Today, I am reading and commenting on  Psalms 90-97.

The first of today’s psalms contains a lesson which we all need to take to heart.

Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.

We must all recognize our mortality, and not only our mortality but that we only have so much time to accomplish things.  We must choose to act when the opportunity presents itself, because we may not be able to do so later.  Just as there are things which can only be done in certain seasons of the year there are also things which can only be done at certain seasons of our lives.  Even so, the Lord’s favor will rest on those who seek Him, whether in the Spring of their lives, in the Winter, or in between.  For the psalmist tells us “Today, if you would only hear His voice, you will enter into His rest.” (paraphrasing)

Later in today’s psalms, the psalmist tells us that it is good to praise the Lord, and that fools do not understand this.  So, come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song.  Day after day I will proclaim His salvation and declare His marvelous deeds in front of everyone.  The psalmist calls on all creation to rejoice because the Lord is coming to judge the earth.  

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Psalms 82-89.

In the first of today’s psalms, those who created the NIV translation chose to put the word “gods” in quotes.  I am not a Hebrew scholar, but I am quite confident that there are no quotes in the Hebrew manuscripts from which this passage was translated.  I am equally confident that the translators conveyed the psalmist’s meaning accurately when they used those quotation marks here.  The psalmist warns these “gods” that ultimately God sits in judgement over them.  He then asks them how long they will defend the unjust and side with the wicked?  The psalmist demands that these “gods” defend the weak and uphold the cause of the poor and oppressed.  He goes on to remind these “gods” that they will die just like all other mortals.  As I read this I thought of those who consider themselves the elites of our society today.  They too often seem to defend the unjust and favor the wicked.  They refuse to defend the fatherless or rescue the weak.  They, like those discussed in the second of today’s psalms, conspire against God and those who serve Him.  However, as the psalmist prays, God will not remain silent.  Even now He is sending them a warning in the fires which are consuming the forests.  He will bring judgement against them.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Psalms 78-81.

All four psalms today discuss God’s anger with His people when they rebel against Him.  In the first of today’s psalms the psalmist writes about how time and again the generation which God brought out of Egypt repeatedly saw God’s power displayed.  Yet, again and again they rebelled against Him.  In the next two psalms he writes about God’s people crying out to God for deliverance.  Over the last few years as I have read the Old Testament prophets I have felt like their prophecies of God’s coming judgement applied to us today.  Our society’s have sinned in terrible ways and will soon reap what they have sown.  In the same way, the psalmist writes of the Israelites reaping what they had sown.  Today, many of God’s people are echoing the psalmist’s cry, as they should:

Restore us, God Almighty;
make your face shine on us,
that we may be saved.

Unfortunately, too many of us are failing to follow the guidance God gave us through the psalmist in the next psalm:

If my people would only listen to me,
if only they would only follow my ways,
how quickly I would subdue their enemies
and turn my hand against their foes!

I am convinced that if we, God’s people, would listen to Him more closely, and follow His ways, rather than seeking a politician to save us, or trying to get the “right” laws enacted, we would see a transformation of ourselves, and of our nation.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Psalms 72-77.

The psalmist speaks of a time when he almost fell for one of Satan’s lies, when he almost gave in to the temptation to believe that there was no value in seeking God’s righteousness.  He envied the wicked and arrogant, who believe that God does not know of their wickedness.  It is an easy lie to fall for, we see that the wicked seem to have all that they desire and face no consequences for their evil, and begin to wonder if doing what is right has any benefit.  However, when we enter into God’s presence we discover that the wicked gain nothing through their wickedness that we truly desire.  Further imitating the wicked would cost us that which we value most, a relationship with God.

Then the psalmist speaks of the challenges when wicked men oppress those who seek God and troubles abound.  We sometimes face similar challenges.  We, like the psalmist, cry out to God asking how long He will allow the righteous to suffer and the wicked to prosper.  We may feel like God will not answer our prayers for justice, and will allow people to belittle Him, and those who trust Him, but God tells us in the Scripture that He chooses the appointed time.  He will judge with equity.  When times seem dark and God seems far, let us remember what God has done in the past and meditate on His power.  Then we will hear His voice and see His judgement upon the wicked.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Psalms 68-71.

The psalmist calls the righteous to be glad and rejoice before, because God is the One who saves.  He defends widows and acts as a father to the fatherless.  The psalmist tells us that God provides families to the lonely, which gives us a model for how the Church should be.  Do you know someone who is alone in this world?  Be as family to them. Be there for them.

