angela hormberg

Tag: Gladness in God

  • Psalm 66

    Psalm 66

    Commonplace –

    “O bless our God, ye people, and make the voice of his praise to be heard:

    Which holdeth our soul in life and suffereth not our feet to be moved” (Psalm 66:8-9).

    and

    “Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what he hath done for m y soul” (Psalm 66:16).

    First, David proclaims what God does for all His people: he holds our souls and fixes our soles. Then, David proclaims what God has done for him, specifically, through his testimony. Here David is teaching us how to preach: Proclaim God’s good works, which he universally does for the church, and proclaim God’s good works for us, individually, specifically through our testimony, our life.

    Matthew Henry wisely observes:

    “If we have learned in everything to give thanks for ancient and modern mercies, public and personal mercies, we shall know how to sing this psalm with grace and understanding” (Henry 390).

    Works Cited

    Henry, Matthew. “Psalm 66.” Matthew Henry’s Commentary On the Whole Bible: New Modern Edition. Volume 3, Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., March 1996.

    Holy Bible: Giant Print with Study Aids. Dugan Publishers, Inc., 1984.

    © 2025 Angela Hormberg

  • Psalm 65

    Psalm 65

    Commonplace –

    “O you who hear prayer” (Psalm 65:2a)

    God does hear prayer. He does give answers. David testified to answered prayers.

    “You care for the land and water it; you enrich it abundantly” (Psalm 65:9)

    Theodoret wisely noted in his work, Cure of the Greek Maladies or Knowledge of the Gospel Truth from the Greek Philosophy,

    “The other nations , through the works of nature and the creation , were led to a knowledge of their God by Him who is Lord of all things. And as in His wonderful bounty He sends His rain, chiefly indeed on the cultivated soil, and that for the service of man, and yet from the abundance of His goodness He waters even the deserts and the mountains; and the land which man has ploughed brings forth a perfect fruit, and that which he has not laboured brings forth wild fruit;

    The Lord rains on the cultivated and uncultivated field.

    It is worthwhile to ponder Matthew Henry’s summary of this psalm.

    “In this psalm we are directed to give to God the glory of his power and goodness, which appear,

    I. In the kingdom of grace (v.1), hearing prayer (v.2), pardoning sin (v.3), satisfying the souls of the people (v.4), protecting and supporting them (v.5).

    II. In the kingdom of Providence, fixing the mountains (v.6), calming the sea (v.7), preserving the regular succession of day and night (v.8), and making the earth fruitful (v.9-13).

    These are blessings we are all indebted to God for, and therefore we may easily accommodate this psalm to ourselves in singing it.

    The kingdom of grace is toward the people, themselves, and the kingdom of providence God working all things together for the good through his creation.

    Works Cited

    Henry, Matthew. “Psalm 65.” Matthew Henry’s Commentary On the Whole Bible: New Modern Edition. Volume 3, Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., March 1996.

    Holy Bible: Giant Print with Study Aids. Dugan Publishers, Inc., 1984.

    © 2025 Angela Hormberg

  • Psalm 64

    Psalm 64

    Commonplace –

    “The righteous shall be glad in the Lord, and shall trust in Him and all the upright in heart shall glory” (Psalm 64:10).

    David opens the psalm beseeching God’s protection over his life. He then spends time discussing the ways of the wicked: how they “whet their tongue like a sword, and bend their bows to shoot their arrows, even bitter words: That they may shoot in secret at the perfect” (Psalm 64:3). This is still the way of the wicked. They prowl around anonymously and shoot their vitriol at the followers of God. Yet judgment for evil comes, either in the physical world or in eternity. But God, who is a good, good Father, offers a way even for the worst sinners. Repent, confess and believe in Jesus Christ. However, “the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing” (1 Cor 1:18).

    David closes with verse 10 and the promise for those who remain steadfast in the Lord and trust in him: gladness shall be their portion. Matthew Henry notes,

    “The righteous shall be glad in the Lord, not glad of the misery and ruin of their fellow-creatures, but glad that God is glorified, and his word fulfilled, and the cause of injured innoncency pleaded effectually” (Henry 387).

    It is important to keep in mind that our gladness does not stem from the suffering of the punished, but our gladness stems from the glory of God being magnified.

    Works Cited

    Henry, Matthew. “Psalm 64.” Matthew Henry’s Commentary On the Whole Bible: New Modern Edition. Volume 3, Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., March 1996.

    Holy Bible: Giant Print with Study Aids. Dugan Publishers, Inc., 1984.

    © 2025 Angela Hormberg