Psalm 201 from Beyond Psalm 150
Deported from Judah by King Nebuchadnezzar, the prophet Daniel now lives in exile in Babylon in service to its rulers. Our next three psalms come from the book of Daniel, though he only wrote one of them.
Here is the background of the first psalm.
King Nebuchadnezzar has a disturbing dream. He seeks an interpretation from his company of wise men but refuses to tell them what he dreamt.
He demands they prove their abilities to interpret his dream by first telling him what the dream was.
No one can.
Nebuchadnezzar is furious and orders their execution. This decree includes Daniel and his three friends, even though they knew nothing of the situation.
When Daniel hears the details, he asks for time so that he may interpret the dream. He and his three friends plead with God for the revelation.
Supernatural insight comes to Daniel that night in a vision and as a result, he praises God in this psalm.
Blessed be the name of God forever and ever;
Daniel 2:20–23 (WEB)
for wisdom and might are his.
He changes the times and the seasons.
He removes kings and sets up kings.
He gives wisdom to the wise,
and knowledge to those who have understanding.
He reveals the deep and secret things.
He knows what is in the darkness,
and the light dwells with him.
I thank you and praise you,
O God of my fathers,
who have given me wisdom and might,
and have now made known to me what we desired of you;
for you have made known to us the king’s matter.
Reflections on Daniel Blesses God
Giving all credit to God, Daniel does indeed reveal the king’s dream to him and gives the interpretation. This staves off the king’s execution order.
But before any of this occurs, Daniel first takes time to praise the Almighty. He does this before he reveals the supernatural insight God gave him about the king’s dream, which he must do to save his life.
Have we ever been so grateful to God that we wrote a psalm of praise to him? More to the point, do we even remember to thank him for his answers to our requests?
May our prayers overflow with thanksgiving to the Almighty for his many blessings.
Explore the other psalms—sacred songs of praise, petition, and lament—scattered throughout the Bible in Peter’s book Beyond Psalm 150.
Discover more sacred songs of praise, petition, and lament throughout the Bible.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront a status quo faith and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
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