Reading today’s passage I pulled various phrases out to comment on, then I went back and re-read the passage to try and put together what I wanted to write.  In the previous passage I wrote my thoughts as inspired by one of those phrases.  The next phrase I pulled out to write about is:

Lord, the Lord Almighty,
may those who hope in you
not be disgraced because of me;

I have always read that as asking God to keep me from doing anything which will bring disgrace upon others who profess their faith and trust in God.  However, as I read it today, I saw that in the rest of Psalm 69 the psalmist speaks of those who seek to destroy him and hold him guilty of crimes he had not committed.  That, and his prayers contained here for God to deliver him from his enemies who belittle him for seeking to serve God put it in a different light.  Let us echo the psalmist and seek God’s salvation from our enemies, for our sake, and for the sake of others who seek to serve God.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Psalms 60-67.

The first psalm in today’s reading seems to me to aptly apply today.  Society has been shaken and torn open because we have angered God.  We are in desperate times, but God has raised a banner to which those who fear Him may, and should rally.  Let us rally to God’s banner and He will lead us to a fortified place where we may withstand the assaults aimed at those who fear God.  In these trying times, our souls can find rest in God.  He has brought us salvation.  Though the world around us seeks to topple us, our hope comes from God and He provides us a foundation which cannot be shaken.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Psalms 52-59.

First, I want to note that Psalms 53 is almost exactly the same as Psalms 14.  A translators’ note from Psalm 14 notes that the word rendered as “fool” throughout the Psalms has the implication of being morally deficient, which makes the psalm fit into this group of psalms very well.  The first of today’s psalms speaks of one who boasts of the evil deeds they have performed, contrasting them with those who trust and praise God.  The psalmist goes on praising God throughout these psalms.  He refuses to lose his faith in God, even when close friends betray him and his enemies twist his words.  If faithfully serve God, He will cause the evil our enemies intend for us to rebound upon them while He protects us.  The wicked, the morally deficient, the foolish believe that there is no God and therefore believe they can safely belittle and attack the righteous.  The wise faithfully serve God, and rely on Him for protection from those who hate them because of that.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Psalms 45-51.

There is a song by Led Zeppelin titled “Thank You”.    The first verse goes:

If the sun refused to shine
I would still be loving you
When mountains crumble to the sea
There will still be you and me

Which brings to mind, for me, the beginning of Psalm 46:

Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging.

Even the music for the Led Zeppelin song fits Psalm 46 in my mind.  The Led Zeppelin song is a love song, and in a way, so is Psalm 46.  Of course, the singer of “Thank You” is merely a human being saying that the love they shared with their lover would endure the earth falling apart.  While, the psalmist is writing a song of God’s love for us, reminding us that He, and His love for us, will endure beyond the earth falling apart around us.  We need not fear being crushed as the mountains collapse into the sea around us, nor that the rise of the oceans will drown us, because God is our refuge.  Unlike in the song “Thank You” we do not depend on the love of another created being to survive, but rather on the love of the Creator.  If we put our trust in God, we will not panic when disaster strikes, instead we will be able to be still, knowing that He is indeed God.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Psalms 32-37.

There is no greater blessing than to have our sins forgiven, however we cannot experience forgiveness until we acknowledge our sins.  We will continue to suffer for our sins until we admit to ourselves and to God that we did wrong, when we confess our sins, when we admit that they were indeed sins, God will forgive us and give us healing.  Then He will instruct us in how we should behave and direct our way to bring glory to Him and thus happiness to ourselves.  As we learn to do His will joy will fall upon us and we will rejoice in Him.  I read these psalms and I try to communicate the message they speak to me, but I find myself falling short of doing so.  Then I come to this phrase in Psalm 34, “Taste and see that the Lord is good:”.  Reading that I realize that no matter how eloquently I speak of Him, you will not understand the message until you experience it for yourself.  So, I strive to convince those I know to take that leap of faith to put their trust in God.  Sometimes I lose hope of those for whom I care deeply ever accepting His love, but this psalm contains a message of hope there as well:

For he spoke, and it came to be;
he commanded, and it stood firm.

This reminds me that I came to Him because His Spirit called me, when His Spirit calls them, they will also answer.  I know that I will never bring my friends to the Lord, but perhaps His Spirit will move through me to bring them to Himself.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.