angela hormberg

Tag: Praising

  • Psalm 106

    Psalm 106

    Commonplace –

    “Praise ye the Lord, O give thanks unto the Lord; for He is good, for His mercy endureth forever” (Psalm 106:1).

    Matthew Henry’s comments regarding Psalm 106 are very helpful.

    “We must give glory to God by making confession, not only of his goodness but our own badness, which serve as foils to each other. Our badness makes his goodness appear the more illustrious, as his goodness makes our badness the more heinous and scandalous. The foregoing psalm was a history of God’s goodness to Israel; this is a history of their rebellion and provocations, and yet it begins and ends with Hallelujah; for even sorrow for sin must not put us out of tune of praising God” (Henry 522).

    The point that Matthew Henry makes is no small thing: we must begin and end with praising God. The focus should not be ourselves, whether we are outspoken over our own accomplishments or glorifying our guilt; in both of those situations, we put the focus on ourselves first. May we always begin and end with a Hallelujah. Amen.

    Works Cited

    Henry, Matthew. “Psalm 106.” 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 68

    Psalm 68

    Commonplace –

    “Let God arise, let his enemies be scattered: let them also that hate him flee before him” (Psalm 68:1).

    “Let God arise”: words that bring comfort to his sheep and fear to his enemies. Even now, Lord, ‘Arise’! God bring big victories and bring small ones, too.

    “…he bringeth out those which are bound with chains” (Psalm 68:6).

    • Be a father to the fatherless
    • Be a judge of the widows
    • Set the solitary in families
    • Break the chains of those who are bound

    Today, I witnessed the truth of these words. Our God is a chain breaker. May He continue to do great things for those He calls His own.

    Works Cited

    Henry, Matthew. “Psalm 68.” 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 67

    Psalm 67

    Commonplace –

    “God be merciful unto us, and bless us; and cause his face to shine upon us; Selah” (Psalm 67:1).

    Us. You and me. The church. All of us. Together.

    Matthew Henry noted, the psalmist

    “begins with a prayer for the welfare and prosperity of the church then in being, in the happiness of which he would share, and think himself happy, v.1. Our Saviour, in teaching us to say, Our Father, has intimated that we ought to pray with and for others; so the psalmist prays here not, God be merciful to me, and bless me, but to us, and bless us; for we make supplication for all saints, and be willing and glad to take our lot with them” (Henry 394).

    Thank you, Lord, for and ‘us’, the communion of saints.

    Works Cited

    Henry, Matthew. “Psalm 67.” 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