Paul the apostle wrote to the Corinthian church in 1 Corinthians 15:3-4: For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures. This weekend […]
Although Psalm 137 is rather well-known and the words put to modern songs, it is also one of the saddest and most bitter presentations in all of the Psalms. The reason is that it depicts Jewish exiles in Babylon during the captivity after King Nebuchadnezzar destroyed Jerusalem and took most of the living as slaves […]
Psalm 136 is another psalm that illustrates how important singing was to Israel’s worship, especially during the feasts. Although it is not officially labeled a Song of Ascents, Psalm 136 was definitely one of the favorite praise songs of Israel. Each of the 26 verses ends with the phrase: For His lovingkindness – God’s loyal […]
Psalm 135 begins just as Psalm 134, calling on the priests who serve in the house of the LORD to: Praise the LORD; in particular to praise the name of the LORD (v. 1). Verse 3 continues this theme: Praise the LORD, for the LORD is good; sing praises to His name, for it is […]
The final Song of Ascents, Psalm 134, is a call to “all servants of the LORD, who serve by night in the house of the LORD” (v. 1). These are the priests and Levites who were prominent during the pilgrim feasts in Jerusalem. They are to bless the LORD(vv. 1-2) with their hands lifted up […]