Psalms 105-108 from my new book:

A NEW LOOK AT THE OLD PSALMS

Praying the Psalms: a modern interpretation

____________________

I present here a new perspective on the psalms. I have rewritten them from a New 
Testament Christ-centered point of view. I did not try to capture the poetry of the 
psalms – I leave that to more gifted writers – but I attempted to capture their message
with a more modern interpretation.

God bless,

John

____________________

Psalm 105

(Psalms 105, 106 and 107 are songs of thanksgiving to God for his great mercy.)

L

et us thank the Lord and praise his name. Proclaim his works to all nations. Strum your instruments and sing a song to celebrate his wonderful deeds. He is holy and holy is his name. And we who love him rejoice. Seek your strength in the Lord at all times.

Remember the wonderful things he has done, the truth he has revealed to his people. Remember the oath he gave to Abraham and his descendants that he would save us from our enemies and keep his holy covenant for a thousand generations to come. He bequeathed to Israel the land of Canaan. The Jews were a small group, just passing through nation after nation. They formed a kingdom like no other, and he protected them. He defeated kings who tried to harm his prophets. He spread famine across the land of the unbelievers, depriving them of bread.

Remember how the Lord looked after the house of Jacob. Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers. He was sorely tested until the time came for the Lord to reveal his will through the dreams of Pharaoh. Joseph was released from prison and placed in charge of the king’s house and lands. He was given authority to advise his officials and even those much older than he. The Jews thrived in Egypt and grew stronger and more numerous than the Egyptians who began to hate them.

Remember how he used Moses and Aaron to gain the freedom of his people from Pharaoh. The Lord worked wondrous signs through them: he blotted out the sun, but Pharaoh would not relent. The Lord turned the waters into blood, killing the fish; caused frogs to infest the land and even the king’s private chambers; he besieged them with flies and gnats; rained down hail; dried up the ground; destroyed every tree and vineyard; and assailed them with locusts and caterpillars that ate all the grass and fruit. Then he killed the first-born of each family, including the Pharaoh’s son, and the king finally capitulated.

Remember how the Jews left Egypt carrying much silver and gold. Not one had suffered from the plagues. And Egypt was glad to be rid of them. The Lord protected them with cloud cover by day and a pillar of fire by night. He fed them with manna and split the rock to provide water for the thirsty, and the rivers flowed.

God kept the promise he made to Abraham, his servant. He set his people free, and they rejoiced in the Lord. He gave them the lands and property of the nations through which they passed. All they had to do was obey his laws. Alleluia!⁵⁵

Psalm 106

H

oly is our God. Let us thank him for his mercy that will never end. How wonderful are his works. Blessed are they who keep his commandments and do what is right. Remember us, Lord, for we seek to do your will and beg for your salvation. See how good we are, how glad we are to be your children, and how we praise you among the people.

Yet we sinned like our ancestors. We broke his laws and rejected righteousness. Our forefathers did not understand what the Lord had done for them in Egypt. Forgetting how merciful he had been to them, they rejected him when they ran up against the Red Sea. But he made a path for them through the water to show his great power and the reliability of his promises. When he drowned their pursuers, they finally trusted him and gave him praise.

However, their faith in his works did not last long. They soon failed to seek his advice and complained bitterly about how dissatisfied they were in the desert. Again, the Lord gave them what they wanted. They even angered Moses and Aaron, but the complainers were swallowed up in an earthquake and consumed by fire. Then they fashioned a calf and worshiped it. Imagine our glorious Lord turned into a grass-eating animal! Again, they forgot all the good things the Lord had done for them.

God would have destroyed them if Moses had not intervened for them. But then they rejected the Promised Land and doubted him again. They sat and complained in their tents and refused to listen to the Lord. So he punished them by denying their entry into Canaan and condemning them to live in the desert as nomads. They even made matters worse by dedicating themselves to the false god Baal and eating sacrifices to the dead! Then the Lord punished them more severely with plagues and death. Finally, Phinehas took matters into his own hands and made peace with the Lord who ceased destroying his people. Since that time, Phinehas has been regarded as a righteous man.

Unfortunately, they angered the Lord again at Meribah with all their bellyaching about his dragging them out of Egypt to let them die of thirst in the desert. Moses made matters worse by not following the Lord’s instructions. Then they failed to destroy the pagans; imitated them; worshiped their false gods; and sacrificed their innocent children to demons, polluting and defiling the land. By this time, the Lord had had enough of these ungrateful people and he abandoned them. He allowed them to be conquered and enslaved by the nations who hated them. Despite all the times the Lord had saved them, they continued to rebel against him, and he continued to punish them.

