins". Our sins are the wrong things that we do when we do not obey God’s rules. When we ask him, God will always forgive our sins. That means he will not punish (hurt) us because we have broken his rules.
As verse 4 says, "He redeems you from the Pit". The Pit was a place in Sheol. Sheol was where the Jews believed that dead people went. (Jews are people who were born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.) The Pit was the worst bit of Sheol. It was a very bad place. But David believed that when God forgives us, "he redeems us from the Pit". This means that he stops us going there! Instead of going to a bad place when we die, we go to where God is. That is a very good place. We call it heaven. God does this because of his mercy. This means that he is kind to us when he should punish (hurt) us.
When David knew all this, he felt strong again. He felt as a young eagle feels. An eagle is a large bird. It flies high in the sky, and feels strong and free. When God forgives us, we will feel as David felt!
In verses 6 - 18, David talks about the covenant people. These people have agreed to love and obey him because he has agreed to be their God. He is a righteous God, verse 6. This means that he always does what is right. He took his oppressed people from Egypt to the land of Israel. The Egyptians had oppressed the Jews. This means they were cruel to them, they were not kind. They made them work very hard and gave them very little. But the LORD told Moses his plan, (verse 7). He took the Israelites (the Jews) away from Egypt.
The LORD did this because:
• he is kind, verses 8 - 12,
• and is as a father to his people, verses 13 - 16.
God made us, (verse 14), and he knows that he made us from dust. Dust is the small bits of the ground that we live on. To God, our lives are very short, just as the life of a flower seems short to us, (verse 15).
Verses 15 and 16 tell us about the covenant. God’s righteousness (the good things that he does) will always be with his people. They will always obey him.
The psalm ends by telling the angels to praise God in heaven. The angels are his servants in heaven. Heaven is the home of God. His throne is the special seat that he sits on. All kings have a throne, and God is king over everything, (verse 19). "Built his throne in heaven" means that God is king in heaven. In verse 22 David says what he said in verse 1. I say to myself, praise the LORD!
Something to do
1. Read verses 1 - 5 with "me, my and I" instead of "you and your".
2. Learn to say verse 2 by heart. (By heart means without looking at the words.)
3. Here are some lines from a famous Christian song. They use ideas from Psalm 103. Can you find which verses they use? The meanings of some of the words are in brackets ( ).
Praise, my soul, the King of Heaven,
To his feet your tribute (praises) bring,
Ransomed (redeemed), healed (made well), restored (God’s friend again), forgiven,
Who like you his praise should sing?
Father-like he tends (helps) and spares (is kind to) us,
Well our feeble (weak) frame (body) he knows,
In his hands he gently bears (carries) us,
Rescues us (makes us safe) from all our foes (enemies).
Angels, help us to adore (love) him,
You behold (can see) him face to face,
Sun and moon bow down before him,
Dwellers (people who live) all in time and space.
__o
Text from the EasyEnglish Bible Version and Commentary - used with permission - © 2001-2002, Wycliffe Associates (UK) - For more information about EasyEnglish Publications, visit their website: www.easyenglish.info
Go and teach all nations
The Love of God
Psalm 103
Jesus said, "Your Father in heaven knows everything that you need". (Matthew 6:32)
Psalm 103
(This is a psalm) of David.
v1 I say to myself, "Praise the LORD! Everything that is in me, praise his holy name!’
v2 I say to myself, "Praise the LORD! And never forget any of the good things that he has given you!’
v3 (I say to myself) He forgives all your sins. He makes you well again when you are ill.
v4 He redeems you from the Pit. His kind love and mercy are special things that he gives to you.
v5 He gives you the good things that you want. So, you become strong again as a young eagle.
v6 The LORD does righteous and fair things for all oppressed people.
v7 He showed Moses his plans and (he showed) the Israelites what he was going to do.
v8 The LORD likes (people) and is very kind. He is slow to get angry and has a lot of kind love.
v9 He will not always say that we are wrong. He will not always be angry.
v10 We do wrong things. He does not punish us for them as much as he should.
v11 The sky is high above the earth. So his kind love is great to those people that love him.
v12 As far as the east is from the west, so far has he taken our sins from us.
v13 As a father is kind to his children, so the LORD is kind to people that are afraid of him.
v14 Because he knows (how he) made us, he remembers that we are only dust.
v15 The life of a man is as short as (the life of) grass! He lives as short a time as the (wild) flowers in a field!
v16 The wind blows over it and it dies! Nothing remembers it any more.
v17 But the kind love of the LORD will always be with those that are afraid of him. And his righteousness will be with their children’s children.
v18 (They will be) with those (people) that do what they have agreed (to do). (They will be with those people) that remember to obey his rules.
v19 The LORD has built his throne in heaven. He is king over everything.
v20 Praise the LORD, you (who are) his angels. You are strong and powerful. You do what he tells you (to do) and you obey his word.
v21 Praise the LORD, all (you) his armies (in heaven). (You are) his servants that do what he wants you (to do).
v22 Everything that he has made and (everything) that he rules over, praise the LORD! I say to myself, praise the LORD!
Comments
The Story of Psalm 103
Bible students believe that David wrote this psalm when he was an old man. It tells us 7 times to praise the LORD, (tell him that he is very great). The LORD is the covenant name for God. A covenant is when two groups of people agree. Verses 17 and 18 of the psalm tell us about the covenant, or what God and his people have agreed to do.
What Psalm 103 means
Study the psalm in three parts:
• Verses 1 – 5: David must praise the LORD.
• Verses 6 – 18: the love of the LORD to his covenant people.
• Verses 19 – 22: the angels must praise the LORD.
In the first part, David tells himself to praise the LORD. The Hebrew words mean "my soul, praise the LORD". (Hebrew is the language that David spoke.) Our soul is the part of us that lives after our bodies die. It is "everything that is in us", (verse 1). We are to praise the LORD's holy name. The LORD's name means the LORD himself. He is holy because he has never done anything that is wrong. Read the notes on "he is holy" in Psalm 99 in this set of psalms.
In verse 3 David wrote "He (the LORD) forgives all your sins". As he is talking to himself, he means "the LORD forgives all my sins". Our sins are the wrong things that we do when we do not obey God’s rules. When we ask him, God will always forgive our sins. That means he will not punish (hurt) us because we have broken his rules.
As verse 4 says, "He redeems you from the Pit". The Pit was a place in Sheol. Sheol was where the Jews believed that dead people went. (Jews are people who were born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.) The Pit was the worst bit of Sheol. It was a very bad place. But David believed that when God forgives us, "he redeems us from the Pit". This means that he stops us going there! Instead of going to a bad place when we die, we go to where God is. That is a very good place. We call it heaven. God does this because of his mercy. This means that he is kind to us when he should punish (hurt) us.
When David knew all this, he felt strong again. He felt as a young eagle feels. An eagle is a large bird. It flies high in the sky, and feels strong and free. When God forgives us, we will feel as David felt!
In verses 6 - 18, David talks about the covenant people. These people have agreed to love and obey him because he has agreed to be their God. He is a righteous God, verse 6. This means that he always does what is right. He took his oppressed people from Egypt to the land of Israel. The Egyptians had oppressed the Jews. This means they were cruel to them, they were not kind. They made them work very hard and gave them very little. But the LORD told Moses his plan, (verse 7). He took the Israelites (the Jews) away from Egypt.
The LORD did this because:
• he is kind, verses 8 - 12,
• and is as a father to his people, verses 13 - 16.
God made us, (verse 14), and he knows that he made us from dust. Dust is the small bits of the ground that we live on. To God, our lives are very short, just as the life of a flower seems short to us, (verse 15).
Verses 15 and 16 tell us about the covenant. God’s righteousness (the good things that he does) will always be with his people. They will always obey him.
The psalm ends by telling the angels to praise God in heaven. The angels are his servants in heaven. Heaven is the home of God. His throne is the special seat that he sits on. All kings have a throne, and God is king over everything, (verse 19). "Built his throne in heaven" means that God is king in heaven. In verse 22 David says what he said in verse 1. I say to myself, praise the LORD!
Something to do
1. Read verses 1 - 5 with "me, my and I" instead of "you and your".
2. Learn to say verse 2 by heart. (By heart means without looking at the words.)
3. Here are some lines from a famous Christian song. They use ideas from Psalm 103. Can you find which verses they use? The meanings of some of the words are in brackets ( ).
Praise, my soul, the King of Heaven,
To his feet your tribute (praises) bring,
Ransomed (redeemed), healed (made well), restored (God’s friend again), forgiven,
Who like you his praise should sing?
Father-like he tends (helps) and spares (is kind to) us,
Well our feeble (weak) frame (body) he knows,
In his hands he gently bears (carries) us,
Rescues us (makes us safe) from all our foes (enemies).
Angels, help us to adore (love) him,
You behold (can see) him face to face,
Sun and moon bow down before him,
Dwellers (people who live) all in time and space.
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Text from the EasyEnglish Bible Version and Commentary - used with permission - © 2001-2002, Wycliffe Associates (UK) - For more information about EasyEnglish Publications, visit their website: www.easyenglish.info
Go and teach all nations
Friday, June 23, 2006
Go and teach all nations - Psalm 102 Part 2
Go and teach all nations
Psalm 102 Part 2
Comments
What Psalm 102 means
Study the psalm in parts:
• Verses 1 - 11: the young man describes his illness.
• Verses 12 - 22: the young man says that God will build Jerusalem again.
• Verses 23 - 28: the young man says that he will soon die, but God will never die.
Remember that Hebrews 1:8-12 tells us that Psalm 102 is a prophecy. A prophecy says what God will do. Just as God will build the temple again after the young man dies, so he will build it again after Jesus dies. But the two temples are not the same! One is the temple in Jerusalem, God’s house that Solomon built. The other temple is the body of Christ that we call the Church.
The young man’s illness
This is a prayer for help. A prayer is the words we say when we pray. In verse 2, "hide your face" means "look away and not listen". "Turn your ear" means "listen". The young man is "in trouble". This means that he has trouble. We do not know what it was. He says that his "life is disappearing like smoke" in verse 3. "Like" is another word for "as".
"Disappear" means the opposite of "appear". He means that as smoke disappears into the air, so his life is disappearing. This is a poetic way of saying "I am dying". Poetry is a special way to use words. All the psalms are Hebrew poetry. "All my bones" is a Hebrew way to say "all my body". His illness makes him feel hot. We call this illness "a fever". There are many different fevers. It made him look like dried grass. He could not eat anything and he was just "skin and bone", (verses 4 and 5). "Skin and bone" is a way to say "very, very thin". Also, he feels lonely, as a bird by itself, (verses 6 and 7). The wild bird may be a vulture, the night bird an owl and the small bird a sparrow. But not only is the young man ill with a fever and lonely. People are saying bad things about him, verse 8. They even use his name as a curse. A curse is when you say bad things will happen to people. In verse 10, "tears" are the water that drops from your eyes when you cry. Poetry often uses different words that mean the same thing. "As" and "like" is another example. In verse 11, an evening shadow is one that will soon be gone. It will disappear into the night.
God will build Zion again
In verse 13, "it is time to show that you love her" makes us remember Isaiah. Isaiah said that God would build Jerusalem again after the exile. This is in chapters 40-66 of his prophecy. When God did build her again, it would "show that you love her". "Her" means Jerusalem. In this psalm, Zion is another name for Jerusalem. "The time has come" means the time in Jeremiah 29:10. The stones in verse 14 mean the buildings that the Babylonian army destroyed. Now (about 540 B.C.) they were just stones lying on the ground. But the
Jews still loved them, even when broken to small bits or dust. It may be easier to understand the next three verses in the order 17, 16 and 15. Verse 17 tells us that God will answer his people's prayers. Verse 16 says that the LORD will build Zion again and show everyone his glory (his bright light). "Appear in his glory" means that "he will shine and be bright as the sun". Then, in verse 15, all the nations (countries with governments) and kings (leaders of the people) will kneel before God. "Kneel" means "fall to your knees". In verses 18-22, there are several important words:
• created means "made by God".
• praise the LORD means "tell the LORD that he is very great".
• worship the LORD means "tell the LORD that you love him and believe that he is very great".
• the heavens means "the skies".
• kingdoms are "countries that have a king".
• groans are the "noises that people make when they are hurting".
So, verses 18 - 22 tell us that God will always be famous. People will learn that he did what he promised. This will give them help to believe that he will still do what he has promised.
God will never die
Verses 23 - 27 tell us that God will always be alive. At the beginning of time, he created the earth and the skies above it. "Your hands" in verse 25 is another way to say "you". But the earth and skies will not remain for ever. Like clothes, they will wear out. This means that they will become old. Then people cannot use them. Then they will throw them away.
God will do the same with the heavens and the earth! When they are old, he will throw them away. Both Psalm 102 and Hebrews 1 make the earth and the skies sound like God's clothes! But the good news is this. Just as people put on new clothes, so God will make a new heaven and a new earth. Isaiah 65:17 says, "Look; I will create new heavens and a new earth. (People will) not remember the old earth, or bring it to their minds". In verse 28, "live here" means live in Jerusalem; and "where you are" is where God is ... Jerusalem.
It is important to know that Jerusalem for Jews was the capital city of Judah. For Christians it is not a place on earth, but where all the people of God live.
Something to do
1. The young man prayed for himself, but also for his people. Do the same! When you pray for yourself, remember your own people, and God’s people, the Church.
2. If you have a Bible, study Hebrews 1. Find these verses from the psalms repeated in Hebrews 1; Psalms 2:7-8; 45:6-7; 102:25-27; 103:20-21; 104:4; 110:1.
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Text from the EasyEnglish Bible Version and Commentary - used with permission - © 2001-2002, Wycliffe Associates (UK) - For more information about EasyEnglish Publications, visit their website: www.easyenglish.info
Go and teach all nations
Psalm 102 Part 2
Comments
What Psalm 102 means
Study the psalm in parts:
• Verses 1 - 11: the young man describes his illness.
• Verses 12 - 22: the young man says that God will build Jerusalem again.
• Verses 23 - 28: the young man says that he will soon die, but God will never die.
Remember that Hebrews 1:8-12 tells us that Psalm 102 is a prophecy. A prophecy says what God will do. Just as God will build the temple again after the young man dies, so he will build it again after Jesus dies. But the two temples are not the same! One is the temple in Jerusalem, God’s house that Solomon built. The other temple is the body of Christ that we call the Church.
The young man’s illness
This is a prayer for help. A prayer is the words we say when we pray. In verse 2, "hide your face" means "look away and not listen". "Turn your ear" means "listen". The young man is "in trouble". This means that he has trouble. We do not know what it was. He says that his "life is disappearing like smoke" in verse 3. "Like" is another word for "as".
"Disappear" means the opposite of "appear". He means that as smoke disappears into the air, so his life is disappearing. This is a poetic way of saying "I am dying". Poetry is a special way to use words. All the psalms are Hebrew poetry. "All my bones" is a Hebrew way to say "all my body". His illness makes him feel hot. We call this illness "a fever". There are many different fevers. It made him look like dried grass. He could not eat anything and he was just "skin and bone", (verses 4 and 5). "Skin and bone" is a way to say "very, very thin". Also, he feels lonely, as a bird by itself, (verses 6 and 7). The wild bird may be a vulture, the night bird an owl and the small bird a sparrow. But not only is the young man ill with a fever and lonely. People are saying bad things about him, verse 8. They even use his name as a curse. A curse is when you say bad things will happen to people. In verse 10, "tears" are the water that drops from your eyes when you cry. Poetry often uses different words that mean the same thing. "As" and "like" is another example. In verse 11, an evening shadow is one that will soon be gone. It will disappear into the night.
God will build Zion again
In verse 13, "it is time to show that you love her" makes us remember Isaiah. Isaiah said that God would build Jerusalem again after the exile. This is in chapters 40-66 of his prophecy. When God did build her again, it would "show that you love her". "Her" means Jerusalem. In this psalm, Zion is another name for Jerusalem. "The time has come" means the time in Jeremiah 29:10. The stones in verse 14 mean the buildings that the Babylonian army destroyed. Now (about 540 B.C.) they were just stones lying on the ground. But the
Jews still loved them, even when broken to small bits or dust. It may be easier to understand the next three verses in the order 17, 16 and 15. Verse 17 tells us that God will answer his people's prayers. Verse 16 says that the LORD will build Zion again and show everyone his glory (his bright light). "Appear in his glory" means that "he will shine and be bright as the sun". Then, in verse 15, all the nations (countries with governments) and kings (leaders of the people) will kneel before God. "Kneel" means "fall to your knees". In verses 18-22, there are several important words:
• created means "made by God".
• praise the LORD means "tell the LORD that he is very great".
• worship the LORD means "tell the LORD that you love him and believe that he is very great".
• the heavens means "the skies".
• kingdoms are "countries that have a king".
• groans are the "noises that people make when they are hurting".
So, verses 18 - 22 tell us that God will always be famous. People will learn that he did what he promised. This will give them help to believe that he will still do what he has promised.
God will never die
Verses 23 - 27 tell us that God will always be alive. At the beginning of time, he created the earth and the skies above it. "Your hands" in verse 25 is another way to say "you". But the earth and skies will not remain for ever. Like clothes, they will wear out. This means that they will become old. Then people cannot use them. Then they will throw them away.
God will do the same with the heavens and the earth! When they are old, he will throw them away. Both Psalm 102 and Hebrews 1 make the earth and the skies sound like God's clothes! But the good news is this. Just as people put on new clothes, so God will make a new heaven and a new earth. Isaiah 65:17 says, "Look; I will create new heavens and a new earth. (People will) not remember the old earth, or bring it to their minds". In verse 28, "live here" means live in Jerusalem; and "where you are" is where God is ... Jerusalem.
It is important to know that Jerusalem for Jews was the capital city of Judah. For Christians it is not a place on earth, but where all the people of God live.
Something to do
1. The young man prayed for himself, but also for his people. Do the same! When you pray for yourself, remember your own people, and God’s people, the Church.
2. If you have a Bible, study Hebrews 1. Find these verses from the psalms repeated in Hebrews 1; Psalms 2:7-8; 45:6-7; 102:25-27; 103:20-21; 104:4; 110:1.
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Text from the EasyEnglish Bible Version and Commentary - used with permission - © 2001-2002, Wycliffe Associates (UK) - For more information about EasyEnglish Publications, visit their website: www.easyenglish.info
Go and teach all nations
Thursday, June 22, 2006
Go and teach all nations - Psalm 102 Part 1
Go and teach all nations
A Young Man with Trouble
Psalm 102 Part1
Jesus said, "Do not let trouble stay in your mind. Believe in God and believe in me also". (John 14:1) "Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up again". (John 2:19)
Psalm 102
(This is) the prayer of a man that is weak and in trouble. He pours out to the LORD this sad song.
v1 LORD, hear my prayer and listen when I cry to you for help.
v2 Do not hide your face from me when I am in trouble. Turn your ear to me. Answer me soon, now that I am praying to you.
v3 Because my life is disappearing like smoke (disappears). Also, my bones are burning as a fire burns.
v4 I am so ill that I am as dried grass. I (even) forget to eat my food.
v5 Because of my loud groans, I am just skin and bone.
v6 I am as a (wild) bird in a lonely place. I am as a (night) bird in a broken building.
v7 I lie awake and feel like a (small) bird by itself on the roof of a house.
v8 All day my enemies say bad things about me. People that are angry with me use my name as a curse.
v9 - v10 Because you are so angry with me:
• I eat ashes as my food;
• I mix my drink with my tears. Because you picked me up and then you threw me away.
v11 My days are as an evening shadow. I am dying as grass (soon dies).
v12 But you, LORD, will always be king. You will always be famous, everybody that will live (will know about you.)
v13 You will stand up and be kind to Zion, because it is time to show her that you love her. The time has come when this should happen.
v14 Because her stones are valuable to your servants. (Her) broken stones make them very sad.
v15 The nations will be afraid of the name of the LORD. And all the kings of the earth will kneel before your glory.
v16 Because the LORD will build Zion again and appear in his glory.
v17 He will answer the prayers of people that have nothing and he will not laugh at what they ask.
v18 Write this down for people that will be alive in future (times). Then people (that God has) not yet created will praise the LORD.
v19 The LORD looked down from his home in the heavens, from the skies he saw the earth.
v20 He heard the groans of people in prison. The people that were going to die he made free.
v21 So people will shout the LORD’s name in Zion and they will praise him in Jerusalem.
v22 (This will happen) when peoples and kingdoms meet together to worship the LORD.
v23 He has made me ill in the middle (of my life). He will make my life short.
v24 So I said, "My God, do not let me die in the middle of my life. You will always be alive.
v25 At the beginning (of time) you built the earth so that it was strong. Also, your hands created the heavens.
v26 They will not always remain, but you (LORD) will. They will wear out as clothes do. Like clothes, you will change them and throw them away.
v27 But you (LORD) will always be the same and your life will never end.
v28 (We are) your servants and our children will live always live here. And their children will be safe where you are.
Comments
The Story of Psalm 102
Psalm 102 has 2 stories! The first was when a young man who was dying wrote the psalm. The other was when, 300 years later, the Jews in Egypt translated the psalm into Greek. (Jews are people who were born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.) They changed the end. They did not change it very much. But then the young man who was dying meant Jesus!
The first young man lived about 540 B.C. B.C. means years Before Christ came to the earth. The young man was a Jew. But he did not live in Judah. The Babylonian army had beaten Judah and taken many of the people to live in Babylon. We call this the exile. It started in 606 B.C. and ended 70 years later. The prophet Jeremiah had said the exile would go on for 70 years. A prophet is someone who speaks or writes God’s words. He wrote "After you have lived 70 years in Babylon, I (the LORD) will come to you. I will do what I said I would do. I will cause you to come back to this place (Judah)" (Jeremiah 29:10). Now the young man that wrote the psalm must have known this. He wrote in verse 13, "The time has come when this should happen". He knew that God would do what he had promised. LORD is a special name for God. It is a special name that his servants used. They agreed that they would love and obey him. Then he would protect them (stop people hurting them).
We do not know why the young man was ill. We know that he was young because he wrote in verse 23 "He (God) has made me ill in the middle of my life". So, he was not an old man. He did not remember Judah. But he wanted to live long enough to go with them when the Jews returned home. So he prayed in verse 24, "Do not let me die in the middle of my life". We pray when we talk to God. We call what we say to him a prayer.
Christians thought of the young man dying as Jesus. But why did the Jews change the end of the psalm when they translated it from Hebrew into Greek? Hebrew was the language that the Jews spoke in 540 B.C., but later they spoke either Aramaic or Greek. Now there were no vowels in the Hebrew language when they wrote it down. Vowels are the letters a, e, i, o and u. In 250 B.C., when they translated it into Greek, the Jews used one set of vowels. Later, when they wrote the Hebrew down many years later, they used another set of vowels. Most of the psalm is the same in both Hebrew and Greek, but the end is different. Here is the end translated from the Greek Bible:
v23 He answered him in his strong way. Tell me how short my life is.
v24 Do not let me die in the middle of my life. You will always be alive, as long as there are people living (on the earth).
v25 At the beginning (of time) you built the earth so it was strong. Also, your hands created the heavens.
v26 They will not always remain, but you (LORD) will. They will wear out as clothes do. Like clothes, you will roll them up, and you will change them.
v27 But you (LORD) will always be the same and your life will never end.
When Paul (or another Christian) wrote the Letter to the Hebrews (in the New Testament), he repeated these words from the Greek Bible. He said that they were about Jesus! Here is what he wrote in Hebrews 1.
v8 But to the Son (God said) ...
v10 ... You, Lord, at the beginning (of time), you built the earth so that it was strong. Also, your hands created the heavens.
v11 They will not always remain, but you (Lord) will. They will wear out as clothes do.
v12 Like clothes, you will roll them up, and you will change them. But you (Lord) will always be the same and your life will never end.
The word LORD is not in the New Testament (second part of the Bible). "Lord" is now the name for Jesus. The important change is in verse 23. Hebrews 1:10 makes God say these words to Jesus. In the Hebrew psalm the young man in trouble said them.
So, there are two stories for Psalm 102! That is why there are two verses from the New Testament at the top of this psalm. There is one for each story. "Believe in God" is more than "think about God". It is also "hope that God will give help". The temple was God’s house in Jerusalem.
To continue…
__o
Text from the EasyEnglish Bible Version and Commentary - used with permission - © 2001-2002, Wycliffe Associates (UK) - For more information about EasyEnglish Publications, visit their website: www.easyenglish.info
Go and teach all nations
A Young Man with Trouble
Psalm 102 Part1
Jesus said, "Do not let trouble stay in your mind. Believe in God and believe in me also". (John 14:1) "Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up again". (John 2:19)
Psalm 102
(This is) the prayer of a man that is weak and in trouble. He pours out to the LORD this sad song.
v1 LORD, hear my prayer and listen when I cry to you for help.
v2 Do not hide your face from me when I am in trouble. Turn your ear to me. Answer me soon, now that I am praying to you.
v3 Because my life is disappearing like smoke (disappears). Also, my bones are burning as a fire burns.
v4 I am so ill that I am as dried grass. I (even) forget to eat my food.
v5 Because of my loud groans, I am just skin and bone.
v6 I am as a (wild) bird in a lonely place. I am as a (night) bird in a broken building.
v7 I lie awake and feel like a (small) bird by itself on the roof of a house.
v8 All day my enemies say bad things about me. People that are angry with me use my name as a curse.
v9 - v10 Because you are so angry with me:
• I eat ashes as my food;
• I mix my drink with my tears. Because you picked me up and then you threw me away.
v11 My days are as an evening shadow. I am dying as grass (soon dies).
v12 But you, LORD, will always be king. You will always be famous, everybody that will live (will know about you.)
v13 You will stand up and be kind to Zion, because it is time to show her that you love her. The time has come when this should happen.
v14 Because her stones are valuable to your servants. (Her) broken stones make them very sad.
v15 The nations will be afraid of the name of the LORD. And all the kings of the earth will kneel before your glory.
v16 Because the LORD will build Zion again and appear in his glory.
v17 He will answer the prayers of people that have nothing and he will not laugh at what they ask.
v18 Write this down for people that will be alive in future (times). Then people (that God has) not yet created will praise the LORD.
v19 The LORD looked down from his home in the heavens, from the skies he saw the earth.
v20 He heard the groans of people in prison. The people that were going to die he made free.
v21 So people will shout the LORD’s name in Zion and they will praise him in Jerusalem.
v22 (This will happen) when peoples and kingdoms meet together to worship the LORD.
v23 He has made me ill in the middle (of my life). He will make my life short.
v24 So I said, "My God, do not let me die in the middle of my life. You will always be alive.
v25 At the beginning (of time) you built the earth so that it was strong. Also, your hands created the heavens.
v26 They will not always remain, but you (LORD) will. They will wear out as clothes do. Like clothes, you will change them and throw them away.
v27 But you (LORD) will always be the same and your life will never end.
v28 (We are) your servants and our children will live always live here. And their children will be safe where you are.
Comments
The Story of Psalm 102
Psalm 102 has 2 stories! The first was when a young man who was dying wrote the psalm. The other was when, 300 years later, the Jews in Egypt translated the psalm into Greek. (Jews are people who were born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.) They changed the end. They did not change it very much. But then the young man who was dying meant Jesus!
The first young man lived about 540 B.C. B.C. means years Before Christ came to the earth. The young man was a Jew. But he did not live in Judah. The Babylonian army had beaten Judah and taken many of the people to live in Babylon. We call this the exile. It started in 606 B.C. and ended 70 years later. The prophet Jeremiah had said the exile would go on for 70 years. A prophet is someone who speaks or writes God’s words. He wrote "After you have lived 70 years in Babylon, I (the LORD) will come to you. I will do what I said I would do. I will cause you to come back to this place (Judah)" (Jeremiah 29:10). Now the young man that wrote the psalm must have known this. He wrote in verse 13, "The time has come when this should happen". He knew that God would do what he had promised. LORD is a special name for God. It is a special name that his servants used. They agreed that they would love and obey him. Then he would protect them (stop people hurting them).
We do not know why the young man was ill. We know that he was young because he wrote in verse 23 "He (God) has made me ill in the middle of my life". So, he was not an old man. He did not remember Judah. But he wanted to live long enough to go with them when the Jews returned home. So he prayed in verse 24, "Do not let me die in the middle of my life". We pray when we talk to God. We call what we say to him a prayer.
Christians thought of the young man dying as Jesus. But why did the Jews change the end of the psalm when they translated it from Hebrew into Greek? Hebrew was the language that the Jews spoke in 540 B.C., but later they spoke either Aramaic or Greek. Now there were no vowels in the Hebrew language when they wrote it down. Vowels are the letters a, e, i, o and u. In 250 B.C., when they translated it into Greek, the Jews used one set of vowels. Later, when they wrote the Hebrew down many years later, they used another set of vowels. Most of the psalm is the same in both Hebrew and Greek, but the end is different. Here is the end translated from the Greek Bible:
v23 He answered him in his strong way. Tell me how short my life is.
v24 Do not let me die in the middle of my life. You will always be alive, as long as there are people living (on the earth).
v25 At the beginning (of time) you built the earth so it was strong. Also, your hands created the heavens.
v26 They will not always remain, but you (LORD) will. They will wear out as clothes do. Like clothes, you will roll them up, and you will change them.
v27 But you (LORD) will always be the same and your life will never end.
When Paul (or another Christian) wrote the Letter to the Hebrews (in the New Testament), he repeated these words from the Greek Bible. He said that they were about Jesus! Here is what he wrote in Hebrews 1.
v8 But to the Son (God said) ...
v10 ... You, Lord, at the beginning (of time), you built the earth so that it was strong. Also, your hands created the heavens.
v11 They will not always remain, but you (Lord) will. They will wear out as clothes do.
v12 Like clothes, you will roll them up, and you will change them. But you (Lord) will always be the same and your life will never end.
The word LORD is not in the New Testament (second part of the Bible). "Lord" is now the name for Jesus. The important change is in verse 23. Hebrews 1:10 makes God say these words to Jesus. In the Hebrew psalm the young man in trouble said them.
So, there are two stories for Psalm 102! That is why there are two verses from the New Testament at the top of this psalm. There is one for each story. "Believe in God" is more than "think about God". It is also "hope that God will give help". The temple was God’s house in Jerusalem.
To continue…
__o
Text from the EasyEnglish Bible Version and Commentary - used with permission - © 2001-2002, Wycliffe Associates (UK) - For more information about EasyEnglish Publications, visit their website: www.easyenglish.info
Go and teach all nations
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
Go and teach all nations - Psalm 101
Go and teach all nations
The King’s Song
Psalm 101
Jesus said, "First look for the place where God is king. Do the good things that he does". (Matthew 6:33)
Psalm 101
(This is) a psalm of David.
v1 I will sing to you, LORD. I will sing about your kind love and justice.
v2 I will be careful. Then nobody can say that I have done wrong. When will you (LORD) come to me? Where I rule, I will do nothing that is wrong.
v3 I will not let any wicked people be with me. I really do not like what wicked people do. They will not come near to me.
v4 People with wicked ideas will be far from me. I will not mix with them.
v5 I will destroy anyone that says bad things about people in secret. I will send away people that have proud eyes and hearts.
v6 My eyes will look at people who obey (the LORD). They will be with me (in my work). My servants will be people that do nothing wrong.
v7 People that are not honest will not stay with me. People that do not say what is true will not remain with me.
v8 Every morning I will destroy people that are wicked in (my) country. Nobody that is wicked will remain in the city of the LORD.
