Let God Be True, 228 Ladean Court, Simpsonville, SC (2026)

06/24/2026

“𝐄𝐱𝐚𝐥𝐭 𝐲𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐎𝐑𝐃 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐆𝐨𝐝, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐭𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐨𝐥; 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐲.” - 𝐏𝐒𝐀𝐋𝐌 𝟗𝟗:𝟓

Psalm 99 declares Jehovah’s reign, holiness, justice, mercy, and authority over His people. The psalm begins, “The LORD reigneth” (v.1), and this truth governs the whole chapter. He sits between the cherubims, the people tremble, the LORD is exalted in Zion, and His great and terrible name is holy (vv.1-3). Verse 5 is a command of worship flowing from that revelation. If Jehovah reigns, if His name is great, if His throne is holy, and if His government is righteous, then His people must exalt Him and worship before Him with reverence.

“Exalt ye.” To exalt is to lift up, magnify, praise, and declare the greatness of God. Men cannot make God higher than He is, for He is already the most High over all the earth (Psalm 83:18). But they exalt Him when they confess His greatness, bow before His authority, publish His glory, and give Him the honor due unto His name. The command is not a suggestion for religious feeling, but a duty laid upon the people of God. Jehovah must not be treated as common, light, near-equal, or convenient. He must be lifted up in the mind, heart, words, worship, and obedience of His people.

“Ye.” The command is plural. The psalmist calls the congregation to this duty. Worship is not a private invention according to each man’s taste, but the united duty of God’s people before their King. The same call returns at the end of the psalm: “Exalt the LORD our God, and worship at his holy hill; for the LORD our God is holy” (v.9). The repeated command binds the whole psalm together. God’s holiness requires His people to exalt Him together.

“The LORD.” This is Jehovah, the living and true God. LORD in all capital letters is the King James Bible’s usual way of representing the divine name Jehovah. He is the God Who is, Who rules, Who speaks, Who judges, Who forgives, and Who dwells among His people in holiness. He is not like the idols of the heathen, which have mouths but speak not, eyes but see not, and ears but hear not (Psalm 115:4-7). Jehovah reigns. Jehovah is great in Zion (v.2). Jehovah’s name is great and terrible (v.3). Therefore Jehovah must be exalted.

“Our God.” The psalmist speaks with holy possession and relation. Jehovah is not an unknown god, nor a distant power, nor the imagination of men. He is “our God.” This does not lessen His majesty; it increases the obligation of worship. The God Who reigns over all the earth has made Himself known to His people, heard their prayers, answered their cries, and revealed His statutes unto them (vv.6-8). Since He is “our God,” His people owe Him special praise, reverence, obedience, and love. Privilege increases duty.

“And worship.” Exaltation must lead to worship. It is not enough to speak great things of God while refusing to bow before Him. Worship includes reverence, adoration, submission, prayer, praise, and humble approach unto God according to His will. The word implies bowing down before One greater than ourselves. True worship is not entertainment, display, ceremony, or the stirring of natural emotion. It is the creature bowing before the holy Creator, the servant before the sovereign Lord, and the redeemed soul before the God of mercy and truth.

“At his footstool.” The footstool is the low place before the throne. It speaks of humility, nearness, and reverent submission. Kings sit upon thrones, and subjects bow near the footstool. Jehovah sits enthroned between the cherubims (v.1), and His people worship below. The phrase therefore teaches proper distance and proper access: God is exalted, and His people come low before Him.

Scripture connects God’s footstool with the place of His worship. David called the ark of God “the footstool of our God” (1 Chronicles 28:2). Another psalm says, “We will go into his tabernacles: we will worship at his footstool” (Psalm 132:7). Isaiah records Jehovah saying, “The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool” (Isaiah 66:1). Thus, the word teaches both His condescension in appointing a place of worship and His infinite greatness above all creation. He is near enough for His people to worship, yet high enough that even the earth is His footstool.

This phrase also rebukes careless worship. Men must not rush into God’s presence as though worship were a light or common matter. If His worship is at His footstool, then humility belongs there. Reverence belongs there. Fear belongs there. Obedience belongs there. The proud man does not worship rightly, for he refuses the low place. The careless man does not worship rightly, for he forgets before Whom he stands. “But the LORD is in His holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before Him” (Habakkuk 2:20).

