Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 1 to 25 of 192 results

Psalm 77:1-20

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

Has God Forgotten to Be Merciful? Nothing like the silence of God in the face of distress brings the sinking feeling of despair. The Bible does not offer a prepackaged answer to this problem, but—remarkably—the divine word is a humane word, and so comes alongside to help. It offers not only God’s words to us but also words that we may bring to God—even when he does not seem to be listening. Psalm ...

Psalm 85:1-13

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

A Forgiven People Seeking Forgiveness and God’s Promise of Shalom This psalm reflects the tension of living between promise and fulfillment. When the people of God had experienced the beginnings of his grace in the return from exile (vv. 1–3), they still suffered hardships in the early postexilic period (vv. 4–7). At the same time, they were still hearing future blessings promised to them (vv. 8–1...

Psalm 73:1-28

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

God’s Goodness Redefined: The Nearness of God This psalm is a favorite for many because it rings so true to our feelings and experience. Many of us have felt disappointed in God. When we feel life has treated us unfairly, we often betray our belief in the sovereignty of God by blaming and abandoning him! The psalm confesses what we are afraid to admit, and so helps us to be honest before God about...

Psalm 76:1-12

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

The God of Zion Breaks the Weapons of War This is another of the Songs of Zion (see the Introduction and the comments on Ps. 46), which celebrate Yahweh’s dramatic protection of the temple and its sacred mountain from foreign invasion. Yahweh’s deliverance of Jerusalem from Assyrian invasion in 701 B.C. may be a case in point (Isa. 36–37). 76:1–3 The psalm begins with Judah’s special knowledge of ...

Psalm 80:1-19

Teach the Text

Craig C. Broyles

The Vinedresser and the Plundered Vine of Israel The occasion underlying this corporate prayer psalm appears to be one of extreme national distress: passers-by ravage as they please, burning and destroying (vv. 12–13, 16). The people experience sorrow and strife (vv. 5–6). The question “How long?” implies that this tragedy has persisted for some time. As with most psalms, historical details are om...

Psalm 83:1-18

Teach the Text

Craig C. Broyles

The Conspiracy of the Nations Unlike other corporate prayer psalms, this one actually names the national enemies (vv. 5–8), and so it would seem we have one psalm we can date precisely to a particular crisis. But we cannot correlate the nations listed in this alliance with any event narrated in the OT. This list of ten nations appears simply to summarize those who have been national enemies of the...

Psalm 83:1-18

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

Psalm 86:1-17

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

A Servant Appeals to His Lord for Protection This prayer of the individual consists of three sections of petition and hymnic praise. In each section the hymnic praise grants assurance to the worshiper and motivation to Yahweh to make good on his praise. An odd feature that strikes readers familiar with psalms is that, after verses 12–13 have nicely rounded off the preceding prayer with a vow of pr...

Psalm 91:1-16

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

The Protection of My God in the Midst of Threat 91:1–16 A key to understanding this psalm in its original context lies in interpreting its imagery. The dominant image describing the obligation of the believer is that of taking “refuge” (vv. 1–2, 9, cf. v. 4). This seems to be not an abstract metaphor but a concrete symbol for trust in God that derives from the temple and the cherubim wings outstre...

10.

Psalm 93:1-5

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

The Divine King Is Mightier than the Chaotic Waters This psalm of Yahweh’s kingship (see the Introduction) speaks in a foreign language. What the “lifting up” of the seas and their pounding waves have to do with Yahweh’s reign is not self-evident to the modern reader. Nor is it clear how we get from the seas to Yahweh’s house by the psalm’s close. Here we must enter the thought world of the ancien...

11.

Psalm 97:1-12

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

The God of the Thunderstorm and the Proclamation of His Righteousness This psalm of Yahweh’s kingship picks up where Psalm 96 leaves off: “let the earth be glad” (cf. 96:11). After this opening invitation, we hear of a thunderstorm demonstrating Yahweh’s supremacy and righteousness (vv. 2–6). We hear of the responses of idol worshipers and of Zion, along with a summary statement of Yahweh’s suprem...

12.

Psalm 99:1-9

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

Holy, Holy, Holy Is the Responsive Divine King The uniqueness of this psalm of Yahweh’s kingship lies in its attention to Israel’s historical traditions and specifically to Yahweh’s execution of justice. Accompanying this liturgy was the congregation’s ritual prostration toward the cherubim-ark at the temple (vv. 1, 5, 9). It is likely the psalm was performed by more than one voice. One possible s...

13.

Psalm 100:1-5

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

An Invitatory to Enter the Temple’s Gates with Praise An unusual feature of this hymn is that the first four verses are mostly imperative calls to praise (seven of them in vv. 1–4) and only the closing fifth verse provides the formal basis for this praise (with “for,” which normally begins a hymn’s introductory summary). This may imply we have only a fragment of a psalm or that Psalm 100 is comple...

14.