Comments
The Story of Psalm 101
Psalms 93 and 95-99 are royal psalms. "Royal" means "as a king", and in these psalms it is God that is the king. But there are other psalms about the kings of Israel and Judah. They include Psalms 2, 18, 20 and 21, 45, 71 and 101. We could also call these "royal psalms". Each of these psalms is about something different. For example:
• Psalm 2 is about the king (of Israel) ruling over his enemies.
• Psalms 20 and 21 are about the king going to war and coming home.
• Psalm 45 is about the king getting married.
Psalm 101 is about the king ruling in his own country. Many Bible students think that it is what the king said when he became king. It was a promise that he made to God and his people. We do not know which king wrote the psalm. Maybe it was David. Maybe it was a king that ruled after David. He called himself "David" because he was David's son, grandson, or grandson's son, and so on. In other words, he was someone in David's family.
In the psalm, the king says two things:
• he will sing about God, and God’s kind love and justice (God is kind and fair);
• he himself will try to be as kind and fair as God is. He will not let bad men work with him.
What Psalm 101 means
There are two important Hebrew words in this psalm. Hebrew is the language that the king spoke. He wrote the psalm in Hebrew. The words are:
• tam (or tamim) in verse 2 (twice) and again in verse 6. I have translated it "do nothing wrong", or words that mean the same.
• aynaim in verses 3, 5, 6 and 7. It means "eyes". In verse 3, I have translated it "with me", because it means "I will not let wicked (very bad) people be before my eyes". Also, in verse 7, "remain with me" is "stay before my eyes". The word "before" means "in front of".
Why are these two words important? Because David (or any other king) wanted to be as kind and fair as God is, (verse 1). In other words, he wanted nobody to say that he (the king) had done wrong. To use another word, nobody could blame him for doing anything bad. In the psalm, the name of God is always LORD. This is a special name that his servants used. They agreed that they would love and obey him. Then he would protect them (stop people hurting them).
David wanted to be kind and fair. But he wanted the people in his government to be kind and fair also. So wicked people could not be in that government. They could not be "in his eyes", or where he could see them.
Other notes:
Verse 1: "Kind love" is a special Bible word. It is the love that God has for his people. It means that he will not stop loving them. "Justice" is a word that means "being fair".
Verse 5: "In secret" means "in a secret place", so few people know about it. The people David (or the king) did not like had wicked ideas. They talked about these ideas where only a few people could hear them. Also, they had proud eyes and hearts. "Proud" means that you "think that you are more important than you really are". A proud heart thought this. Proud eyes looked at other people as if only the proud eyes were important.
Verse 8: "Every morning" suggests that each day David judged bad people. Judged means "decided whether they were bad or not". If they were bad, David destroyed them. The word "destroy" in verses 5 and 9 in Hebrew really means "made quiet". This may mean that he asked his servants to kill them. Or just to stop them talking. We do not know. But they did not stay "in the city of the LORD", which was Jerusalem.
Something to do
1. Pray for your government, that it will be honest. Pray that it will do what God wants it to do.
If you think that this is not possible, read Psalms 93, and 95-99 again. God was king then, and he is still king! One day, he will answer what you pray.
2. Be as David. Do not have bad people as your friends.
3. Learn to say Psalm 101:1 by heart. This means that you can say it without looking at the words.
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Text from the EasyEnglish Bible Version and Commentary - used with permission - © 2001-2002, Wycliffe Associates (UK) - For more information about EasyEnglish Publications, visit their website: www.easyenglish.info
Go and teach all nations
The King’s Song
Psalm 101
Jesus said, "First look for the place where God is king. Do the good things that he does". (Matthew 6:33)
Psalm 101
(This is) a psalm of David.
v1 I will sing to you, LORD. I will sing about your kind love and justice.
v2 I will be careful. Then nobody can say that I have done wrong. When will you (LORD) come to me? Where I rule, I will do nothing that is wrong.
v3 I will not let any wicked people be with me. I really do not like what wicked people do. They will not come near to me.
v4 People with wicked ideas will be far from me. I will not mix with them.
v5 I will destroy anyone that says bad things about people in secret. I will send away people that have proud eyes and hearts.
v6 My eyes will look at people who obey (the LORD). They will be with me (in my work). My servants will be people that do nothing wrong.
v7 People that are not honest will not stay with me. People that do not say what is true will not remain with me.
v8 Every morning I will destroy people that are wicked in (my) country. Nobody that is wicked will remain in the city of the LORD.
Comments
The Story of Psalm 101
Psalms 93 and 95-99 are royal psalms. "Royal" means "as a king", and in these psalms it is God that is the king. But there are other psalms about the kings of Israel and Judah. They include Psalms 2, 18, 20 and 21, 45, 71 and 101. We could also call these "royal psalms". Each of these psalms is about something different. For example:
• Psalm 2 is about the king (of Israel) ruling over his enemies.
• Psalms 20 and 21 are about the king going to war and coming home.
• Psalm 45 is about the king getting married.
Psalm 101 is about the king ruling in his own country. Many Bible students think that it is what the king said when he became king. It was a promise that he made to God and his people. We do not know which king wrote the psalm. Maybe it was David. Maybe it was a king that ruled after David. He called himself "David" because he was David's son, grandson, or grandson's son, and so on. In other words, he was someone in David's family.
In the psalm, the king says two things:
• he will sing about God, and God’s kind love and justice (God is kind and fair);
• he himself will try to be as kind and fair as God is. He will not let bad men work with him.
What Psalm 101 means
There are two important Hebrew words in this psalm. Hebrew is the language that the king spoke. He wrote the psalm in Hebrew. The words are:
• tam (or tamim) in verse 2 (twice) and again in verse 6. I have translated it "do nothing wrong", or words that mean the same.
• aynaim in verses 3, 5, 6 and 7. It means "eyes". In verse 3, I have translated it "with me", because it means "I will not let wicked (very bad) people be before my eyes". Also, in verse 7, "remain with me" is "stay before my eyes". The word "before" means "in front of".
Why are these two words important? Because David (or any other king) wanted to be as kind and fair as God is, (verse 1). In other words, he wanted nobody to say that he (the king) had done wrong. To use another word, nobody could blame him for doing anything bad. In the psalm, the name of God is always LORD. This is a special name that his servants used. They agreed that they would love and obey him. Then he would protect them (stop people hurting them).
David wanted to be kind and fair. But he wanted the people in his government to be kind and fair also. So wicked people could not be in that government. They could not be "in his eyes", or where he could see them.
Other notes:
Verse 1: "Kind love" is a special Bible word. It is the love that God has for his people. It means that he will not stop loving them. "Justice" is a word that means "being fair".
Verse 5: "In secret" means "in a secret place", so few people know about it. The people David (or the king) did not like had wicked ideas. They talked about these ideas where only a few people could hear them. Also, they had proud eyes and hearts. "Proud" means that you "think that you are more important than you really are". A proud heart thought this. Proud eyes looked at other people as if only the proud eyes were important.
Verse 8: "Every morning" suggests that each day David judged bad people. Judged means "decided whether they were bad or not". If they were bad, David destroyed them. The word "destroy" in verses 5 and 9 in Hebrew really means "made quiet". This may mean that he asked his servants to kill them. Or just to stop them talking. We do not know. But they did not stay "in the city of the LORD", which was Jerusalem.
Something to do
1. Pray for your government, that it will be honest. Pray that it will do what God wants it to do.
If you think that this is not possible, read Psalms 93, and 95-99 again. God was king then, and he is still king! One day, he will answer what you pray.
2. Be as David. Do not have bad people as your friends.
3. Learn to say Psalm 101:1 by heart. This means that you can say it without looking at the words.
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Text from the EasyEnglish Bible Version and Commentary - used with permission - © 2001-2002, Wycliffe Associates (UK) - For more information about EasyEnglish Publications, visit their website: www.easyenglish.info
Go and teach all nations
Tuesday, June 20, 2006
Go and teach all nations - Psalm 100
Go and teach all nations
Thank-you, God!
Psalm 100
Jesus said, "Thank-you, Father". (Matthew 11:25)
Psalm 100
(This is) a "thank-you" psalm.
v1 Everyone on earth, shout to the LORD!
v2 Do something for the LORD to show that you are happy. Come to him with songs of joy.
v3 Know that the LORD really is God. He made us and we are his people. (We are as his) sheep in his fields.
v4 Say "thank-you" when you are walking through his gates. Stand in front of his temple and say good things about him.
v5 (Do all this) because the LORD is good. He is always loving and kind. He will always do what he has promised to us.
Comments
The Story of Psalm 100
We do not know who wrote Psalm 100 or when. Perhaps It was when they built the temple again 80 years after the King of Babylon destroyed it. The temple was a special house for God in Jerusalem. The temple had a wall all round it. Verse 4 tells people to say "thanks!" to God as they walk through the gates in this wall. The psalm tells everybody to come to the temple and tell God how great he is.
What Psalm 100 means
Verse 1: Here "everyone" does not only mean the Jews. Jews are people who were born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children. Bible students believe that it means everybody in the whole world. The word "shout" here means "make a loud noise". The Hebrew word in this verse does not mean "sing". The Jews wrote the psalms in the Hebrew language, which they spoke. Maybe the shout is as at a football game, when you shout for your group to win! The LORD is a special name for God. It is a name that his people use. His people are the people that love him and obey him.
Verse 2: The Hebrew word that we translate "do something for" means "work for" or "become the servant of". In the psalm, it means that we praise God (tell God that he is great) because he makes us so happy. There is no temple now so we praise him in our churches or our homes. Jesus taught us that the church is now God’s temple. Really, we can praise God anywhere! "Joy" is when you feel very happy deep down inside you.
Verse 3: Some Bibles translate "we are his people" as "we did not make ourselves". This is because they sound the same in Hebrew! It does not matter because both translations tell us what is true. Sheep are animals that live in fields. God's people are often said to be as sheep. This means that God takes care of them just as a farmer takes care of his sheep. "Takes care of" here means "feed and give help to". In the New Testament (the second part of the Bible) Jesus said, "I am the good shepherd" (John 10:11). A shepherd is a sheep farmer.
Verse 4: The psalm tells everyone to come to the temple and praise God. The temple was small, so most people stood outside it. Only the priests and Levites went inside. The priests and Levites were special servants of God. They worked in and round the temple. "Thank-you" is a polite way to say "thanks". The Hebrew of "say good things about him" is "bless his name". "Bless" is a special Jewish and Christian word.
Verse 5: Another way to say "he will do what he has promised" is "he is faithful". When we do what we promise then we are faithful. God will always be faithful to us. We must also be faithful to him.
Something to do
The psalm tells us to do 7 things:
1. Shout to the LORD! Even if we cannot sing, we can all make a loud noise. We can shout, sing aloud, or make music!
2. Do something for the LORD. We do this because God gives us joy. He makes us happy. In the psalm, it meant that they did it in the temple. There is no temple now. We must be God’s servants everywhere.
3. We must come where the LORD is. We can sing to him, or just talk to him. He is always very near to us. He will always hear everything that we say or sing. We call "talking to God" by the name "prayer".
4. We must know who the LORD is. "LORD" is another name for God. God is so important that he has many names. In this psalm, there are two. One is God. In Hebrew, this means that he is more powerful than anyone else is. The other is LORD. This is a name that his servants use. It is a special name that means many things. Two are:
• God will be faithful to his servants;
• and his servants will be faithful to God.
5. We must walk through the LORD’s gates and go into his house. There is no temple now in Jerusalem. His temple is the church. For Christians verse 4 means, "Go where God's people are. Worship God with them". "Worship God" means "tell God that you love him and that he is very great".
6. Say thank-you to the LORD for everything. We must thank him always, because he is always loving and kind to us.
7. The LORD likes us to say good things about him. When we say good things about the LORD, or bless his name, it makes him very happy.
Why must we do these 7 things? Verse 5 tells us, "Do all this because the LORD is good. He is always loving and kind. He will always do what he has promised to us". THE LORD IS A GREAT GOD!
__o
Text from the EasyEnglish Bible Version and Commentary - used with permission - © 2001-2002, Wycliffe Associates (UK) - For more information about EasyEnglish Publications, visit their website: www.easyenglish.info
Go and teach all nations
Thank-you, God!
Psalm 100
Jesus said, "Thank-you, Father". (Matthew 11:25)
Psalm 100
(This is) a "thank-you" psalm.
v1 Everyone on earth, shout to the LORD!
v2 Do something for the LORD to show that you are happy. Come to him with songs of joy.
v3 Know that the LORD really is God. He made us and we are his people. (We are as his) sheep in his fields.
v4 Say "thank-you" when you are walking through his gates. Stand in front of his temple and say good things about him.
v5 (Do all this) because the LORD is good. He is always loving and kind. He will always do what he has promised to us.
Comments
The Story of Psalm 100
We do not know who wrote Psalm 100 or when. Perhaps It was when they built the temple again 80 years after the King of Babylon destroyed it. The temple was a special house for God in Jerusalem. The temple had a wall all round it. Verse 4 tells people to say "thanks!" to God as they walk through the gates in this wall. The psalm tells everybody to come to the temple and tell God how great he is.
What Psalm 100 means
Verse 1: Here "everyone" does not only mean the Jews. Jews are people who were born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children. Bible students believe that it means everybody in the whole world. The word "shout" here means "make a loud noise". The Hebrew word in this verse does not mean "sing". The Jews wrote the psalms in the Hebrew language, which they spoke. Maybe the shout is as at a football game, when you shout for your group to win! The LORD is a special name for God. It is a name that his people use. His people are the people that love him and obey him.
Verse 2: The Hebrew word that we translate "do something for" means "work for" or "become the servant of". In the psalm, it means that we praise God (tell God that he is great) because he makes us so happy. There is no temple now so we praise him in our churches or our homes. Jesus taught us that the church is now God’s temple. Really, we can praise God anywhere! "Joy" is when you feel very happy deep down inside you.
Verse 3: Some Bibles translate "we are his people" as "we did not make ourselves". This is because they sound the same in Hebrew! It does not matter because both translations tell us what is true. Sheep are animals that live in fields. God's people are often said to be as sheep. This means that God takes care of them just as a farmer takes care of his sheep. "Takes care of" here means "feed and give help to". In the New Testament (the second part of the Bible) Jesus said, "I am the good shepherd" (John 10:11). A shepherd is a sheep farmer.
Verse 4: The psalm tells everyone to come to the temple and praise God. The temple was small, so most people stood outside it. Only the priests and Levites went inside. The priests and Levites were special servants of God. They worked in and round the temple. "Thank-you" is a polite way to say "thanks". The Hebrew of "say good things about him" is "bless his name". "Bless" is a special Jewish and Christian word.
Verse 5: Another way to say "he will do what he has promised" is "he is faithful". When we do what we promise then we are faithful. God will always be faithful to us. We must also be faithful to him.
Something to do
The psalm tells us to do 7 things:
1. Shout to the LORD! Even if we cannot sing, we can all make a loud noise. We can shout, sing aloud, or make music!
2. Do something for the LORD. We do this because God gives us joy. He makes us happy. In the psalm, it meant that they did it in the temple. There is no temple now. We must be God’s servants everywhere.
3. We must come where the LORD is. We can sing to him, or just talk to him. He is always very near to us. He will always hear everything that we say or sing. We call "talking to God" by the name "prayer".
4. We must know who the LORD is. "LORD" is another name for God. God is so important that he has many names. In this psalm, there are two. One is God. In Hebrew, this means that he is more powerful than anyone else is. The other is LORD. This is a name that his servants use. It is a special name that means many things. Two are:
• God will be faithful to his servants;
• and his servants will be faithful to God.
5. We must walk through the LORD’s gates and go into his house. There is no temple now in Jerusalem. His temple is the church. For Christians verse 4 means, "Go where God's people are. Worship God with them". "Worship God" means "tell God that you love him and that he is very great".
6. Say thank-you to the LORD for everything. We must thank him always, because he is always loving and kind to us.
7. The LORD likes us to say good things about him. When we say good things about the LORD, or bless his name, it makes him very happy.
Why must we do these 7 things? Verse 5 tells us, "Do all this because the LORD is good. He is always loving and kind. He will always do what he has promised to us". THE LORD IS A GREAT GOD!
__o
Text from the EasyEnglish Bible Version and Commentary - used with permission - © 2001-2002, Wycliffe Associates (UK) - For more information about EasyEnglish Publications, visit their website: www.easyenglish.info
Go and teach all nations
Monday, June 19, 2006
Go and teach all nations - Psalm 99
Go and teach all nations
God ... He Is Holy!
Psalm 99
Jesus prayed (to God), "Holy Father". (John 17:11)
Psalm 99
(The sixth and last royal psalm)
v1 The LORD is king! People on earth will be afraid! (The LORD) is sitting between the cherubim! The earth (itself) will shake!
v2 The LORD is great in Zion. And he is king over all the (other) people (in the world).
v3 They must (all) praise your great name. (It is a name) that makes people afraid. Because he is holy.
v4 (He is) a strong king and he loves what is right. You have made everything fair. You have done what is right and fair in Jacob.
v5 Praise the LORD our God! Kneel before him. He is holy.
v6 Moses and Aaron were among his priests and Samuel was among those that prayed to him. They prayed to the LORD and he answered them.
v7 He spoke to them from the column of cloud. They obeyed his rules and they did what he told them to do.
v8 LORD our God, you answered them. You were a God that forgave Israel. Even if you punished them when they did not obey you.
v9 Praise the LORD our God and kneel before him. Because the LORD our God, he is holy!
Comments
The Story of Psalm 99
This is the last of the 6 royal psalms. The word "royal" means "as a king". We call the psalms royal because they call God king. The royal psalms (93 and 95-99) tell us that he is ruling over all the world. Psalms 94 and 100 are sometimes included with the royal psalms, but they are not really royal psalms.
Jews are people who were born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children. The Jews spoke Hebrew, and they wrote the psalms in Hebrew. But 200 years before Jesus was born, they translated them into the Greek language. This was because many of the Jews that lived in Egypt spoke Greek. Now the Hebrew Bible does not say who wrote the royal psalms. But the Greek Bible does! It says that David wrote all the royal psalms. But Bible students think that what really happened was this. The exile was when the Babylonians beat the Jews and took them to Babylon. When the Jews came home from the exile, they found that the Babylonians had destroyed their temple. So, they built it again. Then they made the book of psalms to sing in it. The temple was the house of God in Jerusalem. They took some old psalms of David, and changed them a bit. This was because they wanted psalms that said this: God is greater than any other king is! He is greater than the king of Babylon, who had made them live away from their own land. God used another king, Cyrus of Persia, to destroy Babylon. Then the Persian king sent the Jews home.
For Christians, the royal psalms tell us that God is still king. He is still ruling over the whole world. When things seem bad, we must still love and obey him. He is king and, in the end, everyone will have to obey him. Even those that do not love him. But many Bible students think that the psalms tell us more than this. They tell us that God himself will come back to the earth and rule as king. Then everyone will see that God is the King!
What Psalm 99 means
Study the psalm in 2 parts:
• verses 1 - 5, the LORD is king over everyone, but over Israel in a special way.
• verses 6 - 9, why the LORD is special to Israel.
Some Bible students translate verse 1 as: "The LORD, the One Sitting on the Cherubim, is king! People will be afraid and the earth itself will shake!" This makes "One Sitting on the Cherubim" another name for the LORD. The LORD is a special name for God. His servants that love and obey him use it. Once this was only the Jews but now it is anyone that loves and obeys him. Cherubim are not people. They are special servants of God that live with him. They are very powerful. When people see that God really is king, they will be afraid. Even the earth itself will shake. (Something shakes when it cannot keep still.) Zion, in verse 2, is another name for Jerusalem. Really, Zion was the hill in Jerusalem where they built the temple.
Verses 3, 5 and 9 tell us that he is holy. Who is holy? The LORD our God. Really, we can translate verse 3 better as "they must praise your name ... because it is holy". But the name of God means everything about God: his love, his power, his anger (when he is angry) and that he does what he has promised. He does not forget his people. But most important, God is holy and righteous. These are difficult words to understand. We say that holy means "never does anything wrong" and righteous means "always does what is right". But both words mean much more than this. Because God is holy, he makes us feel afraid. This is because we are only people. But he is so much greater; he is God! That is part of what being holy means. Even when we love and obey him, we feel a bit afraid. There is a special word for this. It is "awe". We feel awe when we remember that God is holy. And so, we want to praise him (tell him that he is a great God). Also, we want to worship him. To worship him means to kneel in front of him. And tell him that we love him. "Kneel" means "get down on our knees".
"Kneel before him" in verse 5 means "get down on our knees in front of him". But where is he? In the psalm, "him" is really "at his footstool". A footstool is something that you rest your feet on. To the Jews it was a special place in the temple in Jerusalem. Sometimes the Jews said that the whole earth was God's footstool! Isaiah 66:1 says "Heaven (the sky) is my seat and the earth is my footstool". So where is God? Everywhere, because the whole earth is his footstool. Also, the temple in Jerusalem has gone. In verses 1-5, the Jews (called "Jacob" in verse 4) are special to the LORD, but we can all learn from these verses.
We can also learn from the last part of the psalm. It says that Moses was a priest. This is the only place in the Bible where it says this. So some Bible students translate verse 6 as: Moses (a great leader), Aaron among his priests, and Samuel, were among those that prayed to him. Priests were God’s special servants in the temple at Jerusalem. They all came from the family of Aaron, who was Moses' brother. The column of cloud, verse 7, led Moses and Aaron from Egypt to Israel. A column of cloud is tall and thin. Perhaps there was a small column of cloud in the temple at Shiloh when Samuel lived there. The important thing about these great men was this. "They prayed to the LORD and he answered them", (verse 6).
Verse 8 is perhaps the most important verse in Psalm 99. Even when God forgave his people, he still punished them! "Punished" means "hurt them because they did not obey him". This is still true today. We may take something that is not ours. God will forgive us, but we may still have to go to prison. When God forgives us, it means this. We may have done bad things. But that will not stop us going to heaven (God’s home) when we die. When God forgives us, he gives the bad things that we do to Jesus. Jesus took them away when he died. But we must ask God to forgive us, and promise to try to obey him in the future.
When God has forgiven us, then verse 9 becomes the most important verse in the psalm! ‘Praise the LORD our God and kneel before him, because the LORD our God, he is holy.’
Something to do
Read Psalms 93 to 100. Try to understand why 93 and 100 are not really royal psalms.
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Text from the EasyEnglish Bible Version and Commentary - used with permission - © 2001-2002, Wycliffe Associates (UK) - For more information about EasyEnglish Publications, visit their website: www.easyenglish.info
Go and teach all nations
God ... He Is Holy!
Psalm 99
Jesus prayed (to God), "Holy Father". (John 17:11)
Psalm 99
(The sixth and last royal psalm)
v1 The LORD is king! People on earth will be afraid! (The LORD) is sitting between the cherubim! The earth (itself) will shake!
v2 The LORD is great in Zion. And he is king over all the (other) people (in the world).
v3 They must (all) praise your great name. (It is a name) that makes people afraid. Because he is holy.
v4 (He is) a strong king and he loves what is right. You have made everything fair. You have done what is right and fair in Jacob.
v5 Praise the LORD our God! Kneel before him. He is holy.
v6 Moses and Aaron were among his priests and Samuel was among those that prayed to him. They prayed to the LORD and he answered them.
v7 He spoke to them from the column of cloud. They obeyed his rules and they did what he told them to do.
v8 LORD our God, you answered them. You were a God that forgave Israel. Even if you punished them when they did not obey you.
v9 Praise the LORD our God and kneel before him. Because the LORD our God, he is holy!
Comments
The Story of Psalm 99
This is the last of the 6 royal psalms. The word "royal" means "as a king". We call the psalms royal because they call God king. The royal psalms (93 and 95-99) tell us that he is ruling over all the world. Psalms 94 and 100 are sometimes included with the royal psalms, but they are not really royal psalms.
Jews are people who were born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children. The Jews spoke Hebrew, and they wrote the psalms in Hebrew. But 200 years before Jesus was born, they translated them into the Greek language. This was because many of the Jews that lived in Egypt spoke Greek. Now the Hebrew Bible does not say who wrote the royal psalms. But the Greek Bible does! It says that David wrote all the royal psalms. But Bible students think that what really happened was this. The exile was when the Babylonians beat the Jews and took them to Babylon. When the Jews came home from the exile, they found that the Babylonians had destroyed their temple. So, they built it again. Then they made the book of psalms to sing in it. The temple was the house of God in Jerusalem. They took some old psalms of David, and changed them a bit. This was because they wanted psalms that said this: God is greater than any other king is! He is greater than the king of Babylon, who had made them live away from their own land. God used another king, Cyrus of Persia, to destroy Babylon. Then the Persian king sent the Jews home.
For Christians, the royal psalms tell us that God is still king. He is still ruling over the whole world. When things seem bad, we must still love and obey him. He is king and, in the end, everyone will have to obey him. Even those that do not love him. But many Bible students think that the psalms tell us more than this. They tell us that God himself will come back to the earth and rule as king. Then everyone will see that God is the King!
What Psalm 99 means
Study the psalm in 2 parts:
• verses 1 - 5, the LORD is king over everyone, but over Israel in a special way.
• verses 6 - 9, why the LORD is special to Israel.
Some Bible students translate verse 1 as: "The LORD, the One Sitting on the Cherubim, is king! People will be afraid and the earth itself will shake!" This makes "One Sitting on the Cherubim" another name for the LORD. The LORD is a special name for God. His servants that love and obey him use it. Once this was only the Jews but now it is anyone that loves and obeys him. Cherubim are not people. They are special servants of God that live with him. They are very powerful. When people see that God really is king, they will be afraid. Even the earth itself will shake. (Something shakes when it cannot keep still.) Zion, in verse 2, is another name for Jerusalem. Really, Zion was the hill in Jerusalem where they built the temple.
Verses 3, 5 and 9 tell us that he is holy. Who is holy? The LORD our God. Really, we can translate verse 3 better as "they must praise your name ... because it is holy". But the name of God means everything about God: his love, his power, his anger (when he is angry) and that he does what he has promised. He does not forget his people. But most important, God is holy and righteous. These are difficult words to understand. We say that holy means "never does anything wrong" and righteous means "always does what is right". But both words mean much more than this. Because God is holy, he makes us feel afraid. This is because we are only people. But he is so much greater; he is God! That is part of what being holy means. Even when we love and obey him, we feel a bit afraid. There is a special word for this. It is "awe". We feel awe when we remember that God is holy. And so, we want to praise him (tell him that he is a great God). Also, we want to worship him. To worship him means to kneel in front of him. And tell him that we love him. "Kneel" means "get down on our knees".
"Kneel before him" in verse 5 means "get down on our knees in front of him". But where is he? In the psalm, "him" is really "at his footstool". A footstool is something that you rest your feet on. To the Jews it was a special place in the temple in Jerusalem. Sometimes the Jews said that the whole earth was God's footstool! Isaiah 66:1 says "Heaven (the sky) is my seat and the earth is my footstool". So where is God? Everywhere, because the whole earth is his footstool. Also, the temple in Jerusalem has gone. In verses 1-5, the Jews (called "Jacob" in verse 4) are special to the LORD, but we can all learn from these verses.
We can also learn from the last part of the psalm. It says that Moses was a priest. This is the only place in the Bible where it says this. So some Bible students translate verse 6 as: Moses (a great leader), Aaron among his priests, and Samuel, were among those that prayed to him. Priests were God’s special servants in the temple at Jerusalem. They all came from the family of Aaron, who was Moses' brother. The column of cloud, verse 7, led Moses and Aaron from Egypt to Israel. A column of cloud is tall and thin. Perhaps there was a small column of cloud in the temple at Shiloh when Samuel lived there. The important thing about these great men was this. "They prayed to the LORD and he answered them", (verse 6).
Verse 8 is perhaps the most important verse in Psalm 99. Even when God forgave his people, he still punished them! "Punished" means "hurt them because they did not obey him". This is still true today. We may take something that is not ours. God will forgive us, but we may still have to go to prison. When God forgives us, it means this. We may have done bad things. But that will not stop us going to heaven (God’s home) when we die. When God forgives us, he gives the bad things that we do to Jesus. Jesus took them away when he died. But we must ask God to forgive us, and promise to try to obey him in the future.
When God has forgiven us, then verse 9 becomes the most important verse in the psalm! ‘Praise the LORD our God and kneel before him, because the LORD our God, he is holy.’
Something to do
Read Psalms 93 to 100. Try to understand why 93 and 100 are not really royal psalms.
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Text from the EasyEnglish Bible Version and Commentary - used with permission - © 2001-2002, Wycliffe Associates (UK) - For more information about EasyEnglish Publications, visit their website: www.easyenglish.info
Go and teach all nations
Sunday, June 18, 2006
Go and teach all nations - Psalm 98
Go and teach all nations
God Rules The World!
Psalm 98
Jesus said, "You will see the Son of man sitting by the right hand of the Powerful One. He will come in clouds in the skies". (Matthew 26:64)
Psalm 98
(The fifth royal psalm)
v1 Sing a new song to the LORD. Because he has done wonderful things. His right hand and his holy arm have made (his people) safe.
v2 The LORD has made everybody to know that he has made (his people) safe. He has shown everybody (in the world) that he is a righteous (God).
v3 He remembered his kind love to the people of Israel. And he did what he had promised. Everyone (that lives) far away has seen that (God) has made (his people) safe.
v4 Everybody (that lives) on earth, shout to the LORD because you are so happy! Start singing and making music!
v5 Make music to the LORD with a harp! Make music with harp and voice!
v6 With trumpets and the sound of the horn make a happy noise to the LORD (who is) King!
v7 The sea and everything that is in it must make a loud noise. The earth and everything that lives in it must also (make a loud noise).
v8 The rivers must clap their hands and the mountains must make a happy sound
v9 to the LORD. Because he is coming to rule the earth. He will be a righteous king. He will be a very fair judge.
Comments
The Story of Psalm 98
This is a royal psalm. "Royal" means "as a king". In the royal psalms, (93 and 95 to 99) God is the king of everything. The Jews wrote the psalm when they returned from the exile. Jews are people who were born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children. The exile was in Babylon. The king of Babylon took them from Judah where they lived. He made them stay in Babylon. After 70 years, the king of Persia beat the king of Babylon in a war. He let the Jews go home to Judah. They built the temple in Jerusalem again. The king of Babylon had destroyed it. The Jews made the book of psalms to sing in the temple. The temple was God's house in Jerusalem. The Jews wrote the royal psalms because they believed that God was really the king that sent them home.
Christians believe that God is the king of everything. So, Christians sing the royal psalms also. But Christians believe that one day God will come to the earth. As Jesus came to Bethlehem, so God will come again to the earth. Jesus is God. But next time, he will not come as a baby. He will come as a king ... King of Everything! As verse 9 says, "he is coming to rule the earth". We do not know when, but he will come. We are so certain that we say "he is coming"!