“For.” This word gives the reason for the command. God’s people must exalt and worship Jehovah because of what He is. Worship must be grounded in truth. The psalmist does not command worship because of custom, feeling, tradition, music, human need, or outward advantage. He gives the reason: “for he is holy.”

“He is holy.” This is the great reason. Jehovah is holy. He is separate from all sin, pure in all His ways, righteous in all His judgments, glorious in all His works, and above every creature. His holiness is not one attribute among equals to be forgotten when men prefer comfort. It is the glory of His whole being. Earlier the psalm declared, “Let them praise thy great and terrible name; for it is holy” (v.3). Later it says again, “for the LORD our God is holy” (v.9). The psalm presses holiness upon the worshipper from beginning to end.

God’s holiness requires holy worship. He must not be approached by man’s inventions, fleshly excitement, vain traditions, or irreverent familiarity. Nadab and Abihu learned this when they offered strange fire before the LORD and died before Him (Leviticus 10:1-3). The lesson given then remains true: “I will be sanctified in them that come nigh me, and before all the people I will be glorified” (Leviticus 10:3). A Holy God must be worshipped in a holy manner.

This verse also points the soul to the Lord Jesus Christ, in Whom the holiness of God is perfectly revealed. Devils confessed Him as “the Holy One of God” (Mark 1:24). He is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens (Hebrews 7:26). By Him alone sinners may draw near to God acceptably, for He offered one sacrifice for sins for ever and sat down on the right hand of God (Hebrews 10:12). The worship commanded in Psalm 99 finds its full safety and glory through Him, the Mediator between God and men (1 Timothy 2:5).

Here the Spirit teaches the right order of worship. God is first known as reigning, great, terrible, and holy; then His people are commanded to exalt Him and bow at His footstool. Worship begins with God’s glory, not man’s desire. The lower the saint bows, the higher Jehovah is exalted in his heart. The LORD our God is holy; therefore, let His people lift Him up, worship reverently before Him, and tremble to offer Him anything common, careless, or corrupt.

06/23/2026

“𝐇𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐎𝐑𝐃 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐢𝐦: 𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐢𝐦, 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐦.” - 𝐏𝐒𝐀𝐋𝐌 𝟐𝟐:𝟖

Psalm 22 is one of the clearest Messianic psalms. It opens with the very words of the Lord Jesus Christ upon the cross: “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (v.1; Matthew 27:46). It foretells His reproach among men, the wagging of heads, the piercing of His hands and feet, the parting of His garments, and the casting of lots for His vesture (vv.6-8,16,18; Matthew 27:35,39-43; John 19:23-24). Therefore verse 8 must first and chiefly be read of Jesus Christ suffering under the cruel mockery of His enemies at Calvary. David may have known reproach in his own life, but the Spirit carried his words far beyond David unto David’s greater Son.

“He trusted.” These are the words of Christ’s enemies, but they bear witness to His faith. They mocked what was truly His glory. Jesus Christ trusted His Father perfectly. He did not trust in armies, angels, reputation, human support, earthly power, or self-deliverance apart from the Father’s will. He committed Himself wholly unto God. Peter declared of Him, “Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously” (1 Peter 2:23). His trust was not weakness. It was perfect obedience, patience, and submission under suffering.

The word “trusted” is especially weighty because the mockers used it as reproach. At the cross they said, “He trusted in God; let him deliver him now, if he will have him” (Matthew 27:43). They meant to shame Him. They treated His confidence in God as folly because they judged by sight. They saw thorns, nails, blood, weakness, and death approaching, and they concluded that trust had failed. But their mockery proved their blindness. Faith may appear defeated for a season, but God’s purpose cannot fail. Christ’s trust was answered not by escape from the cross, but by resurrection from the dead and exaltation at God’s right hand (Acts 2:23-36).

“On the LORD.” The object of Christ’s trust was Jehovah, the living God. LORD in all capital letters is the King James Bible’s usual way of representing the divine name Jehovah. The mockers were not speaking of a vague deity or a powerless idol. They were reproaching the Messiah for trusting in Jehovah Himself. This makes their sin dreadful. They mocked the very relation between the righteous Son and His Father.

Christ’s trust in Jehovah was constant. From youth He was about His Father’s business (Luke 2:49). In life He did always those things that pleased Him (John 8:29). In Gethsemane He prayed, “nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done” (Luke 22:42). At death He cried, “Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit” (Luke 23:46). From first to last, His soul rested in the Father’s will, word, and purpose.