Seeing them in such a sad state and remembering the covenant he had made with them, he took pity on them and relented. He even stirred their captors to be more compassionate to them.

And they cried, “Save us, God. Bring us back together as one nation, so we may praise you and give thanks to you with one voice. Bless the Lord, the God of Israel, forever and ever.” And they all shouted, “Amen! Amen!” Alleluia!⁵⁶

Psalm 107

L

et us give thanks to the Lord for he is kind and compassionate, and his mercy is unending. Let those he saved from their enemies give testimony. He gathered his people together and led them into the desert where they grew weak from hunger and thirst. They begged the Lord for help, and he guided them to the Promised Land.

Let the people thank him for his great mercy and the wonders he performed for them.

Some languished in jail in the dark, close to death, subjected to extreme poverty and slavery. They had rebelled against him, and he let them suffer at the hands of their captors. With no one to help them, they called upon the Lord in their suffering, and he rescued them. His light shone in the darkness, and he restored them to life. He broke the chains that bound them. He demolished the bronze gates and iron bars that held them prisoner. Jesus would fulfill these words himself when he destroyed death by dying and brought light to those in darkness by rising from the dead.

Let the people thank him for his great mercy and the wonders he performed for them.

There were others who were on the verge of starving to death because they were too sick to eat. Thus humbled by their sins, they begged God to save them, and he rescued them from their afflictions by sending his word to heal them. Jesus Christ, the Word, would fulfill these words when he became man to heal us of the fear of death and the sickness of sin.

Let the people thank him for his great mercy and the wonders he performed for them.

Sailors on ships can attest to the wonders the Lord works at sea. Suddenly, stormy winds can stir the water causing waves to rise several feet into the air and come crashing down with great ferocity. Such waves horrify the crews who fear capsizing and drowning. They stagger like drunken men and are filled with panic. Yet they know that the Lord will hear their cry and rescue them from danger. In an instant, he can command the storm winds to become a breeze and the waves to cease their roiling. He will make sure they arrive at their destination safely. Let the Church exalt the Lord and praise him among the leaders of the world.

Let the people thank him for his great mercy and the wonders he performed for them.

What miracles the Lord can perform! He dries up rivers and fills fields of grain with salt water because of the sins of those who live there. He can also make deserts rivers and bring water to the fields where the hungry can make a home. They gather much fruit and harvest abundant crops. Their families grow, and their herds multiply because he blesses them.

However, should they come to reject God, they will be brought low and suffer at the hands of the enemy who despises them. They will find themselves trapped. Yet he lifts the poor out of poverty, and their families grow and multiply like sheep. The godly will rejoice at the poor man’s success. The wicked will be dumbfounded. Let the wise remember these things and learn to make the most of what they have learned about the Lord’s mercy. Alleluia!⁵⁷

Psalm 108

(A vision of Jesus in heaven praising the Father on behalf of his Church after his Ascension.)

" F

ather, you have lifted me up and placed me at your right hand. My Church is anxious to sing your praises. Musicians are at the ready. All nations will exalt your name, Father, because of the mercy you have shown them. There is no limit to the love and faithfulness you displayed in delivering your loved ones on earth.

You have given me rulership over all nations on earth, but there are still souls to be saved. Will you continue to fight with us, Father? We cannot win the war alone. But in you we have a mighty ally. No enemy can stand against us if you are with us.”⁵⁸

____________________

Cover image: Christ the Saviour (Pantokrator)." Web. 25 Sept 2016.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Spas_vsederzhitel_sinay.jpg
"Creative Commons License." Web. 18 May 2016.
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⁵⁵The Orthodox Study Bible. (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2008), 751.

⁵⁶Ibid.

⁵⁷Ibid.
⁵⁸Ibid., p. 755

This book and other books I have written are posted for your reading pleasure at Booksie.

Scriptural quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, 

copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois
60189. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2016 by John P. Gross. All rights reserved. Reproduction of this material must 

be done in its entirety with the copyright notice intact. This book is not for sale, but is 

offered to the public free of charge for the glory of God.

Psalms 101-104 from my new book:

A NEW LOOK AT THE OLD PSALMS

Praying the Psalms: a modern interpretation

____________________

I present here a new perspective on the psalms. I have rewritten them from a New 
Testament Christ-centered point of view. I did not try to capture the poetry of the 
psalms – I leave that to more gifted writers – but I attempted to capture their message
with a more modern interpretation.

