Transcript

Podcast Introduction

This is Psalms Wednesday. We’ll read chapters 146-148. I’m calling today’s episode “Can I Get A Hallelujah?”

Comments on Psalms 146-148

Psalm 146 praises God for his trustworthiness. Oh, how I agree with that! I have discovered this to be so very true in my own lifetime. So many times, He has demonstrated that He is always there, always able, always loving, always true. 

Psalm 147 praises God for the way He cares for us, and for His power over creation itself. There is nothing that He cannot do.

Psalm 148 calls for all of creation to praise the Lord. And there will come a day when that will indeed happen.

Beloved, the older I get, the more I realize that He is worthy of praise. I love Him more today than the day I received Him as my Savior over 50 years ago. When you think about it, that makes sense. I love my wife, the Lovely Lady LeeAnn more than the day I married her coming up on 32 years ago. Why? Because we have gone through so many things together. And I know her better now than I did then. She has never left my side, she puts up with my idiosyncrasies, my faults, my moods, my rough edges and on and on. She loves me despite my many faults. God knows me even better than my wife does, and yet He loves me. And just as I still discover new things about my wife, I discover new things about God. Though He never changes, He reveals new things to me about Himself. The depth of our relationship continues to grow deeper as I walk with Him. 

Yes, the Lord is worthy of praise.

Today’s Bible Translation

Bible translation used in today’s episode: Ch. 146-148 NCV

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Transcript

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STEVE WEBB – 0:00
Coming up on 33 years ago.

INTRO S12E359 – 0:10
Coming to you from Riverside, California, this is the Lifespring Family Audio Bible. And podcasting since 2004, I’m your OG Godcaster, Steve Webb. This is the daily show where we’re reading through the entire Bible in a year. This is Psalms Wednesday. We’ll read chapters 146 through 148. I’ll have a brief introduction before each chapter, and I’m calling today’s episode, “Can I Get a Hallelujah”? The show notes page for today’s episode is at lifespringmedia.com/s12e350. My email address is st***@*************ia.com. Let’s get started.

INTRO TO PSALM 146 – 0:45
The last five chapters or psalms of the book of Psalms beginning with this Psalm 146 are known as the Hallelujah Psalms.

So what does “Hallelujah” mean? In the simplest terms, it means “Praise the Lord”, but there’s so much more to it than that. Listen to this from Biblestudytools.com, “The word itself is a transliteration into Greek of two Hebrew words ‘hallal’ and ‘Yahweh’. ‘Hallal’ means to extol the greatness or excellence of a person, object or event. It’s often translated to “praise.” But who are you to praise? ‘Yahweh’ is the covenant name of God. So to say ‘hallelujah’ is saying ‘extol greatness to our covenant-keeping God.’” And so the final five psalms are all about that: to extol greatness to our covenant-keeping God.

Well, what does extol mean? From Merriam-Webster it means “to praise highly to glorify”. So are you beginning to understand? “Hallelujah” means to celebrate, to praise, to glorify, to lift up the name of God, to rejoice in, to offer up to him all the honor he so rightly deserves. James Montgomery Boice, the commentator wrote,

“In the earlier psalms we have studied the writers griefs, shames, sins, doubts and fears. We have witnessed the people of God and their defeats and victories, they’re ups and downs in life. We have encountered rebellious words and struggling faith. All that is behind us now. In these final Psalms, every word is a praise.”

PSALM 146 (NCV) – 2:21
Psalms, chapter 146.

(1) Praise the Lord!
My whole being, praise the Lord.
(2) I will praise the Lord all my life;
I will sing praises to my God as long as I live.
(3) Do not put your trust in princes
or other people, who cannot save you.
(4) When people die, they are buried.
Then all of their plans come to an end.
(5) Happy are those who are helped by the God of Jacob.
Their hope is in the Lord their God.
(6) He made heaven and earth,
the sea and everything in it.
He remains loyal forever.
(7) He does what is fair for those who have been wronged.
He gives food to the hungry.
The Lord sets the prisoners free.
(8) The Lord gives sight to the blind.
The Lord lifts up people who are in trouble.
The Lord loves those who do right.
(9) The Lord protects the foreigners.
He defends the orphans and widows,
but he blocks the way of the wicked.
(10) The Lord will be King forever.
Jerusalem, your God is everlasting.
Praise the Lord!

INTRO TO PSALM 147 – 3:21
Like the other Hallelujah Psalms, Psalm 147, has no title. And like the others, this psalm begins and ends with “Hallelujah” or “Praise the Lord”.

PSALM 147 (NCV) – 3:34
Psalms, chapter 147.