What Psalm 98 means
Study this psalm in two parts:
• verses 1 - 3 tell us that God has made his people (the Jews) safe.
• verses 4 - 9 tell us that God will not only rule Judah, but the whole world.
The word "safe" is in verses 1, 2 and 3. The LORD has "made his people safe". He has brought them home from Babylon to Judah. The LORD is a special name that God’s people use. His people, the Jews, promised to love God and to obey him after the exile. But Christians also try to love and to obey God. And he will make them safe. But not safe as he made the Jews safe, bringing them home from exile. He will make Christians safe after they die. They will go to live with God after they die. This is what we call "salvation". We could translate "made his people safe" as "given his people salvation". It means that he has made them safe from the results of the bad things that they have done. This is one of the wonderful (or very special) things that God does.
"His right hand" and "his holy arm" tell us that God does these wonderful things on earth. We cannot see his hand or his arm, but we know that God has done wonderful things. He is still doing them. The words "holy" and "righteous" tell us that:
• God is very, very good (or, God is righteous).
• He has never done bad things (or, God is holy).
When we read the story of Jesus, we can see in our minds God’s holy arm. The things that Jesus did were really the things that God did. God’s hand and arm are very powerful and strong.
Verses 4 - 9 tell people on earth, Christians, Jews and everybody else, to make music to the LORD. Even the rivers and the sea, the earth and its mountains must all make a loud noise to praise the LORD. "Praise the LORD" means "tell the LORD that he is great and wonderful". We do not know how a river or a mountain can praise the LORD. Rivers do not have hands, so they cannot "clap", or "hit their hands together". It must mean "make a river noise!" But the psalm tells the LORD's people what to do when they praise him. Some people must use harps, trumpets and horns to play music, while other people must sing. Harps, trumpets and horns are "instruments of music". This means that they are things that make music. Why must we do this?
• Because God has done great and wonderful things.
• Because God will rule the world in a very fair (or righteous) way.
Verse 9 says that "he will be a very fair judge". A judge is someone that decides who is good and who is bad.
Something to do
1. Everybody must praise the LORD. But he is only LORD if we promise to love and obey him.
Before we do this, we must ask God to forgive us. "Forgive us" means "take away the bad things we have done". Then God will be our LORD. He will give us the help that we need to love him and obey him.
2. If you play a musical instrument, learn to play music for the LORD. Get your friends to help. If you cannot find words and music to play, write some yourself. It will then be "a new song", (verse 1)!
You can make music to any of the psalms.
3. Pray that God will come soon to rule over the earth. He will do it much better than any government!
__o
Text from the EasyEnglish Bible Version and Commentary - used with permission - © 2001-2002, Wycliffe Associates (UK) - For more information about EasyEnglish Publications, visit their website: www.easyenglish.info
Go and teach all nations
God Rules The World!
Psalm 98
Jesus said, "You will see the Son of man sitting by the right hand of the Powerful One. He will come in clouds in the skies". (Matthew 26:64)
Psalm 98
(The fifth royal psalm)
v1 Sing a new song to the LORD. Because he has done wonderful things. His right hand and his holy arm have made (his people) safe.
v2 The LORD has made everybody to know that he has made (his people) safe. He has shown everybody (in the world) that he is a righteous (God).
v3 He remembered his kind love to the people of Israel. And he did what he had promised. Everyone (that lives) far away has seen that (God) has made (his people) safe.
v4 Everybody (that lives) on earth, shout to the LORD because you are so happy! Start singing and making music!
v5 Make music to the LORD with a harp! Make music with harp and voice!
v6 With trumpets and the sound of the horn make a happy noise to the LORD (who is) King!
v7 The sea and everything that is in it must make a loud noise. The earth and everything that lives in it must also (make a loud noise).
v8 The rivers must clap their hands and the mountains must make a happy sound
v9 to the LORD. Because he is coming to rule the earth. He will be a righteous king. He will be a very fair judge.
Comments
The Story of Psalm 98
This is a royal psalm. "Royal" means "as a king". In the royal psalms, (93 and 95 to 99) God is the king of everything. The Jews wrote the psalm when they returned from the exile. Jews are people who were born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children. The exile was in Babylon. The king of Babylon took them from Judah where they lived. He made them stay in Babylon. After 70 years, the king of Persia beat the king of Babylon in a war. He let the Jews go home to Judah. They built the temple in Jerusalem again. The king of Babylon had destroyed it. The Jews made the book of psalms to sing in the temple. The temple was God's house in Jerusalem. The Jews wrote the royal psalms because they believed that God was really the king that sent them home.
Christians believe that God is the king of everything. So, Christians sing the royal psalms also. But Christians believe that one day God will come to the earth. As Jesus came to Bethlehem, so God will come again to the earth. Jesus is God. But next time, he will not come as a baby. He will come as a king ... King of Everything! As verse 9 says, "he is coming to rule the earth". We do not know when, but he will come. We are so certain that we say "he is coming"!
What Psalm 98 means
Study this psalm in two parts:
• verses 1 - 3 tell us that God has made his people (the Jews) safe.
• verses 4 - 9 tell us that God will not only rule Judah, but the whole world.
The word "safe" is in verses 1, 2 and 3. The LORD has "made his people safe". He has brought them home from Babylon to Judah. The LORD is a special name that God’s people use. His people, the Jews, promised to love God and to obey him after the exile. But Christians also try to love and to obey God. And he will make them safe. But not safe as he made the Jews safe, bringing them home from exile. He will make Christians safe after they die. They will go to live with God after they die. This is what we call "salvation". We could translate "made his people safe" as "given his people salvation". It means that he has made them safe from the results of the bad things that they have done. This is one of the wonderful (or very special) things that God does.
"His right hand" and "his holy arm" tell us that God does these wonderful things on earth. We cannot see his hand or his arm, but we know that God has done wonderful things. He is still doing them. The words "holy" and "righteous" tell us that:
• God is very, very good (or, God is righteous).
• He has never done bad things (or, God is holy).
When we read the story of Jesus, we can see in our minds God’s holy arm. The things that Jesus did were really the things that God did. God’s hand and arm are very powerful and strong.
Verses 4 - 9 tell people on earth, Christians, Jews and everybody else, to make music to the LORD. Even the rivers and the sea, the earth and its mountains must all make a loud noise to praise the LORD. "Praise the LORD" means "tell the LORD that he is great and wonderful". We do not know how a river or a mountain can praise the LORD. Rivers do not have hands, so they cannot "clap", or "hit their hands together". It must mean "make a river noise!" But the psalm tells the LORD's people what to do when they praise him. Some people must use harps, trumpets and horns to play music, while other people must sing. Harps, trumpets and horns are "instruments of music". This means that they are things that make music. Why must we do this?
• Because God has done great and wonderful things.
• Because God will rule the world in a very fair (or righteous) way.
Verse 9 says that "he will be a very fair judge". A judge is someone that decides who is good and who is bad.
Something to do
1. Everybody must praise the LORD. But he is only LORD if we promise to love and obey him.
Before we do this, we must ask God to forgive us. "Forgive us" means "take away the bad things we have done". Then God will be our LORD. He will give us the help that we need to love him and obey him.
2. If you play a musical instrument, learn to play music for the LORD. Get your friends to help. If you cannot find words and music to play, write some yourself. It will then be "a new song", (verse 1)!
You can make music to any of the psalms.
3. Pray that God will come soon to rule over the earth. He will do it much better than any government!
__o
Text from the EasyEnglish Bible Version and Commentary - used with permission - © 2001-2002, Wycliffe Associates (UK) - For more information about EasyEnglish Publications, visit their website: www.easyenglish.info
Go and teach all nations
Saturday, June 17, 2006
Go and teach all nations - Psalm 97
Go and teach all nations
Lord of Far-Away People
Psalm 97
Jesus said, "I have other sheep. They do not live here. I must fetch them also. And they will hear my voice. And there will be one home for sheep and one shepherd". (John 10:16)
Psalm 97
(The fourth royal psalm)
v1 The LORD is king! (Everyone) on earth will be very happy! (Even) all the (people) on far-away islands will be very happy!
v2 Clouds and black (skies) are all round (the LORD). He is a good and fair ruler.
v3 Fire goes in front of him. It burns up his enemies on every side.
v4 His lightning is a light over the (whole) world. The earth sees it and is afraid.
v5 The mountains melt as butter in front of the LORD, in front of the master of the whole world.
v6 The skies tell (us) that he is righteous and people (from every country) will see his glory.
v7 All the servants of images (of gods) will be ashamed. Also, all those that say that idols are great (will be ashamed)! Because (even) the gods will fall down in front of (the LORD).
v8 Zion will hear about it and be happy. The people of Judah will be very happy! (This will be) because of what you decide to do, LORD.
v9 Because you, LORD, are the Most High (God) over all the earth. You are much more important than any other god!
v10 If you love the LORD, then hate what bad people do! (The LORD) makes safe the lives of his people. He will make them free from the hands of bad people.
v11 Light will shine on righteous people and honest people will be very happy.
v12 Everyone that is righteous, you be happy with the LORD! And say "thanks" to his holy name.
Comments
The Story of Psalm 97
Bible students think that whoever wrote Psalm 96 also wrote Psalm 97. But Psalm 96 remembers what God has done. Psalm 97 looks to the future. It says (or prophesies) what God will do. Psalm 96 remembers that God brought his people home from a foreign country. He did this because he was a powerful king. Psalm 96:2 says "God has made us safe". Psalm 97 is another royal psalm. "Royal" means "as a king". Psalm 97 tells us what will happen when everybody sees that God is king. That is why some Bible students say that this is a psalm about the end of the world.
What Psalm 97 means
The psalm starts with "the LORD is king", (verse 1). This is always true, but many people do not believe it! But the psalm goes on to say this: Everybody will know that it is true. It says what will happen then. The word LORD is a special name for God. His people use this name. His people love and obey him. These people will be very happy when everyone knows that the LORD is king. It does not matter where they live. Even if they live in far-away places.
We cannot see God and we do not know what he looks like. "Like" is another word for "as". In the Bible, we often read that God is like a storm. You will find this in Joshua chapters 4 and 5, Psalm 18, Psalm 29, and many other places. You will find it here, in verses 2-6. There are black skies, (verse 2). There is fire, (verse 3). There is lightning, or a bright light in the sky that appears just for a second, (verse 4). Many people are afraid of lightning, and the thunder (or loud noise) that follows it. When God appears at the end of time, people will be afraid. It will frighten them, like a bad storm frightens them. But the LORD's people will not be afraid. They will be happy that God has appeared to judge the world. "To judge" means "to decide who is good and who is bad". The good people are those who love and obey God. The bad people do not do this.
But when God appears, it will frighten even the earth itself! The mountains will melt, (verse 5)! This means that the rocks and stones will become as water, or as butter when it becomes hot. This is only a picture; we do not know what will really happen. But God is not only master of the people on the earth. He is master ("Lord" in Hebrew, not the same word as "LORD") of the earth itself.
In verse 6, there are two important Bible words, righteous and glory. They are not easy to explain.
• "righteous" means "very, very good". It means "never done anything bad". Only God is really righteous. But in verses 11 and 12, the psalm calls God’s people "righteous". This is not because they are very, very good. It is not because they have never done anything bad. It is because God has forgiven their sin. We sin when we do not obey God’s rules. But if we are sorry, God takes that sin away. We say that God forgives us. God then calls us righteous. He decides not to remember that we have not obeyed his rules! So, righteous people are not always good people. They are people that God has forgiven. They are people that sometimes still do bad things. But when they do, they always ask God to forgive them again.
• "glory" means "shining very much, shining like the sun". Psalm 84:11 says that "God is like the sun". It does not mean that God is the sun. Some people believe that, but they are wrong. We cannot look at the sun, because it shines so bright. But that is a picture for us of God’s glory.
Verse 6 tells us that the skies say that God is righteous and glorious. ("Glorious" means "has a lot of glory".) We can also translate the word "skies" as "heavens". Heaven is the home of God. We do not know where it is. But when we see it, we will see that God is righteous and glorious. In some strange way, even seeing a storm tells us that God is righteous and glorious.
Verses 7 - 9 are about other "gods". Countries all round Judah had their own gods. Often they made gods out of wood or stone. We call these "images" or "idols". The Hebrew word "idols" really means "nothings". Hebrew was the language that they spoke in Judah. Their word for idols tells us that the idols were false gods. They were not gods at all, because there is only one God! They were (and still are) "nothings"! When God appears, everyone will know that there are no other gods. These gods will all fall down in front of the God that really lives. Everyone will see that the false gods are dead nothings. The LORD God is more important than any other god because he is alive and they are dead. The LORD God is the Most High God. The "Most High" is another name for God. It means that he is more important than anyone else. Zion, in verse 8, was the capital city of Judah. It was another name for Jerusalem.
The psalm ends with promises to God's people. God's people must hate (or not like) what bad people do. But the LORD will make his people safe and free, (verse 10). This will happen when the LORD God appears on earth. But it often happens now for his people. It is certain that it is true when they die. They will be safe and free with God in heaven. "The hands of bad people" means "what bad people do to them with their hands". Bible students are not certain what "light will shine" in verse 11 means. The Hebrew word translated "shine" really means "become planted"! Perhaps God sows (or plants) seeds of light in us, so that we will shine also! We will have a part of God's glory if we love and serve (work for) him. Paul tells us that in Romans 8:30. So, we must say "thanks" to his holy name, (verse 12). "Holy" means all good with no bad in it, separate from sin.
In verses 1, 8, 11 and 12 we read the word "happy". A better word is "joyful" or "full of joy". It is a good feeling deep down inside us. Nobody can take it away, because God put it there.
Something to do
1. Read some of the other psalms that are about storms. Psalms 18 and 29 are good examples.
2. Think about idols and false gods. Must they be made of wood or stone? Can they be things in our lives that we love more than God?
__o
Text from the EasyEnglish Bible Version and Commentary - used with permission - © 2001-2002, Wycliffe Associates (UK) - For more information about EasyEnglish Publications, visit their website: www.easyenglish.info
Go and teach all nations
Lord of Far-Away People
Psalm 97
Jesus said, "I have other sheep. They do not live here. I must fetch them also. And they will hear my voice. And there will be one home for sheep and one shepherd". (John 10:16)
Psalm 97
(The fourth royal psalm)
v1 The LORD is king! (Everyone) on earth will be very happy! (Even) all the (people) on far-away islands will be very happy!
v2 Clouds and black (skies) are all round (the LORD). He is a good and fair ruler.
v3 Fire goes in front of him. It burns up his enemies on every side.
v4 His lightning is a light over the (whole) world. The earth sees it and is afraid.
v5 The mountains melt as butter in front of the LORD, in front of the master of the whole world.
v6 The skies tell (us) that he is righteous and people (from every country) will see his glory.
v7 All the servants of images (of gods) will be ashamed. Also, all those that say that idols are great (will be ashamed)! Because (even) the gods will fall down in front of (the LORD).
v8 Zion will hear about it and be happy. The people of Judah will be very happy! (This will be) because of what you decide to do, LORD.
v9 Because you, LORD, are the Most High (God) over all the earth. You are much more important than any other god!
v10 If you love the LORD, then hate what bad people do! (The LORD) makes safe the lives of his people. He will make them free from the hands of bad people.
v11 Light will shine on righteous people and honest people will be very happy.
v12 Everyone that is righteous, you be happy with the LORD! And say "thanks" to his holy name.
Comments
The Story of Psalm 97
Bible students think that whoever wrote Psalm 96 also wrote Psalm 97. But Psalm 96 remembers what God has done. Psalm 97 looks to the future. It says (or prophesies) what God will do. Psalm 96 remembers that God brought his people home from a foreign country. He did this because he was a powerful king. Psalm 96:2 says "God has made us safe". Psalm 97 is another royal psalm. "Royal" means "as a king". Psalm 97 tells us what will happen when everybody sees that God is king. That is why some Bible students say that this is a psalm about the end of the world.
What Psalm 97 means
The psalm starts with "the LORD is king", (verse 1). This is always true, but many people do not believe it! But the psalm goes on to say this: Everybody will know that it is true. It says what will happen then. The word LORD is a special name for God. His people use this name. His people love and obey him. These people will be very happy when everyone knows that the LORD is king. It does not matter where they live. Even if they live in far-away places.
We cannot see God and we do not know what he looks like. "Like" is another word for "as". In the Bible, we often read that God is like a storm. You will find this in Joshua chapters 4 and 5, Psalm 18, Psalm 29, and many other places. You will find it here, in verses 2-6. There are black skies, (verse 2). There is fire, (verse 3). There is lightning, or a bright light in the sky that appears just for a second, (verse 4). Many people are afraid of lightning, and the thunder (or loud noise) that follows it. When God appears at the end of time, people will be afraid. It will frighten them, like a bad storm frightens them. But the LORD's people will not be afraid. They will be happy that God has appeared to judge the world. "To judge" means "to decide who is good and who is bad". The good people are those who love and obey God. The bad people do not do this.
But when God appears, it will frighten even the earth itself! The mountains will melt, (verse 5)! This means that the rocks and stones will become as water, or as butter when it becomes hot. This is only a picture; we do not know what will really happen. But God is not only master of the people on the earth. He is master ("Lord" in Hebrew, not the same word as "LORD") of the earth itself.
In verse 6, there are two important Bible words, righteous and glory. They are not easy to explain.
• "righteous" means "very, very good". It means "never done anything bad". Only God is really righteous. But in verses 11 and 12, the psalm calls God’s people "righteous". This is not because they are very, very good. It is not because they have never done anything bad. It is because God has forgiven their sin. We sin when we do not obey God’s rules. But if we are sorry, God takes that sin away. We say that God forgives us. God then calls us righteous. He decides not to remember that we have not obeyed his rules! So, righteous people are not always good people. They are people that God has forgiven. They are people that sometimes still do bad things. But when they do, they always ask God to forgive them again.
• "glory" means "shining very much, shining like the sun". Psalm 84:11 says that "God is like the sun". It does not mean that God is the sun. Some people believe that, but they are wrong. We cannot look at the sun, because it shines so bright. But that is a picture for us of God’s glory.
Verse 6 tells us that the skies say that God is righteous and glorious. ("Glorious" means "has a lot of glory".) We can also translate the word "skies" as "heavens". Heaven is the home of God. We do not know where it is. But when we see it, we will see that God is righteous and glorious. In some strange way, even seeing a storm tells us that God is righteous and glorious.
Verses 7 - 9 are about other "gods". Countries all round Judah had their own gods. Often they made gods out of wood or stone. We call these "images" or "idols". The Hebrew word "idols" really means "nothings". Hebrew was the language that they spoke in Judah. Their word for idols tells us that the idols were false gods. They were not gods at all, because there is only one God! They were (and still are) "nothings"! When God appears, everyone will know that there are no other gods. These gods will all fall down in front of the God that really lives. Everyone will see that the false gods are dead nothings. The LORD God is more important than any other god because he is alive and they are dead. The LORD God is the Most High God. The "Most High" is another name for God. It means that he is more important than anyone else. Zion, in verse 8, was the capital city of Judah. It was another name for Jerusalem.
The psalm ends with promises to God's people. God's people must hate (or not like) what bad people do. But the LORD will make his people safe and free, (verse 10). This will happen when the LORD God appears on earth. But it often happens now for his people. It is certain that it is true when they die. They will be safe and free with God in heaven. "The hands of bad people" means "what bad people do to them with their hands". Bible students are not certain what "light will shine" in verse 11 means. The Hebrew word translated "shine" really means "become planted"! Perhaps God sows (or plants) seeds of light in us, so that we will shine also! We will have a part of God's glory if we love and serve (work for) him. Paul tells us that in Romans 8:30. So, we must say "thanks" to his holy name, (verse 12). "Holy" means all good with no bad in it, separate from sin.
In verses 1, 8, 11 and 12 we read the word "happy". A better word is "joyful" or "full of joy". It is a good feeling deep down inside us. Nobody can take it away, because God put it there.
Something to do
1. Read some of the other psalms that are about storms. Psalms 18 and 29 are good examples.
2. Think about idols and false gods. Must they be made of wood or stone? Can they be things in our lives that we love more than God?
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Text from the EasyEnglish Bible Version and Commentary - used with permission - © 2001-2002, Wycliffe Associates (UK) - For more information about EasyEnglish Publications, visit their website: www.easyenglish.info
Go and teach all nations
Friday, June 16, 2006
Go and teach all nations - Psalm 96
Go and teach all nations
Sing A New Song!
Psalm 96
Jesus said, "Tell your Father in Heaven that he is a great (God)". (Matthew 5:16)
Psalm 96
(The third royal psalm)
v1 Sing a new song to the LORD! Sing to the LORD, all the world!
v2 Sing to the LORD and say good things about him! Every day, say that he has made us safe!
v3 Tell every nation that he is very great! Tell everybody the wonderful things that he has done!
v4 Because the LORD is great, and everybody should say that he is great! People should be more afraid of him than of all (other) gods.
v5 Because all the gods of every country are false. But the LORD made everything.
v6 (People that) are near him can see that he is a very great king. (People that) are in his house can see that he is strong and beautiful.
v7 Say to the LORD, you families of nations, say to the LORD that he is glorious and powerful.
v8 Say that the LORD has a glorious name. Bring a gift and come near his house.
v9 Fall down in front of the LORD who is beautiful and holy. Be afraid of him, everyone (that lives) on the earth.
v10 Tell all the nations that the LORD is King! (He has) fixed the world so that nothing can move it. He will be a fair judge of the people.
v11 Earth and sky, be happy! Sea and everything in it, roar (because you are happy!)
v12 Fields, you be happy as well, and everything in you! Then, all the trees in the forests will sing because they are so happy!
v13 (They will sing) to the LORD when he comes. He will come to be a judge of the earth. He will be a good judge and he will be fair to the people.
Comments
The Story of Psalm 96
King David used this psalm when he brought the ark into Jerusalem. The ark was a special box. There were special things in it. These things gave the Jews help to remember their past story. Jews are people who were born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children. Later, when David was dead, his son Solomon built the temple. This was the house of God in Jerusalem. Then the Jews kept the ark in the temple. But 400 years later enemies destroyed the temple. After 70 years, the Jews built it again. They changed the psalm a bit, to the psalm as we know it. They used it in their new temple. David's psalm is in 1 Chronicles 16:23-33.
What Psalm 96 means
Study Psalm 96 in 4 parts:
• verses 1-3, the LORD's people must tell everybody about him.
LORD is a special name for God. Only his people use this name. His people agree (or covenant) to love him, work for him and obey him. So, LORD is the Covenant Name of God. But, in verses 1 and 3, "all the world" and "every nation" must sing to the LORD. A nation is a country with a government. This means that some people from every country have agreed to love, work for and obey him. "He has made us safe", in verse 2, tells us about the date of the psalm. Bible students suggest three dates:
1) after David made his country safe, about 1 000 B.C.
2) in the time of Isaiah, after Assyria failed to destroy Jerusalem, about 700 B.C.
3) after the exile, when the Jews came home from Babylon, about 500 B.C.
The exile was when the Babylonians took the Jews away from Judah. They took them to Babylon. They were there from 606-536 B.C. B.C. means "years Before Christ came to the earth". Most Bible students think that David wrote the psalm, but that someone re-wrote it (changed it) after the exile. In verse 3, "wonderful things" are things that surprise us. They make us think, "How did God do that?"
• verses 4-6, the LORD is greater than all the gods of the earth.
There are many gods in the world, but they are all false gods. Isaiah tells us that men "make a god", (Isaiah 44:15). There is only one God who really is alive, "the LORD (that) made everything", verse 5. Men did not make him; he made men! Verses 4-6 tell more about God. They tell us that:
1) he is great, so we should praise him. "Praise him" means "tell him that he is great".
2) we need not be afraid of other gods, but we should be afraid of God.
3) he is a great king. This is why the psalm is "a royal psalm", because "royal" means "as a king".
4) he is strong and powerful.
5) he is also beautiful. God’s house, the temple, was beautiful. This made people think that God was beautiful also. The same is true in many of our churches. Because they are beautiful, they make us remember that God is beautiful. But God will still be beautiful when there are no more church buildings!
• verses 7-9, everyone on earth must say that the LORD is great.
The "families of nations" in verse 7 makes us think that all people are as one big family. This is true because God made everybody. But the psalmist (the person who wrote the psalm) does not mean this. He means that all the people that love, work for and obey God are as one big family. The psalmist tells us again that the LORD is powerful and beautiful. But now he also says that he is glorious and holy.
"Glorious" means "wonderful and shining very much". Psalm 84:11 says, "The LORD God is a sun". It does not mean that God is the sun, but that he shines as a sun shines. "Holy" means that he is "very, very good". He has never done anything that is wrong. The "gift" in verse 8 is a special Hebrew word. The Jews spoke Hebrew and wrote the psalms in Hebrew. The word is "minchah". It is a gift that has no blood in it. This means that it is not an animal that they had killed. "Near his house" means the open spaces round the temple. There was no temple when David wrote the psalm, but there was when another psalmist re-wrote it. Christians have no temple, but see themselves as a temple where their Lord lives. Verse 9 has been difficult for many translators! There are three ideas in it:
1) fall down in front of the LORD. Some Bible students translate "fall down" as "lie down on your front"; other students translate it as "worship". "Worship" means "tell God that he is much greater than you are, but you love him". Some people worship with words, other people by going on their knees, yet other people by lying flat on their fronts. Our translation uses the third of these.
2) the LORD is beautiful and holy. Some Bible students think that the Hebrew means that God is beautiful and holy. Other students think that the people who worship him must wear beautiful clothes. Our translation uses the first of these.
3) be afraid of the LORD. This tells us that God really is much more powerful than we are. Worship must have love and being afraid in it. Another word for this kind of "being afraid" is "awe".
• verses 10-13, not only people must say the LORD is great: earth, sky and sea must also say it!
The last part of the psalm says that the LORD is king and that one day he will come and rule the earth. He made (or fixed, verse 10) the earth in its place. Everything must be full of joy (be very happy). This means not only people, but also things. It means the earth and the sky. The Hebrew word here for "the sky" is "the heavens". "Heaven" means two things in the Bible. It can mean the sky, or it can mean the place where God lives. Here it means the sky, with all its suns, moons and stars. The sea includes everything that lives in it. If you have heard the sea, you will know the kind of "roar" (or loud noise) that it makes. Fields and everything in them must be happy also; so must the forests, with all their trees. For 2 000 years Christians have remembered that Jesus was King on a Tree. The tree was the Cross of Calvary, where he died. At the end of the psalm, in verse 13, the psalmist becomes a prophet. This means that he says what the LORD God will do. He will come to the earth and he will be a great and fair judge. A judge decides who has done right and who has done wrong. The "right" people are those who love, work for and obey the LORD. The "wrong" people are those who do not do this. We must choose ourselves which group we are in.
Something to do
1. Tell God that you want to love, work for and obey him. You will then be one of his people.
2. Look at some of the verses in this psalm and then look at the verses in brackets from other psalms. Verse 1 (33:3; 98:1); verse 3 (9:11; 105:1); verse 4 (48:1; 95:3); verse 10 (9:7-8; 98:9). If you have Isaiah, do the same with that. Verse 2 (Isaiah 52:7); verse 3 (60:6); verse 5 (40:18-20); verses 11-13 (41:19; 44:23; 49:13).
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Text from the EasyEnglish Bible Version and Commentary - used with permission - © 2001-2002, Wycliffe Associates (UK) - For more information about EasyEnglish Publications, visit their website: www.easyenglish.info
Go and teach all nations
Sing A New Song!
Psalm 96
Jesus said, "Tell your Father in Heaven that he is a great (God)". (Matthew 5:16)
Psalm 96
(The third royal psalm)
v1 Sing a new song to the LORD! Sing to the LORD, all the world!
v2 Sing to the LORD and say good things about him! Every day, say that he has made us safe!
v3 Tell every nation that he is very great! Tell everybody the wonderful things that he has done!
v4 Because the LORD is great, and everybody should say that he is great! People should be more afraid of him than of all (other) gods.
v5 Because all the gods of every country are false. But the LORD made everything.
v6 (People that) are near him can see that he is a very great king. (People that) are in his house can see that he is strong and beautiful.
v7 Say to the LORD, you families of nations, say to the LORD that he is glorious and powerful.
v8 Say that the LORD has a glorious name. Bring a gift and come near his house.
v9 Fall down in front of the LORD who is beautiful and holy. Be afraid of him, everyone (that lives) on the earth.
v10 Tell all the nations that the LORD is King! (He has) fixed the world so that nothing can move it. He will be a fair judge of the people.
v11 Earth and sky, be happy! Sea and everything in it, roar (because you are happy!)
v12 Fields, you be happy as well, and everything in you! Then, all the trees in the forests will sing because they are so happy!
v13 (They will sing) to the LORD when he comes. He will come to be a judge of the earth. He will be a good judge and he will be fair to the people.
Comments
The Story of Psalm 96
King David used this psalm when he brought the ark into Jerusalem. The ark was a special box. There were special things in it. These things gave the Jews help to remember their past story. Jews are people who were born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children. Later, when David was dead, his son Solomon built the temple. This was the house of God in Jerusalem. Then the Jews kept the ark in the temple. But 400 years later enemies destroyed the temple. After 70 years, the Jews built it again. They changed the psalm a bit, to the psalm as we know it. They used it in their new temple. David's psalm is in 1 Chronicles 16:23-33.
What Psalm 96 means
Study Psalm 96 in 4 parts:
• verses 1-3, the LORD's people must tell everybody about him.
LORD is a special name for God. Only his people use this name. His people agree (or covenant) to love him, work for him and obey him. So, LORD is the Covenant Name of God. But, in verses 1 and 3, "all the world" and "every nation" must sing to the LORD. A nation is a country with a government. This means that some people from every country have agreed to love, work for and obey him. "He has made us safe", in verse 2, tells us about the date of the psalm. Bible students suggest three dates:
1) after David made his country safe, about 1 000 B.C.
2) in the time of Isaiah, after Assyria failed to destroy Jerusalem, about 700 B.C.
3) after the exile, when the Jews came home from Babylon, about 500 B.C.
The exile was when the Babylonians took the Jews away from Judah. They took them to Babylon. They were there from 606-536 B.C. B.C. means "years Before Christ came to the earth". Most Bible students think that David wrote the psalm, but that someone re-wrote it (changed it) after the exile. In verse 3, "wonderful things" are things that surprise us. They make us think, "How did God do that?"
• verses 4-6, the LORD is greater than all the gods of the earth.
There are many gods in the world, but they are all false gods. Isaiah tells us that men "make a god", (Isaiah 44:15). There is only one God who really is alive, "the LORD (that) made everything", verse 5. Men did not make him; he made men! Verses 4-6 tell more about God. They tell us that:
1) he is great, so we should praise him. "Praise him" means "tell him that he is great".
2) we need not be afraid of other gods, but we should be afraid of God.
3) he is a great king. This is why the psalm is "a royal psalm", because "royal" means "as a king".
4) he is strong and powerful.
