Final Praise and Doxology
What a fitting way to end the book of Psalms. Of course, why would we expect anything other than a perfect ending?
This Psalm does not speak of any negative topics. No oppression, no enemies, no mention of any lessons learned from past mistakes. Just worship and praise to God.
How are we directed to worship and praise? Music. How many of us have experiences with music that can change our moods or express how we feel like nothing else. Music, in my humble opinion, is a genuine gift from God. It can move people to tears, to laughter, to a common cause. It brings people together in a way that is unique. The author directs that we worship God through music.
This chapter tells people to use all of the instruments available at the time. Why? Because God is infinitely deserving. The trumpet was used to bring down the walls of Jericho. Now it is used as a praise tool. Even our bodies in dance are used.
The author requires that God be praised in the sanctuary, His firmament, as a result of His mighty acts and His excellent Greatness. For myself I see God in creation. I am very much an outdoors person. Some of the times that I felt God directly speaking to me is in His creation. In the forest. Recently, close friends of ours were dealing with a medical concern. My reaction was to go for a long hike and pray to God. Why, because he is infinitely able, deserving and has blessed me with a calm that can only come from me being in the forest. Everyone has a different way in which they praise. This Psalm opens the doors for all of those.
When I read this Psalm, I am overwhelmed by the image of this loud and joyous praise. This is not a subdued image in my mind. These are trumpets, and cymbals, singing and dancing. All believers and non-believers alike would hear this. I can only imagine that God’s glory would be manifested through this type of praise.

Derrick

3 Month Reading Plan - Psalms 148-150

Praise Me with all your heart, Jim. I heal your broken heart with My unconditional love and bandage your wounds. I am close to you – the brokenhearted – and rescue you when your spirit is crushed.
I broke you, Jim, because I unconditionally love you and the reason, I broke you was because you were in control of your life, running your own life. Oh yes, you were reading your Bible every day, praying to Me every day, witnessing, going to church, giving your tithe, but it was all about you, NOT ME and OTHERS. The amazing thing is that you never realized this until I broke you. ONLY when I broke you and revealed this to you did you realize this – that all the time it was YOU NOT ME. You thought you were loving Me and others but NO you were loving yourself and didn’t even realize this.
Jim, I broke you because I unconditionally loved you! and knew the direction you were going would ruin your life. I called you to repent of doing your own thing and turn from your sin and turn to Me with all your heart, which you did and surrendered your life totally to Me.
I have healed your broken heart and given you a new sensitivity to others who have broken hearts! I have given you a whole new purpose in life – to share Me and My unconditional love with others whose hearts are broken and bleeding.

Praise Me forever! Amen! Thank Me forever!

Jim

3 Month Reading Plan - Psalms 146-147

David begins this psalm praising God and declaring to God his daily and lifelong commitment.  The relationship he experiences with God causes him to burst out in song!  His voice cannot be muffled. 
Some of David’s psalms are like sprinklers that water our lawns in the summer – or like setting the nozzle to “shower” as we water our garden.  But this Psalm is more like a fire hose connected to a hydrant!
David burst out with “Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praise – his greatness is unsearchable!!” (vs.3) He then continues for the rest of the psalm declaring who God is and giving examples to prove his point of God’s greatness.
“The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and great in lovingkindness.  The Lord is good to all and His mercies are over all His works.” (vs.8) It’s all about who God is – not how great we are.  We stink.  Even on our best day we have bad attitudes and treat people rudely.  We complain and are lazy.  I’m so glad my salvation doesn’t depend on me. 
“The Lord sustains all who fall and raises us all who are bowed down.” (vs.14) The kids’ song - Jesus Loves Me This I Know declares the same truth “little ones to Him belong, they are weak but He is strong”.  So simple – and yet so profound!  I don’t need to make it through this life on my own – in fact, the sooner I realize my weakness and the deeper I depend on God for strength, the better off I’m gonna be – and that has a ripple effect on everything around me.
The Lord is righteous, and kind.  He is near… He fulfills our desires… He hears our cry and saves us. (vs17-19)
My prayer is that we will know God so well and experience a personal-ness in our relationship with Him, that we too, will not be able to contain our praise and worship every day!  That those around us will have no doubt whose side we’re on.

