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Hey, Bible nerds. This is Dr. Manny Arango and I'm your host for the Bible department podcast powered by arma. This podcast follows a Bible reading plan we created to help you read the entire Bible in a year. You can head to the show notes or thebibledepartment.com to download our reading plan and join the Journey family. Welcome to day 291. We are making our way through the entire Bible. But before we make it through the whole Bible, we gotta make it through Psalms. And today we've got three more psalms on deck to look at, study and examine. I hope that you've already done the reading. I had a blast doing the reading was really personally edified by Psalms 116, 117 and 118. Loved reading these three Psalms, as you probably can realize, or as observe, Psalm 117 is the shortest psalm in the entire book of the Psalms. So you got no excuse. Okay, if you haven't done the reading yet, stop the video, pause the audio, go get the reading done. If you have done the reading, then let's do dive in like every day. I'm going to give you context clues. I'm going to give you some nerdy nuggets, some things that you wouldn't have been able to know about these psalms had you watched or listened to this episode. And then we're going to end today's episode just like we end every episode with a timeless truth. And today's timeless truth is really, really, really cool. So context. I got bad news. Okay, none of these Psalms, as you can see in your Bibles, have have a title. Okay? Psalm 116 has no title up at the top. And Psalm 117 same. And then Psalm 118 same deal. No titles on any of these Psalms, but these are the final three psalms from the Egyptian Hallel. All right, so we're going to end the Egyptian Halel. And so the context of these three psalms is exactly the same as all of the Psalms in this little mini section of the book of Psalms. Okay, I'll just kind of read this from our notes from yesterday. As the name implies, the Egyptian Hallel was the Hallel, or the praise associated with Passover and celebrates Yahweh's saving of Israel from Egypt. Hence Egyptian. Okay, Psalms 113, Psalms 113, all the way to Psalms 1:18 are all lack a title, but they all are collectively known as the Egyptian Hallel. So no new context from today, but we've got context on this Collection of psalms as a whole. And that context kind of carries over from yesterday. In the event that you were not here yesterday, but you're here today, then I'd probably say watch yesterday's episode. I probably gave way more context about the. This mini collection of psalms that we have called the Egyptian Halel. So no titles, no individual context for each psalm, but this, these three psalms fit into a wider mini collection of psalms known as the Egyptian. Hello. So that's our context for today. Let's get into some nerdy nuggets. Okay, let's dive into Psalm 116. First family. The wait is over. My brand new book, Crushing Chaos, is out now and available everywhere. Books are sold. Literally. Today I walked into a Barnes and Noble and I signed a bunch of copies at a physical location. So you can grab this book at a physical Barnes and Noble or you can go to a Books a Million or Amazon or anywhere books are sold and grab a copy. If you enjoy reading the Bible from an ancient perspective, if you understand that the beauty of scripture is actually knowing it in context, then you'll love this book. And if there's any chaos in your personal life, I think that reading the Bible from an ancient perspective can actually help to crush the chaos in your life. I think this book is going to be a New York Times bestseller. I really do. I think we wrote a good one. I think you should get a copy today. All right, back to the episode. And want to give as many nerdy nuggets as possible. First, this is a psalm of individual thanksgiving. Okay? And this psalm is split into two parts with a hinge verse, two parts with a hinge. Verses 1 through 11 are all going to tell the story of deliverance. Okay, and then verse 12, there's this turning point. There's a reasonable question based on the deliverance that Yahweh has provided. And then verses 13 through 19 is the offering of a thanksgiving sacrifice. Okay, so verses 1 through 11 kind of give context for this Thanksgiving offering. And then verse 12, turning point. And then verses 13 through 19, we are going to get the actual Thanksgiving sacrifice being shared. So let's kind of back up. Okay? Verses 1 through 11 of Psalm 116 says, I love the Lord, for he heard my voice. He heard my cry for mercy. Because he turned his ear to me. I will call on him as long as I live. Now, I want you to remember these psalms are. Are a part of what we know as the Egyptian Hallel. So let's think about what was happening while the people of Israel were being enslaved. They were crying out to God. In the book of Exodus begins with this amazing verse that God heard the cry of his people and was inclined to move in salvation with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm because he heard them. It says, the cords of death entangled me. The anguish of the grave came over me. I was overcome by distress and sorrow. Next verse, verse four. Then I called on the name of the Lord. Lord, save me again. This action of calling out to God and him saving, by the way, this idea of calling on the name of the Lord for salvation is going to be an idea that the New Testament writers are going to pick up on, that they are going to emphasize and that they are obviously going to apply to the person of Jesus. Rightfully so. Okay? The Lord, verse five is gracious and righteous. Our God is full of compassion. The Lord protects the unweary. When I was brought low, he saved me. Verse 7. Return to your rest, my soul, for the Lord