5) he is also beautiful. God’s house, the temple, was beautiful. This made people think that God was beautiful also. The same is true in many of our churches. Because they are beautiful, they make us remember that God is beautiful. But God will still be beautiful when there are no more church buildings!
• verses 7-9, everyone on earth must say that the LORD is great.
The "families of nations" in verse 7 makes us think that all people are as one big family. This is true because God made everybody. But the psalmist (the person who wrote the psalm) does not mean this. He means that all the people that love, work for and obey God are as one big family. The psalmist tells us again that the LORD is powerful and beautiful. But now he also says that he is glorious and holy.
"Glorious" means "wonderful and shining very much". Psalm 84:11 says, "The LORD God is a sun". It does not mean that God is the sun, but that he shines as a sun shines. "Holy" means that he is "very, very good". He has never done anything that is wrong. The "gift" in verse 8 is a special Hebrew word. The Jews spoke Hebrew and wrote the psalms in Hebrew. The word is "minchah". It is a gift that has no blood in it. This means that it is not an animal that they had killed. "Near his house" means the open spaces round the temple. There was no temple when David wrote the psalm, but there was when another psalmist re-wrote it. Christians have no temple, but see themselves as a temple where their Lord lives. Verse 9 has been difficult for many translators! There are three ideas in it:
1) fall down in front of the LORD. Some Bible students translate "fall down" as "lie down on your front"; other students translate it as "worship". "Worship" means "tell God that he is much greater than you are, but you love him". Some people worship with words, other people by going on their knees, yet other people by lying flat on their fronts. Our translation uses the third of these.
2) the LORD is beautiful and holy. Some Bible students think that the Hebrew means that God is beautiful and holy. Other students think that the people who worship him must wear beautiful clothes. Our translation uses the first of these.
3) be afraid of the LORD. This tells us that God really is much more powerful than we are. Worship must have love and being afraid in it. Another word for this kind of "being afraid" is "awe".
• verses 10-13, not only people must say the LORD is great: earth, sky and sea must also say it!
The last part of the psalm says that the LORD is king and that one day he will come and rule the earth. He made (or fixed, verse 10) the earth in its place. Everything must be full of joy (be very happy). This means not only people, but also things. It means the earth and the sky. The Hebrew word here for "the sky" is "the heavens". "Heaven" means two things in the Bible. It can mean the sky, or it can mean the place where God lives. Here it means the sky, with all its suns, moons and stars. The sea includes everything that lives in it. If you have heard the sea, you will know the kind of "roar" (or loud noise) that it makes. Fields and everything in them must be happy also; so must the forests, with all their trees. For 2 000 years Christians have remembered that Jesus was King on a Tree. The tree was the Cross of Calvary, where he died. At the end of the psalm, in verse 13, the psalmist becomes a prophet. This means that he says what the LORD God will do. He will come to the earth and he will be a great and fair judge. A judge decides who has done right and who has done wrong. The "right" people are those who love, work for and obey the LORD. The "wrong" people are those who do not do this. We must choose ourselves which group we are in.
Something to do
1. Tell God that you want to love, work for and obey him. You will then be one of his people.
2. Look at some of the verses in this psalm and then look at the verses in brackets from other psalms. Verse 1 (33:3; 98:1); verse 3 (9:11; 105:1); verse 4 (48:1; 95:3); verse 10 (9:7-8; 98:9). If you have Isaiah, do the same with that. Verse 2 (Isaiah 52:7); verse 3 (60:6); verse 5 (40:18-20); verses 11-13 (41:19; 44:23; 49:13).
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Text from the EasyEnglish Bible Version and Commentary - used with permission - © 2001-2002, Wycliffe Associates (UK) - For more information about EasyEnglish Publications, visit their website: www.easyenglish.info
Go and teach all nations
Thursday, June 15, 2006
Go and teach all nations - Psalm 95
Go and teach all nations
Do Not Make The Same Mistake!
Psalm 95
Jesus said, "Go and do not break God's rules again". (John 8:11)
Psalm 95
(The second royal psalm)
v1 Come, we will sing together to the LORD! We will shout aloud to the Rock that makes us safe!
v2 Come into (God’s) house and thank him! Tell him that he is great! (Do it) with music and with songs!
v3 (This is) because the LORD is the great God. He is the great king that is more important than every other god.
v4 The deep places of the earth are in his hand. The tops of the mountains are his.
v5 The sea is his, because he made it. Also, his hands made the dry land.
v6 Come, we will fall down on our knees in front of him. We will stay on our knees in front of the LORD that made us.
v7 (We will do this) because he is our God. Also, we are the people that he feeds and keeps safe. We are as animals and he is as the farmer (that feeds us)! Today, if you hear his voice,
v8 do not refuse to listen (to him). You did this at Meribah and you did it one day at Massah, in the desert.
v9 There, your fathers tested me to discover what I could do. But they had already seen my work!
v10 For 40 years I was angry with those people. And I said, "They are people that refuse to obey me. They (say that they) do not know what I want them to do".
v11 I was so angry that I said, "They will never come into my rest".
Comments
The Story of Psalm 95
Hebrew is the language that the Jews spoke when they wrote the psalms. Jews are people who were born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children. We do not know who wrote Psalm 95, or when. In verse 2, we read "Come into God's house". In Hebrew this is, "Come to where God is". Because the Jews thought that they met God in his house, Bible students think this means the temple. The temple was God's house in Jerusalem. God had done something good for his people. They came to thank him in the temple. Perhaps it was after they first built the temple. Perhaps it was after they built it again when they returned from Babylon. But the psalm also says that it is not enough just to sing (talk) to God. We must also listen to him. Then we will not make the mistake of God's people at Massah and Meribah. (See note on verse 8). This is the second "Royal Psalm". Royal is a word that describes kings. The other Royal Psalms are 93 and 96-99.
What Psalm 95 means
Study the psalm in 2 parts:
• verses 1 - 7a, telling God that he is great,
• verses 7b - 11, telling us to obey God.
7a means the first part of the verse; 7b means the last part.
In verse 1, the psalmist (the person that wrote the psalm) asks people to come with him. Together they will praise the LORD, (or tell him that he is great). LORD is a special name for God. Only people who have promised to love and obey him should use it. The promise to love and obey is the Covenant. If they do this, God will make them safe. So, LORD is the "Covenant name" for God. "Rock" is another name for God, as in Psalm 94:22.
In verses 4 and 5 "in his hand" and "his" means that he rules over them. So, God rules everything on the earth, including the sea.
In verse 6, "fall on our knees" means that we go on our knees in front of him. We do this when we worship him. "Worship him" means "tell him that we love him and think that he is very great".
In verse 7, the animals are sheep. God feeds his sheep and keeps them safe. But his people are the sheep. We find this in Psalm 23:1: "The LORD is my shepherd". A shepherd is a sheep farmer. We also find it in John 10:14, where Jesus says, "I am the good shepherd". He also says in John 10:27, "My sheep hear my voice. I know them and they follow me". In all these verses, sheep are a picture of people that love and obey God.
The last part of verse 7 starts the second part of the psalm. If we hear God speak, we must listen to him (verse 8). Here, "you" means the Jewish people who were at Massah and Meribah. They were the people that Moses led from Egypt to Israel. They had seen what God could do, (verse 9b). But they asked for more! At Massah and Meribah (2 names for the same place), they tested God. A test is an exam, something to find out what a person can do.
Here is the story from Exodus 17:1-7.
v1 All the people of Israel made the journey from the Sinai desert. They travelled from place to place as the LORD told them. They stopped at Rephidim. But there was no water for the people to drink.
v2 So the people were angry with Moses. They said, "Give us water so that we can drink". But Moses said to them, "Why are you angry with me? Why are you testing the LORD?"
v3 But the people wanted water to drink. So they were angry with Moses and they said, "Have you brought us out of Egypt to kill us? And to kill our children and our animals because they have no water?"
v4 Then Moses prayed to the LORD. He said, "What can I do with these people? They want to throw stones at me to kill me!"
v5 And the LORD said to Moses, "Go in front of the people. Take with you the leaders of Israel. And take your special stick in your hand. (I mean) the stick you used by the River (Nile in Egypt). Go (with them)
v6 to a rock in Horeb. I will be there before you. You must hit the rock (with your stick). Water will come out of it so that the people can drink". And Moses did this so that all the leaders of Israel could see him (do it).
v7 And he called the name of the place Massah and Meribah. (He did this) because the people of Israel were angry. Also, they tested the LORD. They said, "Is the LORD among us, or not?"
A desert is a dry place. There is much sand but little water or no water. The people were angry, so they tested God. Massah and Meribah are Hebrew words for "testing" and "angry". Hebrew was the language that the people of Israel spoke. This testing made God angry so he made them stay in the desert for 40 years, (verse 10). None of them came into his rest, (verse 11). They all died in the desert. It was their children that came into the land of Israel.
This psalm is also important in the New Testament. Hebrews 3:7b-11 repeats Psalm 95:7b-11. Then it tells Christians, in Hebrews 3:12-14:
v12 Be careful, brothers. None of you should have a bad heart that does not believe. It will lead you away from the God that is alive.
v13 Tell each other (this) every day, while it is still "today". Then none of you will stop listening (to God). And sin will not make any of you think what is wrong.
v14 Because we will have some of what Christ gives us if we believe to the end.
The bad heart means "the mind that stops believing in God". The "today" in verse 13 is the same as in Psalm 95:7b. Sin is not obeying God's rules. Christ gives us many things. The most important is life that never finishes, with him in heaven.
Hebrews 3 and 4 says a lot about Psalm 95:7b-11. The "rest" in verse 11 of the psalm is not the land of Israel. It is living with God in heaven after we die. Heaven is the home of God. We do not know where it is.
Something to do
1. If you have a Bible, study Exodus 17:1-7, Psalm 95 and Hebrews 3:1-4:16.
2. Learn to say Psalm 95:1-2 by heart. (This means, without looking at the words.)
3. If you like music, try singing parts of Psalm 95. You can make your own music for this!
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Text from the EasyEnglish Bible Version and Commentary - used with permission - © 2001-2002, Wycliffe Associates (UK) - For more information about EasyEnglish Publications, visit their website: www.easyenglish.info
Go and teach all nations
Do Not Make The Same Mistake!
Psalm 95
Jesus said, "Go and do not break God's rules again". (John 8:11)
Psalm 95
(The second royal psalm)
v1 Come, we will sing together to the LORD! We will shout aloud to the Rock that makes us safe!
v2 Come into (God’s) house and thank him! Tell him that he is great! (Do it) with music and with songs!
v3 (This is) because the LORD is the great God. He is the great king that is more important than every other god.
v4 The deep places of the earth are in his hand. The tops of the mountains are his.
v5 The sea is his, because he made it. Also, his hands made the dry land.
v6 Come, we will fall down on our knees in front of him. We will stay on our knees in front of the LORD that made us.
v7 (We will do this) because he is our God. Also, we are the people that he feeds and keeps safe. We are as animals and he is as the farmer (that feeds us)! Today, if you hear his voice,
v8 do not refuse to listen (to him). You did this at Meribah and you did it one day at Massah, in the desert.
v9 There, your fathers tested me to discover what I could do. But they had already seen my work!
v10 For 40 years I was angry with those people. And I said, "They are people that refuse to obey me. They (say that they) do not know what I want them to do".
v11 I was so angry that I said, "They will never come into my rest".
Comments
The Story of Psalm 95
Hebrew is the language that the Jews spoke when they wrote the psalms. Jews are people who were born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children. We do not know who wrote Psalm 95, or when. In verse 2, we read "Come into God's house". In Hebrew this is, "Come to where God is". Because the Jews thought that they met God in his house, Bible students think this means the temple. The temple was God's house in Jerusalem. God had done something good for his people. They came to thank him in the temple. Perhaps it was after they first built the temple. Perhaps it was after they built it again when they returned from Babylon. But the psalm also says that it is not enough just to sing (talk) to God. We must also listen to him. Then we will not make the mistake of God's people at Massah and Meribah. (See note on verse 8). This is the second "Royal Psalm". Royal is a word that describes kings. The other Royal Psalms are 93 and 96-99.
What Psalm 95 means
Study the psalm in 2 parts:
• verses 1 - 7a, telling God that he is great,
• verses 7b - 11, telling us to obey God.
7a means the first part of the verse; 7b means the last part.
In verse 1, the psalmist (the person that wrote the psalm) asks people to come with him. Together they will praise the LORD, (or tell him that he is great). LORD is a special name for God. Only people who have promised to love and obey him should use it. The promise to love and obey is the Covenant. If they do this, God will make them safe. So, LORD is the "Covenant name" for God. "Rock" is another name for God, as in Psalm 94:22.
In verses 4 and 5 "in his hand" and "his" means that he rules over them. So, God rules everything on the earth, including the sea.
In verse 6, "fall on our knees" means that we go on our knees in front of him. We do this when we worship him. "Worship him" means "tell him that we love him and think that he is very great".
In verse 7, the animals are sheep. God feeds his sheep and keeps them safe. But his people are the sheep. We find this in Psalm 23:1: "The LORD is my shepherd". A shepherd is a sheep farmer. We also find it in John 10:14, where Jesus says, "I am the good shepherd". He also says in John 10:27, "My sheep hear my voice. I know them and they follow me". In all these verses, sheep are a picture of people that love and obey God.
The last part of verse 7 starts the second part of the psalm. If we hear God speak, we must listen to him (verse 8). Here, "you" means the Jewish people who were at Massah and Meribah. They were the people that Moses led from Egypt to Israel. They had seen what God could do, (verse 9b). But they asked for more! At Massah and Meribah (2 names for the same place), they tested God. A test is an exam, something to find out what a person can do.
Here is the story from Exodus 17:1-7.
v1 All the people of Israel made the journey from the Sinai desert. They travelled from place to place as the LORD told them. They stopped at Rephidim. But there was no water for the people to drink.
v2 So the people were angry with Moses. They said, "Give us water so that we can drink". But Moses said to them, "Why are you angry with me? Why are you testing the LORD?"
v3 But the people wanted water to drink. So they were angry with Moses and they said, "Have you brought us out of Egypt to kill us? And to kill our children and our animals because they have no water?"
v4 Then Moses prayed to the LORD. He said, "What can I do with these people? They want to throw stones at me to kill me!"
v5 And the LORD said to Moses, "Go in front of the people. Take with you the leaders of Israel. And take your special stick in your hand. (I mean) the stick you used by the River (Nile in Egypt). Go (with them)
v6 to a rock in Horeb. I will be there before you. You must hit the rock (with your stick). Water will come out of it so that the people can drink". And Moses did this so that all the leaders of Israel could see him (do it).
v7 And he called the name of the place Massah and Meribah. (He did this) because the people of Israel were angry. Also, they tested the LORD. They said, "Is the LORD among us, or not?"
A desert is a dry place. There is much sand but little water or no water. The people were angry, so they tested God. Massah and Meribah are Hebrew words for "testing" and "angry". Hebrew was the language that the people of Israel spoke. This testing made God angry so he made them stay in the desert for 40 years, (verse 10). None of them came into his rest, (verse 11). They all died in the desert. It was their children that came into the land of Israel.
This psalm is also important in the New Testament. Hebrews 3:7b-11 repeats Psalm 95:7b-11. Then it tells Christians, in Hebrews 3:12-14:
v12 Be careful, brothers. None of you should have a bad heart that does not believe. It will lead you away from the God that is alive.
v13 Tell each other (this) every day, while it is still "today". Then none of you will stop listening (to God). And sin will not make any of you think what is wrong.
v14 Because we will have some of what Christ gives us if we believe to the end.
The bad heart means "the mind that stops believing in God". The "today" in verse 13 is the same as in Psalm 95:7b. Sin is not obeying God's rules. Christ gives us many things. The most important is life that never finishes, with him in heaven.
Hebrews 3 and 4 says a lot about Psalm 95:7b-11. The "rest" in verse 11 of the psalm is not the land of Israel. It is living with God in heaven after we die. Heaven is the home of God. We do not know where it is.
Something to do
1. If you have a Bible, study Exodus 17:1-7, Psalm 95 and Hebrews 3:1-4:16.
2. Learn to say Psalm 95:1-2 by heart. (This means, without looking at the words.)
3. If you like music, try singing parts of Psalm 95. You can make your own music for this!
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Text from the EasyEnglish Bible Version and Commentary - used with permission - © 2001-2002, Wycliffe Associates (UK) - For more information about EasyEnglish Publications, visit their website: www.easyenglish.info
Go and teach all nations
Wednesday, June 14, 2006
Go and teach all nations - Psalm 94
Go and teach all nations
God, Show that You Are a Great Judge!
Psalm 94
Jesus said, "I am a good judge. I do not do what I want to do. I obey the words of (God) that sent me". (John 5:30)
Psalm 94
v1 LORD, God, you are a great judge. So, God, show people that you are a great judge!
v2 Judge of the earth, do something! Give to proud people what they ought to get.
v3 How long will bad people, LORD, how long will bad people laugh (at good people)?
v4 (The bad people) speak many proud words. All the bad people are always saying that they are great.
v5 (The bad people) are as a heavy weight on your people, LORD. They are cruel to the people that belong to you.
v6 They kill widows and foreign people that live here. They murder children that have no fathers.
v7 They say, "The LORD is not looking (at us). The God of Jacob will not see (what we are doing)".
v8 Be careful, all you fools among the people! Fools ... learn to do the right thing!
v9 Does (God) that made the ear not hear? Does he that made the eye not see?
v10 Will he that rules the world not punish (our bad leaders)? He teaches people what they know.
v11 The LORD knows people’s thoughts. (Their thoughts) are worth nothing.
v12 The man that the LORD rules is very happy. (The LORD) teaches him (God’s) laws.
v13 You (LORD) give him rest from days of trouble, until someone digs a pit for bad men.
v14 For the LORD will not leave his people; he will not forget people that belong to him.
v15 Rulers will do what is fair and people with good in their hearts will do the same.
v16 Who fought for me against the bad people? Who kept me safe from the people that did wrong things?
v17 Unless the LORD had given me help, I would soon have gone to live in the quiet (place of death).
v18 When I thought that my feet were nearly falling, your kind love, LORD, kept me safe.
v19 When I was not happy in my mind, you made me strong and happy again.
v20 Can you (ever) agree with bad rulers? (No! Because) their rules make people sad.
v21 They join together against good people. They say that people that have done nothing wrong must die.
v22 But the LORD is my strong place. And my God is a rock where I can hide and be safe.
v23 He will punish the bad (leaders). He will destroy them because they are so bad.
The LORD our God will destroy them.
Comments
The Story of Psalm 94
Bible students are not sure who wrote Psalm 94 or when. Maybe David wrote it. Maybe the psalmist (person who wrote the psalm) lived just before the exile. The exile was when the army from Babylon took the Jews (people that were born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children) away from Judah. They made them live in Babylon. 70 years later, they came home again. Perhaps the psalmist wrote it then.
Psalms 93 - 99 are "royal psalms". Royal describes someone who is a king. Bible students call these psalms "royal" because they call God "king". He is the ruler (or king) of everything! But Psalm 94 is not a royal psalm. It is between two psalms that are royal psalms. Why is it here? Because it tells us that God will destroy kings and rulers that do not obey him. Then everyone will see that God is king!
What Psalm 94 means
Study the psalm in 4 parts:
• verses 1 - 7: the psalmist asks God to do something about bad leaders.
• verses 8 - 11: the psalmist tells the bad rulers this. God does see what you are doing.
• verses 12 - 15: the psalmist describes life when rulers are good.
• verses 16 - 23: the psalmist tells us what God has done for him.
In many verses in this psalm, you will read the word LORD, with 4 capital letters. This translates the Hebrew word Yahweh (or Jehovah). The psalmist wrote Psalm 94 in the Hebrew language. Hebrew was the language that the Jews used. The word does not mean "master", as the English word "lord" does. It means "always alive". It is a special word. People that have agreed to love and obey God call him "LORD". It is the covenant name of God. People make a covenant with God when they agree to love and obey him.
In verses 1-7, the psalmist is complaining. Complaining means "saying that something is wrong". He is complaining about the "bad people", verse 3. Who are these bad people? The bad people before the exile, when the Jews went to Babylon, were foreign leaders. After the exile, the Jewish leaders were the bad people. Because we do not know the date of the psalm, we say that they are all bad leaders, foreign or Jewish. What is the psalmist complaining about? That God is doing nothing about it!
In verse 1 the psalmist says, "You are a great judge". A judge is someone that decides who is good and who is bad. Because God does nothing, the psalmist says, "show people that you are a great judge", verse 1. The Hebrew word for "great judge" really means "punish bad people". Because God is judge of all the earth, the psalmist says: "Give to proud people what they ought to receive", verse 2. Proud people think that they are great (when often they are not). These proud people do bad things, verses 4-7. They are as a heavy weight on God's people, verse 5. This means that God’s people have hurt and pain. The bad people kill widows and murder children, verse 6. Widows are married women, but their husbands are dead. Murder is another word for kill. The worst thing is in verse 7. They say that God is not looking. God will not see what they are doing. So the psalmist says to God "Do something!" (verse 2). He means "punish these bad people". Punish means "hurt them because they have been bad people". This is what "they ought to receive", (verse 2).
In verses 8-11, the psalmist speaks to the bad leaders. He tells them that they are fools. This does not mean that they are silly, or cannot think. It means that they are fools to think that God does not see what they are doing. In verses 8-9, the psalmist asks three questions. The answer to them all is "yes"! Yes, God can hear. Yes, God can see. And yes, God will punish bad leaders. The LORD God knows that what these people think is worth nothing. The Hebrew word "nothing" is "abel". It means "air". We often translate it "foolish" or "silly".
Then, in verses 12-15, the psalmist talks about good people. They have "good in their hearts", (verse 15). The Jews said that you thought in your heart. So, these people think good things. The LORD rules them, (verse 12). This means that God is their king. Remember, the psalms before and after Psalm 94 are royal psalms. "Laws", in verse 12, is another word for "rules". But God's laws are special rules. We find them in the Bible. The Hebrew word for "law" is "torah". They called the first 5 books of the Bible the Torah, also Isaiah, Jeremiah and other prophets. (Prophets were people that spoke God’s words. Some prophets wrote books in the Bible.)
In verse 13, we read about "the pit". The Jews thought that when you died you went to Sheol. Sheol was a dark place under the ground. In it was a big hole. They called it "the pit". It was where very bad people went. So, some people translate "until someone digs a pit" as "until they die". When that happens God promises good things for his people in verses 14 and 15.
There is a change in verses 16-23. The psalmist is now writing about himself. Some Bible students say that this is a separate psalm. Other students do not agree. It does not matter. God speaks to us through both parts of the psalm. Maybe the psalmist was the king! That would make Psalm 94 a royal psalm also.
The psalmist had trouble. He does not say what it was. Who fought for him and kept him safe, (verse 16)? It was the LORD, (verse 17), so the psalmist did not die. When the psalmist nearly fell, God made him safe, (verse 18). When he was not happy, God made him happy again, (verse 19). A better word for happy here is "confident". It means that you know everything will be OK. The psalm ends where it began. In verse 2, the psalmist asks God to punish bad leaders. Now he is confident that God will do that, (verse 23).
Something to do
1. Ask God to be your king. Tell him that you will love him and obey him. Then he will be your LORD.
2. Psalm 94:22 says, "God is my strong place (or fortress), and a rock". Read Psalm 18 and look for these words. How can God be a rock?
__o
Text from the EasyEnglish Bible Version and Commentary - used with permission - © 2001-2002, Wycliffe Associates (UK) - For more information about EasyEnglish Publications, visit their website: www.easyenglish.info
Go and teach all nations
God, Show that You Are a Great Judge!
Psalm 94
Jesus said, "I am a good judge. I do not do what I want to do. I obey the words of (God) that sent me". (John 5:30)
Psalm 94
v1 LORD, God, you are a great judge. So, God, show people that you are a great judge!
v2 Judge of the earth, do something! Give to proud people what they ought to get.
v3 How long will bad people, LORD, how long will bad people laugh (at good people)?
v4 (The bad people) speak many proud words. All the bad people are always saying that they are great.
v5 (The bad people) are as a heavy weight on your people, LORD. They are cruel to the people that belong to you.
v6 They kill widows and foreign people that live here. They murder children that have no fathers.
v7 They say, "The LORD is not looking (at us). The God of Jacob will not see (what we are doing)".
v8 Be careful, all you fools among the people! Fools ... learn to do the right thing!
v9 Does (God) that made the ear not hear? Does he that made the eye not see?
v10 Will he that rules the world not punish (our bad leaders)? He teaches people what they know.
v11 The LORD knows people’s thoughts. (Their thoughts) are worth nothing.
v12 The man that the LORD rules is very happy. (The LORD) teaches him (God’s) laws.
v13 You (LORD) give him rest from days of trouble, until someone digs a pit for bad men.
v14 For the LORD will not leave his people; he will not forget people that belong to him.
v15 Rulers will do what is fair and people with good in their hearts will do the same.
v16 Who fought for me against the bad people? Who kept me safe from the people that did wrong things?
v17 Unless the LORD had given me help, I would soon have gone to live in the quiet (place of death).
v18 When I thought that my feet were nearly falling, your kind love, LORD, kept me safe.
v19 When I was not happy in my mind, you made me strong and happy again.
v20 Can you (ever) agree with bad rulers? (No! Because) their rules make people sad.
v21 They join together against good people. They say that people that have done nothing wrong must die.
v22 But the LORD is my strong place. And my God is a rock where I can hide and be safe.
v23 He will punish the bad (leaders). He will destroy them because they are so bad.
The LORD our God will destroy them.
Comments
The Story of Psalm 94
Bible students are not sure who wrote Psalm 94 or when. Maybe David wrote it. Maybe the psalmist (person who wrote the psalm) lived just before the exile. The exile was when the army from Babylon took the Jews (people that were born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children) away from Judah. They made them live in Babylon. 70 years later, they came home again. Perhaps the psalmist wrote it then.
Psalms 93 - 99 are "royal psalms". Royal describes someone who is a king. Bible students call these psalms "royal" because they call God "king". He is the ruler (or king) of everything! But Psalm 94 is not a royal psalm. It is between two psalms that are royal psalms. Why is it here? Because it tells us that God will destroy kings and rulers that do not obey him. Then everyone will see that God is king!
What Psalm 94 means
Study the psalm in 4 parts:
• verses 1 - 7: the psalmist asks God to do something about bad leaders.
• verses 8 - 11: the psalmist tells the bad rulers this. God does see what you are doing.
• verses 12 - 15: the psalmist describes life when rulers are good.
• verses 16 - 23: the psalmist tells us what God has done for him.
In many verses in this psalm, you will read the word LORD, with 4 capital letters. This translates the Hebrew word Yahweh (or Jehovah). The psalmist wrote Psalm 94 in the Hebrew language. Hebrew was the language that the Jews used. The word does not mean "master", as the English word "lord" does. It means "always alive". It is a special word. People that have agreed to love and obey God call him "LORD". It is the covenant name of God. People make a covenant with God when they agree to love and obey him.
In verses 1-7, the psalmist is complaining. Complaining means "saying that something is wrong". He is complaining about the "bad people", verse 3. Who are these bad people? The bad people before the exile, when the Jews went to Babylon, were foreign leaders. After the exile, the Jewish leaders were the bad people. Because we do not know the date of the psalm, we say that they are all bad leaders, foreign or Jewish. What is the psalmist complaining about? That God is doing nothing about it!
In verse 1 the psalmist says, "You are a great judge". A judge is someone that decides who is good and who is bad. Because God does nothing, the psalmist says, "show people that you are a great judge", verse 1. The Hebrew word for "great judge" really means "punish bad people". Because God is judge of all the earth, the psalmist says: "Give to proud people what they ought to receive", verse 2. Proud people think that they are great (when often they are not). These proud people do bad things, verses 4-7. They are as a heavy weight on God's people, verse 5. This means that God’s people have hurt and pain. The bad people kill widows and murder children, verse 6. Widows are married women, but their husbands are dead. Murder is another word for kill. The worst thing is in verse 7. They say that God is not looking. God will not see what they are doing. So the psalmist says to God "Do something!" (verse 2). He means "punish these bad people". Punish means "hurt them because they have been bad people". This is what "they ought to receive", (verse 2).
In verses 8-11, the psalmist speaks to the bad leaders. He tells them that they are fools. This does not mean that they are silly, or cannot think. It means that they are fools to think that God does not see what they are doing. In verses 8-9, the psalmist asks three questions. The answer to them all is "yes"! Yes, God can hear. Yes, God can see. And yes, God will punish bad leaders. The LORD God knows that what these people think is worth nothing. The Hebrew word "nothing" is "abel". It means "air". We often translate it "foolish" or "silly".
Then, in verses 12-15, the psalmist talks about good people. They have "good in their hearts", (verse 15). The Jews said that you thought in your heart. So, these people think good things. The LORD rules them, (verse 12). This means that God is their king. Remember, the psalms before and after Psalm 94 are royal psalms. "Laws", in verse 12, is another word for "rules". But God's laws are special rules. We find them in the Bible. The Hebrew word for "law" is "torah". They called the first 5 books of the Bible the Torah, also Isaiah, Jeremiah and other prophets. (Prophets were people that spoke God’s words. Some prophets wrote books in the Bible.)
In verse 13, we read about "the pit". The Jews thought that when you died you went to Sheol. Sheol was a dark place under the ground. In it was a big hole. They called it "the pit". It was where very bad people went. So, some people translate "until someone digs a pit" as "until they die". When that happens God promises good things for his people in verses 14 and 15.
There is a change in verses 16-23. The psalmist is now writing about himself. Some Bible students say that this is a separate psalm. Other students do not agree. It does not matter. God speaks to us through both parts of the psalm. Maybe the psalmist was the king! That would make Psalm 94 a royal psalm also.
The psalmist had trouble. He does not say what it was. Who fought for him and kept him safe, (verse 16)? It was the LORD, (verse 17), so the psalmist did not die. When the psalmist nearly fell, God made him safe, (verse 18). When he was not happy, God made him happy again, (verse 19). A better word for happy here is "confident". It means that you know everything will be OK. The psalm ends where it began. In verse 2, the psalmist asks God to punish bad leaders. Now he is confident that God will do that, (verse 23).
Something to do
1. Ask God to be your king. Tell him that you will love him and obey him. Then he will be your LORD.
2. Psalm 94:22 says, "God is my strong place (or fortress), and a rock". Read Psalm 18 and look for these words. How can God be a rock?
__o
Text from the EasyEnglish Bible Version and Commentary - used with permission - © 2001-2002, Wycliffe Associates (UK) - For more information about EasyEnglish Publications, visit their website: www.easyenglish.info
Go and teach all nations
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
Go and teach all nations - Psalm 93
Go and teach all nations
The Lord is King!
Psalm 93
The Roman leader said to Jesus, "Are you the King of the Jews?" And Jesus said to him, "(Yes), it is as you say". (Matthew 27:11)
Psalm 93: 1 - 5
(The first royal psalm)
v1 The LORD is King! He is ruling with authority. The LORD is ruling with great power. Also, the world will not change. Nobody will move it any more.
v2 You (LORD) have been king for a very long time. You were alive before the world started.
v3 The rivers rose up, LORD, the rivers rose up and made a loud noise. The rivers rose up as a great storm.
v4 But the LORD rules over everyone! He is greater than all the noise of the waters,
stronger than the sea itself.
v5 LORD, the rules that you make will remain. Your house will always be beautiful because you are so good.
