Tobit's Thanksgiving and Prophetic Jerusalem

After realizing the great magnitude of blessings that God had endowed upon him and his family, Tobit wrote the prayer of Thanksgiving below. The words of praise are consistent with many of the praise of other Israelites from the Old Testament. Perhaps one thing that stood out is the description of the extravagance of Jerusalem. Although Jerusalem would have been quite magnificent in the times of Solomon, the description of Jerusalem using precious stones, gold and jewels suggest this may be a prophetic view of Jerusalem and not too different from the eternal Jerusalem described in Revelation.


Tobit 13: Tobit’s Thanksgiving to God
Then Tobit wrote a prayer of rejoicing, and said:
“Blessed is God who lives for ever,
    and blessed is his kingdom.
2 For he afflicts, and he shows mercy;
    he leads down to Hades, and brings up again,
    and there is no one who can escape his hand.
3 Acknowledge him before the nations, O sons of Israel;
    for he has scattered us among them.
4 Make his greatness known there,
    and exalt him in the presence of all the living;
because he is our Lord and God,
    he is our Father for ever.
5 He will afflict us for our iniquities;
    and again he will show mercy,
and will gather us from all the nations
    among whom you[a] have been scattered.
6 If you turn to him with all your heart and with all your soul,
    to do what is true before him,
then he will turn to you
    and will not hide his face from you.
But see what he will do with you;
    give thanks to him with your full voice.
Praise the Lord of righteousness,
    and exalt the King of the ages.
I give him thanks in the land of my captivity,
    and I show his power and majesty to a nation of sinners.
Turn back, you sinners, and do right before him;
    who knows if he will accept you and have mercy on you?
7 I exalt my God;
    my soul exalts the King of heaven,
    and will rejoice in his majesty.
8 Let all men speak,
    and give him thanks in Jerusalem.
9 O Jerusalem, the holy city,
    he will afflict you for the deeds of your sons,
    but again he will show mercy to the sons of the righteous.
10 Give thanks worthily to the Lord,
    and praise the King of the ages,
    that his tent may be raised for you again with joy.
May he cheer those within you who are captives,
    and love those within you who are distressed,
    to all generations for ever.
11 Many nations will come from afar to the name of the Lord God,
    bearing gifts in their hands, gifts for the King of heaven.
Generations of generations will give you joyful praise.
12 Cursed are all who hate you;
    blessed for ever will be all who love you.
13 Rejoice and be glad for the sons of the righteous;
    for they will be gathered together,
    and will praise the Lord of the righteous.
14 How blessed are those who love you!
    They will rejoice in your peace.
Blessed are those who grieved over all your afflictions;
    for they will rejoice for you upon seeing all your glory,
    and they will be made glad for ever.
15 Let my soul praise God the great King.
16 For Jerusalem will be built with sapphires and emeralds,
    her[b] walls with precious stones,
    and her towers and battlements with pure gold.
17 The streets of Jerusalem will be paved[c] with beryl and ruby and stones of Ophir;
18     all her lanes will cry ‘Hallelujah!’ and will give praise,
    saying, ‘Blessed is God, who has exalted you for ever.’”

Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things

Isaiah 40:26
Lift up your eyes on high,
and behold who hath created these things,
that bringeth out their host by number:
he calleth them all by names
by the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power;
not one faileth. 

In the same context as the last passage, these verses introduces the magnificence of God as the Creator of all. People going about their daily business may easily overlook God; this is true thousands of years ago as it is today.

The evidence of God is all around us. The cure for a society may be as simple as just stopping and looking up. Then we see the heavens, the trees, mountains and the world which is just so perfectly put together. Perhaps then we would realise our place in His Kingdom.

Praise Him According to His Excellent Greatness!

A short but definite call to Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord with all sorts of instruments. Praise the Lord for his greatness and mighty acts. It is quite clear who this magnificent God is. Besides creating the universe, He also blesses and protects His people. No wonder the people who really know him, like the psalmist, cannot stop praising Him.