God bless,

John

____________________

Psalm 101

L

ord, show me your mercy and help me understand your truth. Answer my prayer. I am an innocent man. I abhor evil and the wicked. My heart is pure. I do not associate with the ungodly. I reject slanderers, the arrogant, and those who are never satisfied. I would not even eat with them. My companions are the faithful, the innocent, and the compassionate. I want nothing to do with condescending braggarts. I avoid contact with those who speak evil.

Give me wisdom, Lord, to discern the truth, to see evil for what it is, and to avoid it at all costs. Let me be a force for good in the world. Help me to proclaim the good news and root out evil wherever it hides. Amen.⁵²

Psalm 102

(Suffering Jesus prays to the Father for us.)

" F

ather, be attentive to my prayer. Do not reject me, for I suffer greatly. My life has been cut short. My bones have become brittle. I have been brought low and made weak. I am nothing but skin and bone because I am too sick to eat. I am abandoned and without resource. I groan, but no one hears me. My enemies hate me. Former friends betrayed me. My food is sorrow; my drink is bitter tears. I feel the full force of your anger. Your Son, with whom you were once so pleased, is now a broken man. I am a shadow of my former self. I am weak and barely recognizable.

Yet, Father, you have not forgotten your people. I know that my suffering is not the result of anything I have done. Did I not warn my disciples that the Son of Man would suffer and die to atone for their sins? Did I not also tell them that you would raise me from the dead on the third day? Now they understand that you are a compassionate Father who takes pity on his children. You love your creatures and know how weak they are. They are barely here for an instant and then gone like dust in the wind.

All nations and their rulers will revere you, Father, for the resurrection of your Son will glorify your name. All generations will remember how you looked down from heaven, heard the moaning of your people, and set them free from the slavery of sin and the fear of death.

Whenever the faithful will gather to worship you, they will recall how you strengthened them by  revealing that their short life on earth would give way to everlasting life with you in heaven. For you are eternal, Father. Before time began, you created the universe. And although it will pass away one day, you will remain forever. We all die, but we will be changed when we enter heaven. All your Church will dwell there for all eternity with you, who are the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. Amen.”⁵³

Psalm 103

P

raise the Lord, my soul, and magnify his name with all your strength. He forgives your sins, heals your diseases, saves you from ruin, is merciful and kind to you, satisfies your needs, and renews your strength.

He takes pity on those who have been unjustly treated and rights their wrongs. He gave us laws to follow for our own good. The Lord is sympathetic to our struggles and tolerant of our weaknesses. He does not anger easily or hold grudges. His judgment is softened by his mercy, chastising less than crimes deserve. No one could measure the extent of his compassion for the people who revere him.

He forgives us as a Father would forgive his children. He created us and knows how fragile we are; we are here today and gone tomorrow. But the Lord’s mercy and just concern for his children will never end. All he asks is that we keep his commandments.

Let us worship the Father who rules from his throne in heaven. Honor his powerful angels who are quick to fulfill his slightest wish. Let everyone and everything the Lord has made in heaven and on earth bless his name. Accept my praise as well, Father, for it comes from a grateful soul. Amen.⁵⁴

Psalm 104

P

raise the Lord, my soul. Lord, no words can describe your magnificence. Clothed in majesty and light, you blanket the heavens with stars, create the waters that fall upon the earth, and walk on the winds as the clouds swirl about you. You created the angels who blaze like flames of fire. You formed the earth, and it will remain firm until the end of the ages. You covered the world with the oceans and seas; then ordered them to recede to provide dry land for its inhabitants. You made springs for the thirsty wild animals on the plains and the birds who nest nearby in the rocks. 

Your showers water the fields and produce abundant harvests; grass for cattle; plants to feed your children; bread for life; wine for celebration; oil to make the face shine; trees for lumber, fruit, and birds’ nests. Deer roam your mountains and rabbits hide among your cliffs.

You created the moon to mark the seasons and the night to provide cover so the wild animals could hunt their prey undetected. You gave us the sun to light man’s path to work and signal a time for your animals to take their rest.

All creation proclaims your glory, Lord, and reflects your great wisdom. It is no accident that the earth is filled with creatures; that the seas team with life, small and large, and provide safe passage for ships. Creatures of the deep, some quite huge, are totally dependent upon you for their survival. You decide whether they live or die. But death is not the end of it, for you will send your Holy Spirit to create new life. Therefore, your glory will endure forever.