(1) Praise the Lord!
It is good to sing praises to our God;
it is good and pleasant to praise him.
(2) The Lord rebuilds Jerusalem;
he brings back the captured Israelites.
(3) He heals the brokenhearted
and bandages their wounds.
(4) He counts the stars
and names each one.
(5) Our Lord is great and very powerful.
There is no limit to what he knows.
(6) The Lord defends the humble,
but he throws the wicked to the ground.
(7) Sing praises to the Lord;
praise our God with harps.
(8) He fills the sky with clouds
and sends rain to the earth
and makes grass grow on the hills.
(9) He gives food to cattle
and to the little birds that call.
(10) He is not impressed with the strength of a horse
or with human might.
(11) The Lord is pleased with those who respect him,
with those who trust his love.
(12) Jerusalem, praise the Lord;
Jerusalem, praise your God.
(13) He makes your city gates strong
and blesses your children inside.
(14) He brings peace to your country
and fills you with the finest grain.
(15) He gives a command to the earth,
and it quickly obeys him.
(16) He spreads the snow like wool
and scatters the frost like ashes.
(17) He throws down hail like rocks.
No one can stand the cold he sends.
(18) Then he gives a command, and it melts.
He sends the breezes, and the waters flow.
(19) He gave his word to Jacob,
his laws and demands to Israel.
(20) He didn’t do this for any other nation.
They don’t know his laws.
Praise the Lord!

INTRO TO PSALM 148 – 5:06
In Psalm 148, all of creation is called upon to praise God, every creature in all the universe. Of this song commentator G. Campbell, Morgan wrote,

“What a wonderful song this is. Look over it again and note the fact that there is no reference in it from first to last to the mercy or pity or compassion of God. But that’s because there is no reference to evil in any form. Hallelujah, indeed.”

And, Beloved, lest you think that this is only an enthusiastic cry based on emotion, think again. Revelation 5:11 through 13 says it will indeed happen. In Revelation 5, the apostle John wrote,

“Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures and the elders, and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, ‘Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom, and strength, and honor and glory and blessing.’ And every creature which is in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying, ‘Blessing and honor and glory and power be to Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb forever and ever.’”

PSALM 148 (NCV) – 6:25
Psalms, chapter 148.

(1) Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord from the skies.
Praise him high above the earth.
(2) Praise him, all you angels.
Praise him, all you armies of heaven.
(3) Praise him, sun and moon.
Praise him, all you shining stars.
(4) Praise him, highest heavens
and you waters above the sky.
(5) Let them praise the Lord,
because they were created by his command.
(6) He put them in place forever and ever;
he made a law that will never change.
(7) Praise the Lord from the earth,
you large sea animals and all the oceans,
(8) lightning and hail, snow and mist,
and stormy winds that obey him,
(9) mountains and all hills,
fruit trees and all cedars,
(10) wild animals and all cattle,
crawling animals and birds,
(11) kings of the earth and all nations,
princes and all rulers of the earth,
(12 )young men and women,
old people and children.
(13) Praise the Lord,
because he alone is great.
He is more wonderful than heaven and earth.
(14) God has given his people a king.
He should be praised by all who belong to him;
he should be praised by the Israelites, the people closest to his heart.
Praise the Lord!

COMMENTS – 7:35
Beloved, Psalm 146 praises God for His trustworthiness and, oh, how I agree with that. I have discovered this to be so very true in my own lifetime. So many times he has demonstrated that he is always there, always able, always loving, and always true.

And Psalm 147 praises God for the way he cares for us, and for his power over creation itself. There is nothing that he cannot do.

And Psalm 148 calls for all of creation to praise the Lord. And there will come a day when that will indeed happen.

Beloved, the older I get, the more I realize that he is worthy of praise. I love him more today than the day I received Him as my Savior over fifty years ago. And when you think about it, that makes sense. I love my wife, the Lovely Lady LeeAnn more than the day I married her coming up on thirty-three years ago. How could that be? Well, because we have gone through so many things together, and I know her better now than I did then. She’s never left my side. She puts up with my idiosyncrasies, my faults, my moods, my rough edges, and on and on and on. She loves me despite my oh-so-many faults. And God knows me even better than LeeAnn does, and yet, he loves me. And just as I still discover new things about my wife, I discover new things about God. Though he never changes, he reveals new things to me about himself. The depth of our relationship continues to grow deeper as I walk with him. Yes, the Lord is indeed worthy of praise. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah.

[Hallelujah Chorus clip]

Do you have a comment? Let me know. Go to lifespringmedia.com/s12e350. Tomorrow is Poetry Thursday. We’ll read Song of Solomon chapters 5 and 6.

Boost!