“That he would deliver him.” This clause shows how the mockers judged deliverance falsely. They assumed that if God delighted in Christ, He must deliver Him immediately from suffering and death. They could not understand a deliverance through death rather than from death. They did not know that Christ’s hour had come, that He must suffer, that He must bear sins, and that He must rise again the third day (Luke 24:26,46; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4).

The Father did deliver Him. He did not deliver Him by sending Him down from the cross, though Christ could have asked for more than twelve legions of angels (Matthew 26:53). He delivered Him by loosing the pains of death because it was not possible that He should be holden of it (Acts 2:24). He delivered Him by raising Him from the dead, exalting Him, and declaring Him both Lord and Christ (Acts 2:32-36). The mockers wanted immediate visible rescue; God gave eternal triumph.

This teaches the saints not to define deliverance by the timing or manner demanded by unbelieving men. The LORD may leave His servant in trouble for a season while preparing a greater glory. Joseph was not delivered from the pit before he entered Egypt, nor from prison before the appointed time, but God delivered him in the way that fulfilled His purpose (Genesis 50:20). Christ’s deliverance is the highest example: through the cross unto resurrection glory.

“Let him deliver him.” This is scorn, taunt, and cruel mockery. The enemies of Christ dared God to prove His favor by removing the sufferer from the cross. Matthew records the fulfillment: “He trusted in God; let him deliver him now, if he will have him” (Matthew 27:43). The chief priests, scribes, and elders fulfilled the Psalm while they mocked it. They were not accidental instruments. Their very words showed that Scripture was being fulfilled before their eyes.

This mockery also reveals the hatred of man’s heart toward Christ. They were not content that He suffered. They added reproach to suffering. They wounded Him with their tongues while His body was nailed to the tree. The righteous Lord endured both bodily torment and verbal contempt. Yet He answered not with reviling. He bore the contradiction of sinners against Himself (Hebrews 12:3).

“Seeing he delighted in him.” This clause strikes at the Father’s delight in Christ. The mockers reasoned that if Jehovah truly delighted in Him, then He would remove Him from suffering at once. Their unbelief confused suffering with rejection. But the Father’s delight in the Son was declared openly before the cross: “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17). Again on the mount, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him” (Matthew 17:5).

The Father did delight in Him. He delighted in His person, obedience, holiness, love, zeal, submission, sacrifice, and finished work. Isaiah foretold Jehovah’s delight in His Servant: “Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth” (Isaiah 42:1; Matthew 12:18). The cross did not disprove the Father’s delight; it displayed the Son’s obedience and the Father’s purpose in redemption. Christ said, “Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again” (John 10:17).

This verse therefore exposes the wickedness and blindness of Christ’s enemies. They used true doctrine in a false and cruel way. They spoke of trust, deliverance, and divine delight, but without faith, reverence, or understanding. They judged the Holy One by His outward humiliation and concluded that God had forsaken Him finally. Yet in mocking His trust, they fulfilled the very Scripture that proved Him to be the Messiah.

Psalm 22:8 also comforts believers who suffer reproach for trusting God. The world often mocks faith when deliverance is delayed. It says, “Where is thy God?” (Psalm 42:3). It treats affliction as proof that God has no favor toward His saints. But Christ has gone before His people in this reproach. He trusted Jehovah under deeper sorrow than any saint will ever bear, and the Father delivered Him in perfect time. Therefore, no believer should measure God’s delight by present trouble or by the scoffing of enemies.

Here the Spirit sets before us the mocked faith of the crucified Messiah. He trusted Jehovah. He was reproached for that trust. Men challenged God to deliver Him and denied the Father’s delight in Him. Yet God answered all their scorn by raising Jesus from the dead, setting Him at His own right hand, and making His enemies His footstool (Psalm 110:1; Acts 2:34-36). The cross appeared to them as defeat, but it was the appointed way to glory. The mocked Saviour is the delivered Christ, the beloved Son, and the exalted Lord forever.

06/22/2026

“𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐞 𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐫𝐮𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐚 𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐩; 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐦𝐲 𝐆𝐨𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐈 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐚 𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐥.” - 𝐏𝐒𝐀𝐋𝐌 𝟏𝟖:𝟐𝟗

Psalm 18 is David’s song of praise after the LORD delivered him from all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. The title itself sets the historical setting, and the chapter gives God all glory for David’s preservation, strength, victories, and kingdom. David had been hunted, hated, betrayed, and surrounded by strong enemies, yet Jehovah delivered him. Verse 29 is one of the clearest confessions in the psalm that David’s courage and victories did not arise from himself. He conquered because God enabled him. The same truth is recorded in the parallel song of 2 Samuel 22:30.