has been good to you. And this is a. I teach this all the time. This may as well be a timeless truth, actually, that we will never be. We will never experience the peace of God until we're at peace with God. That what does salvation bring? It brings rest. Brings rest to what? To my soul. It brings rest to my very soul. For the Lord has been good to you. For you, Lord, have delivered me from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling, that I may walk before the Lord in the land of the living. I trusted in the Lord when I said, I'm greatly afflicted. In my alarm, I said, everyone is a liar. Now we're gonna get a hinge. Verse 12. What shall I return to the Lord for all his goodness to me? What should I return to the Lord? What's my part to play, man? This could be a good timeless truth, we're saying. Well, a good formula for thanksgiving is to recount all the ways that God has saved me, rescued me, delivered me, provided for me, and then to ask a reasonable question. And that reasonable question is this. What shall I return to the Lord? Not give, but return. I love just that. That's the word. Like when we tithe or when we are generous at church, we're not giving anything to God, we're returning to him. When we lift up our hands in church, we're not giving praise, we're returning it. God's the one that gives us the ability to lift up our hands when we live for Him. We. We're not giving him anything, we're returning it to him. Because he gives us breath. He animates us, he empowers us. And then 13. I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord. That's a theme throughout this whole song. The name of the Lord. I will fulfill my vows to the Lord in the presence of his people. I will fulfill my vows. I'll fulfill my vows. Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his faithful servants. Truly, I'm your servant, Lord. I serve you just as my mother did. You have freed me from my chains. I will sacrifice a thank offering. I will fulfill my vows in the presence of his people, in the courts of the house of the Lord in your midst, Jerusalem. So we get the actual Thanksgiving offering. Now, a couple things, couple nerdy nuggets that you need to know about. The Thanksgiving offering. It's a shared meal divided three ways. That thanksgiving offering meant that God got a portion that was what was offered on the altar. But then it meant that the priests and the one offering the sacrifice would share the meal together. They would partake. This is a meal between the worshiper, the mediary, and God. The worshiper, the mediary and Yahweh himself all take part in this Thanksgiving offering, which becomes a Thanksgiving meal. So the story of Psalm 116 is the story of a grateful worshiper coming to Jerusalem, sharing a meal with Yahweh just to say thank you. And man, I love that. This psalm is all about gratitude and what happens when we have gratitude. Gratitude becomes the foundation for generosity. You can't really get long lasting generosity without gratitude. Gratitude. God, I'm thankful. I'm just so glad for what you've done, for what you've provided. Okay. Generosity is preceded by gratitude, and it's fueled by gratitude. And then we got Psalm 117. Now this is a small, like, short psalm, but it's short, but it's strong. And there's a interpretive key that's actually gonna make its way into the New Testament. So this hymn is the shortest of all the Psalms. It shows Yahweh to be the God of all the nations and calls on all the nations to praise him. It's quoted in Romans 15:11, where Paul uses it alongside other similar Old Testament quotes to show how the purpose of Israel in the Abrahamic covenant was to bless all nation and bring all peoples into relationship with Yahweh. It is Israel's role promised to Abraham that they would be priests of the earth. Here we go. The second word used in verse two. Okay, the second word Used in verse two, extol him, all you peoples. The word that we're talking about here is peoples, okay? Is not a usual word or a common word used when speaking about the nations. The only other time it occurs are actually in Genesis 25:16 and Numbers chapter 25, verse 15. In both cases, the word is referencing smaller units of people rather than people groups and is more like tribes. Okay? So the right word is not peoples, it's tribes. So this verse is also sometimes translated nations or tribes instead of peoples. This means that this line right Here in Psalm 117 is quite probably the inspiration for one of the most famous images we have in the book of Revelation. And that's this. Revelation 7, 9. After this I looked and behold a great multitude that no one could number from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands. Revelation 7, 9. When Revelation says from all tribes, it is because Psalm 117 actually mentions the fact that God is not just the one who is lord over the nations, but he's also lord over smaller groups of people that we call tribes. That's a nerdy nugget. And the language that we get in Revelation comes straight out of Psalm 117. This is actually a verse that I began to memorize when I was younger, Revelation 7, 9. And the reason I memorized it is because when God began to put in my heart a desire to pastor, a desire to plant a church, I had this dream that the church that I wanted to pastor and lead should look like heaven. The Bible in Revelation 7, 9 tells us exactly what heaven looks like. It's a great multitude that no one could number from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. And I've always been inspired by the fact that God's ideal image of human flourishing are people from every nation, in all tribes and languages, standing before him and the throne that his son Jesus sits on. They just think, that's beautiful. It's captivating. It's