Psalm 101:1-8

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

Vows About Acceptable and Unacceptable Associates The genre and function of this psalm are difficult to determine because it is unique. It begins with phrases familiar from individual thanksgivings (“to you, O LORD, I will sing praise”), but what follows are not confessions of what God has done but vows of how the speaker will live. Their closest parallel in the Psalms appears in the liturgies of ...

15.

Psalm 103:1-22

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

The Lord Compassionate and Slow to Anger Because this psalm combines individual thanksgiving (vv. 2–5) and corporate hymnody (vv. 6–18), commentators have debated which is indicative of its function (see Allen, Psalms 101–150, [WBC 21; Waco: Word, 1983], pp. 19–20). As I have argued, this separation between individual and corporate settings has been overstressed. Whether the concerns were individu...

16.

Psalm 108:1-13

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

Prayer for God’s Exaltation and for His Victory over “Edom” 108:1–13 Verses 1–5 were drawn from Psalm 57:7–11, an individual prayer. They consist of a vow to praise God internationally and an invocation for the universal manifestation of his glory. By excluding 57:1–6 our psalm omits all references to individual distress. Verses 6–13 of our psalm were drawn from Psalm 60:5–12, a corporate prayer l...

17.

Psalm 110:1-7

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

The Davidic King Promised Dominion over Enemies Psalm 110 is a royal psalm composed originally for the preexilic Davidic kings and was later applied to the Messiah, as the many NT citations make evident (the NT cites this psalm more than any other OT passage). Like Psalm 2, it refers to Yahweh’s installation of the king on Zion and to his promise of military dominion over enemies. Both of these ps...

18.

Psalm 112:1-10

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

Blessings of Those Who Fear the Lord W. Brueggemann classifies this psalm as one of the “psalms of orientation” (The Message of the Psalms [Augsburg Old Testament Studies; Minneapolis: Augsburg, 1984], p. 45), which he believes reflect “a satisfied and assured assertion of orderliness” that “probably comes from the well-off, from the economically secure and the politically significant” (p. 26). Bu...

19.

Psalm 114:1-8

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

Trembling at the Appearance of the God of the Exodus 114:1–8 This is a hymn, but a unique one. It contains no imperative call for worship. The only mention of human figures are Israel, Jacob, and Judah of the distant past. The psalm’s only imperative verb is addressed to the earth or “land.” The listeners/readers are dramatically transported back to the historical moments of the exodus, wilderness...

20.

Psalm 116:1-19

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

A Thank Offering for Deliverance from Death Psalm 116 is a thanksgiving psalm that celebrates deliverance from near-death distress (cf. esp. Ps. 30). It consists of a proclamation of praise and an introductory summary (vv. 1–2), as well as recollections of the distress (v. 3), of the cry to God (v. 4), and of Yahweh’s deliverance (vv. 8–11). Contained in this report is hymnic praise (vv. 5–6; so c...

21.

Psalm 117:1-2

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

Nations to Praise the Lord for His Faithfulness This is the shortest and simplest of the psalms. Its structure is typical of hymns, in that it consists of a call for praise, which is repeated at the conclusion, and the grounds for that praise, which is expressed in a “for” statement. Its liturgical use is plain from the repeated call to worship. Its brevity may lead us to suppose we have but a fra...

22.

Psalm 120:1-7

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

Sojourning in a Foreign Land Among the Deceitful and Warlike Psalms 120–134 comprise the Psalms of Ascent, as noted in the superscription of each. The precise meaning of this title is debated, though it probably refers to the pilgrims’ “ascent” to Jerusalem (cf. 24:3; 122:4; Isa. 2:3). In these psalms we see a concerted interest in Zion and its sacred temple, so much so that good and evil are virt...

23.

Psalm 121:1-8

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

The Maker of Heaven and Earth Watching Over His Pilgrims Among the psalms of ascent, hints of pilgrimage are particularly evident in this psalm. Mention of one’s “foot slipping” and “your coming and going” point to travel. The journeys to and from Jerusalem were made through hills and under “the sun . . . by day” and “the moon by night.” The “my” in verses 1–2 and “your” in verses 3–8 point to a l...

24.

Psalm 122:1-9

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

Peace for Jerusalem, the City of Pilgrims Like other psalms of ascent, this one contains hints of pilgrimage. The call, “Let us go to the house of the LORD,” signals their journey’s departure, and the declaration, “our feet are standing in your gates, O Jerusalem,” signals their arrival in the holy city. The description of the tribes “going up” (Hb. ʿlh, v. 4) uses a key term for the worshipers’ a...

25.

Psalm 123:1-4

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

Seeking Mercy with Eyes Lifted Heavenward This psalm is a patient prayer for mercy. The voice of a liturgist is evident in the “I” who begins the psalm and speaks on behalf of the “we/our” throughout the remainder. The psalm is performed not only by singing but also by the “lifting of the eyes” heavenward, an action emphasized in the first two verses. It contains no explicit connection to the temp...

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