“For.” This word connects verse 29 to what David has already confessed. The LORD lights his candle and enlightens his darkness (v.28). Therefore David can run through a troop and leap over a wall. Divine help comes before human courage. God’s power comes before David’s victory. The verse does not praise natural bravery, military skill, youthful strength, or earthly confidence. It explains the cause of David’s exploits: “by thee” and “by my God.”

“By thee.” David gives the first place to God. He does not say, “by my sword,” “by my wisdom,” “by my army,” or “by my courage.” He says, “by thee.” The preposition teaches dependence. David’s strength was derived, supplied, and upheld by the LORD. Earlier in the psalm he had said, “I will love thee, O LORD, my strength” (v.1). Again, “It is God that girdeth me with strength” (v.32). The man after God’s own heart knew that victory belongs unto the LORD, for “the battle is the LORD’S” (1 Samuel 17:47).

“I have run.” Running speaks of energy, boldness, readiness, and forward motion. David did not stand idle in fear once God strengthened him. Grace did not make him lazy, careless, or passive. God’s help made him courageous and active. The LORD enabled him to advance against enemies that would have overwhelmed him in his own strength. Faith does not sit down before duty and call fear humility. Faith moves forward when God commands and strengthens.

“Through a troop.” A troop is an armed company, a band of enemies, a gathered force set against him. David faced more than private trouble or inward fear. He had real enemies, organized opposition, and deadly danger. Yet by God he ran through them. The phrase suggests breaking through resistance that would naturally stop a man. Troops are meant to block, threaten, and destroy, but God made David pass through them victoriously.

The phrase also recalls David’s whole life of warfare. He ran toward Goliath when Israel trembled (1 Samuel 17:48). He escaped Saul’s malice again and again. He defeated Philistines, Amalekites, Syrians, Moabites, Edomites, and other enemies because the LORD was with him (2 Samuel 8:1-14). David was no self-made conqueror. God made him a man of war and gave him victory according to His own purpose.

“And by my God.” David repeats the same doctrine with stronger affection. “By thee” becomes “by my God.” Faith takes God personally. David knew Jehovah not as a distant idea, but as his God, his strength, his rock, his fortress, his deliverer, his buckler, and the horn of his salvation (v.2). This personal claim is not presumption, for it rests on God’s mercy and truth. The LORD had chosen, preserved, forgiven, strengthened, and delivered David. Therefore, David could say, “my God.”

This phrase rebukes all boasting. If David ran through a troop by God, then David could not glory in David. If he leaped over a wall by his God, then the praise belongs to God. Paul taught the same rule: “He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 1:31). Every lawful victory, every spiritual strength, every escape from danger, every conquest over temptation, and every useful work for God must be traced back to Him.

“Have I leaped.” Leaping speaks of strength beyond ordinary walking or running. It is vigorous, triumphant, and overcoming. David is not describing a small step over a low obstacle. He speaks of God-given power to overcome what stood in his way. God had made his feet like hinds’ feet and set him upon his high places (v.33). The LORD had taught his hands to war, so that a bow of steel was broken by his arms (v.34). The same God Who gave him courage before a troop gave him strength before a wall.

“Over a wall.” A wall is a barrier, defense, obstruction, and security against attack. Cities trusted in walls. Enemies hid behind walls. Walls told soldiers, “You cannot enter here.” Yet David says that by his God he leaped over a wall. No defense could stop him when God strengthened him. The image includes conquest of fortified places, overcoming obstacles, and victory over what appeared too high for flesh to master. Men see walls and despair; faith sees God above the wall.

The verse teaches that God’s servants can do all appointed duty by His strength. This does not justify rashness, pride, tempting God, or self-willed ambition. David’s confidence was not in himself, but in the LORD. He did not run through a troop for vanity, nor leap over a wall for display. He acted as God’s servant in the work God gave him. The believer must not invent his own battles and then demand divine help. But when God calls, commands, and strengthens, no troop or wall can finally hinder His purpose.

