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.