Psalm 150
Let All Things Praise the Lord

1 Praise the Lord!
Praise God in His sanctuary;
Praise Him in His mighty firmament!

2 Praise Him for His mighty acts;
Praise Him according to His excellent greatness!

3 Praise Him with the sound of the trumpet;
Praise Him with the lute and harp!

4 Praise Him with the timbrel and dance;
Praise Him with stringed instruments and flutes!

5 Praise Him with loud cymbals;
Praise Him with clashing cymbals!

6 Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.
Praise the Lord!

And All Flesh Shall Bless His Holy Name

David the psalmist praise God for His greatness and majesty. Perhaps more than just the works of creation, David was also praising God for His goodness, righteousness, compassion, mercy, patience. David describes God's rule as everlasting from generation to generation all would know His greatness. This is a God who provides, protects and forms a relationship with those who call on him honestly, who feat Him and who love Him.


Psalm 145
A Song of God’s Majesty and Love
A Praise of David.

1 I will extol You, my God, O King;
And I will bless Your name forever and ever.

2 Every day I will bless You,
And I will praise Your name forever and ever.

3 Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;
And His greatness is unsearchable.

4 One generation shall praise Your works to another,
And shall declare Your mighty acts.

5 I[a] will meditate on the glorious splendor of Your majesty,
And on Your wondrous works.[b]

6 Men shall speak of the might of Your awesome acts,
And I will declare Your greatness.

7 They shall utter the memory of Your great goodness,
And shall sing of Your righteousness.

8 The Lord is gracious and full of compassion,
Slow to anger and great in mercy.

9 The Lord is good to all,
And His tender mercies are over all His works.

10 All Your works shall praise You, O Lord,
And Your saints shall bless You.

11 They shall speak of the glory of Your kingdom,
And talk of Your power,

12 To make known to the sons of men His mighty acts,
And the glorious majesty of His kingdom.

13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
And Your dominion endures throughout all generations.[c]

14 The Lord upholds all who fall,
And raises up all who are bowed down.

15 The eyes of all look expectantly to You,
And You give them their food in due season.

16 You open Your hand
And satisfy the desire of every living thing.

17 The Lord is righteous in all His ways,
Gracious in all His works.

18 The Lord is near to all who call upon Him,
To all who call upon Him in truth.

19 He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him;
He also will hear their cry and save them.
20 The Lord preserves all who love Him,
But all the wicked He will destroy.

21 My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord,
And all flesh shall bless His holy name
Forever and ever.

Great is the LORD

This is another praising psalm but this one revolves around the Temple and the city of the LORD - presumably Jerusalem. Again, certain parts of it seem to indicate it may be the new Jerusalem where the Temple is restored and the kings of the earth come to worship there.
The character of God is repeated here including lovingkindness, righteousness and greatness. References to birth pangs and ships of Tarshish may have been in Isaiah concerning the end times, before the LORD establishes his new Kingdom.

Psalm 48
A Song. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.

 1 Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised
         In the city of our God,
         In His holy mountain.
 2 Beautiful in elevation,
         The joy of the whole earth,
         Is Mount Zion on the sides of the north,
         The city of the great King.
 3 God is in her palaces;
         He is known as her refuge.
        
 4 For behold, the kings assembled,
         They passed by together.
 5 They saw it, and so they marveled;
         They were troubled, they hastened away.
 6 Fear took hold of them there,
         And pain, as of a woman in birth pangs,
 7 As when You break the ships of Tarshish
         With an east wind.
        
 8 As we have heard,
         So we have seen
         In the city of the LORD of hosts,
         In the city of our God:
         God will establish it forever.  Selah 
        
 9 We have thought, O God, on Your lovingkindness,
         In the midst of Your temple.
 10 According to Your name, O God,
         So is Your praise to the ends of the earth;
         Your right hand is full of righteousness.
 11 Let Mount Zion rejoice,
         Let the daughters of Judah be glad,
         Because of Your judgments.
        
 12 Walk about Zion,
         And go all around her.
         Count her towers;
 13 Mark well her bulwarks;
         Consider her palaces;
         That you may tell it to the generation following.
 14 For this is God,
         Our God forever and ever;
         He will be our guide
         Even to death.