captivating for me and has encouraged me to want to build, grow, plant a multi ethnic diverse church that really, really does look like heaven. All right, last Psalm 118. This is another psalm of individual thanksgiving. And this is actually in the format of a festal procession taking the story of a king entering Jerusalem for a festival. Okay, a king entering Jerusalem for a festival. This is a psalm of individual thanksgiving. It takes the form of a procession, a processional psalm following the story of a king entering Jerusalem for a festival. So verses 1 through 4 begins with liturgy and the people and priests praising yahweh. Then verses 5 to 14, we have the personal testimony of a victorious king who was victorious in battle, who won in battle when Yahweh saved him. Then verses 15 and 16, the people respond in thanks. And then verses 17 and 18, the king humbly approaches. And then verses 20 to 25, the king requests permission to enter the temple, and the people respond and he enters. And then verses 26 to 29 is the king approaches the altar and sacrifices. Okay, so this psalm is truly timeless. And so now that you know how the psalm works and what the function is, I'll move into our timeless truth. Okay, because Psalm 118 is the poetic backbone of Jesus triumphal entry. Isn't that great that this is a king entering Jerusalem on a feast in order to have a processional into the city as a victorious king and Jesus. This is exactly what happens on Palm Sunday when Jesus, the day that starts Holy Week. Okay, so this is six days or I guess five days before Jesus is going to die for the sins of the world. What's the Thomas truth? Our Thomas truth is found in the way that this Egyptian Hallel ends. It is a picture of a grateful people, redeemed and saved and approaching their God. It is also the story of a thankful, victorious king approaching to thank Yahweh and sacrifice to Yahweh. Those two images are then combined in Israel's present when the pilgrims sing this ancient king's personal thanksgiving. When traveling as a people to the festivals to worship, they repeat his journey to the courts of Yahweh to sacrifice. Now, what's this a massive type and shadow for? Well, Psalm 118 is also future focused as the gospels take this psalm, its language, its imagery. And when they write of Jesus triumphant ascent to Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, it is the king approaching the temple to sacrifice. Yet it is far more than that, as the fulfillment of this psalm is that the king who is the temple will sacrifice himself to save Israel and the nations. And that's not just true for the moment where the psalm is being collected or where the psalm is being written. That's true for you and I as well. We will never out sacrifice God. We will never out give God. It'll never happen. The church that I grew up at used to always say, you can't be God giving. Well, not only is that true, even if he never blessed you with anything ever again, that's because what he's done on the cross should actually spur you towards gratitude, which should then spur you towards generosity. And so the psalmist is simply saying that because Jesus did, like this king figure here in Psalm 118, enter into Jerusalem, then enter to the temple, and then get to the gates, then go all the way to the altar and sacrifice from a place of victory. Jesus offered himself as a sacrifice, not from a place of loss, but from a place of victory. And because Jesus offered himself as a sacrifice from a place of victory, and because he was king, now you and I get to respond to that sacrifice with all kinds of sacrifices. But we are indeed only ever responding. We are not initiating. We are not the first to be generous. We are only generous towards God because he is first generous towards us. And so this thanksgiving, this psalm that's supposed to accompany the offering of thanksgiving sacrifice is actually supposed to inspire us as sacrificial givers, givers of our time, givers of our treasure, and givers of our talents. I've been teaching our church here in Houston, Texas, that we should all be sacrificing of our time, talent and treasure. Your time is serving and leading at your local church. Your talent is serving not just with your hands, but with your skills. Things that you may get paid for outside of church, you actually offer to the Lord for no pay, because that's your talent and then your tithe. Like we sow financially into what God is up to in the earth, but we don't sow begrudgingly. We sow from a place of joy because we're excited that we get to respond to God's generosity towards us by being generous towards his bride. And that's not just true for the characters in this psalm or for the people that are taking part in this Egyptian Hallel or the Passover. That's true for you, that's true for me. And that is a timeless truth. All right, I'll see you tomorrow for day 292. Day 292 is unique in that we're only covering one psalm. That's right. Psalm 119. It's the only day on the plan that dedicated to one chapter of the Bible. So this is a very long chapter of the Bible, but nonetheless, it's one singular chapter. And so tomorrow, the only thing we're studying is Psalm 119. I can't wait. It's one of my favorite chapters of the entire Bible. And we get to dive into it tomorrow right here on the Bible department. I love you guys. I'm so proud of you, especially if you're on the streak. I'll see you tomorrow. Peace. Thanks so much for joining us on the Bible Department Podcast. You can find us online and learn more about the show at the Bible and on Instagram Hebible Department. If you enjoyed this episode and want to dive deeper into the Bible, you can get free access to our library of courses@thebibledepartment.com we'll see you back here tomorrow.