This truth reaches beyond David to the greater Son of David, the Lord Jesus Christ. Psalm 18 looks beyond David’s personal deliverances, for Paul quotes verse 49 concerning Christ praising God among the Gentiles (Romans 15:9). David’s victories therefore foreshadow the greater triumphs of Christ. The Lord Jesus faced stronger enemies than David ever knew: sin, death, devils, the world, and the wrath due to His people. He was surrounded by enemies, betrayed, mocked, condemned, and crucified. Yet God raised Him from the dead and set Him at His own right hand (Acts 2:23-36). He ran through every troop and leaped over every wall set against the salvation of His people.

The verse also comforts saints under great difficulty. Troops and walls still appear in many forms: opposition, temptation, persecution, fear, weakness, duties too great for us, and trials too high for human strength. The answer is not self-confidence, but David’s confession: “by thee” and “by my God.” Paul could say, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” (Philippians 4:13). The strength is not in the servant, but in the Lord.

Here David teaches the right way to remember victory. He does not admire himself. He does not praise his courage. He does not flatter his skill. He blesses God. By God he ran through a troop; by his God he leaped over a wall. The LORD makes weak men strong, fearful men bold, and opposed men victorious when His glory and purpose require it. Therefore all lawful courage, strength, victory, and usefulness must return in praise to Jehovah, the strength of His people.

06/21/2026

“𝐁𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐎𝐑𝐃, 𝐎 𝐦𝐲 𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐥, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐭𝐬.” - 𝐏𝐒𝐀𝐋𝐌 𝟏𝟎𝟑:𝟐

Psalm 103:2 continues David’s self-exhortation from verse 1. He had already commanded his soul and all that was within him to bless Jehovah and His holy name (v.1). Now he repeats the command and adds the great duty that fuels true praise: remembrance. Praise grows weak when memory fails. A forgetful soul becomes a cold soul. Therefore, David not only stirs his inward man to bless the LORD; he also commands it not to forget the benefits of God.

“Bless the LORD.” David repeats the same command from verse 1 because the duty is great, the heart is slow, and the mercies of God deserve full remembrance. To bless the LORD is to praise Him, thank Him, adore Him, and speak well of Him for Who He is and what He has done. Man does not enrich God by blessing Him, for Jehovah needs nothing from the creature (Acts 17:24-25). Rather, man blesses God by acknowledging His excellency, confessing His goodness, and giving Him the honor due unto His name. David will soon name the benefits that call for this praise: forgiveness, healing, redemption, lovingkindness, tender mercies, and satisfaction with good things (vv.3-5).

“The LORD.” This is Jehovah, the living and true God, the self-existent God Who revealed Himself unto Moses as I AM THAT I AM (Exodus 3:14). LORD in all capital letters is the King James Bible’s usual way of representing the divine name Jehovah. David does not bless an idol, a false god, or a human invention. He blesses Jehovah, the God Who forgives, heals, redeems, crowns, satisfies, executes righteousness, makes known His ways, and pities them that fear Him (vv.3-13). Since the benefits are His, the blessing must be His also.

“O my soul.” David again addresses his own inward man. He will not allow his heart to remain dull, distracted, careless, or unthankful. The soul must be summoned to its duty. Worship must not be a sound of the lips while the heart sleeps. David speaks to himself because godly men must often command their own hearts. He had done this in sorrow when he said, “Why art thou cast down, O my soul?” (Psalm 42:5). Here he does it in praise. The soul that has received mercy must be called to remember mercy and bless the Giver of it.

“And forget not.” This is the added warning of verse 2. Forgetfulness is a great enemy of praise. Men often remember injuries, losses, fears, pleasures, and earthly cares, while forgetting the mercies of God. Israel was warned against this sin: “Beware that thou forget not the LORD thy God” (Deuteronomy 8:11). Again, “Of the Rock that begat thee thou art unmindful, and hast forgotten God that formed thee” (Deuteronomy 32:18). Forgetting God’s benefits is not a small weakness. It is ingratitude, blindness, and spiritually dangerous.

This forgetting is not loss of information alone. A man may know facts about God’s mercy and yet live as if they have no power over his heart. To forget is to neglect, disregard, fail to cherish, and fail to return praise. David therefore commands his soul to hold God’s benefits before the heart. The memory must serve worship. The mind must gather up the mercies of God and lay them before the affections until the soul is moved to bless Jehovah.