You take delight in your works who respond to your slightest attention. The earth shakes and the volcanos smoke at just a glance from you. Such is the power of God!

I will praise you, Lord, for as long as I live. May my prayers be acceptable to you, for that is enough to make my heart glad.

May evil disappear from the earth. May sinners repent and rebels obey. And may my soul always bless you, Lord. Amen.

____________________

Cover image: Christ the Saviour (Pantokrator)." Web. 25 Sept 2016.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Spas_vsederzhitel_sinay.jpg
"Creative Commons License." Web. 18 May 2016.
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

⁵²The Orthodox Study Bible. (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2008), 748.

⁵³Ibid.

⁵⁴Ibid., p. 749.

This book and other books I have written are posted for your reading pleasure at Booksie.

Scriptural quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, 

copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois
60189. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2016 by John P. Gross. All rights reserved. Reproduction of this material must 

be done in its entirety with the copyright notice intact. This book is not for sale, but is 

offered to the public free of charge for the glory of God.

Psalms 97-100 from my new book:

A NEW LOOK AT THE OLD PSALMS

Praying the Psalms: a modern interpretation

____________________

I present here a new perspective on the psalms. I have rewritten them from a New 
Testament Christ-centered point of view. I did not try to capture the poetry of the 
psalms – I leave that to more gifted writers – but I attempted to capture their message
with a more modern interpretation.

God bless,

John

____________________

Psalm 97

(A vision of the earth’s restoration at Jesus’s second coming.)

J

esus is King of the universe. Let all nations make his praise glorious. In a swirl of dark clouds, he is coming to judge his people and condemn all his enemies.

The earth will quake, lightning will light up the sky, and mountains will disintegrate as the Lord makes his entrance. All nations will see his splendor.

Idol worshipers will be disgraced. But those who love God, the angels in heaven, his Church on earth, and the faithful departed who have risen from their graves, will rejoice greatly because of the just judgment he will deliver.

Who deserves more praise than our God? Those who love the Lord and despise evil will be saved. His holy ones and the earth itself will be restored to their former glory, to the perfection our first parents enjoyed when God created them and gave them Paradise as their home. Let us be forever grateful to the Lord, for his great light has chased away the darkness of sin and the shadow of death. 

  

Psalm 98

(A vision of Christ’s two comings.)

L

et us praise the Lord in song for all the wonders he has performed. The Son of God became man to save his people, and God’s salvation was made manifest to all the world. In his mercy, he fulfilled his vow to the Jewish nation. Let all God’s children sing praise to the Lord.

Jesus will return in the fullness of time to judge the living and the dead. With the strumming of the harp and a fanfare of trumpets, let all God’s people raise their voice and shout with joy to Jesus, the King. The oceans teaming with life will froth and foam. The earth and all its inhabitants will stand in amazement. The sea will roil; even the mountains will rejoice at the coming of the Lord, for he comes to judge his people with justice and truth.⁴⁹

Psalm 99              

(A vision of the enthronement of Christ the King.)

T

he Father has made Jesus the ruler of heaven and earth. Let all peoples tremble at the sight. Jesus now rules his Church on earth and his angels and holy ones in heaven. Let them praise his name with reverence, for he is God.

In Jerusalem, they proclaimed Jesus the King of the Jews at his crucifixion. Now he reigns in glory over heaven and earth. Before Jesus was incarnated, it was God who ruled the Jewish people. He judged his people according to how effectively they obeyed the laws he gave them to govern their lives. With the incarnation of his Son, God invited the whole world to come and worship Jesus, their King, who now sits at the Father’s right hand.

The Jewish nation worshiped God the Father. When they called upon his name, he saved them. He gave them his commandments and they obeyed them. Now Jesus rules the nations, shows mercy to the faithful, and punishes the wicked. Let us adore the King who lives and reigns with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.⁵⁰

Psalm 100

(A prayer of thanksgiving to Jesus Christ.)

L

et the whole world shout with joy to our Lord Jesus Christ and gladly serve him. We thank him for creating us, for being the Good Shepherd who leads his sheep, and for being so generous and merciful to us. Let us enter his Church on earth in jubilation, just as we will enter into heaven in the life to come. Thank you, Jesus, for the eternal truths that you have revealed to those who love you in this generation and in all generations to come. Amen.⁵¹

____________________

Cover image: Christ the Saviour (Pantokrator)." Web. 25 Sept 2016.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Spas_vsederzhitel_sinay.jpg
"Creative Commons License." Web. 18 May 2016.
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

⁴⁹The Orthodox Study Bible. (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2008), 747.