Comments
The Story of Psalm 93
This psalm has no words at the top to tell us about it. But there may be a story! Some Bible students think that the psalm is about God making (creating) the world. It describes what God did in Genesis 1:6-10.
This is when God made the waters of the sea separate from the dry land. Here are the verses from Genesis 1.
Psalm 93: 6 - 10
v6 And God said, "I want a space in the middle of the waters. I want it to make the waters separate".
v7 And God made (created) the space. He made the waters that were under the space separate from those that were over the space. And so it happened.
v8 And God called the space "sky". And the evening and the morning were the second day.
v9 And God said, "I want the waters under the sky to be together in one place. I want the dry land to appear. And so it happened.
v10 And God called the dry land "earth". And where the waters were together, he called "seas". And God saw that it was good.
Comments
But other Bible students tell us that in verse 3 the word is "rivers", not "waters" or "seas". They say the rivers are the River Tigris, the River Euphrates and the River Nile. So they say that the psalm has this meaning:
• God was always king (Exodus 15:18) but his people said, "We want a king to rule us" (1 Samuel 12:12). They meant a man on earth, not God. So, God gave them kings, Saul, David, Solomon and many other kings.
• Many of the kings were bad kings. They did not rule well. And God’s people did not obey God’s rules. God let foreign kings destroy them. These foreign kings came from Assyria, Egypt and Babylon. The rivers in these countries are the Euphrates, the Nile and the Tigris. Verse 3 says that the rivers rose up. That means this. The countries that would destroy Israel and Judah were attacking them. They took Israel and Judah away from their own country. We call this "the exile".
• But the exile ended in 538 B.C. (B.C. means "years Before Christ came to the earth")
The Jews (people that were born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children) went back to their own country. God had destroyed Assyria, Egypt and Babylon. He was more powerful than all these waters, (verse 4).
• The Jews now had no king, so God became their king again. They were not ruled by human kings any more, but by God. The LORD is king, (verse 1)! What Isaiah said in Isaiah 52:7 happened. "How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of him that brings good news. He says to Zion 'Your God is king!' " Zion here is another name for Jerusalem.
Both meanings are true. We do not know if there was another meaning for the psalm. But it tells us one important thing: Whatever happens, God is still King over everything! We must remember this when bad things happen. Psalm 93 is the first of "The Royal Psalms". "Royal" is a word that describes kings. In Psalms 93 and 95-99, God is King of Everything.
What Psalm 93 means
Verse 1: In the Hebrew Bible, "The LORD is ruling" is "The LORD is wearing". He wears his authority and his power as clothes. Everyone can see them. The word "great" in Hebrew is really "belt". Nobody can take this power and authority away from God. This is because he has fastened the belt and nobody can undo it! LORD is a special name for God. It means that he will always be alive. He will always make his people safe. They are the people that love and work for him. The word "war" is not in the Hebrew Bible. It is there to give us help to understand how the Jews felt. Hebrew was the language that the Jews spoke. They wrote the psalms in Hebrew.
Verse 2: tells us that God has been king for a very long time. He was king of everything before he made (created) the world. It is this verse that suggests Genesis 1:6-10. He was king before there was a world!
Verse 3: Three times we read "the rivers rose up". This suggests rivers that get higher and higher ... until they drown people! This means "danger!" The loud noise and the storm also mean "danger!" That danger was maybe when Assyria, Egypt and Babylon attacked Judah and Israel. This happened many times between 750 and 590 B.C.
Verse 4: But God is stronger than Assyria, Egypt and Babylon. Or, if the first meaning is correct, stronger than the waters in Genesis 1:6-10.
Verse 5 The rules of God are in the Bible. Psalm 119 says a lot about God’s rules. The house of God is usually the temple in Jerusalem. The temple was a special house that Solomon built. When Babylon destroyed Jerusalem, they also destroyed the temple. But, after the exile, the Jews built it again. If the second meaning is the correct one, then this means the new temple. They believed that God lived in this house. And God is good. That made his house special. It made it beautiful.
Something to do
1. Study Psalm 119 in this series of Psalms. It is in Book 5 of "The Psalms of David". Learn about the rules (or laws) of God.
2. Read Isaiah 8:7-8. This will tell you about Assyria and the River Euphrates.
3. Read Jeremiah 46:7-8. This will tell you about Egypt and the River Nile.
4. Read Psalm 46:3, Psalm 89:9 and Isaiah 17:12-13. This will tell you that the sea is a picture of God’s enemies.
__o
Text from the EasyEnglish Bible Version and Commentary - used with permission - © 2001-2002, Wycliffe Associates (UK) - For more information about EasyEnglish Publications, visit their website: www.easyenglish.info
Go and teach all nations
The Lord is King!
Psalm 93
The Roman leader said to Jesus, "Are you the King of the Jews?" And Jesus said to him, "(Yes), it is as you say". (Matthew 27:11)
Psalm 93: 1 - 5
(The first royal psalm)
v1 The LORD is King! He is ruling with authority. The LORD is ruling with great power. Also, the world will not change. Nobody will move it any more.
v2 You (LORD) have been king for a very long time. You were alive before the world started.
v3 The rivers rose up, LORD, the rivers rose up and made a loud noise. The rivers rose up as a great storm.
v4 But the LORD rules over everyone! He is greater than all the noise of the waters,
stronger than the sea itself.
v5 LORD, the rules that you make will remain. Your house will always be beautiful because you are so good.
Comments
The Story of Psalm 93
This psalm has no words at the top to tell us about it. But there may be a story! Some Bible students think that the psalm is about God making (creating) the world. It describes what God did in Genesis 1:6-10.
This is when God made the waters of the sea separate from the dry land. Here are the verses from Genesis 1.
Psalm 93: 6 - 10
v6 And God said, "I want a space in the middle of the waters. I want it to make the waters separate".
v7 And God made (created) the space. He made the waters that were under the space separate from those that were over the space. And so it happened.
v8 And God called the space "sky". And the evening and the morning were the second day.
v9 And God said, "I want the waters under the sky to be together in one place. I want the dry land to appear. And so it happened.
v10 And God called the dry land "earth". And where the waters were together, he called "seas". And God saw that it was good.
Comments
But other Bible students tell us that in verse 3 the word is "rivers", not "waters" or "seas". They say the rivers are the River Tigris, the River Euphrates and the River Nile. So they say that the psalm has this meaning:
• God was always king (Exodus 15:18) but his people said, "We want a king to rule us" (1 Samuel 12:12). They meant a man on earth, not God. So, God gave them kings, Saul, David, Solomon and many other kings.
• Many of the kings were bad kings. They did not rule well. And God’s people did not obey God’s rules. God let foreign kings destroy them. These foreign kings came from Assyria, Egypt and Babylon. The rivers in these countries are the Euphrates, the Nile and the Tigris. Verse 3 says that the rivers rose up. That means this. The countries that would destroy Israel and Judah were attacking them. They took Israel and Judah away from their own country. We call this "the exile".
• But the exile ended in 538 B.C. (B.C. means "years Before Christ came to the earth")
The Jews (people that were born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children) went back to their own country. God had destroyed Assyria, Egypt and Babylon. He was more powerful than all these waters, (verse 4).
• The Jews now had no king, so God became their king again. They were not ruled by human kings any more, but by God. The LORD is king, (verse 1)! What Isaiah said in Isaiah 52:7 happened. "How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of him that brings good news. He says to Zion 'Your God is king!' " Zion here is another name for Jerusalem.
Both meanings are true. We do not know if there was another meaning for the psalm. But it tells us one important thing: Whatever happens, God is still King over everything! We must remember this when bad things happen. Psalm 93 is the first of "The Royal Psalms". "Royal" is a word that describes kings. In Psalms 93 and 95-99, God is King of Everything.
What Psalm 93 means
Verse 1: In the Hebrew Bible, "The LORD is ruling" is "The LORD is wearing". He wears his authority and his power as clothes. Everyone can see them. The word "great" in Hebrew is really "belt". Nobody can take this power and authority away from God. This is because he has fastened the belt and nobody can undo it! LORD is a special name for God. It means that he will always be alive. He will always make his people safe. They are the people that love and work for him. The word "war" is not in the Hebrew Bible. It is there to give us help to understand how the Jews felt. Hebrew was the language that the Jews spoke. They wrote the psalms in Hebrew.
Verse 2: tells us that God has been king for a very long time. He was king of everything before he made (created) the world. It is this verse that suggests Genesis 1:6-10. He was king before there was a world!
Verse 3: Three times we read "the rivers rose up". This suggests rivers that get higher and higher ... until they drown people! This means "danger!" The loud noise and the storm also mean "danger!" That danger was maybe when Assyria, Egypt and Babylon attacked Judah and Israel. This happened many times between 750 and 590 B.C.
Verse 4: But God is stronger than Assyria, Egypt and Babylon. Or, if the first meaning is correct, stronger than the waters in Genesis 1:6-10.
Verse 5 The rules of God are in the Bible. Psalm 119 says a lot about God’s rules. The house of God is usually the temple in Jerusalem. The temple was a special house that Solomon built. When Babylon destroyed Jerusalem, they also destroyed the temple. But, after the exile, the Jews built it again. If the second meaning is the correct one, then this means the new temple. They believed that God lived in this house. And God is good. That made his house special. It made it beautiful.
Something to do
1. Study Psalm 119 in this series of Psalms. It is in Book 5 of "The Psalms of David". Learn about the rules (or laws) of God.
2. Read Isaiah 8:7-8. This will tell you about Assyria and the River Euphrates.
3. Read Jeremiah 46:7-8. This will tell you about Egypt and the River Nile.
4. Read Psalm 46:3, Psalm 89:9 and Isaiah 17:12-13. This will tell you that the sea is a picture of God’s enemies.
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Text from the EasyEnglish Bible Version and Commentary - used with permission - © 2001-2002, Wycliffe Associates (UK) - For more information about EasyEnglish Publications, visit their website: www.easyenglish.info
Go and teach all nations
Monday, June 12, 2006
Go and teach all nations - Psalm 92
Go and teach all nations
A Song for Saturday
Psalm 92
Jesus said, "Thank you, Father". (Matthew 11:25)
Psalm 92
(This) psalm (is a) song (to sing) on Saturday.
v1 It is good to tell the LORD that he is great, and to make music to your name, Most High (God).
v2 (It is good) to talk about your kind love in the morning. And (to talk) every night (about) how you do what you have promised.
v3 (It is good) to make music with lutes and harps. And (it is good) to sing with the lyre.
v4 Because, LORD, the things that you have done make me so happy. I want to tell you that you are great because of the things that your hands have made!
v5 LORD, how great are the things that you have done! Your thoughts are (often) hard to understand!
v6 (Only) a silly man would not know this and (only) a fool would not understand it.
v7 That:
• if bad people grow as grass
• and all the very bad people grow as weeds (you) will destroy them and they will never (grow) again.
v8 But you, LORD, will always be the Most High!
v9 Because your enemies, LORD, your enemies will certainly die. You will chase all the people that do bad things to different places.
v10 You have made me very strong, as strong as a big wild animal. (You did this when) you poured fresh oil over me.
v11 Mine eyes have seen (you) beat mine enemies. Mine ears have heard you beat the bad people that attack me.
v12 Righteous people will grow as well as a palm-tree. They will grow as the cedars in Lebanon.
v13 They are as (trees that someone) planted in the house of the LORD. They grow really well (near) the temple of our God.
v14 When they are old, they will still give fruit! They will always be fresh and green.
v15 They will show (everyone) that the LORD is good. He is my rock. There is nothing bad in him.
Comments
The Story of Psalm 92
The Jews (people that were born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children) had a story that Adam sang this song the day after God made him. The Jews called that day the Sabbath, the 7th day. We call it Saturday. Really, we do not know who the person was that wrote Psalm 92. We call the person that wrote a psalm the psalmist. Maybe it was after God had done something good for his people Judah or Israel. Many Bible students think that it was when King Cyrus of Persia beat King Belshazzar of Babylon. Cyrus then sent the Jews home to their own country. For 70 years, the Babylonians had made them live in Babylon. Now they were free!
The Meaning of Psalm 92
Study the psalm in 5 parts:
• Verses 1 - 3 say that it is good to tell the LORD that he is great and to use music to do it.
• Verses 4 - 6 say that God has done something good. You would have to be silly not to see it.
• Verses 7 - 9 tell us that even if the enemy is strong, God will destroy them.
• Verses 10 - 11 tell us that God has made the psalmist very strong. And also that God has destroyed his enemies.
• Verses 12 - 15 tell us that all righteous people will be strong.
Verses 1 – 3: In this part there are two words for God and three words for things that make music. We call these things "musical instruments". They are the lute, harp and lyre. The psalm calls God "LORD" and "Most High". "LORD" means that he is always alive. "Most High" means that he is more important than anyone else is. In verse 2, "do what you have promised" suggests that God has done something good.
Verses 4 – 6: Now the psalmist says that God has done something good. The psalmist is now very happy. Only a silly man would not see what God has done. What God thinks is often hard to understand. Only fools would not agree that grass and weeds grow everywhere.
Verses 7 – 9: Grass and weeds grow everywhere! So do bad people. But God will destroy them and they will never come back again. Really, they destroy themselves, as Hosea 13:9 tells us. It says, "You have destroyed yourselves (yourselves means more than one yourself)".
Verses 10 – 11: Here Bible students think that the psalmist was a leader of the people. If he wrote the psalm before Babylon beat the Jews, then that leader was the king.
They made people king by pouring special oil over them. We are not sure what the wild animal was. Maybe it was a wild ox. An ox is a kind of cow.
Verses 12 – 15: Now the psalmist talks about righteous people. Righteous is a word that means "very, very good". Only God is really righteous. But God makes people that love him righteous too. It does not mean that they are good. It means that they love God and want to obey him. They will not be as grass and weeds that do not live long, verse 7. Instead, they are as trees. They are as palm trees that produce fruit called "dates"; and as the cedar tree which lives for centuries. "The temple of our God" in verse 13 is the same as "the house of the LORD". It was a special building where the people went to meet God.
Something to do
1. Count how many times me, my or mine come in the psalm.
2. How many times does "LORD" come in the psalm?
3. If you have a Bible, read Ezekiel 18.
4. Learn to say Psalm 92:8 by heart. (This means without looking at the words.)
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Text from the EasyEnglish Bible Version and Commentary - used with permission - © 2001-2002, Wycliffe Associates (UK) - For more information about EasyEnglish Publications, visit their website: www.easyenglish.info
Go and teach all nations
A Song for Saturday
Psalm 92
Jesus said, "Thank you, Father". (Matthew 11:25)
Psalm 92
(This) psalm (is a) song (to sing) on Saturday.
v1 It is good to tell the LORD that he is great, and to make music to your name, Most High (God).
v2 (It is good) to talk about your kind love in the morning. And (to talk) every night (about) how you do what you have promised.
v3 (It is good) to make music with lutes and harps. And (it is good) to sing with the lyre.
v4 Because, LORD, the things that you have done make me so happy. I want to tell you that you are great because of the things that your hands have made!
v5 LORD, how great are the things that you have done! Your thoughts are (often) hard to understand!
v6 (Only) a silly man would not know this and (only) a fool would not understand it.
v7 That:
• if bad people grow as grass
• and all the very bad people grow as weeds (you) will destroy them and they will never (grow) again.
v8 But you, LORD, will always be the Most High!
v9 Because your enemies, LORD, your enemies will certainly die. You will chase all the people that do bad things to different places.
v10 You have made me very strong, as strong as a big wild animal. (You did this when) you poured fresh oil over me.
v11 Mine eyes have seen (you) beat mine enemies. Mine ears have heard you beat the bad people that attack me.
v12 Righteous people will grow as well as a palm-tree. They will grow as the cedars in Lebanon.
v13 They are as (trees that someone) planted in the house of the LORD. They grow really well (near) the temple of our God.
v14 When they are old, they will still give fruit! They will always be fresh and green.
v15 They will show (everyone) that the LORD is good. He is my rock. There is nothing bad in him.
Comments
The Story of Psalm 92
The Jews (people that were born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children) had a story that Adam sang this song the day after God made him. The Jews called that day the Sabbath, the 7th day. We call it Saturday. Really, we do not know who the person was that wrote Psalm 92. We call the person that wrote a psalm the psalmist. Maybe it was after God had done something good for his people Judah or Israel. Many Bible students think that it was when King Cyrus of Persia beat King Belshazzar of Babylon. Cyrus then sent the Jews home to their own country. For 70 years, the Babylonians had made them live in Babylon. Now they were free!
The Meaning of Psalm 92
Study the psalm in 5 parts:
• Verses 1 - 3 say that it is good to tell the LORD that he is great and to use music to do it.
• Verses 4 - 6 say that God has done something good. You would have to be silly not to see it.
• Verses 7 - 9 tell us that even if the enemy is strong, God will destroy them.
• Verses 10 - 11 tell us that God has made the psalmist very strong. And also that God has destroyed his enemies.
• Verses 12 - 15 tell us that all righteous people will be strong.
Verses 1 – 3: In this part there are two words for God and three words for things that make music. We call these things "musical instruments". They are the lute, harp and lyre. The psalm calls God "LORD" and "Most High". "LORD" means that he is always alive. "Most High" means that he is more important than anyone else is. In verse 2, "do what you have promised" suggests that God has done something good.
Verses 4 – 6: Now the psalmist says that God has done something good. The psalmist is now very happy. Only a silly man would not see what God has done. What God thinks is often hard to understand. Only fools would not agree that grass and weeds grow everywhere.
Verses 7 – 9: Grass and weeds grow everywhere! So do bad people. But God will destroy them and they will never come back again. Really, they destroy themselves, as Hosea 13:9 tells us. It says, "You have destroyed yourselves (yourselves means more than one yourself)".
Verses 10 – 11: Here Bible students think that the psalmist was a leader of the people. If he wrote the psalm before Babylon beat the Jews, then that leader was the king.
They made people king by pouring special oil over them. We are not sure what the wild animal was. Maybe it was a wild ox. An ox is a kind of cow.
Verses 12 – 15: Now the psalmist talks about righteous people. Righteous is a word that means "very, very good". Only God is really righteous. But God makes people that love him righteous too. It does not mean that they are good. It means that they love God and want to obey him. They will not be as grass and weeds that do not live long, verse 7. Instead, they are as trees. They are as palm trees that produce fruit called "dates"; and as the cedar tree which lives for centuries. "The temple of our God" in verse 13 is the same as "the house of the LORD". It was a special building where the people went to meet God.
Something to do
1. Count how many times me, my or mine come in the psalm.
2. How many times does "LORD" come in the psalm?
3. If you have a Bible, read Ezekiel 18.
4. Learn to say Psalm 92:8 by heart. (This means without looking at the words.)
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Text from the EasyEnglish Bible Version and Commentary - used with permission - © 2001-2002, Wycliffe Associates (UK) - For more information about EasyEnglish Publications, visit their website: www.easyenglish.info
Go and teach all nations
Sunday, June 11, 2006
Go and teach all nations - Psalm 91
Go and teach all nations
Psalm 91
My safe place!
Jesus said, "Jerusalem, I often wanted to get your children together as a mother bird gets her babies under her wings" (Matthew 23:37).
Psalm 91
v1 Whoever stays in the secret place of the Most High will remain under the shadow of the Almighty.
v2 I will say to the LORD, "(You are) my safe place and my strong castle. (You are) my God and I am trusting in you".
v3 He (God) really will save you from the trap that the bird-catcher (hid). And (God will save you) from illnesses that cause death.
v4 He will cover you with his feathers. You will be safe under his wings. (God) will do what he promised. And he will be like big and small shields over you.
v5, v6 Do not be afraid of:
• bad spirits at night,
• or the arrow that flies in the day,
• or illnesses that come when it is dark,
• or something bad that may destroy you at midday.
v7 A thousand (people) may die by your side. Ten thousand (people may die) by your right hand. But (the danger) will not come near to you.
v8 Your eyes will see it and watch, while it destroys bad people.
v9, v10 For you, LORD, make me safe. (Because) the Most High is your home, bad things will not happen to you. And there will be no fighting near where you live.
v11 For (God) will tell his angels what to do for you. They will make you safe everywhere that you go.
v12 Their hands will give you help so that you will not (even) hurt your feet on a stone.
v13 You will walk on the lion and the cobra. The young lion and the serpent will be under your feet.
v14 (God says) I will make the person safe that loves me. Danger will not hurt him that knows (and trusts in) my name.
v15 He will pray to me and I will answer him. When he has trouble, I will be with him. I will save him and make him famous.
v16 I will make him happy with a long life. He will enjoy what I will do for him.
Comments
In Psalm 91, many Bible students think that there are three people, or groups of people, that speak. We have shown this in the letters. This makes the psalm easier to study. The three are:
• A crowd of people (called the "chorus") in the usual letters: verses 1, 3 - 8, 9b – 13. (9b means the second part of verse 9).
• One person (called the "psalmist") in leaning letters: verses 2 and 9a.
• God himself in dark letters: verses 14 - 16.
The Story of Psalm 91
There is nothing in Psalm 91 that tells us who wrote it or when. It may be "words that Moses prayed", as Psalm 90. The two psalms do have the same feeling.
Jesus knew this psalm. He repeated words from it when his enemy (Satan) tried to tempt him. "Tempt" means "try to make someone do what they should not do". The story is in Matthew 4:11.
What Psalm 91 means
Bible students study this psalm as if three people are speaking.
• a priest (one of God’s servants in his house) speaks in verses 1, 3 - 8 and 9b - 13.
• someone praying to God speaks in verses 2 and 9a.
• God speaks in verses 14 - 16.
(9a means the first part of verse 9; 9b means the second part.)
There are 4 names for God in the first 2 verses of this psalm: Most High, Almighty, LORD and God. Some of them come again later. They are 4 different words in the Hebrew Bible. Hebrew is the language that the Jews spoke when they wrote the psalms. Jews are people that were born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children. This is what the words mean:
• Most High means that God is more important than anyone else.
• Almighty means that God is more powerful than anyone else.
• LORD means that he will never die.
• God means that he decides what will happen.
The priest says that everyone will be safe with the Most High, who is the Almighty. The person that he says it to replies. He replies that the LORD is his castle. He trusts in God. A castle is a strong building where you are safe from your enemies. He does not mean that God is a castle. He means that God is as a castle. So, he trusts (or believes that he will be safe) in God.
The priest answers that God will make him safe. He puts this into picture language:
• a trap is what people catch birds in. The bird cannot see it. But God will not let anything catch his servant (verse 3a).
• God will not let illness destroy his servant (verse 3b).
• Verse 4 gives us a picture ... of God as a bird! A bird has wings (that it flies with) and feathers (on its wings). It makes young birds safe under these feathers and wings. God does the same for his servants. He makes them safe. Another word for "make safe" is "protect".
• there are two shields in verse 4 also, big and small. Shields are what soldiers protect themselves with. God protects ... or makes safe ... his people. But the shield is only a picture. It is a picture of God’s loyalty. Loyalty means that you do not stop being a friend to someone. You do not stop giving them help whatever happens. Wings and feathers are pictures of big and small shields. Here is an example of Hebrew poetry. The Jews wrote the psalms in Hebrew. Poetry is a special and beautiful way to use words. The Jews said the same thing with two different sets of words!
In verses 5 - 10, we read about dangers, arrows, illnesses, bad things and fighting. Arrows are sharp sticks that bows shoot. Today we have guns! Bible students have two ideas about all these things:
• they are a plague. A plague is an illness that people catch from each other. If one person becomes ill, many other people that live near become ill also.
• they are bad (or evil) spirits. An evil spirit is a servant of God’s enemy Satan. We cannot see them, but we can see what they do. They make people ill in their minds and their bodies.
These verses tell us not to be afraid! If we trust in God (ask God for help and believe that he will give it) then he will protect us from illness and evil spirits. It is important to know that the psalm does not mean the illnesses that we often get, like colds. It means plagues. Even if we become ill through a plague, God will protect us after we die. We will live with him in heaven, his home. And God will always protect us from evil spirits. In verse 7, "by your side" may mean "by your left side". In verse 9, it says "the Most High is your home". This is picture language while we live on earth. It means we can go to God any time and anywhere. We can pray to him and he will hear and answer us. As it says in verse 15. When we die and get to heaven then God’s home will be our home. But we must love and obey God for this to happen.
In verse 11, the angels are God’s servants. We cannot always see them, but they are always there to give us help. In verse 13, lions are animals that eat other animals. They even eat people! Cobras and serpents are snakes. When they bite you, they put poison into you. But "walk on" and "under your feet" mean that lions and snakes will not hurt us if we love and obey God. But this does not mean that we have to walk on snakes to see if the psalm is true. It means that if we walk on it without knowing that it is there, we will be safe.
The last three verses are words of God. "What I will do for him" in verse 16 means "the things I do to save him". We call this "his salvation". Salvation means "saving" or "making safe". In the psalm, it means while we are alive on earth. Christians believe it means after we die also.
Something to do
1. Get a group of people together. Make one of them be the priest and say verses 1, 3 - 8 and 9b - 13. Make another say verses 2 and 9a. Make the whole group say God’s words, verses 14-16.
2. Learn to say Psalm 91:2 by heart. (This means, without looking at the words.)
3. Study some verses from the psalms ... any psalms. Look for Hebrew poetry. Hebrew poetry says the same thing more than once with different words. Or else it says the same thing twice, with words that are more powerful the second time.
4. If you have a Bible, read Revelation 12. Here is a story about people who were safe while they did what God wanted them to do. Then he took them to be with him in heaven.
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Text from the EasyEnglish Bible Version and Commentary - used with permission - © 2001-2002, Wycliffe Associates (UK) - For more information about EasyEnglish Publications, visit their website: www.easyenglish.info
Go and teach all nations
Psalm 91
My safe place!
Jesus said, "Jerusalem, I often wanted to get your children together as a mother bird gets her babies under her wings" (Matthew 23:37).
Psalm 91
v1 Whoever stays in the secret place of the Most High will remain under the shadow of the Almighty.
v2 I will say to the LORD, "(You are) my safe place and my strong castle. (You are) my God and I am trusting in you".
v3 He (God) really will save you from the trap that the bird-catcher (hid). And (God will save you) from illnesses that cause death.
v4 He will cover you with his feathers. You will be safe under his wings. (God) will do what he promised. And he will be like big and small shields over you.
v5, v6 Do not be afraid of:
• bad spirits at night,
• or the arrow that flies in the day,
• or illnesses that come when it is dark,
• or something bad that may destroy you at midday.
v7 A thousand (people) may die by your side. Ten thousand (people may die) by your right hand. But (the danger) will not come near to you.
v8 Your eyes will see it and watch, while it destroys bad people.
v9, v10 For you, LORD, make me safe. (Because) the Most High is your home, bad things will not happen to you. And there will be no fighting near where you live.
v11 For (God) will tell his angels what to do for you. They will make you safe everywhere that you go.
v12 Their hands will give you help so that you will not (even) hurt your feet on a stone.
v13 You will walk on the lion and the cobra. The young lion and the serpent will be under your feet.
v14 (God says) I will make the person safe that loves me. Danger will not hurt him that knows (and trusts in) my name.
v15 He will pray to me and I will answer him. When he has trouble, I will be with him. I will save him and make him famous.
v16 I will make him happy with a long life. He will enjoy what I will do for him.
Comments
In Psalm 91, many Bible students think that there are three people, or groups of people, that speak. We have shown this in the letters. This makes the psalm easier to study. The three are:
• A crowd of people (called the "chorus") in the usual letters: verses 1, 3 - 8, 9b – 13. (9b means the second part of verse 9).
• One person (called the "psalmist") in leaning letters: verses 2 and 9a.
• God himself in dark letters: verses 14 - 16.
The Story of Psalm 91
There is nothing in Psalm 91 that tells us who wrote it or when. It may be "words that Moses prayed", as Psalm 90. The two psalms do have the same feeling.
Jesus knew this psalm. He repeated words from it when his enemy (Satan) tried to tempt him. "Tempt" means "try to make someone do what they should not do". The story is in Matthew 4:11.
What Psalm 91 means
Bible students study this psalm as if three people are speaking.
• a priest (one of God’s servants in his house) speaks in verses 1, 3 - 8 and 9b - 13.
• someone praying to God speaks in verses 2 and 9a.
• God speaks in verses 14 - 16.
(9a means the first part of verse 9; 9b means the second part.)
There are 4 names for God in the first 2 verses of this psalm: Most High, Almighty, LORD and God. Some of them come again later. They are 4 different words in the Hebrew Bible. Hebrew is the language that the Jews spoke when they wrote the psalms. Jews are people that were born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children. This is what the words mean:
• Most High means that God is more important than anyone else.
• Almighty means that God is more powerful than anyone else.
• LORD means that he will never die.
• God means that he decides what will happen.
The priest says that everyone will be safe with the Most High, who is the Almighty. The person that he says it to replies. He replies that the LORD is his castle. He trusts in God. A castle is a strong building where you are safe from your enemies. He does not mean that God is a castle. He means that God is as a castle. So, he trusts (or believes that he will be safe) in God.
The priest answers that God will make him safe. He puts this into picture language:
• a trap is what people catch birds in. The bird cannot see it. But God will not let anything catch his servant (verse 3a).
• God will not let illness destroy his servant (verse 3b).
• Verse 4 gives us a picture ... of God as a bird! A bird has wings (that it flies with) and feathers (on its wings). It makes young birds safe under these feathers and wings. God does the same for his servants. He makes them safe. Another word for "make safe" is "protect".
• there are two shields in verse 4 also, big and small. Shields are what soldiers protect themselves with. God protects ... or makes safe ... his people. But the shield is only a picture. It is a picture of God’s loyalty. Loyalty means that you do not stop being a friend to someone. You do not stop giving them help whatever happens. Wings and feathers are pictures of big and small shields. Here is an example of Hebrew poetry. The Jews wrote the psalms in Hebrew. Poetry is a special and beautiful way to use words. The Jews said the same thing with two different sets of words!
In verses 5 - 10, we read about dangers, arrows, illnesses, bad things and fighting. Arrows are sharp sticks that bows shoot. Today we have guns! Bible students have two ideas about all these things:
• they are a plague. A plague is an illness that people catch from each other. If one person becomes ill, many other people that live near become ill also.
• they are bad (or evil) spirits. An evil spirit is a servant of God’s enemy Satan. We cannot see them, but we can see what they do. They make people ill in their minds and their bodies.
These verses tell us not to be afraid! If we trust in God (ask God for help and believe that he will give it) then he will protect us from illness and evil spirits. It is important to know that the psalm does not mean the illnesses that we often get, like colds. It means plagues. Even if we become ill through a plague, God will protect us after we die. We will live with him in heaven, his home. And God will always protect us from evil spirits. In verse 7, "by your side" may mean "by your left side". In verse 9, it says "the Most High is your home". This is picture language while we live on earth. It means we can go to God any time and anywhere. We can pray to him and he will hear and answer us. As it says in verse 15. When we die and get to heaven then God’s home will be our home. But we must love and obey God for this to happen.