“Not all.” David will not have selective gratitude. He does not say to remember some benefits, chief benefits, recent benefits, or pleasant benefits only. He says, “all.” The mercies of God are many, varied, and undeserved. Some are inward, some outward, some temporal, some spiritual, some known clearly, and many unknown to us. God has spared us from dangers we never saw, forgiven sins more numerous than we can count, supplied needs we hardly noticed, and borne patiently with infirmities that should humble us deeply. Therefore, the soul must not choose a few mercies and ignore the rest. It must labor to remember all that God has done.

“His benefits.” Benefits are the good things, favors, mercies, helps, deliverances, and kindnesses God bestows. They are “his” because they come from Him. David does not attribute them to luck, nature, self, friends, circumstances, or human wisdom. Every good gift comes from above (James 1:17). The benefits named in the following verses are especially rich: He forgiveth all thine iniquities, healeth all thy diseases, redeemeth thy life from destruction, crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies, and satisfieth thy mouth with good things (vv.3-5). These are not small benefits. They reach the conscience, body, life, affections, and daily provision of the servant of God.

The first benefit David names after this verse is forgiveness: “Who forgiveth all thine iniquities” (v.3). This is the foundation of all other blessings. A man unforgiven has no true peace with God. But blessed is the man whose transgression is forgiven and whose sin is covered (Psalm 32:1). David knew this mercy personally. He had sinned grievously and had been forgiven freely (2 Samuel 12:13). Therefore, he could command his soul not to forget. The memory of forgiven sin should kindle continual praise.

These benefits also find their fullest glory in the Lord Jesus Christ. Forgiveness, redemption, mercy, and satisfaction come to God’s people through Him. In Him we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins (Colossians 1:14). He bare our sins in His own body on the tree (1 Peter 2:24). He appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself (Hebrews 9:26). Therefore, the Christian has greater reason than David to bless the LORD and forget not His benefits, for the benefits of Psalm 103 shine most brightly in the blood, resurrection, priesthood, and reign of Jesus Christ.

This verse rebukes murmuring, coldness, and discontent. A soul that forgets benefits will soon complain under burdens. A soul that remembers benefits will find reason to bless the LORD even in affliction. David does not say that God’s people have no griefs, pains, chastening, or enemies. He says they must not forget His benefits. Memory of mercy steadies the heart when present trials are heavy.

Here David teaches the soul how to praise. It must be stirred up. It must remember. It must gather the benefits of Jehovah and consider them before Him. The LORD has forgiven, healed, redeemed, crowned, satisfied, pitied, and removed transgressions as far as the east is from the west (vv.3-5,12-13). Such benefits should not lie forgotten in a dull heart. Let the soul awake, remember, and bless Jehovah for all His goodness.

06/20/2026

“𝐎𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐥 𝐢𝐬 𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐲 𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐭 𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐝.” - 𝐏𝐒𝐀𝐋𝐌 𝟏𝟐𝟑:𝟒

Psalm 123 is a short song of degrees, but it is full of humility, dependence, and grief under reproach. The psalmist first lifts his eyes unto the LORD Who dwells in the heavens (v.1). He then compares the saints to servants watching the hand of their masters and maidens watching the hand of their mistress, waiting upon the LORD until He has mercy (v.2). He then cries twice, “Have mercy upon us, O LORD, have mercy upon us” (v.3). Verse 4 explains the burden that drove such pleading: the soul of God’s people was full of scorning and contempt from proud men living at ease.

“Our soul.” The psalmist speaks for the afflicted people of God. Though many persons are included in “our,” he says “soul” in the singular, showing their shared grief, common affliction, and united cry. They are one people before God, suffering the same reproach and seeking the same mercy. The affliction is not outward only. Their “soul” is filled. Scorning had reached the inner man. Reproach wounds deeply when it falls upon those who fear God and wait upon Him. David knew this kind of inward pain when he wrote, “Reproach hath broken my heart” (Psalm 69:20). The saints may bear poverty, labor, and danger with patience, but the contempt of proud men toward God and His people pierces the soul.

“Is exceedingly filled.” This is more than occasional mockery or a few passing insults. Their soul is filled, and not filled lightly, but “exceedingly filled.” They had borne much already. The measure was full. The repeated cry for mercy in verse 3 fits this overflowing burden: “for we are exceedingly filled with contempt” (v.3). When the heart is filled with grief, it must pour itself out unto God. The psalmist does not answer scorners with fleshly wrath, revenge, or railing. He carries the full soul unto the LORD. This is the right order for afflicted saints: eyes lifted to heaven, hands waiting for mercy, and grief laid before God (vv.1-3).

