Verse of the Day (July 4, 2020)

Verse of the Day (July 4, 2020) #BMSeminary – Blessed Is the Nation Whose God Is the Lord. This great psalm begins with a joyful call to praise (vv. 1-3) that strongly parallels 32:11. Next is an extended reflection on the reasons for praise (vv. 4-19), anchored in God’s unfailing love and word (vv. 4-5), the word by which he made the universe (vv. 6-9). He is a great God who thwarts the plans of nations (vv. 10-11), yet he desires that nations and people respond to him (vv. 12-15). His eyes are on those who fear him, the only guarantor of their lives (vv. 16-19). The psalm concludes with a reflection on the hope in God that the righteous have (vv. 20-22). This psalm can be seen as a response to the Lord’s counsel in 32:8-10 about heeding his instruction and waiting on his unfailing love; the psalm affirms the Lord’s word (vv. 4-11), and it ends with God’s people waiting and hoping in the Lord (vv. 20-22). This psalm and Ps 10 are the only untitled psalms (see the introductions to Pss 9; 10) in Book I (Pss 3-41). Several Hebrew manuscripts, along with the Greek translation, attribute this psalm to David, which is understandable given the predominance of “David” elsewhere in Book I as well as the ties just noted with Ps 32. [Zondervan Study Bible]