In verse 11, the angels are God’s servants. We cannot always see them, but they are always there to give us help. In verse 13, lions are animals that eat other animals. They even eat people! Cobras and serpents are snakes. When they bite you, they put poison into you. But "walk on" and "under your feet" mean that lions and snakes will not hurt us if we love and obey God. But this does not mean that we have to walk on snakes to see if the psalm is true. It means that if we walk on it without knowing that it is there, we will be safe.
The last three verses are words of God. "What I will do for him" in verse 16 means "the things I do to save him". We call this "his salvation". Salvation means "saving" or "making safe". In the psalm, it means while we are alive on earth. Christians believe it means after we die also.
Something to do
1. Get a group of people together. Make one of them be the priest and say verses 1, 3 - 8 and 9b - 13. Make another say verses 2 and 9a. Make the whole group say God’s words, verses 14-16.
2. Learn to say Psalm 91:2 by heart. (This means, without looking at the words.)
3. Study some verses from the psalms ... any psalms. Look for Hebrew poetry. Hebrew poetry says the same thing more than once with different words. Or else it says the same thing twice, with words that are more powerful the second time.
4. If you have a Bible, read Revelation 12. Here is a story about people who were safe while they did what God wanted them to do. Then he took them to be with him in heaven.
__o
Text from the EasyEnglish Bible Version and Commentary - used with permission - © 2001-2002, Wycliffe Associates (UK) - For more information about EasyEnglish Publications, visit their website: www.easyenglish.info
Go and teach all nations
Saturday, June 10, 2006
Go and teach all nations - Psalm 90
Go and teach all nations
Psalm 90
God will always be alive!
Psalm 90
(These are) words that Moses prayed. (He was) a servant of God.
v1 Lord, you have always been (as) a home for us.
v2 You were God before the mountains were born. (You were God) before you were as a mother to the earth and the world. You always were and you always will (be God).
v3 You make people go back to (being) powder in the ground (when they die). You say, "Go back (to the ground), sons of Adam".
v4 For you see a thousand years as just a day (that) passes. (The years are as) a few hours in the night when they are over.
v5 You pour the sleep (of death) on them (the sons of Adam). They become as new grass in the morning.
v6 In the morning, it grows well; but by the evening, it becomes dry and it dies.
v7 You destroy us because you are angry. Because you are so angry, you make us very much afraid.
v8 You see in front of you the wrong (things) that we do. Your light (even) shows the secret bad (things) that we do!
v9 All our days hurry past because you are angry with us. We finish our years in (just the time it takes for) a cry.
v10 The number of our days is 70 years. Or maybe 80 years if we are strong. Yet, even in the best years of our lives, we have trouble and we are not really happy. And they soon go and we hurry away (towards death).
v11 (LORD), who knows how strong you are when you are very angry? (The people that) you frighten when you become so angry (will know).
v12 Teach (us) to count well our days. Then we will get a heart that thinks (as God thinks).
v13 LORD, how long (will it be until) you change your mind? Be kind to your servants!
v14 Give us your kind love (every) morning. Then we will sing and be happy for as long as we live.
v15 Make us happy for as long as you have hurt us. (Make us happy) for as many years as we have had trouble.
v16 Let (us) your servants see the work that you do. And show how great you are to (our) children.
v17 Let the Lord our God show how happy he is with us. Let him make the work that our hands do continue. Let the work that our hands do continue.
Comments
The Story of Psalm 90
These are "words that Moses prayed". That does not mean that Moses wrote the psalm. Some Bible students think that he did. Other students think that later writers used words and ideas from "the Books of Moses". These are the first 5 books of the Bible. This psalm makes Bible students think of Genesis 3 and Deuteronomy 32. The psalm uses "words that Moses" said, from these books.
The psalm is in 4 parts. The first 3 parts are in verses 1-12. They could be about anybody in the world. They are true for all of us. But the last part, verses 13-17, is about God's people, the Jews. Something bad had happened to them. They are praying that God will be good to them. We do not know what this bad thing was. Some Bible students think that it was when the Babylonians beat them and took them to Babylon. We call this "the exile". But it could be anything after the time of Moses!
What Psalm 90 means
In this psalm, there are 3 words for God: Lord, LORD and God. They are 3 different words in the Hebrew Bible. Hebrew is the language that the Jews spoke when they wrote the psalms. Jews are people who were born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children. In verses 1 and 17,there is the word Lord. This means "master", someone with authority. It translates the Hebrew word "Adonai". In verse 13,there is LORD, with 4 capital letters. This translates "Yahweh" or "Jehovah". It means "I am". This tells us that God is always alive. In verses 2 and 17, there is the word God. This translates "Elohim". It is a plural word; it means "the powerful rulers that have authority".
Study the psalm in 4 parts:
• Verses 1 - 2 start the psalm and tell us about God. They tell us that God has always been alive and always will be alive.
• Verses 3 - 6 tell us that people on earth will not always be alive. Life is short!
• Verses 7 - 11 tell us this: The people that wrote the psalm have not obeyed God’s rules.
• Verses 12 - 17 tell us that these people are praying to God for him to be kind to them.
In verse 1, "a home for us" means a place that we can always go to. In John 14:2 it says, "I (Jesus) am going to make a place for you". Jesus meant the place we go to when we die. But we can always go to God while we are still alive on the earth wherever we are. God will be with us if we ask him.
Verse 2 sees God as a mother. He has children ... the earth and the world. The world is that part of the earth where people live. This tells us in special words (poetry) that God made (created) the world.
In verse 3, there are two things that make us think about Genesis 2-3:
• "powder in the ground". Another word for this is "dust". Genesis tells us that God made (created) men and women from dust.
• "Adam" was the first man that God made. We are all "sons of Adam". We could translate this "all men and women".
In verse 4, "a thousand years" here may again make us think of the beginning of Genesis. Men and women then lived for a very long time. Methuselah was nearly a thousand years old when he died! The verse means this: What is a very long time to us is a short time to God.
Verse 5 The Bible talks about death as "sleep". One day, after we die, we will all awake ... and see God!
Verse 6 Grass in Israel did not grow for long. It soon died. The psalm tells us that people are the same. God will always be alive, but men and women will soon die.
Verse 7 The Bible tells us that "God is a light, and nothing in him is dark", (1 John 1:5). This verse tells us that this light lets God sees the wrong things that we do, even the secret wrong things!
Verse 9 Because God is angry with us, our lives seem to go very fast. "Just a cry" means "just the time it takes to cry".
Verse 11 Here is a question and an answer. The verse means that everybody will know when God becomes angry.
Verse 12 An important Christian word is repent. Often people tell us that it means this: We are sorry for the wrong things that we have done. This is true. But it means more than this. It means that we see things as God sees them. This makes us want to obey his rules and not do wrong things again. We think as God thinks. The verse says we "will get a heart that thinks as God thinks". This is because the Jews believed that you thought in your heart! They also thought that you loved with your stomach! We call this a "Jewish thought" or a "Jewish idiom".
Verse 13 Some English translations say, "LORD, how long will it be until you repent?" This uses the word "repent" in its proper way as "think again". It does not mean that God is sorry for what he has done!
Verse 14 "Kind love" is a special word in Hebrew. It is "hesed". It means the love that God goes on giving us, even when we do not obey him. That is why the psalm says "every morning". God never stops loving us!
Verse 15 There are some words in this verse that only come in Deuteronomy 32:7 and here in the Hebrew Bible. Moses wrote these words! That is why some people think that Moses wrote Psalm 90.
Verse 16 "The work that you do" means "what God does to make his people safe". He stops their enemies hurting the Jews. Then the children will see it also.
Verse 17 This is how the Lord will show that he is happy. Nobody will destroy the things that his people do. They will always be there!
Something to do
1. Think as God thinks ... or repent. When something happens that you do not understand, ask God, "What do you think about this?"
2. Learn to say verse 14 by heart. This means that you can say it without looking at the words.
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Text from the EasyEnglish Bible Version and Commentary - used with permission - © 2001-2002, Wycliffe Associates (UK) - For more information about EasyEnglish Publications, visit their website: www.easyenglish.info
Go and teach all nations
Psalm 90
God will always be alive!
Psalm 90
(These are) words that Moses prayed. (He was) a servant of God.
v1 Lord, you have always been (as) a home for us.
v2 You were God before the mountains were born. (You were God) before you were as a mother to the earth and the world. You always were and you always will (be God).
v3 You make people go back to (being) powder in the ground (when they die). You say, "Go back (to the ground), sons of Adam".
v4 For you see a thousand years as just a day (that) passes. (The years are as) a few hours in the night when they are over.
v5 You pour the sleep (of death) on them (the sons of Adam). They become as new grass in the morning.
v6 In the morning, it grows well; but by the evening, it becomes dry and it dies.
v7 You destroy us because you are angry. Because you are so angry, you make us very much afraid.
v8 You see in front of you the wrong (things) that we do. Your light (even) shows the secret bad (things) that we do!
v9 All our days hurry past because you are angry with us. We finish our years in (just the time it takes for) a cry.
v10 The number of our days is 70 years. Or maybe 80 years if we are strong. Yet, even in the best years of our lives, we have trouble and we are not really happy. And they soon go and we hurry away (towards death).
v11 (LORD), who knows how strong you are when you are very angry? (The people that) you frighten when you become so angry (will know).
v12 Teach (us) to count well our days. Then we will get a heart that thinks (as God thinks).
v13 LORD, how long (will it be until) you change your mind? Be kind to your servants!
v14 Give us your kind love (every) morning. Then we will sing and be happy for as long as we live.
v15 Make us happy for as long as you have hurt us. (Make us happy) for as many years as we have had trouble.
v16 Let (us) your servants see the work that you do. And show how great you are to (our) children.
v17 Let the Lord our God show how happy he is with us. Let him make the work that our hands do continue. Let the work that our hands do continue.
Comments
The Story of Psalm 90
These are "words that Moses prayed". That does not mean that Moses wrote the psalm. Some Bible students think that he did. Other students think that later writers used words and ideas from "the Books of Moses". These are the first 5 books of the Bible. This psalm makes Bible students think of Genesis 3 and Deuteronomy 32. The psalm uses "words that Moses" said, from these books.
The psalm is in 4 parts. The first 3 parts are in verses 1-12. They could be about anybody in the world. They are true for all of us. But the last part, verses 13-17, is about God's people, the Jews. Something bad had happened to them. They are praying that God will be good to them. We do not know what this bad thing was. Some Bible students think that it was when the Babylonians beat them and took them to Babylon. We call this "the exile". But it could be anything after the time of Moses!
What Psalm 90 means
In this psalm, there are 3 words for God: Lord, LORD and God. They are 3 different words in the Hebrew Bible. Hebrew is the language that the Jews spoke when they wrote the psalms. Jews are people who were born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children. In verses 1 and 17,there is the word Lord. This means "master", someone with authority. It translates the Hebrew word "Adonai". In verse 13,there is LORD, with 4 capital letters. This translates "Yahweh" or "Jehovah". It means "I am". This tells us that God is always alive. In verses 2 and 17, there is the word God. This translates "Elohim". It is a plural word; it means "the powerful rulers that have authority".
Study the psalm in 4 parts:
• Verses 1 - 2 start the psalm and tell us about God. They tell us that God has always been alive and always will be alive.
• Verses 3 - 6 tell us that people on earth will not always be alive. Life is short!
• Verses 7 - 11 tell us this: The people that wrote the psalm have not obeyed God’s rules.
• Verses 12 - 17 tell us that these people are praying to God for him to be kind to them.
In verse 1, "a home for us" means a place that we can always go to. In John 14:2 it says, "I (Jesus) am going to make a place for you". Jesus meant the place we go to when we die. But we can always go to God while we are still alive on the earth wherever we are. God will be with us if we ask him.
Verse 2 sees God as a mother. He has children ... the earth and the world. The world is that part of the earth where people live. This tells us in special words (poetry) that God made (created) the world.
In verse 3, there are two things that make us think about Genesis 2-3:
• "powder in the ground". Another word for this is "dust". Genesis tells us that God made (created) men and women from dust.
• "Adam" was the first man that God made. We are all "sons of Adam". We could translate this "all men and women".
In verse 4, "a thousand years" here may again make us think of the beginning of Genesis. Men and women then lived for a very long time. Methuselah was nearly a thousand years old when he died! The verse means this: What is a very long time to us is a short time to God.
Verse 5 The Bible talks about death as "sleep". One day, after we die, we will all awake ... and see God!
Verse 6 Grass in Israel did not grow for long. It soon died. The psalm tells us that people are the same. God will always be alive, but men and women will soon die.
Verse 7 The Bible tells us that "God is a light, and nothing in him is dark", (1 John 1:5). This verse tells us that this light lets God sees the wrong things that we do, even the secret wrong things!
Verse 9 Because God is angry with us, our lives seem to go very fast. "Just a cry" means "just the time it takes to cry".
Verse 11 Here is a question and an answer. The verse means that everybody will know when God becomes angry.
Verse 12 An important Christian word is repent. Often people tell us that it means this: We are sorry for the wrong things that we have done. This is true. But it means more than this. It means that we see things as God sees them. This makes us want to obey his rules and not do wrong things again. We think as God thinks. The verse says we "will get a heart that thinks as God thinks". This is because the Jews believed that you thought in your heart! They also thought that you loved with your stomach! We call this a "Jewish thought" or a "Jewish idiom".
Verse 13 Some English translations say, "LORD, how long will it be until you repent?" This uses the word "repent" in its proper way as "think again". It does not mean that God is sorry for what he has done!
Verse 14 "Kind love" is a special word in Hebrew. It is "hesed". It means the love that God goes on giving us, even when we do not obey him. That is why the psalm says "every morning". God never stops loving us!
Verse 15 There are some words in this verse that only come in Deuteronomy 32:7 and here in the Hebrew Bible. Moses wrote these words! That is why some people think that Moses wrote Psalm 90.
Verse 16 "The work that you do" means "what God does to make his people safe". He stops their enemies hurting the Jews. Then the children will see it also.
Verse 17 This is how the Lord will show that he is happy. Nobody will destroy the things that his people do. They will always be there!
Something to do
1. Think as God thinks ... or repent. When something happens that you do not understand, ask God, "What do you think about this?"
2. Learn to say verse 14 by heart. This means that you can say it without looking at the words.
__o
Text from the EasyEnglish Bible Version and Commentary - used with permission - © 2001-2002, Wycliffe Associates (UK) - For more information about EasyEnglish Publications, visit their website: www.easyenglish.info
Go and teach all nations
Friday, June 09, 2006
Go and teach all nations - Psalm 89 Part 3
Go and teach all nations
Psalm 89 Part 3
The Problem
Psalm 89: 38 - 52
v38 But you have said "no" to your anointed (king). You have turned away (from him) because you have become angry with him.
v39 You have broken the covenant with your servant. You threw his crown to the ground and made it dirty.
v40 You have broken all the walls (round his city). You have destroyed all his strong places.
v41 Everyone that goes near him robs him. Everybody that lives near him laughs at him.
v42 You have made all his enemies strong, you have made them all happy (because they beat him).
v43 You made the edge of his sword blunt and you have not given him help in war.
v44 You have taken away his authority as king and you threw his throne on the ground.
v45 He does not look like a young man any more. You have dressed him in shame. SELAH
v46 LORD, how long (will this continue)? Will you always hide yourself? Will your great anger (always) burn like a fire?
v47 Remember that my life is so short! Have you created people for no reason?
v48 What man can live and not die? Who can save himself from the power of Sheol (death)?
v49 Lord, where is the kind love (that you gave us) in past times? Where are the special promises that you made to David?
v50 Remember, Lord, that people have scorned your servant. Many countries have said bad things to me.
v51 LORD, your enemies laugh at the king that you have chosen. They scorn him everywhere he goes.
v52 Always praise the LORD! Amen and amen!
Comments
What Psalm 89: 38 - 52 means
In the first 18 verses, the psalmist tells us how great God is. In verses 19-37, he tells us what God promised to David. Now, in verses 38-45, he tells us that God has not done what he promised. In verses 46-51, he prays that God will do something. (Verse 52 is not part of the psalm. It finishes Book 3 of The Psalms.) The servant in verses 39 and 50 is the king. Some Bible students think that the king speaks in verses 50-51. The psalm does not answer the problem. There is no answer until Jesus came to earth. Remember ... Jesus was a descendant of David!
Did Ethan write all Psalm 89?
Many Bible students think that Psalm 89 is three psalms in one! Ethan was one of David’s singers. He could not have known about Nebuchadnezzar, who lived 500 years later. Bible students explain this by saying:
• Ethan wrote the first part, verses 1-18. At this time, both Tabor and Hermon (verse 12) were in the land David's descendants ruled. Later, they were not.
• Someone else wrote the next part, verses 19-37. This was maybe 400 years after David ruled Israel. Maybe Josiah was king.
• A third person wrote the last part, verses 38-51. This was after Nebuchadnezzar had beaten the Jews. He took their king (Jehoiakin) to Babylon. Jehoiakin was not king any more.
Something to do
1. If you have a Bible, read what God promised to David. You will find it in 2 Samuel 7.
2. When God does not answer when you pray, read this psalm, then read in the New Testament about Jesus! Then wait for your answer.
3. Count how many times the special word "kind love" comes in this psalm. (The word is "Hesed" in Hebrew.)
__o
Text from the EasyEnglish Bible Version and Commentary - used with permission - © 2001-2002, Wycliffe Associates (UK) - For more information about EasyEnglish Publications, visit their website: www.easyenglish.info
Go and teach all nations
Psalm 89 Part 3
The Problem
Psalm 89: 38 - 52
v38 But you have said "no" to your anointed (king). You have turned away (from him) because you have become angry with him.
v39 You have broken the covenant with your servant. You threw his crown to the ground and made it dirty.
v40 You have broken all the walls (round his city). You have destroyed all his strong places.
v41 Everyone that goes near him robs him. Everybody that lives near him laughs at him.
v42 You have made all his enemies strong, you have made them all happy (because they beat him).
v43 You made the edge of his sword blunt and you have not given him help in war.
v44 You have taken away his authority as king and you threw his throne on the ground.
v45 He does not look like a young man any more. You have dressed him in shame. SELAH
v46 LORD, how long (will this continue)? Will you always hide yourself? Will your great anger (always) burn like a fire?
v47 Remember that my life is so short! Have you created people for no reason?
v48 What man can live and not die? Who can save himself from the power of Sheol (death)?
v49 Lord, where is the kind love (that you gave us) in past times? Where are the special promises that you made to David?
v50 Remember, Lord, that people have scorned your servant. Many countries have said bad things to me.
v51 LORD, your enemies laugh at the king that you have chosen. They scorn him everywhere he goes.
v52 Always praise the LORD! Amen and amen!
Comments
What Psalm 89: 38 - 52 means
In the first 18 verses, the psalmist tells us how great God is. In verses 19-37, he tells us what God promised to David. Now, in verses 38-45, he tells us that God has not done what he promised. In verses 46-51, he prays that God will do something. (Verse 52 is not part of the psalm. It finishes Book 3 of The Psalms.) The servant in verses 39 and 50 is the king. Some Bible students think that the king speaks in verses 50-51. The psalm does not answer the problem. There is no answer until Jesus came to earth. Remember ... Jesus was a descendant of David!
Did Ethan write all Psalm 89?
Many Bible students think that Psalm 89 is three psalms in one! Ethan was one of David’s singers. He could not have known about Nebuchadnezzar, who lived 500 years later. Bible students explain this by saying:
• Ethan wrote the first part, verses 1-18. At this time, both Tabor and Hermon (verse 12) were in the land David's descendants ruled. Later, they were not.
• Someone else wrote the next part, verses 19-37. This was maybe 400 years after David ruled Israel. Maybe Josiah was king.
• A third person wrote the last part, verses 38-51. This was after Nebuchadnezzar had beaten the Jews. He took their king (Jehoiakin) to Babylon. Jehoiakin was not king any more.
Something to do
1. If you have a Bible, read what God promised to David. You will find it in 2 Samuel 7.
2. When God does not answer when you pray, read this psalm, then read in the New Testament about Jesus! Then wait for your answer.
3. Count how many times the special word "kind love" comes in this psalm. (The word is "Hesed" in Hebrew.)
__o
Text from the EasyEnglish Bible Version and Commentary - used with permission - © 2001-2002, Wycliffe Associates (UK) - For more information about EasyEnglish Publications, visit their website: www.easyenglish.info
Go and teach all nations
Thursday, June 08, 2006
Go and teach all nations - Psalm 89 Part 2
Go and teach all nations
Psalm 89 Part 2
A Kingdom on Earth
Psalm 89: 19 - 37
v19 A long time ago, you spoke to your servants. It was like a dream. You said (to them), "I have given help to a brave soldier. I have chosen a young man from the people.
v20 I have found David my servant. I have poured my special oil over him (to make him king).
v21 My hand will make him strong and, Yes! My arm will make him powerful.
v22 No enemy will win a war against him and no wicked people will conquer him.
v23 I will destroy his enemies before him and kill those that hate him.
v24 I will do everything that I have promised him. Also, (I will give him) my kind love. And by my name I will raise his horn.
v25 I will put his (left) hand over the sea and his right hand over the rivers.
v26 He (David) will say to me, "You are my Father, my God, and the Rock that makes me safe".
v27 Also, I will make him (as) my first born (son). (He will be) the most high of the kings of the earth.
v28 I will always give him my kind love and my covenant with him will have no end.
v29 One of his family will always be king, as long as there are skies (above us).
v30 - v31 If his descendants:
• do not listen to what I am teaching them
• and do not obey my laws
• say that my laws are bad
• and do not do what I tell them (to do)
v32 I will punish their sin with a stick and the wrong things they do with a whip.
v33 But I will not take my kind love from him (David) and I will not break any of my promises.
v34 I will not break my covenant (with him) or change any of my promises.
v35 At one time I made a promise. Because I am holy I will not lie to David.
v36 His descendants will always continue and his kingdom will go on as long as the sun (shines).
v37 Like the moon, it will always be there. From the sky, it will see everything that happens". SELAH
What Psalm 89: 19 - 37 means
In this part of the psalm, Ethan remembers the promises that God made to David. He said that all God’s people could see God in a vision, verse 19. A vision is like a dream. They could also hear what God said. He told them that David was to be their king. In those days they made someone king by "anointing" them. This means "pouring oil over them". They made the oil from olives, which grew on the trees in Israel. (They still do!) In verse 21 (and verse 13), the hand and arm of God mean the things that he does on the earth. In verse 24 we read about a horn again. It is a horn on the head of an animal that makes it look strong. In verse 17, it was the people that God made strong. Here it is David that God makes strong. The hands over the seas and rivers, verse 25, mean that David is strong in these places. Verse 26 tells us that David will call God "My Father". In the Old Testament, the king thought of God as Father for his people; in the New Testament, each Christian thinks of God as Father. The "first born son", or oldest son, verse 27, had twice as much from his father as the other sons. "Most high" is also a name for God, but here used for the king. This is a part of the psalm that makes Christians think about Jesus. That is why they have sung it at Christmas for centuries. In verses 32-33, it is not David that God punishes, but his descendants.
__o
Text from the EasyEnglish Bible Version and Commentary - used with permission - © 2001-2002, Wycliffe Associates (UK) - For more information about EasyEnglish Publications, visit their website: www.easyenglish.info
Go and teach all nations
Psalm 89 Part 2
A Kingdom on Earth
Psalm 89: 19 - 37
v19 A long time ago, you spoke to your servants. It was like a dream. You said (to them), "I have given help to a brave soldier. I have chosen a young man from the people.
v20 I have found David my servant. I have poured my special oil over him (to make him king).
v21 My hand will make him strong and, Yes! My arm will make him powerful.
v22 No enemy will win a war against him and no wicked people will conquer him.
v23 I will destroy his enemies before him and kill those that hate him.
v24 I will do everything that I have promised him. Also, (I will give him) my kind love. And by my name I will raise his horn.
v25 I will put his (left) hand over the sea and his right hand over the rivers.
v26 He (David) will say to me, "You are my Father, my God, and the Rock that makes me safe".
v27 Also, I will make him (as) my first born (son). (He will be) the most high of the kings of the earth.
v28 I will always give him my kind love and my covenant with him will have no end.
v29 One of his family will always be king, as long as there are skies (above us).
v30 - v31 If his descendants:
• do not listen to what I am teaching them
• and do not obey my laws
• say that my laws are bad
• and do not do what I tell them (to do)
v32 I will punish their sin with a stick and the wrong things they do with a whip.
v33 But I will not take my kind love from him (David) and I will not break any of my promises.
v34 I will not break my covenant (with him) or change any of my promises.
v35 At one time I made a promise. Because I am holy I will not lie to David.
v36 His descendants will always continue and his kingdom will go on as long as the sun (shines).
v37 Like the moon, it will always be there. From the sky, it will see everything that happens". SELAH
What Psalm 89: 19 - 37 means
In this part of the psalm, Ethan remembers the promises that God made to David. He said that all God’s people could see God in a vision, verse 19. A vision is like a dream. They could also hear what God said. He told them that David was to be their king. In those days they made someone king by "anointing" them. This means "pouring oil over them". They made the oil from olives, which grew on the trees in Israel. (They still do!) In verse 21 (and verse 13), the hand and arm of God mean the things that he does on the earth. In verse 24 we read about a horn again. It is a horn on the head of an animal that makes it look strong. In verse 17, it was the people that God made strong. Here it is David that God makes strong. The hands over the seas and rivers, verse 25, mean that David is strong in these places. Verse 26 tells us that David will call God "My Father". In the Old Testament, the king thought of God as Father for his people; in the New Testament, each Christian thinks of God as Father. The "first born son", or oldest son, verse 27, had twice as much from his father as the other sons. "Most high" is also a name for God, but here used for the king. This is a part of the psalm that makes Christians think about Jesus. That is why they have sung it at Christmas for centuries. In verses 32-33, it is not David that God punishes, but his descendants.
__o
Text from the EasyEnglish Bible Version and Commentary - used with permission - © 2001-2002, Wycliffe Associates (UK) - For more information about EasyEnglish Publications, visit their website: www.easyenglish.info
Go and teach all nations
Wednesday, June 07, 2006
Go and teach all nations - Psalm 89 Part1
Go and teach all nations
Make Your Kingdom Come Soon!
Psalm 89
“Make your kingdom come soon. Make people obey your rules in the earth as they do in heaven” (Matthew 6: 10).
Part1
Psalm 89: 1 - 4
(This is) a maskil of Ethan the Ezrahite.
v1 I will always sing about the kind love of the LORD. I will tell (my) children and (my) grandchildren that you will do what you have promised.
v2 Yes! I will say that nothing will ever stop your kind love (for us). You will do the things that you promised in heaven.
v3 (God had said in heaven) "I have made a covenant with the man that I chose. I have made special promises to my servant David.
v4 Someone from your family will always be king. And there will always be a place where they (will rule) as king". SELAH
Comments
The Story of Psalm 89
God made special promises to David. They are in 2 Samuel 7:12-17. The important promise is that someone from David’s family would always be king. Ethan wrote Psalm 89 many years after this. He called it a maskil, a psalm that teaches us something.
In the psalm, Ethan sings about a problem. God had promised that there would always be a king in David’s family. But now there was no Jewish king! The army from Babylon had beaten the Jewish army. They took the Jewish king to Babylon and the King of Babylon (Nebuchadnezzar) became king of the Jews. How could anyone explain this?
Christians have sung this psalm on Christmas Day for many centuries. This is because Jesus is a king from David’s family, he will always be king and he was born at Christmas. That is how we explain the problem ... but Ethan did not know this!
What Psalm 89: 1 - 4 means
In verse 3 the covenant is what God and the Jews agreed. If the Jews would love and obey God, then he would keep them safe. The Jews had a special covenant name for God: Yahweh. We translate it LORD, with 4 capital letters. In this part of the psalm, Ethan says that he still believes that God will do what he had promised. Ethan was right! We think that SELAH means a place to stop and pray, or think, or listen to music.
The Kingdom of Heaven
Psalm 89: 5 - 18
v5 In heaven, they praise the wonderful things that you have done, LORD. Also, the holy angels that meet together (know that) you will do what you have promised.
v6 For who is there in heaven that is like the LORD? Which of the sons of God is like the LORD?
v7 God frightens very much the holy ones that meet together. He makes them more afraid than anyone else does.
v8 Most Powerful LORD God, who is as strong as you are, LORD? And you do everything that you have promised!
v9 You are the ruler of the boiling sea. When the water rises up, you make it quiet again.
v10 You broke Rahab and killed it! With your strong arm, you destroyed your enemies.
v11 The skies belong to you and so does the earth. You made the world and everything that is in it.
v12 You made (places in) the north and in the south. Tabor and Hermon praise you when they hear your name.
v13 You have a strong arm; your hand is powerful; you have lifted up your right hand (to use your power).
v14 You have built your kingdom doing what is right and fair. Your kind love and the fact that you keep your promises go in front of you.
v15 The people are very happy when they know how to praise you. LORD, they will walk in the light from your face.
v16 They will praise your name all day and talk about your righteousness.
v17 Your glory will make them strong and by your grace you will lift up our horn.
v18 Yes! Our shield is the LORD’s and our king belongs to the Holy One of Israel.
What Psalm 89: 5 - 18 means
In verses 5 and 7 the angels/ones are holy because they live with God. Holy means "very, very good". Only God is really holy. In verse 6, "sons of God" is another name for "holy angels" or "holy ones". They are not people from earth, but God’s servants in heaven. The answer to the two questions is "Nobody". The angels are not like God (or as good and powerful as God). In verse 8,it may mean "who on earth is as strong as you are?" The answer again is "Nobody", not even the "sons of God" and "the holy ones", verses 6-8.
In verses 9-14, the psalmist comes "down to earth". He has talked about God as the most powerful person in heaven in verses 5 to 8. Now he talks about God’s power on earth. In verse 9, God can make an angry ("boiling") sea quiet. This means he can make the loudest sea quiet. Jesus did this when he stopped the storm at sea. Jesus could do this because he was God. In verse 10, Rahab was either a sea-monster, or a name for Egypt. In verse 12, Tabor and Hermon are the names of mountains in Israel. When we see great hills and mountains, we remember that God made (created) them. That makes us praise God. Mountains do not praise God, they make us praise God!
In verses 15-18, we read about God’s people. They are people that praise God. In verse 15 "walk" means "live". "The light of your face" means "God being good" or "God showing the way". God’s face is where God is. Verse 17 is full of special Christian words. (Some people call them "jargon"!) Some Bible students think it means:
• because you are great and powerful you will make them strong
• because you are kind you will make us strong
"Lift up our horn" is jargon for "make us strong". Note that the psalmist changes from "them" to "our" in this verse. He has been talking about God’s people all the time. Now he says so! In verse 18, "the Holy One of Israel" is a name for God.
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Text from the EasyEnglish Bible Version and Commentary - used with permission - © 2001-2002, Wycliffe Associates (UK) - For more information about EasyEnglish Publications, visit their website: www.easyenglish.info
Go and teach all nations
Make Your Kingdom Come Soon!