“With the scorning.” Scorning is proud mockery, derision, ridicule, and contemptuous speech. The scorner does not only disobey truth; he despises it. He treats God’s people, God’s ways, God’s worship, and God’s promises as matters for ridicule. Scripture warns of the scorner as a hardened and dangerous character. “Surely he scorneth the scorners: but he giveth grace unto the lowly” (Proverbs 3:34). Again, “A scorner loveth not one that reproveth him: neither will he go unto the wise” (Proverbs 15:12). The saints in Psalm 123 are not complaining about correction from righteous men, but about scorning from proud men who despise the lowly and afflict the godly.

“Of those that are at ease.” This phrase identifies one class of the offenders. They are “at ease,” secure, comfortable, undisturbed, and careless. Their outward condition makes them bold in contempt. They are not bowed down under trial, not broken by affliction, not humbled by want, and not trembling before God. Their ease feeds their pride. Amos condemned such men: “Woe to them that are at ease in Zion” (Amos 6:1). Ease without the fear of God is spiritually dangerous. It often breeds forgetfulness, arrogance, and cruelty toward the afflicted. The rich man fared sumptuously every day while Lazarus lay at his gate full of sores, and afterward their estates were reversed (Luke 16:19-25).

Those at ease often misjudge the afflicted. They imagine trouble proves inferiority, guilt, weakness, or divine displeasure. Job suffered this cruelty from his friends, who sat above him as judges while failing to understand God’s purpose (Job 16:2; 19:2-3). The saints of Psalm 123 are under the same kind of reproach. Proud ease looks down upon patient faith and mocks those who wait for mercy.

“And with the contempt.” Contempt is despising another as worthless, low, foolish, or beneath regard. It is the inward attitude behind scorning. Scorning comes out in speech; contempt sits within the heart. The psalmist names both because the godly suffer both the words and the spirit of the wicked. Proud men do not only speak against the saints; they look down on them. Such contempt is hateful to God, for He has chosen the poor of this world rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He has promised to them that love Him (James 2:5). To despise those whom God regards is a fearful sin.

“Of the proud.” Here is the root of the scorning and contempt. Proud men exalt themselves and despise others. Pride lifts the heart above God, above correction, above pity, and above the lowly. The proud man cannot endure humble dependence upon the LORD, for it condemns his self-confidence. He scorns waiting prayer because he trusts in himself. He despises the afflicted because he measures worth by outward condition. But God hates pride. “Every one that is proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD” (Proverbs 16:5). Again, “God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble” (James 4:6; 1 Peter 5:5).

This verse therefore explains why the saints cry so earnestly for mercy. Their affliction is not only the pain of reproach, but the pain of seeing proud, careless men despise the people and ways of God. They are full of it. They have had enough. Yet their answer is not rebellion, bitterness, or returning contempt for contempt. Their eyes are lifted unto the LORD in the heavens (v.1). They wait as servants for the hand of their Master (v.2). They plead for mercy from Jehovah (v.3). Faith carries reproach upward.

The Lord Jesus Christ knew this verse in its fullest force. No man ever suffered the scorning of those at ease and the contempt of the proud as He did. The rulers derided Him (Luke 23:35). The soldiers mocked Him (Matthew 27:27-31). Those passing by reviled Him and wagged their heads (Matthew 27:39-40). The chief priests, scribes, and elders mocked Him while He hung upon the cross (Matthew 27:41-43). They were at ease while He suffered. They were proud while He humbled Himself unto death. Yet He committed Himself to Him that judgeth righteously (1 Peter 2:23). Therefore, every saint suffering reproach for God’s sake may look unto Him Who endured such contradiction of sinners against Himself (Hebrews 12:3).

Here the Spirit teaches the godly how to bear the contempt of a proud world. The soul may be exceedingly filled with scorning, but it must carry that grief unto the LORD rather than answer pride with pride. The eyes must rise higher than the scorners. The servant must wait for the Master’s hand. The afflicted church must cry, “Have mercy upon us, O LORD” (v.3). Proud men may be at ease for a season, but their ease will not last. The lowly who wait upon the LORD shall receive mercy, while the proud shall be brought down.

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