Ron

3 Month Reading Plan - Psalms 144-145

9 Save me, O LORD, from my enemies;
I have fled to you for refuge.
10 Teach me to do your will,
for you are my God.
Let your good spirit lead me
on a level path.
11 For your name’s sake, O LORD, preserve my life.
In your righteousness bring me out of trouble.
There have been times in my life where I have faced adversity. There have been times in my life when I have faced personal, spiritual failure. The worst times have been when those two situations coincide. In fact, it is not uncommon that when we find ourselves facing adversity, we are more susceptible and more likely to stumble and fall spiritually. When we are facing adversity, our human response is to look for a way out - to escape the momentary trials in any way we can. Satan waits for us at those times and is always ready with an easy escape compromised of all our most wicked desires. He loves to see us labour and then give us those false lifelines to compound our despair and struggle. He then tortures us with not only our struggle but our failure.
I love this psalm because I believe it speaks to this very issue and snatches us out of Satan’s grip. The crux of this dilemma is that we desperately need rescue but feel that we have no right to ask. We keenly feel our wickedness and believe we “deserve” to have God turn His back. Although we may deserve this, this is not how God behaves and is not in his character. He loves us. He wants to rescue us - period. He wants to rescue us from sin AND from adversity. Nothing we can do will change that.
He does this not because of us, but because of His character. We can count on it. For [His] name’s sake, [He will], preserve [our] life. In [His] righteousness [He will] bring [us] out of trouble. In [His] steadfast love [He will] cut off [our] enemies and destroy all [our] adversaries. He will do this not because of who we are, but because of who He is.
Like the author of this psalm we can come to God because he does not “enter into judgment”. He does not “not hide [His] face” from us. He let’s us “hear of [His] steadfast love in the morning” and encourages us to “put our trust in him”.
Below is a prayer I review every morning.
“God, help me not to judge by feeling but by God's word. When I am under overwhelming stress, I lose all discipline. I try to escape ... keep me from escaping and help me manage my stress by coming to you.”
Do not let adversity and spiritual failure be the two-pronged fork that Satan tortures you with. Go to God. Find forgiveness and undeserved support and favour during your time of adversity. He loves you, He wants to rescue you, and he has the plan and power to do it.

Burt

3 Month Reading Plan - Psalms 141-143

Praise and thank Me, Jim, for My OMNISCIENCE – I AM ALL KNOWING! I know all about you, everything; when you sit down or rise up; every thought, every word even before you say it.  I know every situation you are in! Hard to understand , isn’t it? So are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.
Praise Me for My OMNIPRESENCE – I AM ALL PRESENT! I will never leave you or forsake you. I am with you to the end of the age. Jim, I love you unconditionally and am with you in the light and in the darkness. You can never escape from My Spirit.
Praise Me for My OMNIPOTENCE – I AM ALL POWERFUL! I formed you in your mother’s womb and I have a plan and purpose for your life, in fact I wrote in My book every day of your life. Isn’t that wonderful! You are amazingly complex, like an afghan knit together in the darkness of the womb. I am all powerful and all power is given to me in heaven and earth.  I rule and reign. I am SOVEREIGN over every detail of your life. I am in charge. I set My throne in the heavens and I rule over all. I control every atom and the utmost galaxies and stars. My thoughts are precious to you. I protect you even when you sleep.
Praise Me for My UNCONDITIONAL LOVE AND JUSTICE! These two qualities of My Godhead go hand in hand. I unconditionally love you no matter what because I AM LOVE, and I also correct you and discipline you as my child when you sin because I love you and want the best for your life – I AM JUST! I LOVE THE SINNER BUT I HATE THE SIN for it destroys your life and your relationship with Me and others.
Praise and thank Me for all MY ATTRIBUTES – MY OMNISCIENCE, MY OMNIPRESENCE, MY OMNIPOTENCE, MY UNCONDITIONAL LOVE AND MY JUSTICE – ALL OF THESE. I will search your heart because I unconditionally love you and want to develop an intimate personal relationship with you that will last both now and for eternity.

Resting in His Unconditional Love

Jim

3 Month Reading Plan - Psalms 139-140

 This unique Psalm gives an historical narrative interspersed with the repeated phrase “His love endures forever.” The historical narrative briefly tells the story of creation, the exodus from Egypt, the defeat of their enemies and the entrance into the Promised Land. The narrative is bookmarked by “Give thanks.” Using this framework we could each write our own Psalm telling our own unique story.

Give thanks to the Lord for He is good.
             His love endures forever.
to Him who created me, James, and made me who I am.
              His love endures forever.
who drew me to Himself at age 8 at Ness Lake Bible Camp
             His love endures forever.
and commissioned me into His service at age 17
             His love endures forever.
to Him who gave me a love for music and the gift of worship
             His love endures forever.
who led me to my wonderful wife of forty years
             His love endures forever.
and blessed me with four children and seven grandchildren
             His love endures forever.
to Him who sustains me and continually supplies my needs
            His love endures forever.
and gives me hope of eternal life with Him when I die
His love endures forever.
Give thanks to the God of heaven.
             His love endures forever.
Take the time to write your own Psalm, remembering the key markers in your life.