⁵⁰Ibid.

⁵¹The Orthodox Study Bible. (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2008), 748.

This book and other books I have written are posted for your reading pleasure at Booksie.

Scriptural quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, 

copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois
60189. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2016 by John P. Gross. All rights reserved. Reproduction of this material must 

be done in its entirety with the copyright notice intact. This book is not for sale, but is 

offered to the public free of charge for the glory of God.

Psalms 93-96 from my new book:

A NEW LOOK AT THE OLD PSALMS

Praying the Psalms: a modern interpretation

____________________

I present here a new perspective on the psalms. I have rewritten them from a New 
Testament Christ-centered point of view. I did not try to capture the poetry of the 
psalms – I leave that to more gifted writers – but I attempted to capture their message
with a more modern interpretation.

God bless,

John

____________________

Psalm 93

J

esus is King and has reigned since before time began. But when men fell from grace, he had to incarnate to save them. Just as Jesus emerged from his baptism in the Jordan River, renewed in spirit and prepared to begin his public ministry, we emerge reborn through our own baptism, ready to live the life of Christ in his Church.

We lift our voice in thanksgiving to the Father for all he has done for us. We trust in the Lord because his word is truth. And holiness is not an option. As members of Christ’s Church, we are expected to lead a holy life. Jesus said, “You are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.” Matt: 5:48 (NLT)⁴⁵

Psalm 94

W

e praise you, Lord, for you are the God of justice who will judge the ungodly for their misdeeds. How long must we endure the arrogant boasting of sinners, their evil acts and words, their lawlessness? They have persecuted your Church, humiliated and mistreated us, and murdered the innocent and the defenseless. They brag of your indifference to our plight. But the foolish and the ignorant do not understand that you hear and see everything. They ignore the lessons of history where you were forced to chastise your people to teach them obedience. No man can hide his thoughts from you. Blessed are those who follow your teachings. You will save them from the wicked, for you will not abandon your Church as long as unrighteousness exists in the world.

Who among men will defend me against the ungodly? Who will fight with me against the wicked? It is the Lord who helped me. If not for him, my soul would have been lost. When I felt myself falling, I called upon the Lord with a repentant heart, and mercifully he saved me.

God will not tolerate corrupt lawmakers and their unjust laws which punish the righteous and condemn the innocent. He is a refuge for the persecuted, and I trust that he will protect me. Judgment Day is coming for unrepentant sinners, and their souls will perish.⁴⁶

Psalm 95

C

ome and let us worship the Lord and joyfully sing praises to the God who saves us. Let us give him thanks and bless his name, for he is a mighty God, the King of the universe. He holds the whole world in his hands. The land and the seas belong to him because he created them. So let us bow and worship the Lord with tears of joy and a repentant heart, for he is our shepherd and we are his sheep.

Let us not reject the Lord as the Israelites did when they rebelled against him at Meribah and Masseh. He punished them by making them wander in the desert for forty years before allowing them to enter the Promised Land.  

Psalm 96

(A vision of the second coming.)

L

et the Church of Jesus Christ lift its voice every day with a song to celebrate the salvation he obtained for us. Let all nations praise him, for his Church includes all peoples of the earth. The Lord is awesome and worthy to be praised. Demons boast of their great power, but they fear the Lord who created the universe. We give him thanks for the beauty, majesty, and holiness of his Church.

Let all nations honor and glorify the Lord and exalt his name. Bring your offerings and worship him in his Church. Let all people stand in awe of the Lord and proclaim him King, for he created the world and will protect it as a sovereign defends his kingdom. And he will judge his people fairly.

Let heaven and earth rejoice. Let the waves of the seas and oceans teaming with life come crashing down in delight. Let the fields and their crops, the trees in the forests, and all that lives shout with joy on that fateful day when Jesus will return to judge the living and the dead with justice and truth.⁴⁷

____________________

Cover image: Christ the Saviour (Pantokrator)." Web. 25 Sept 2016.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Spas_vsederzhitel_sinay.jpg
"Creative Commons License." Web. 18 May 2016.
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

⁴⁵The Orthodox Study Bible. (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2008), 744.

⁴⁶Ibid.

⁴⁷Ibid., p. 746

This book and other books I have written are posted for your reading pleasure at Booksie.

Scriptural quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, 

copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois
60189. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2016 by John P. Gross. All rights reserved. Reproduction of this material must 

be done in its entirety with the copyright notice intact. This book is not for sale, but is 

offered to the public free of charge for the glory of God.