Psalm 89
“Make your kingdom come soon. Make people obey your rules in the earth as they do in heaven” (Matthew 6: 10).
Part1
Psalm 89: 1 - 4
(This is) a maskil of Ethan the Ezrahite.
v1 I will always sing about the kind love of the LORD. I will tell (my) children and (my) grandchildren that you will do what you have promised.
v2 Yes! I will say that nothing will ever stop your kind love (for us). You will do the things that you promised in heaven.
v3 (God had said in heaven) "I have made a covenant with the man that I chose. I have made special promises to my servant David.
v4 Someone from your family will always be king. And there will always be a place where they (will rule) as king". SELAH
Comments
The Story of Psalm 89
God made special promises to David. They are in 2 Samuel 7:12-17. The important promise is that someone from David’s family would always be king. Ethan wrote Psalm 89 many years after this. He called it a maskil, a psalm that teaches us something.
In the psalm, Ethan sings about a problem. God had promised that there would always be a king in David’s family. But now there was no Jewish king! The army from Babylon had beaten the Jewish army. They took the Jewish king to Babylon and the King of Babylon (Nebuchadnezzar) became king of the Jews. How could anyone explain this?
Christians have sung this psalm on Christmas Day for many centuries. This is because Jesus is a king from David’s family, he will always be king and he was born at Christmas. That is how we explain the problem ... but Ethan did not know this!
What Psalm 89: 1 - 4 means
In verse 3 the covenant is what God and the Jews agreed. If the Jews would love and obey God, then he would keep them safe. The Jews had a special covenant name for God: Yahweh. We translate it LORD, with 4 capital letters. In this part of the psalm, Ethan says that he still believes that God will do what he had promised. Ethan was right! We think that SELAH means a place to stop and pray, or think, or listen to music.
The Kingdom of Heaven
Psalm 89: 5 - 18
v5 In heaven, they praise the wonderful things that you have done, LORD. Also, the holy angels that meet together (know that) you will do what you have promised.
v6 For who is there in heaven that is like the LORD? Which of the sons of God is like the LORD?
v7 God frightens very much the holy ones that meet together. He makes them more afraid than anyone else does.
v8 Most Powerful LORD God, who is as strong as you are, LORD? And you do everything that you have promised!
v9 You are the ruler of the boiling sea. When the water rises up, you make it quiet again.
v10 You broke Rahab and killed it! With your strong arm, you destroyed your enemies.
v11 The skies belong to you and so does the earth. You made the world and everything that is in it.
v12 You made (places in) the north and in the south. Tabor and Hermon praise you when they hear your name.
v13 You have a strong arm; your hand is powerful; you have lifted up your right hand (to use your power).
v14 You have built your kingdom doing what is right and fair. Your kind love and the fact that you keep your promises go in front of you.
v15 The people are very happy when they know how to praise you. LORD, they will walk in the light from your face.
v16 They will praise your name all day and talk about your righteousness.
v17 Your glory will make them strong and by your grace you will lift up our horn.
v18 Yes! Our shield is the LORD’s and our king belongs to the Holy One of Israel.
What Psalm 89: 5 - 18 means
In verses 5 and 7 the angels/ones are holy because they live with God. Holy means "very, very good". Only God is really holy. In verse 6, "sons of God" is another name for "holy angels" or "holy ones". They are not people from earth, but God’s servants in heaven. The answer to the two questions is "Nobody". The angels are not like God (or as good and powerful as God). In verse 8,it may mean "who on earth is as strong as you are?" The answer again is "Nobody", not even the "sons of God" and "the holy ones", verses 6-8.
In verses 9-14, the psalmist comes "down to earth". He has talked about God as the most powerful person in heaven in verses 5 to 8. Now he talks about God’s power on earth. In verse 9, God can make an angry ("boiling") sea quiet. This means he can make the loudest sea quiet. Jesus did this when he stopped the storm at sea. Jesus could do this because he was God. In verse 10, Rahab was either a sea-monster, or a name for Egypt. In verse 12, Tabor and Hermon are the names of mountains in Israel. When we see great hills and mountains, we remember that God made (created) them. That makes us praise God. Mountains do not praise God, they make us praise God!
In verses 15-18, we read about God’s people. They are people that praise God. In verse 15 "walk" means "live". "The light of your face" means "God being good" or "God showing the way". God’s face is where God is. Verse 17 is full of special Christian words. (Some people call them "jargon"!) Some Bible students think it means:
• because you are great and powerful you will make them strong
• because you are kind you will make us strong
"Lift up our horn" is jargon for "make us strong". Note that the psalmist changes from "them" to "our" in this verse. He has been talking about God’s people all the time. Now he says so! In verse 18, "the Holy One of Israel" is a name for God.
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Text from the EasyEnglish Bible Version and Commentary - used with permission - © 2001-2002, Wycliffe Associates (UK) - For more information about EasyEnglish Publications, visit their website: www.easyenglish.info
Go and teach all nations
Tuesday, June 06, 2006
Go and teach all nations - Psalm 88
Go and teach all nations
Down Among the Dead Men
Psalm 88
Jesus went into a town called Nain. Many of his disciples and a lot of people went with him. Now when he came near to the gate of the town, he saw a dead man. They were carrying him out. His mother was a widow and the dead man was her only son. A big crowd of people from the town was with her. And when the Lord (Jesus) saw her, he was very sorry for her. He said to her, "Do not weep". And he came and touched the coffin. The men carrying it stood still. And he said, “Young man, I say to you, get up”. And the dead man got up and began to speak. And Jesus gave him to his mother. And everybody was afraid. They said that God was really great and that a prophet had come among them. And (they said) that God had visited his people. (Luke 7:11-16)
Psalm 88
(This) song (is a) psalm for the sons of Korah. The music leader (must use music called) "mahalath leannoth". (It is) a maskil by Heman the Ezrahite.
v1 LORD, (you are) the God that makes me safe. I always cry to you in the day and at night for help.
v2 I want you to hear the words that I am praying. Listen to my cry for help!
v3 Because I have a lot of trouble and my life is coming near to Sheol.
v4 (People) say that I am among those that are going to the Pit. I am like a strong man that has become weak (and ill).
v5 I am almost with those that are already dead. (I am) like dead people lying in their graves. You do not remember them any more and you cannot give them help where they are.
v6 You are putting me in the lowest Pit, in a very dark and deep place.
v7 You are very angry with me. You are like a heavy sea, pouring all over me and knocking me down.
v8 You have taken my best friends away from me. You have made me seem very bad to them. The place that I am in is like a prison that I cannot leave.
v9 My eyes are weak because I am so sad. LORD, every day I pray to you. I lift my hands up to you (while I pray).
v10 Do you do miracles for people that are dead? Do dead people get up and say that you are great? SELAH
v11 Do people talk about your kind love in the grave? (Do they say) in Abaddon that you continue to be good to people?
v12 Do they know about your miracles in dark places. (Do they know about) the good things that you do in the land where people forget (everything).
v13 But LORD, I cry to you for help. Every morning I pray to you.
v14 LORD, why are you throwing me away? Why do you hide your face from me?
v15 I have been ill and near to death since I was young. You have let bad things happen to me and I do not know what to do.
v16 Your fury pours over me. You are attacking me and destroying me!
v17 (The things that you do), they are all round me like a flood. They are on every side of me.
v18 You have taken away from me my friends and the people that love me. My only friend is darkness.
Comments
The Story of Psalm 88
This is a psalm by someone that was ill since he was a child. It may have been Heman himself, or someone that Heman knew. It is the saddest of the psalms. He prays, but God does not seem to listen. So he feels that he is already in Sheol. Sheol was a dark place under the ground. The Jews believed that people went there when they died. The worst bit of Sheol was the Pit. People that went there never came out. But nowhere does the psalm say that the writer had done something very wrong. Yet God was attacking him, doing very bad things to him. Why? God gives no reason. Yet Heman still says "every morning I pray to you", verse 13. That is what the psalm teaches us. If things get bad … pray to God every morning!
What Psalm 88 means
In verses 7, 16 and 17, Heman writes about water. His trouble is like the sea. It is heavy and pours over him. It is all round him like a flood. It makes him feel that he cannot move. It was like being in a prison, verse 8, and he cannot get out. We do not know what the prison was. Maybe he was so ill that he could not move. Maybe people put him in a place where they could not see him. This was because he looked so bad. His friends and the people that loved him did not want to look at him, verses 8, 18. He made them feel sick!
Maybe the prison in verse 8 is Sheol itself. He is "near to Sheol", verse 3, which means "almost dead", verse 5. There is nothing that he can do, only pray: and God does not answer! He sends no help. Heman asks if God does miracles for the people in Sheol. The answer then was "No!" But the story from Luke’s Gospel at the top of the psalm says that for Christians the answer may be "Yes". Jesus made the widow’s son alive again! He came back from Sheol. But this is not usual. We must make sure that we tell God that we believe in him and love him before we die!
Something to do
1. Tell God that you believe that he loves you, and that you love him. This means that you are sorry for what you have done wrong, and will try to obey God in future days.
2. If you have a Bible, try to read some of the Book of Job. Could Job have written Psalm 88?
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Text from the EasyEnglish Bible Version and Commentary - used with permission - © 2001-2002, Wycliffe Associates (UK) - For more information about EasyEnglish Publications, visit their website: www.easyenglish.info
Go and teach all nations
Down Among the Dead Men
Psalm 88
Jesus went into a town called Nain. Many of his disciples and a lot of people went with him. Now when he came near to the gate of the town, he saw a dead man. They were carrying him out. His mother was a widow and the dead man was her only son. A big crowd of people from the town was with her. And when the Lord (Jesus) saw her, he was very sorry for her. He said to her, "Do not weep". And he came and touched the coffin. The men carrying it stood still. And he said, “Young man, I say to you, get up”. And the dead man got up and began to speak. And Jesus gave him to his mother. And everybody was afraid. They said that God was really great and that a prophet had come among them. And (they said) that God had visited his people. (Luke 7:11-16)
Psalm 88
(This) song (is a) psalm for the sons of Korah. The music leader (must use music called) "mahalath leannoth". (It is) a maskil by Heman the Ezrahite.
v1 LORD, (you are) the God that makes me safe. I always cry to you in the day and at night for help.
v2 I want you to hear the words that I am praying. Listen to my cry for help!
v3 Because I have a lot of trouble and my life is coming near to Sheol.
v4 (People) say that I am among those that are going to the Pit. I am like a strong man that has become weak (and ill).
v5 I am almost with those that are already dead. (I am) like dead people lying in their graves. You do not remember them any more and you cannot give them help where they are.
v6 You are putting me in the lowest Pit, in a very dark and deep place.
v7 You are very angry with me. You are like a heavy sea, pouring all over me and knocking me down.
v8 You have taken my best friends away from me. You have made me seem very bad to them. The place that I am in is like a prison that I cannot leave.
v9 My eyes are weak because I am so sad. LORD, every day I pray to you. I lift my hands up to you (while I pray).
v10 Do you do miracles for people that are dead? Do dead people get up and say that you are great? SELAH
v11 Do people talk about your kind love in the grave? (Do they say) in Abaddon that you continue to be good to people?
v12 Do they know about your miracles in dark places. (Do they know about) the good things that you do in the land where people forget (everything).
v13 But LORD, I cry to you for help. Every morning I pray to you.
v14 LORD, why are you throwing me away? Why do you hide your face from me?
v15 I have been ill and near to death since I was young. You have let bad things happen to me and I do not know what to do.
v16 Your fury pours over me. You are attacking me and destroying me!
v17 (The things that you do), they are all round me like a flood. They are on every side of me.
v18 You have taken away from me my friends and the people that love me. My only friend is darkness.
Comments
The Story of Psalm 88
This is a psalm by someone that was ill since he was a child. It may have been Heman himself, or someone that Heman knew. It is the saddest of the psalms. He prays, but God does not seem to listen. So he feels that he is already in Sheol. Sheol was a dark place under the ground. The Jews believed that people went there when they died. The worst bit of Sheol was the Pit. People that went there never came out. But nowhere does the psalm say that the writer had done something very wrong. Yet God was attacking him, doing very bad things to him. Why? God gives no reason. Yet Heman still says "every morning I pray to you", verse 13. That is what the psalm teaches us. If things get bad … pray to God every morning!
What Psalm 88 means
In verses 7, 16 and 17, Heman writes about water. His trouble is like the sea. It is heavy and pours over him. It is all round him like a flood. It makes him feel that he cannot move. It was like being in a prison, verse 8, and he cannot get out. We do not know what the prison was. Maybe he was so ill that he could not move. Maybe people put him in a place where they could not see him. This was because he looked so bad. His friends and the people that loved him did not want to look at him, verses 8, 18. He made them feel sick!
Maybe the prison in verse 8 is Sheol itself. He is "near to Sheol", verse 3, which means "almost dead", verse 5. There is nothing that he can do, only pray: and God does not answer! He sends no help. Heman asks if God does miracles for the people in Sheol. The answer then was "No!" But the story from Luke’s Gospel at the top of the psalm says that for Christians the answer may be "Yes". Jesus made the widow’s son alive again! He came back from Sheol. But this is not usual. We must make sure that we tell God that we believe in him and love him before we die!
Something to do
1. Tell God that you believe that he loves you, and that you love him. This means that you are sorry for what you have done wrong, and will try to obey God in future days.
2. If you have a Bible, try to read some of the Book of Job. Could Job have written Psalm 88?
__o
Text from the EasyEnglish Bible Version and Commentary - used with permission - © 2001-2002, Wycliffe Associates (UK) - For more information about EasyEnglish Publications, visit their website: www.easyenglish.info
Go and teach all nations
Monday, June 05, 2006
Go and teach all nations - Psalm 87
Go and teach all nations
The Two Jerusalem’s
Psalm 87
Jesus said, "You must be born again". (John 3:7)
Psalm 87
(This is) a song with music, for the sons of Korah.
v1 He built it on the mountains of holiness.
v2 The LORD loves the gates of Zion. He loves them more than all the places where Jacob lives.
v3 (People say) wonderful things about you, city of God. SELAH
v4 I will remember the people that I know, from Rahab and Babylon; also from Philistia, Tyre and Ethiopia. I will remember that this man was born there.
v5 They will say in Zion, "A man ... this man ... was born there". So he ... the Most High ... will build her up.
v6 The LORD will write in his book (the name of) everyone that says, "This man was born there". SELAH
v7 The singers and the musicians (will say), "All my springs are in you".
Comments
The Story of Psalm 87
This is an important psalm but we do not know who wrote it. It was for the sons of Korah. This is probably the name of the musicians in the temple in Jerusalem. The temple was the house of God that Solomon built. Solomon was the son of David. He was the third king of Israel.
The psalm is about Jerusalem. The psalm calls Jerusalem by the name Zion. Really, Zion was the name of the hill on which Solomon built the temple. The Jews thought that God lived on this hill. It was his home on earth. Because they thought that God was holy (or very, very good) they thought that Zion was holy also. So they called the hill of Zion a "mountain of holiness".
But the psalm is really the story of two Jerusalem’s! Verses 1-3 are about Jerusalem on earth, the capital city of the Jews. Verses 4-6 are about another Jerusalem. We can see this very clearly in the translation from the Greek Bible below. (The translation above is from the Hebrew Bible.) 250 years before Jesus came to the earth, the Jews translated their Bible into Greek.
This meant that more people could understand it. In some places, the two Bibles are different. We do not know why. We do believe that both translations teach us what is true.
What Psalm 87 means
Verses 1 - 3 are about Jerusalem, the capital city of the Jews. Verses 4-6 are about the Church. The Church is the City of God, the New Jerusalem. The person that wrote Psalm 87 did not know this. But God inspired them to write verses 4 - 6. "Inspired" means "gave them words to say". The person that wrote the psalm thought that Jerusalem would become the most important city on earth. God knew that the NEW Jerusalem would be the most important city! But it would not be on earth, but in heaven where God lives.
Verses 1 – 2: These verses are about the Jerusalem that is on earth. To give you help to understand this difficult psalm we have shown it like this:
He built it on the mountains of holiness the LORD loves the gates of Zion
He loves them more than the places where Jacob lives
To the left it is about the LORD God; to the right it is about the Jerusalem on earth, the capital of Israel. The "mountains of holiness" are the hills on which they built Jerusalem. They were holy because they thought that God lived there. "The gates of Zion" means the whole city of Jerusalem. Jacob is another name for Israel, and the land where the Jews lived.
Verses 4 – 6: These verses are about the Church. The person that wrote the psalm did not know about our Church. He thought that people from all over the world were becoming Jews. This was probably true. But the New Testament of the Bible repeats Psalm 87:5 and says that it is about the Church (Galatians 4:26). People come to it from all over the world: Rahab (Egypt), Babylon (Iraq), Philistia, Tyre (Lebanon) and Ethiopia (Sudan) were countries near Israel.
We think that God is speaking in verses 4-6. He says that everyone that is born in Jerusalem is in his book. What does "born in Jerusalem" mean? We believe that it means "born again". This is another way of saying "becoming a Christian". The name of every Christian is in God’s book. He will not forget any of them. They are all included in those that say, "this man was born there". In verse 6, this means "I was born there". Here is Psalm 87:5 in another translation. It is not from the Hebrew Bible. It is from the Greek Bible:
"A man will say, 'Zion is my mother'. This man was born in her. So he ... the Most High ... will build her up".
It is the translation from the Greek Bible that the New Testament uses. In Galatians 4:26 Paul wrote, "the Jerusalem that is above ... is our mother". Remember, Jerusalem and Zion are the same place.
What does all this mean? It means that when we are born again (or become Christians) we are born in a place called Jerusalem. This is not the Jerusalem that is on earth. It is a Jerusalem that is in heaven, where God lives. The people that live there are all the people that have become Christians. The Jerusalem that is in heaven is made up of people, not buildings.
Verse 7: This verse is difficult to translate. It probably means one of:
• the singers and musicians must use music that is called "All my springs are in you"
• the singers and musicians all say that their springs are in Jerusalem (this means that Jerusalem gives them new life)
Something to do
1. If you have a Bible, read Galatians 4:21-31, Hebrews 11:13-16, and Hebrews 12:22-24.
2. Ask God to put your name into his Book of Life!
__o
Text from the EasyEnglish Bible Version and Commentary - used with permission -© 2001-2002, Wycliffe Associates (UK) - For more information about EasyEnglish Publications, visit their website: www.easyenglish.info
Go and teach all nations
The Two Jerusalem’s
Psalm 87
Jesus said, "You must be born again". (John 3:7)
Psalm 87
(This is) a song with music, for the sons of Korah.
v1 He built it on the mountains of holiness.
v2 The LORD loves the gates of Zion. He loves them more than all the places where Jacob lives.
v3 (People say) wonderful things about you, city of God. SELAH
v4 I will remember the people that I know, from Rahab and Babylon; also from Philistia, Tyre and Ethiopia. I will remember that this man was born there.
v5 They will say in Zion, "A man ... this man ... was born there". So he ... the Most High ... will build her up.
v6 The LORD will write in his book (the name of) everyone that says, "This man was born there". SELAH
v7 The singers and the musicians (will say), "All my springs are in you".
Comments
The Story of Psalm 87
This is an important psalm but we do not know who wrote it. It was for the sons of Korah. This is probably the name of the musicians in the temple in Jerusalem. The temple was the house of God that Solomon built. Solomon was the son of David. He was the third king of Israel.
The psalm is about Jerusalem. The psalm calls Jerusalem by the name Zion. Really, Zion was the name of the hill on which Solomon built the temple. The Jews thought that God lived on this hill. It was his home on earth. Because they thought that God was holy (or very, very good) they thought that Zion was holy also. So they called the hill of Zion a "mountain of holiness".
But the psalm is really the story of two Jerusalem’s! Verses 1-3 are about Jerusalem on earth, the capital city of the Jews. Verses 4-6 are about another Jerusalem. We can see this very clearly in the translation from the Greek Bible below. (The translation above is from the Hebrew Bible.) 250 years before Jesus came to the earth, the Jews translated their Bible into Greek.
This meant that more people could understand it. In some places, the two Bibles are different. We do not know why. We do believe that both translations teach us what is true.
What Psalm 87 means
Verses 1 - 3 are about Jerusalem, the capital city of the Jews. Verses 4-6 are about the Church. The Church is the City of God, the New Jerusalem. The person that wrote Psalm 87 did not know this. But God inspired them to write verses 4 - 6. "Inspired" means "gave them words to say". The person that wrote the psalm thought that Jerusalem would become the most important city on earth. God knew that the NEW Jerusalem would be the most important city! But it would not be on earth, but in heaven where God lives.
Verses 1 – 2: These verses are about the Jerusalem that is on earth. To give you help to understand this difficult psalm we have shown it like this:
He built it on the mountains of holiness the LORD loves the gates of Zion
He loves them more than the places where Jacob lives
To the left it is about the LORD God; to the right it is about the Jerusalem on earth, the capital of Israel. The "mountains of holiness" are the hills on which they built Jerusalem. They were holy because they thought that God lived there. "The gates of Zion" means the whole city of Jerusalem. Jacob is another name for Israel, and the land where the Jews lived.
Verses 4 – 6: These verses are about the Church. The person that wrote the psalm did not know about our Church. He thought that people from all over the world were becoming Jews. This was probably true. But the New Testament of the Bible repeats Psalm 87:5 and says that it is about the Church (Galatians 4:26). People come to it from all over the world: Rahab (Egypt), Babylon (Iraq), Philistia, Tyre (Lebanon) and Ethiopia (Sudan) were countries near Israel.
We think that God is speaking in verses 4-6. He says that everyone that is born in Jerusalem is in his book. What does "born in Jerusalem" mean? We believe that it means "born again". This is another way of saying "becoming a Christian". The name of every Christian is in God’s book. He will not forget any of them. They are all included in those that say, "this man was born there". In verse 6, this means "I was born there". Here is Psalm 87:5 in another translation. It is not from the Hebrew Bible. It is from the Greek Bible:
"A man will say, 'Zion is my mother'. This man was born in her. So he ... the Most High ... will build her up".
It is the translation from the Greek Bible that the New Testament uses. In Galatians 4:26 Paul wrote, "the Jerusalem that is above ... is our mother". Remember, Jerusalem and Zion are the same place.
What does all this mean? It means that when we are born again (or become Christians) we are born in a place called Jerusalem. This is not the Jerusalem that is on earth. It is a Jerusalem that is in heaven, where God lives. The people that live there are all the people that have become Christians. The Jerusalem that is in heaven is made up of people, not buildings.
Verse 7: This verse is difficult to translate. It probably means one of:
• the singers and musicians must use music that is called "All my springs are in you"
• the singers and musicians all say that their springs are in Jerusalem (this means that Jerusalem gives them new life)
Something to do
1. If you have a Bible, read Galatians 4:21-31, Hebrews 11:13-16, and Hebrews 12:22-24.
2. Ask God to put your name into his Book of Life!
__o
Text from the EasyEnglish Bible Version and Commentary - used with permission -© 2001-2002, Wycliffe Associates (UK) - For more information about EasyEnglish Publications, visit their website: www.easyenglish.info
Go and teach all nations
Sunday, June 04, 2006
Go and teach all nations - Psalm 86
Go and teach all nations
Bits and Pieces
Psalm 86
They said to Jesus, "Teach us to pray". He said, "Ask and you will receive. Look and you will find. Knock and it will open to you". (Luke 11:1-9)
Psalm 86
Words that David prayed.
v1 LORD, turn your ear (to me), answer me! Because I am weak and need (help).
v2 Save me from death because I am one of your people. Keep (me) your servant safe. You are my God. (I am) someone that is trusting in you.
v3 My Lord, give me mercy! All through the day, I am praying (this) to you.
v4 Make (me) your servant happy! Because I lift up myself to you, my Lord.
v5 My Lord, you are good. Also, you forgive (people). You give your kind love to everyone that prays to you.
v6 Turn your ear to what I am praying, LORD. And listen to my voice when I cry for mercy.
v7 On the day that I have trouble I will pray to you, because you can answer me.
v8 None among the gods is like you, my Lord. And nobody can do what you can do.
v9 All the countries that you have made will come and worship before you, my Lord. They will say how great your name is.
v10 For you are great. You do great things. You alone are God.
v11 LORD, teach me your way. I will walk in your truth. Make my heart united when I think of your name.
v12 I will praise you, my Lord and my God, with my united heart. I will always tell people that you are really great!
v13 (I will do this) because there is so much of your kind love to me. You will save me from going to the lowest part of Sheol.
v14 God, proud people are attacking me. A group of cruel men is trying to kill me.
They do not think about you.
v15 But you, my Lord, are a God that loves (people) and gives (them) mercy. You are slow to become angry and (you are) full of kind love. You do not leave (your people when they have trouble).
v16 Turn to me and give me mercy. Make (me) your servant strong and make the son of your woman servant safe.
v17 Show me something that tells me that you are good. Let my enemies see it and be ashamed. Because you, LORD, have given me help and been kind to me.
Comments
The Story of Psalm 86
The psalmist had trouble. Bad people were attacking him. We do not know why or when. He prayed to God about it. This psalm is his prayer, or the words that he prayed.
But this prayer is special. The psalmist did not use his own words. He used the words of David! He also used words that Moses wrote in the Book of Exodus. He took some bits from Psalms 25-28, some pieces from Psalms 54-58 and some from other psalms and other parts of the Bible. And he made a new psalm from them!
What Psalm 86 means
In verse 2, "one of your people" is a special Bible word. It is someone that has accepted God’s love. Some Bibles translate it "saints". "I lift myself to you" in verse 4 means "I give myself to you". Some Christians show this by lifting their hands when they pray. In verse 5, the word "forgive" means more to Christians than maybe it did to the psalmist. To him it meant "excuse". To Christians it means that God gave their sin to Jesus for them when Jesus died for them. That was when God punished Jesus for our sin!
"Answer me" in verses 1 and 7 does not mean that the psalmist will hear God speak. It means that God will give him help. The gods of verse 8 are the false gods of the people attacking the psalmist. The united heart in verses 11 and 12 means a heart (or person) that serves (obeys) God only. He does not try to serve (obey) God and somebody or something else. This is what Jesus said in Matthew 6:24, "You cannot serve God and Mammon". Mammon means money or what money can buy. "When I think of your name" in the Hebrew Bible is "to be afraid of your name".
"Kind love" in verses 13 and 15 is a word like "your people" in verse 2 in the Hebrew Bible. God’s people (or saints) are the people that have accepted his kind love. Read the note on Psalm 85:10. In verse 16 we read that the psalmist's mother was also a servant of God.
Something to do
1. Only one verse in Psalm 86 does not have one of God’s names in it. (The names are: God meaning "powerful", LORD meaning "always alive" and Lord meaning "with authority"). Which verse is it?
2. Here are some verses from other psalms, and one from Exodus. Can you find them (or something like them) in Psalm 86?
Psalm 9:1. With my whole (or united) heart.
Psalm 17:6. LORD, turn your ear (to me), answer me!
Psalm 25:1. I lift up myself to you, LORD.
Psalm 26:3. I have walked in your truth.
Psalm 27:11 LORD, teach me your way.
Psalm 28:2. Listen to my voice when I cry.
Psalm 40:17. I am weak and need (help).
Psalm 54:3. Proud people are attacking me. A group of cruel men is trying to kill me. They do not think about God.
Psalm 55:1. God, turn your ear to what I am praying.
Psalm 56:13. You saved me from death.
Psalm 57:2. God, give me mercy!
Psalm 77:2. On the day that I had trouble I prayed to the Lord.
Psalm 77:15. You are the God that does great things.
Psalm 90:15. Make us, (your servants), happy.
Psalm 119:68. You are good.
Psalm 130:4. You forgive (people).
Exodus 34:6. The LORD God gives (people) mercy and grace. He is not quick to become angry. He is very good.
3. Does the psalmist always use the same name for God in Psalm 86 as in the other psalms?
4. When you pray, use words from the Bible sometimes.
__o
Text from the EasyEnglish Bible Version and Commentary - used with permission -© 2001-2002, Wycliffe Associates (UK) - For more information about EasyEnglish Publications, visit their website: www.easyenglish.info
Go and teach all nations
Bits and Pieces
Psalm 86
They said to Jesus, "Teach us to pray". He said, "Ask and you will receive. Look and you will find. Knock and it will open to you". (Luke 11:1-9)
Psalm 86
Words that David prayed.
v1 LORD, turn your ear (to me), answer me! Because I am weak and need (help).
v2 Save me from death because I am one of your people. Keep (me) your servant safe. You are my God. (I am) someone that is trusting in you.
v3 My Lord, give me mercy! All through the day, I am praying (this) to you.
v4 Make (me) your servant happy! Because I lift up myself to you, my Lord.
v5 My Lord, you are good. Also, you forgive (people). You give your kind love to everyone that prays to you.
v6 Turn your ear to what I am praying, LORD. And listen to my voice when I cry for mercy.
v7 On the day that I have trouble I will pray to you, because you can answer me.
v8 None among the gods is like you, my Lord. And nobody can do what you can do.
v9 All the countries that you have made will come and worship before you, my Lord. They will say how great your name is.
v10 For you are great. You do great things. You alone are God.
v11 LORD, teach me your way. I will walk in your truth. Make my heart united when I think of your name.
v12 I will praise you, my Lord and my God, with my united heart. I will always tell people that you are really great!
v13 (I will do this) because there is so much of your kind love to me. You will save me from going to the lowest part of Sheol.
v14 God, proud people are attacking me. A group of cruel men is trying to kill me.
They do not think about you.
v15 But you, my Lord, are a God that loves (people) and gives (them) mercy. You are slow to become angry and (you are) full of kind love. You do not leave (your people when they have trouble).
v16 Turn to me and give me mercy. Make (me) your servant strong and make the son of your woman servant safe.
v17 Show me something that tells me that you are good. Let my enemies see it and be ashamed. Because you, LORD, have given me help and been kind to me.
Comments
The Story of Psalm 86
The psalmist had trouble. Bad people were attacking him. We do not know why or when. He prayed to God about it. This psalm is his prayer, or the words that he prayed.
But this prayer is special. The psalmist did not use his own words. He used the words of David! He also used words that Moses wrote in the Book of Exodus. He took some bits from Psalms 25-28, some pieces from Psalms 54-58 and some from other psalms and other parts of the Bible. And he made a new psalm from them!
What Psalm 86 means
In verse 2, "one of your people" is a special Bible word. It is someone that has accepted God’s love. Some Bibles translate it "saints". "I lift myself to you" in verse 4 means "I give myself to you". Some Christians show this by lifting their hands when they pray. In verse 5, the word "forgive" means more to Christians than maybe it did to the psalmist. To him it meant "excuse". To Christians it means that God gave their sin to Jesus for them when Jesus died for them. That was when God punished Jesus for our sin!
"Answer me" in verses 1 and 7 does not mean that the psalmist will hear God speak. It means that God will give him help. The gods of verse 8 are the false gods of the people attacking the psalmist. The united heart in verses 11 and 12 means a heart (or person) that serves (obeys) God only. He does not try to serve (obey) God and somebody or something else. This is what Jesus said in Matthew 6:24, "You cannot serve God and Mammon". Mammon means money or what money can buy. "When I think of your name" in the Hebrew Bible is "to be afraid of your name".
