I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading. I have been trying to write my blogs on the Psalms with some thread that ties together my thoughts and comments on the Psalms I am reading each day. I do not think I am going to succeed in doing that today.

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

    When we refuse to acknowledge our sins to ourselves and confess them to God we suffer. If we acknowledge our sin and wrongdoing, turning away from them, God will forgive us. Then He will guide us along the best pathway for us to follow. When we look at the world around us, God’s power is clear (at least for those who are willing to see). Considering the state of the world today, Psalms 33 contains a phrase which does indeed cause me to sing for joy to the Lord:

The Lord frustrates the plans of the nations
and thwarts all their schemes.
But the Lord’s plans stand firm forever;
his intentions can never be shaken.

As terrible as the state of the world looks, as bad as I believe things would turn out if the declared plans of many nations came to fruition, I know that God is in control and it is HIS plans which will come to fruition. He sees what is going on and He understands mankind. Despite how powerful the many forces of evil in this world appear, their strength and power will serve them not at all when their plans run counter to God’s. On the other hand, no matter how weak you may think that you are, if you fear the Lord and do His will He will rescue you and bring you safely home.

    Psalm 34 speaks to me every time I read it. I constantly seek to apply my intellect to the problems I see around me. When I discuss with people I try to use logic to show them the right thing to do (my logic is not always right, but I have found that trying to use logic to make a case for what I believe will reveal where I have failed in doing so). Yet this psalm reminds me of the limits to using logic to convince people about God. Ultimately, people will only truly come to know and understand God by experiencing Him for themselves. Or as the psalmist puts it, “Taste and see that the Lord is good.” It is only through your own experience that you can come to understand God. No matter how eloquent and convincing I may be, or you may be, it is only when people experience God for themselves that they receive the joy He has to offer. Then, when we have experienced God, we learn to do right, want to do right, and find joy in doing right (even when it scares us before we do it).

    Psalm 35 also reminds me of what is going on in the world today. Just listen to the news, or go on social media, and it will not be long before you hear someone accuse Christians of a crime they did not commit, or impute to all Christians the sins of a single individual. I will not spell it all out, read verse 11-16 for yourself. Have you not seen this for yourself? Yet, despite these things let us not fail to continue doing the things for which the psalmist claims credit. Let us fast and pray when they face trouble. Let us do what we are able to assist them when they are in need. Let us grieve for them when they suffer hardship. The wicked do not believe that they are wicked and nothing we can say or do will change that (except to pray that the Holy Spirit will touch their hearts and bring about change). So, let us not worry about the wicked and what they do. God will bring them judgment in His time. Rather let us seek to do what we know is right. We must guard against losing our temper over the seeming success of the wicked. Our anger will not help if it leads us to bring harm. It is better to be godly and have little than to be evil and rich.