FEEDBACK FROM JANE – 10:37
Do you remember the comment I read from Jane the other day and at the end of it I kind of chuckled when she said “Looking forward to meeting you in Heaven…, hopefully in the near future”? Well, she sent a follow up note today. She says, “I’m chuckling, too, in response to your chuckle. Think Rapture, Steve. Think Rapture. I’m in no hurry to make it to heaven in the conventional way. And I don’t wish that upon you either.” So Jane, thank you for clearing that up. Yes, I’ve been looking forward to the Rapture ever since I first learned about it when I was a teenager. Yeah, I’m ready to go. Thanks again, Jane. God bless you.

ON THIS DATE IN CHURCH HISTORY – 11:24
On this date in church history, August 17, 1635, English Puritan Richard Mather arrived in Boston. A staunch defender of congregational church government, Mather was the father of a ministerial “dynasty” that included his son, Increase Mather, born in 1639, and grandson Cotton Mather, born in 1663.

And on this date in church history, August 17, 1761, William Carey was born. He was the pioneer English missionary to India. He taught at Fort William College in Calcutta from 1801 until his death in 1834, and helped establish Serampore Press which made the Bible accessible to more than 300 million people. William Carey.

PRAISE REPORT AND PRAYER REQUESTS – 12:17
I have some praises for you today and a prayer request.

On the praise front. My sister-in-law Laurie wrote this about her husband, Steve O’Brien. She says, “It looks like Steve is coming home later today.” And I’m recording this on Tuesday, so yesterday for you. Laurie said, “They removed three chest tubes this morning. It was painful, but he did great. They also took him off oxygen and his oxygen levels are staying steady. The only thing left is a chest X-ray to make sure his lungs are working correctly. And then he should be good to go. Pray that we have a smooth transition to home recovery. The thing he’s looking forward to most is taking a shower and washing the hospital off.” Yeah, I know that feeling.

And Del reported that on Monday, they went to City of Hope to get some labs done on Kathi, and he said that Kathi’s lab results were posted overnight, and they looked pretty good. So that’s a praise as well. And also Kathi wanted me to pass on to you her great gratitude and thanks and love for your prayers.

Now prayer requests I’m going to read an article to you from deadline.com. It says,

Amy Grant suffered a concussion and was unconscious for ten minutes after falling during a July bike ride, according to reports.

The singer announced Friday that her remaining tour dates for the summer and early fall would be postponed as a consequence.

Initial reports indicated Grant suffered ‘cuts and abrasions’ in her fall. News of the concussion puts a new spin on what occurred, and explains why an ambulance and the subsequent postponement of husband Vince Gill’s tour dates happened.

Her team wrote this in a statement, “Friends, we regretfully need to postpone Amy’s previously scheduled tour dates in September and October due to Amy needing more time to recover from injuries and a concussion sustained in a bicycling accident that occurred in Nashville on July 27, 2022”.

Grant’s manager Jennifer Cook said, “Amy is getting stronger every day. Just as she did after her heart surgery, we are amazed at how fast she heals. However, although she is doing much better, we have made the difficult decision to postpone her fall tour so she can concentrate on her recovery and rebuild her stamina. She wants to be able to give 100% when she tours and, unfortunately, we do not think that will be the case by the time rehearsals would start for the fall dates.”

She added, “Amy would like to extend her gratitude for all the many good wishes and prayers offered since the accident.”

So let’s pray for Amy Grant.

CLOSING PRAYER – 14:48
Let’s pray. Our heavenly Father we offer you our enthusiastic and heartfelt praise right now. And we look forward to the time that we will join our voices with all of creation around your throne, rejoicing in your presence. Hallelujah.

We thank you for the good reports about Steve O’Brien and Kathi and we ask God that you would continue their healing. And we pray for Amy Grant that you’d restore her and bring healing to her as well.

And I pray for the Lifespring family. I ask you, Lord to bless each one. I pray this in Jesus’ name, amen.

If you have a prayer request or a praise, go to prayer.lifespringmedia.com.

OUTRO S12E350 – 15:34
Thanks again to those of you that have taken a moment or more to send your THE NEXT STEP emails to me. They continue to come in on an almost daily basis, but if you have not yet sent in your ideas about what you think I should do once this season ends in just thirteen days, please do it today. I’m not at all exaggerating when I say that I want to hear from every Lifespring family member and that means you, especially if you have never sent an email to me. I want to hear from you. And even if you’re the kind of person who doesn’t normally write emails to podcasters please know that your voice does indeed matter. Send an email today to st***@*************ia.com with the words “THE NEXT STEP” in the subject line.

You can comment on the show at lifespringmedia.com/s12e350. Thanks to the team: Kirsty, Sean of San Pedro and Denise. I’m so glad you’re there to help me. Thanks to the sat streamers and the boosters. And thank you for sharing your time with me today, inviting me in. I don’t take it for granted and I am honored that you spend time with me.

Now, until tomorrow, may God bless you richly. My name is Steve Webb.

Bye.

Satisfaction guaranteed.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai
Corrected by Denise