"Kind love" in verses 13 and 15 is a word like "your people" in verse 2 in the Hebrew Bible. God’s people (or saints) are the people that have accepted his kind love. Read the note on Psalm 85:10. In verse 16 we read that the psalmist's mother was also a servant of God.
Something to do
1. Only one verse in Psalm 86 does not have one of God’s names in it. (The names are: God meaning "powerful", LORD meaning "always alive" and Lord meaning "with authority"). Which verse is it?
2. Here are some verses from other psalms, and one from Exodus. Can you find them (or something like them) in Psalm 86?
Psalm 9:1. With my whole (or united) heart.
Psalm 17:6. LORD, turn your ear (to me), answer me!
Psalm 25:1. I lift up myself to you, LORD.
Psalm 26:3. I have walked in your truth.
Psalm 27:11 LORD, teach me your way.
Psalm 28:2. Listen to my voice when I cry.
Psalm 40:17. I am weak and need (help).
Psalm 54:3. Proud people are attacking me. A group of cruel men is trying to kill me. They do not think about God.
Psalm 55:1. God, turn your ear to what I am praying.
Psalm 56:13. You saved me from death.
Psalm 57:2. God, give me mercy!
Psalm 77:2. On the day that I had trouble I prayed to the Lord.
Psalm 77:15. You are the God that does great things.
Psalm 90:15. Make us, (your servants), happy.
Psalm 119:68. You are good.
Psalm 130:4. You forgive (people).
Exodus 34:6. The LORD God gives (people) mercy and grace. He is not quick to become angry. He is very good.
3. Does the psalmist always use the same name for God in Psalm 86 as in the other psalms?
4. When you pray, use words from the Bible sometimes.
__o
Text from the EasyEnglish Bible Version and Commentary - used with permission -© 2001-2002, Wycliffe Associates (UK) - For more information about EasyEnglish Publications, visit their website: www.easyenglish.info
Go and teach all nations
Saturday, June 03, 2006
Go and teach all nations - Psalm 85
Go and teach all nations
Turn Again
Psalm 85
Jesus said, "My peace I give to you". (John 14: 27)
Psalm 85
(This is) for the music leader. (It is) a psalm of the sons of Korah.
v1 LORD, you were good to your land. You turned the fortunes of Jacob.
v2 You forgave the sin of your people and you pardoned the things that they did wrong.
v3 You were not angry with them any more and you turned away from your fury.
v4 (But now) turn us (again), God. (You are the God) that makes us safe. Stop being so angry with us.
v5 Will you be angry with us for ever? Will you always be furious with us?
v6 Will you not turn to us (again) and give us new life? Then your people will be happy and praise you.
v7 LORD, show us your kind love! Give to us the help that makes us safe!
v8 I will listen to what God the LORD is saying. He will give peace to his people, to his saints. But they must not turn back to become fools.
v9 Certainly he will make safe those that obey him. Then his glory will remain in our land.
v10 Kind love will meet loyalty. Goodness and peace will kiss each other.
v11 Loyalty will grow (like a plant) in the ground and goodness will look down from the heavens.
v12 Yes! The LORD will give what is good and our land will give much fruit.
v13 Goodness will go before him and make a way for his feet.
Comments
The Story of Psalm 85
Many Bible students think that Psalm 85 comes from about 520 BC. BC means "years Before Christ came to the earth". This was just after the Jews came back from their exile in Babylon.
God was angry with his people. They had not obeyed him. So he let the King of Babylon beat them and take them to Babylon. He destroyed Jerusalem. After 70 years, the king of Persia beat the king of Babylon. Cyrus, the King of Persia, sent the Jews back to Jerusalem and the places near it. This is what verses 1-3 are about. But, a few years after they returned to Jerusalem, things were bad. They had not built God’s house (the temple) again. There was not much rain so there was not much fruit in the fields. This meant that there was not much food. Also, some enemies attacked them. So they thought that God was still angry with them! They asked for his help to make things better, verses 4-7. Someone gave them God’s answer, verses 8-13.
What Psalm 85 means
"The sons of Korah" was the name of a music group. In Psalm 85, there is one word that comes 5 times. It is "turn" or "turned". Each time it means something a bit different:
• "turned the fortunes", verse 1, is a Hebrew way to say "changed things from bad to good, or good to bad". In English, we would say "their luck changed". Christians do not believe in luck. Luck means "things just happen". Christians believe that God decides what happens, as in this verse: "You (God) turned the fortunes of Jacob". Jacob is a name for God’s people.
• "you turned away from your fury", verse 3. This means that God was not furious (or very, very angry) with his people any more.
• "turn us, God" in verse 4 is where the psalm makes its first change. They thought that God was angry again, so they ask God to turn them. Sometimes when people become Christians, we say that they become "converted". This is a word that means "turned". They turn from doing what they want to do and do what God wants them to do. That is what this verse means.
• "turn to us again" in verse 6 is about God turning. God’s people pray that God will stop looking away, and turn to look at them. This is another way to say "send us help".
• "they must not turn back", in verse 8, means they must not go back and do bad things all the time. This is the second place where the psalm changes. Now it is about the good things that will happen if God’s people will obey him.
There are several important words in this psalm:
• "forgave" and "pardoned" in verse 2. Maybe both words meant "excused" in 520 BC, but to Christians "forgave" is a very special word that means more than "excused". When God forgives us he gives our sin (all the bad things that we do) to Jesus. When he died, Jesus took our sin away. So we are not only excused; it is just as if we had never done those bad things! God punished Jesus for our sin!
• "kind love" in verse 10 is a special love that God has for people. It is a love that does not stop. People that accept this kind love become God’s people. We could call them "kind-loved" but this is not a word English people use. It is in the Hebrew of verse 8, where I have translated it "saints".
• "loyalty" in verse 10 is very like the "kind love" in the same verse. It is being a friend, or a servant and not stopping whatever happens. In this verse, God gives the kind love, and his people give him their loyalty. He does not stop loving them and they do not stop being his friends and servants whatever happens.
• A better way to translate "goodness" in verse 10 is by the word "righteousness". "Goodness" means "being good"; but "righteousness" means "being righteous". Now only God is really righteous, always doing what is right. God wants his people to be like him, righteous.
• "Peace" in verse 10 means more than "not fighting" or "no war". It translates the Hebrew word "shalom". It is a peace that only God can give. With this peace, you know that you are not fighting with God and it makes you very, very happy. Bible students think that when goodness kisses peace it means this: people that accept the peace of God become good (or righteous). They become like God.
In verse 12, "much fruit" means more than apples and things like that. It means all the plants that we grow for food. There had not been much of them, because there was not much rain. But now things would change! The last verse, verse 13, is very interesting. It tells us that God would walk on the earth! This happened when Jesus came, 520 years later. Many Bible students think that all the last part of the psalm is about Jesus. Because Jesus was the Messiah, they call verses 9-13 the messianic part of the psalm.
Something to do
Here are some verses from the New Testament of the Bible. Which verse or verses of Psalm 85 does each one make you think about?
1. Luke 2:14. Glory to God in the heavens, and peace to his saints on earth.
2. John 1:14. The Word became a man and lived with us and we saw his glory. (The Word is one of Jesus’ Bible names.)
3. Romans 5:1. Because we have been made righteous through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. (Faith means that we accept the kind love of God.)
4. Matthew 1:21. Jesus will save his people from their sins.
__o
Text from the EasyEnglish Bible Version and Commentary - used with permission -© 2001-2002, Wycliffe Associates (UK) - For more information about EasyEnglish Publications, visit their website: www.easyenglish.info
Go and teach all nations
Turn Again
Psalm 85
Jesus said, "My peace I give to you". (John 14: 27)
Psalm 85
(This is) for the music leader. (It is) a psalm of the sons of Korah.
v1 LORD, you were good to your land. You turned the fortunes of Jacob.
v2 You forgave the sin of your people and you pardoned the things that they did wrong.
v3 You were not angry with them any more and you turned away from your fury.
v4 (But now) turn us (again), God. (You are the God) that makes us safe. Stop being so angry with us.
v5 Will you be angry with us for ever? Will you always be furious with us?
v6 Will you not turn to us (again) and give us new life? Then your people will be happy and praise you.
v7 LORD, show us your kind love! Give to us the help that makes us safe!
v8 I will listen to what God the LORD is saying. He will give peace to his people, to his saints. But they must not turn back to become fools.
v9 Certainly he will make safe those that obey him. Then his glory will remain in our land.
v10 Kind love will meet loyalty. Goodness and peace will kiss each other.
v11 Loyalty will grow (like a plant) in the ground and goodness will look down from the heavens.
v12 Yes! The LORD will give what is good and our land will give much fruit.
v13 Goodness will go before him and make a way for his feet.
Comments
The Story of Psalm 85
Many Bible students think that Psalm 85 comes from about 520 BC. BC means "years Before Christ came to the earth". This was just after the Jews came back from their exile in Babylon.
God was angry with his people. They had not obeyed him. So he let the King of Babylon beat them and take them to Babylon. He destroyed Jerusalem. After 70 years, the king of Persia beat the king of Babylon. Cyrus, the King of Persia, sent the Jews back to Jerusalem and the places near it. This is what verses 1-3 are about. But, a few years after they returned to Jerusalem, things were bad. They had not built God’s house (the temple) again. There was not much rain so there was not much fruit in the fields. This meant that there was not much food. Also, some enemies attacked them. So they thought that God was still angry with them! They asked for his help to make things better, verses 4-7. Someone gave them God’s answer, verses 8-13.
What Psalm 85 means
"The sons of Korah" was the name of a music group. In Psalm 85, there is one word that comes 5 times. It is "turn" or "turned". Each time it means something a bit different:
• "turned the fortunes", verse 1, is a Hebrew way to say "changed things from bad to good, or good to bad". In English, we would say "their luck changed". Christians do not believe in luck. Luck means "things just happen". Christians believe that God decides what happens, as in this verse: "You (God) turned the fortunes of Jacob". Jacob is a name for God’s people.
• "you turned away from your fury", verse 3. This means that God was not furious (or very, very angry) with his people any more.
• "turn us, God" in verse 4 is where the psalm makes its first change. They thought that God was angry again, so they ask God to turn them. Sometimes when people become Christians, we say that they become "converted". This is a word that means "turned". They turn from doing what they want to do and do what God wants them to do. That is what this verse means.
• "turn to us again" in verse 6 is about God turning. God’s people pray that God will stop looking away, and turn to look at them. This is another way to say "send us help".
• "they must not turn back", in verse 8, means they must not go back and do bad things all the time. This is the second place where the psalm changes. Now it is about the good things that will happen if God’s people will obey him.
There are several important words in this psalm:
• "forgave" and "pardoned" in verse 2. Maybe both words meant "excused" in 520 BC, but to Christians "forgave" is a very special word that means more than "excused". When God forgives us he gives our sin (all the bad things that we do) to Jesus. When he died, Jesus took our sin away. So we are not only excused; it is just as if we had never done those bad things! God punished Jesus for our sin!
• "kind love" in verse 10 is a special love that God has for people. It is a love that does not stop. People that accept this kind love become God’s people. We could call them "kind-loved" but this is not a word English people use. It is in the Hebrew of verse 8, where I have translated it "saints".
• "loyalty" in verse 10 is very like the "kind love" in the same verse. It is being a friend, or a servant and not stopping whatever happens. In this verse, God gives the kind love, and his people give him their loyalty. He does not stop loving them and they do not stop being his friends and servants whatever happens.
• A better way to translate "goodness" in verse 10 is by the word "righteousness". "Goodness" means "being good"; but "righteousness" means "being righteous". Now only God is really righteous, always doing what is right. God wants his people to be like him, righteous.
• "Peace" in verse 10 means more than "not fighting" or "no war". It translates the Hebrew word "shalom". It is a peace that only God can give. With this peace, you know that you are not fighting with God and it makes you very, very happy. Bible students think that when goodness kisses peace it means this: people that accept the peace of God become good (or righteous). They become like God.
In verse 12, "much fruit" means more than apples and things like that. It means all the plants that we grow for food. There had not been much of them, because there was not much rain. But now things would change! The last verse, verse 13, is very interesting. It tells us that God would walk on the earth! This happened when Jesus came, 520 years later. Many Bible students think that all the last part of the psalm is about Jesus. Because Jesus was the Messiah, they call verses 9-13 the messianic part of the psalm.
Something to do
Here are some verses from the New Testament of the Bible. Which verse or verses of Psalm 85 does each one make you think about?
1. Luke 2:14. Glory to God in the heavens, and peace to his saints on earth.
2. John 1:14. The Word became a man and lived with us and we saw his glory. (The Word is one of Jesus’ Bible names.)
3. Romans 5:1. Because we have been made righteous through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. (Faith means that we accept the kind love of God.)
4. Matthew 1:21. Jesus will save his people from their sins.
__o
Text from the EasyEnglish Bible Version and Commentary - used with permission -© 2001-2002, Wycliffe Associates (UK) - For more information about EasyEnglish Publications, visit their website: www.easyenglish.info
Go and teach all nations
Friday, June 02, 2006
Go and teach all nations - Psalm 84
Go and teach all nations
Journey to Zion
Psalm 84
Jesus said, "Foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests. But the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head" (Matthew 8: 20).
Psalm 84
This is) for the music leader. (He must use) Gittith. (It is) a psalm for Korah.
v1 LORD of (huge) armies - people love your temple very much!
v2 I want very much (to go to) the place where the LORD lives. (I want it so much) that it is making me feel weak! All that I am and all that I feel is crying out to the Living God!
v3 Even the sparrow has found a home and the swallow (has found) a nest. There she may keep her babies. (They are in places) near your altars, LORD of (huge) armies. You are my king and my God.
v4 The people that live in your house are very happy. They can always tell you how great you are. SELAH
v5 The people that you make strong are very happy. They want to come to you (in Zion).
v6 As they pass through a dry valley, it (seems) to become a place with wells of water in it. The autumn rains cover (the valley) with pools.
v7 The people become stronger as they go, (until) each one appears before God in Zion.
v8 LORD God of (huge) armies, hear the words that I am praying! God of Jacob, listen to me! SELAH
v9 God, look at our shield! And look kindly at the face of your king.
v10 One day in your (temple) courts is better than a thousand (days somewhere else). I would rather stand at the door of God’s house than sit in the houses of wicked people.
v11 For the LORD is a sun and a shield. He gives grace and glory (to people). He gives good things to people that do what is right.
v12 LORD of (huge) armies - everybody is very happy that trusts in you!
Comments
The Story of Psalm 84
We do not know who wrote Psalm 84. Some Bible students think that it was the same person that wrote Psalms 42 and 43. We call that person "the psalmist". The psalmist is far from the Temple in Jerusalem. He wants to be one of the people that visit the Temple. We call these people "pilgrims". Even if he could be for one day in the temple courts, that would be better than a thousand days anywhere else!
Korah was the name of a group that made music for the temple. There are notes about Korah before Psalm 73 in this series of psalms.
What Psalm 84 means
Study the psalm in 4 parts:
• Verses 1 - 4 tell us that many people love the temple, including the psalmist.
• Verses 5 - 7 tell us about pilgrims to Zion.
• Verses 8 - 9 The psalmist prays for the king.
• Verses 10 - 12 tell us about God.
In this psalm, there are several names for God, and several names for the temple. The names of God include:
• LORD of (huge) armies. These armies are millions of angels that live with God in heaven. LORD is the covenant name of God. People that agree to love and obey him use it. The Hebrew words for "LORD of (very big) armies" are "Yahweh Sabaoth". Our translation keeps the word "Sabaoth" in Psalm 80, but uses "(huge) armies" here.
• Living God. This means that God will always be alive and that he makes everything else alive also.
• King. This is not the king of Israel, as it is in verse 9, it is God.
• God of Jacob. Jacob is another name for Israel.
Other names for the temple are:
• the place where the LORD lives
• your house
• God’s house
The psalmist says in verse 3 that small birds can live in the temple. But the psalmist is far away, verse 2. If it is the same psalmist as in Psalms 42 and 43, then he is hundreds of kilometers away! When he thinks about it, it makes him feel weak. In verses 5 - 7, he tells us about the pilgrims to Jerusalem. They may come on long journeys, but they really want to come to Zion. The "dry valley" in verse 4 is "Baca Valley" in Hebrew. The Baca is a tree that lives in dry places. We do not know where this Baca Valley was. But the dry place did not stop the pilgrims. They found water there, maybe the autumn rains. Christians have always believed that this verse means: when life is difficult, God will send help.
In verse 3, the psalmist calls God his or her king. But in verses 8 and 9 the psalmist prays for another king. It is the king of Israel that lives in Jerusalem. He calls this king "a shield". The king stops other countries hurting his people. The word is not "king", but is "messiah" in Hebrew. It means "anointed". "Anointed" means "oil poured on". This is how they made kings long ago. All the Kings of Israel were messiahs, but Jesus is the Great Messiah! He is our king … if we trust in him. Then we will be very happy, verse 12. Verse 11 does not say that God is the sun, but a sun. This means that God is like a sun. He is not the sun that we see in the sky!
Something to do
1. Study Psalms 42 and 43 in this series.
2. Find all the different names for God in this Psalm.
3. Tell God that you are trusting in him, and in his Son, Jesus.
4. Learn to say verse 6 of Psalm 84 by heart. (This means that you can say it without looking at the words.)
__o
Text from the EasyEnglish Bible Version and Commentary - used with permission -© 2001-2002, Wycliffe Associates (UK) - For more information about EasyEnglish Publications, visit their website: www.easyenglish.info
Go and teach all nations
Journey to Zion
Psalm 84
Jesus said, "Foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests. But the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head" (Matthew 8: 20).
Psalm 84
This is) for the music leader. (He must use) Gittith. (It is) a psalm for Korah.
v1 LORD of (huge) armies - people love your temple very much!
v2 I want very much (to go to) the place where the LORD lives. (I want it so much) that it is making me feel weak! All that I am and all that I feel is crying out to the Living God!
v3 Even the sparrow has found a home and the swallow (has found) a nest. There she may keep her babies. (They are in places) near your altars, LORD of (huge) armies. You are my king and my God.
v4 The people that live in your house are very happy. They can always tell you how great you are. SELAH
v5 The people that you make strong are very happy. They want to come to you (in Zion).
v6 As they pass through a dry valley, it (seems) to become a place with wells of water in it. The autumn rains cover (the valley) with pools.
v7 The people become stronger as they go, (until) each one appears before God in Zion.
v8 LORD God of (huge) armies, hear the words that I am praying! God of Jacob, listen to me! SELAH
v9 God, look at our shield! And look kindly at the face of your king.
v10 One day in your (temple) courts is better than a thousand (days somewhere else). I would rather stand at the door of God’s house than sit in the houses of wicked people.
v11 For the LORD is a sun and a shield. He gives grace and glory (to people). He gives good things to people that do what is right.
v12 LORD of (huge) armies - everybody is very happy that trusts in you!
Comments
The Story of Psalm 84
We do not know who wrote Psalm 84. Some Bible students think that it was the same person that wrote Psalms 42 and 43. We call that person "the psalmist". The psalmist is far from the Temple in Jerusalem. He wants to be one of the people that visit the Temple. We call these people "pilgrims". Even if he could be for one day in the temple courts, that would be better than a thousand days anywhere else!
Korah was the name of a group that made music for the temple. There are notes about Korah before Psalm 73 in this series of psalms.
What Psalm 84 means
Study the psalm in 4 parts:
• Verses 1 - 4 tell us that many people love the temple, including the psalmist.
• Verses 5 - 7 tell us about pilgrims to Zion.
• Verses 8 - 9 The psalmist prays for the king.
• Verses 10 - 12 tell us about God.
In this psalm, there are several names for God, and several names for the temple. The names of God include:
• LORD of (huge) armies. These armies are millions of angels that live with God in heaven. LORD is the covenant name of God. People that agree to love and obey him use it. The Hebrew words for "LORD of (very big) armies" are "Yahweh Sabaoth". Our translation keeps the word "Sabaoth" in Psalm 80, but uses "(huge) armies" here.
• Living God. This means that God will always be alive and that he makes everything else alive also.
• King. This is not the king of Israel, as it is in verse 9, it is God.
• God of Jacob. Jacob is another name for Israel.
Other names for the temple are:
• the place where the LORD lives
• your house
• God’s house
The psalmist says in verse 3 that small birds can live in the temple. But the psalmist is far away, verse 2. If it is the same psalmist as in Psalms 42 and 43, then he is hundreds of kilometers away! When he thinks about it, it makes him feel weak. In verses 5 - 7, he tells us about the pilgrims to Jerusalem. They may come on long journeys, but they really want to come to Zion. The "dry valley" in verse 4 is "Baca Valley" in Hebrew. The Baca is a tree that lives in dry places. We do not know where this Baca Valley was. But the dry place did not stop the pilgrims. They found water there, maybe the autumn rains. Christians have always believed that this verse means: when life is difficult, God will send help.
In verse 3, the psalmist calls God his or her king. But in verses 8 and 9 the psalmist prays for another king. It is the king of Israel that lives in Jerusalem. He calls this king "a shield". The king stops other countries hurting his people. The word is not "king", but is "messiah" in Hebrew. It means "anointed". "Anointed" means "oil poured on". This is how they made kings long ago. All the Kings of Israel were messiahs, but Jesus is the Great Messiah! He is our king … if we trust in him. Then we will be very happy, verse 12. Verse 11 does not say that God is the sun, but a sun. This means that God is like a sun. He is not the sun that we see in the sky!
Something to do
1. Study Psalms 42 and 43 in this series.
2. Find all the different names for God in this Psalm.
3. Tell God that you are trusting in him, and in his Son, Jesus.
4. Learn to say verse 6 of Psalm 84 by heart. (This means that you can say it without looking at the words.)
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Text from the EasyEnglish Bible Version and Commentary - used with permission -© 2001-2002, Wycliffe Associates (UK) - For more information about EasyEnglish Publications, visit their website: www.easyenglish.info
Go and teach all nations
Thursday, June 01, 2006
Go and teach all nations - Psalm 83
Go and teach all nations
Enemies All Round Us!
Psalm 83
Jesus said, "I am sending you like sheep into a group of wolves. So, be as clever as snakes but, like the dove, do not hurt anybody" (Matthew 10: 16).
Psalm 83
(This) psalm (is) a song for Asaph.
v1 God, do not seem to be asleep! Do not remain quiet and do nothing, God!
v2 For look, your enemies are (all) doing something. The people that hate you are getting ready (to fight you).
v3 They are making clever plans against your people. They are deciding together what to do with those people that you love.
v4 They are saying, "Come on, we will destroy their country. Then nobody will ever remember the name of Israel".
v5 They are deciding together what to do. They are agreeing to do something against you.
v6 - v7 The people (doing this are) from:
• Edom and the Ishmaelites
• Moab and the Hagrites
• Gebal, Ammon and Amalek
• Philistia and Tyre
v8 Even Assyria has joined them. They have made the sons of Lot (Moab and Ammon) strong. SELAH
v9 Do to them what you did to Midian and to Sisera and Jabin at the River Kishon.
v10 They died at Endor and they became like dirt on the ground.
v11 Make their leaders like Oreb and Zeeb. (Make) all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna.
v12 They said, "Let us take all the country that belongs to God".
v13 God, blow them away like chaff in the wind!
v14 As fire burns a forest and lights the mountains, so they are on fire.
v15 Go after them with bad weather and frighten them a lot with your storms.
v16 Make their faces ashamed so that they will look for your name, LORD.
v17 Let them always be ashamed and very frightened. Let them become so ashamed that then they die!
v18 Then they will know that your name is LORD. And (they will know that) you are the Most High over all the earth.
Comments
The Story of Psalm 83
Bible students do not agree when the psalmist wrote Psalm 83. In verses 6-8 is a list of the enemies of Israel. Because they were enemies of Israel, they were also enemies of God. This was true when the psalmist wrote the psalm, but it is not necessary that it is true today. The problem is this: not all these people were enemies of Israel at the same time. Some were enemies 800 B.C., some 600 B.C., some 400 B.C. (B.C. means "years Before Christ came to the earth".) So, some Bible students think that Psalm 83 comes from 800 B.C., some from 600 B.C., and some from 400 B.C. Maybe we shall never know who is right!
The psalmist tells us that this is "a song for Asaph". A psalm is words with music, or a song. Asaph was the name of a group of singers. Asaph lived about 1000 BC, but his singers continued for many centuries. So, any of the Bible students could be right about the date of Psalm 83!
What Psalm 83 means
Study the psalm in two parts:
• Verses 1 – 8: what the enemies of God and Israel are doing
• Verses 9 – 18: what the psalmist wants (prays that) God will do
In verses 1 - 2, the psalmist says that God seems to be doing nothing while his enemies are getting ready to fight him. They fight God by fighting his people Israel. They want everybody to forget that there ever was an Israel, verse 4! Verses 6 - 8 tell us who these enemies are. Some are to the east, like Moab. Some are to the west like Philistia. Some are to the south and some are to the north. We are not sure who the Hagrites and Gebal were. The important thing is this: the enemies were all round Israel! In verse 8, "the sons of Lot" means the countries that his children started.
In verses 9 - 12,we read about people that God destroyed. Gideon destroyed Midian; the story is in Judges 6-8. Oreb and Zeeb were princes of Midian. People from Ephraim killed them, the story is in Judges 7:24-25. Ephraim was one of the tribes of Israel. Gideon killed Zebah and Zalmunna in Judges 8:21. They were kings of Midian. Sisera and Jabin come from another story, in Judges 4:1-24. Jabin was king of Hazor. Sisera was the leader of his army. A woman (Jael) killed Sisera as he hid in her tent. Two judges (leaders) of Israel destroyed Jabin’s army at the River Kishon. In verse 14, "lights the mountains" means "makes a fire on the mountains". Bible students are not sure what verses 16 - 18 mean. Some think that it means that the psalmist wants God to destroy his enemies as he destroyed Midian. Other Bible students think that it means that the psalmist wants them to be sorry and believe in God. The name LORD is the covenant name of God. It is the name people use who agree with God and who want to obey him.
Something to do
1. Pray that God’s enemies will start to love him. Do this when they do something bad.
2. If you have a Bible, read about Barak and Deborah (Judges 4-5) and Gideon (Judges 6-8).
3. If you have a Bible map, look for the places in verses 6-8 of this psalm.
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Text from the EasyEnglish Bible Version and Commentary - used with permission -© 2001-2002, Wycliffe Associates (UK) - For more information about EasyEnglish Publications, visit their website: www.easyenglish.info
Go and teach all nations
Enemies All Round Us!
Psalm 83
Jesus said, "I am sending you like sheep into a group of wolves. So, be as clever as snakes but, like the dove, do not hurt anybody" (Matthew 10: 16).
Psalm 83
(This) psalm (is) a song for Asaph.
v1 God, do not seem to be asleep! Do not remain quiet and do nothing, God!
v2 For look, your enemies are (all) doing something. The people that hate you are getting ready (to fight you).
v3 They are making clever plans against your people. They are deciding together what to do with those people that you love.
v4 They are saying, "Come on, we will destroy their country. Then nobody will ever remember the name of Israel".
v5 They are deciding together what to do. They are agreeing to do something against you.
v6 - v7 The people (doing this are) from:
• Edom and the Ishmaelites
• Moab and the Hagrites
• Gebal, Ammon and Amalek
• Philistia and Tyre
v8 Even Assyria has joined them. They have made the sons of Lot (Moab and Ammon) strong. SELAH
v9 Do to them what you did to Midian and to Sisera and Jabin at the River Kishon.
v10 They died at Endor and they became like dirt on the ground.
v11 Make their leaders like Oreb and Zeeb. (Make) all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna.
v12 They said, "Let us take all the country that belongs to God".
v13 God, blow them away like chaff in the wind!
v14 As fire burns a forest and lights the mountains, so they are on fire.
v15 Go after them with bad weather and frighten them a lot with your storms.
v16 Make their faces ashamed so that they will look for your name, LORD.
v17 Let them always be ashamed and very frightened. Let them become so ashamed that then they die!
v18 Then they will know that your name is LORD. And (they will know that) you are the Most High over all the earth.
Comments
The Story of Psalm 83
Bible students do not agree when the psalmist wrote Psalm 83. In verses 6-8 is a list of the enemies of Israel. Because they were enemies of Israel, they were also enemies of God. This was true when the psalmist wrote the psalm, but it is not necessary that it is true today. The problem is this: not all these people were enemies of Israel at the same time. Some were enemies 800 B.C., some 600 B.C., some 400 B.C. (B.C. means "years Before Christ came to the earth".) So, some Bible students think that Psalm 83 comes from 800 B.C., some from 600 B.C., and some from 400 B.C. Maybe we shall never know who is right!
The psalmist tells us that this is "a song for Asaph". A psalm is words with music, or a song. Asaph was the name of a group of singers. Asaph lived about 1000 BC, but his singers continued for many centuries. So, any of the Bible students could be right about the date of Psalm 83!
What Psalm 83 means
Study the psalm in two parts:
• Verses 1 – 8: what the enemies of God and Israel are doing
• Verses 9 – 18: what the psalmist wants (prays that) God will do
In verses 1 - 2, the psalmist says that God seems to be doing nothing while his enemies are getting ready to fight him. They fight God by fighting his people Israel. They want everybody to forget that there ever was an Israel, verse 4! Verses 6 - 8 tell us who these enemies are. Some are to the east, like Moab. Some are to the west like Philistia. Some are to the south and some are to the north. We are not sure who the Hagrites and Gebal were. The important thing is this: the enemies were all round Israel! In verse 8, "the sons of Lot" means the countries that his children started.
In verses 9 - 12,we read about people that God destroyed. Gideon destroyed Midian; the story is in Judges 6-8. Oreb and Zeeb were princes of Midian. People from Ephraim killed them, the story is in Judges 7:24-25. Ephraim was one of the tribes of Israel. Gideon killed Zebah and Zalmunna in Judges 8:21. They were kings of Midian. Sisera and Jabin come from another story, in Judges 4:1-24. Jabin was king of Hazor. Sisera was the leader of his army. A woman (Jael) killed Sisera as he hid in her tent. Two judges (leaders) of Israel destroyed Jabin’s army at the River Kishon. In verse 14, "lights the mountains" means "makes a fire on the mountains". Bible students are not sure what verses 16 - 18 mean. Some think that it means that the psalmist wants God to destroy his enemies as he destroyed Midian. Other Bible students think that it means that the psalmist wants them to be sorry and believe in God. The name LORD is the covenant name of God. It is the name people use who agree with God and who want to obey him.
Something to do
1. Pray that God’s enemies will start to love him. Do this when they do something bad.
2. If you have a Bible, read about Barak and Deborah (Judges 4-5) and Gideon (Judges 6-8).
3. If you have a Bible map, look for the places in verses 6-8 of this psalm.
__o
Text from the EasyEnglish Bible Version and Commentary - used with permission -© 2001-2002, Wycliffe Associates (UK) - For more information about EasyEnglish Publications, visit their website: www.easyenglish.info
Go and teach all nations
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