angela hormberg

Tag: Promises of God

  • Psalm 132

    Psalm 132

    Commonplace –

    “If thy children will keep my covenant and my testimony that I shall teach them, their children shall also sit upon thy throne for evermore” (Psalm 132:12).

    In this Song of Ascent, the author begins by telling the story of the the covenant between God and David. The first ten verses of the Psalm delve into David’s request that the Lord remember their covenant. He reminds the Lord that he swore not to sleep until a place was found for the ark of the covenant to rest. Later, this covenant was realized when the Lord allowed Solomon, David’s heir, to build the temple in Jerusalem. As the pilgrims marched towards Jerusalem singing this psalm, they were reminded of the fulfillment of this covenant. What David looked forward to, they were able to see fulfilled.

    In the second half of Psalm 132, verses 12-18, the Lord’s reply to David is recorded. The Lord promised David that if David’s children would remain true and keep the covenant and testimonies of the Lord, David’s line would remain on the throne and be blessed by God. In singing this psalm, the pilgrims are reminded of their place in the covenant as children of Israel. They also will receive blessing from God as heirs of David, if they remain true to God.

    As the pilgrims were heirs of the covenant, so are believing Christians, who have become heirs through faith in Christ. When we sing this psalm, we, too, are reminded of our role in the covenant. If we remain true to God, we, like the pilgrims, are recipients of His blessings, too.

    Matthew Henry notes that it has been suggested Solomon was the author of this psalm, which was in two parts:

    “1. [Solomon] pleads David’s piety towards God (v. 1-7).

    2. [Solomon] pleads God’s promise to David (v. 11-18).

    The former introduces his petition: the latter follows it as an answer to it” (607).

    Henry states, “In singing this psalm we must have a concern for the gospel church as the temple of God, and a dependence upon Christ as David our Kin, in whom the mercies of God are sure mercies” (607).

    Works Cited

    Henry, Matthew. “Psalm 132.” Matthew Henry’s Commentary On the Whole Bible: New Modern Edition. Volume 3 and Volume 6, Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., March 1996.

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

    © 2025 Angela Hormberg

  • Psalm 125

    Psalm 125

    Commonplace –

    As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so the Lord is round about his people from henceforth even for ever.

    What a beautiful picture the psalmist paints here of the landscape surrounding Jerusalem. As the pilgrims made their way to Jerusalem, they would have been singing this psalm as they moved up the very same mountains about which they were singing. Of Jerusalem’s situation, Matthew Henry notes, “Jerusalem had a natural fastness and fortification in the mountains that were round about it, v.2. Those mountains not only sheltered it from winds and tempests, and broke the force of them, but made it also very difficult of access for an enemy, such a defence is God’s providence to his people” (599).

    “…God’s covenant with his people cannot be broken” (599).

    May we all stand on that promise.

    Works Cited

    Henry, Matthew. “Psalm 125.” Matthew Henry’s Commentary On the Whole Bible: New Modern Edition. Volume 3 and Volume 6, Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., March 1996.

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

    © 2025 Angela Hormberg

  • Psalm 111

    Psalm 111

    Commonplace –

    “The works of his hand are verity and judgment; all his commandments are sure. The stand fast for ever and ever, and are done in truth and uprightness” (Psalm 111:7-8).

    It’s important to note the opening words of Psalm 111:1

    “Praise ye, the Lord” (Psalm 111:1).

    These words will be repeated in the opening of the following psalms: 112 and 113. Here the psalmist is rousing his heart to praise God. Before embarking on this journey through the psalms with Matthew Henry, I never fully considered the importance of stirring up my heart to worship. In church, I participate fully in the worship singing, however, in my private, quiet time at home, I haven’t made this part of my prayer practice. Clearly, throughout the psalms David models this attitude of stirring up one’s heart to God.

    Matthew Henry points out an interesting fact about this psalm.

    “[This psalm] is composed alphabetically, each sentence beginning with a several letter of the Hebrew alphabet, in order exactly, two sentences to each verse, and three a piece to the last two” (Henry 541).

    This interesting note highlights the care the psalmist took in writing the psalm. He didn’t employ this technique in every psalm but did vary his style of song writing throughout the psalms.

    In the opening of this post, I highlighted verses 7 and 8. I chose them, because they are important promises: God commandments are sure, stand fast for ever and are true!

    Works Cited

    Henry, Matthew. “Psalm 111.” 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 105

    Psalm 105

    Commonplace –

    “Saying, Unto thee will I give the land of Canaan, the lot of your inheritance” (Psalm 105:11).

    Matthew Henry had some thoughtful insight regarding this psalm:

    “Some of the psalms of praise are very short, others very long, to teach us that, in our devotions, we should be more observant how our hearts work than how the time passes and neither overstretch ourselves by coveting to be long nor over-stint ourselves by coveting to be short, but either the one or the other as we find in our hearts to pray” (Henry 517).

    In particular, I was struck by God’s promise to the Israelites to give them the land of Canaan, which is found in verse 11. Matthew Henry notes,

    “God’s promise to the patriarch’s, that great promise that he would give to their seed the land of Canaan for an inheritance, which was a type of the promise of eternal life made in Christ to all believers” (Henry 518).

    So, we can receive this promise from God. We, too, have a Canaan promised to us, and all we have to do is receive it.

    Works Cited

    Henry, Matthew. “Psalm 105.” 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