James

3 Month Reading Plan - Psalms 137-138

Come and join together for Sunday Morning Worship.
Please read the Psalm in preparation for the sermon.

Pastor Paris

3 Month Reading Plan - Psalm 136

1 Oh, praise the LORD, all you servants of the LORD, you who serve at night in the house of the LORD. 2 Lift your hands toward the sanctuary and praise the LORD. 3 May the LORD, who made heaven and earth, bless you from Jerusalem. (NLT)
"May blessed and blessing be the two words which describe our lives'.'
Blessings. After spending time in Jerusalem to worship God, the pilgrims prepare to return home. This psalm, the last of the psalms of ascent, appropriately concludes their visit to the city. With their imminent morning departure, they exhort the "servants"-the Levitical singers-to bless the Lord even in the middle of the night (v. 1). We want God to bless our lives, but it seems peculiar for us to bless him. "Think well of Jehovah and speak well of him. Adore him with reverence, draw near to him with love, delight in him with exultation:' We worship enthusiastically with hands and heart "upraised, elevated, and consecrated to the adoring service of the Lord" (v. 2). While we are expected to bless God, he will bless his people (v. 3). Using the ancient blessing given by the high priest, God blesses us "through his church, his gospel, and the ordinances of this house [church]:'
Prayer. Lord, I joyfully bless you for your majesty and holiness, your love and justice, your compassion and discipline. You are worthy of my blessing of praise. I humbly ask you to bless me. I covet your good gifts so that I may serve and glorify you. Amen.

David McKinley- Used by permission

3 Month Reading Plan - Psalms 133-135

“But I have calmed and quieted my soul”.  Vs 2
To be honest, I struggle with quietness.  I always seem to want to have noise in my life.  I have music playing in the background when I work, or I love to sit in a coffee shop while I work through reading or writing.  Noise seems to distract my easily distractable brain so that I can focus.
Yet the Psalmist words are ringing in my ear as I read and re read these verses.  Calmed and quieted soul.  Is this really about noise or is the Psalmist talking about our contentment with a God who is in control.  When we are facing trials in our lives, we can turn to a God and be content in His voice.  Content in His word and be content in our soul. 
You see when our hearts are lifted up (vs 1) to the God in control and we place all of our burdens, fears, worries, and concerns at the feet of Jesus, then and only then are we able to be at rest.   Be at calm in our spirit, be filled with the indwelling presence of God, walking away fully satisfied like a child who has been feed from the love of its mother.
The Psalmist doesn’t end there in this simple but short Psalm, he reminds his people, I remind us, that this is the Hope that we can trust.  God WILL and IS the one who will calm our soul and quiet our spirit. He has done this yesterday, today, and as the Psalmist says, forever more. Place your trust in the God for He has the power to calm and quiet our soul.

Pastor Paris

3 Month Reading Plan - Psalms 129-132

Psalm 130: 5 “I will wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word, I put my hope.”
Waiting is hard!  I don’t like waiting in a line up for my Starbucks.  I really don’t like waiting in the grocery line for my 2 items in the express lane while the person before me has 13 (yes, I counted her items!).  Waiting seems like a waste of time.  It does not seem productive.  I do not see the results of waiting.
The Psalmist says that he will wait for the Lord.  It is not as if he and the Lord had an appointment and now the Psalmist is looking at the sun dial exasperated that the Lord is 15 minutes late.  It is not as if the Lord is running behind schedule and letting people and agendas slip through His fingers as if He is irresponsible or in the very least poor at time management.
The waiting is this calm presence allowing the Lord to work, even if it doesn’t make sense to us.  It is letting the Lord do what He does best and all we do is place our confidence in the Lord’s work.
You remember the children’s game Red Light, Green Light? The children all stand on a line and the person at the opposite end of the yard yells “green light”, and everyone runs as fast as they can, as far as they can.  Then the person yells “red light.”  Now, when the children have stopped, they are not occupying themselves with other things until the words green light are yelled.  They are ready, and alert for the next move, confident that it will come at any time.  They are eager to take flight at the mere beginning of the words “green light”.  It is the same with God’s timing.  We are to wait—poised and confident that His timing is always right.
I will wait with confidence and with peace that my hope is rightfully placed in God’s timing.

Heather

3 Month Reading Plan - Psalms 124-128