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

Today, I am reading and commenting on Psalms 18-22.

I love reading books from the Fantasy genre (think Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, and Game of Thrones, although I am not a fan of the latter two for reasons of personal taste).  As a result, I love the imagery which the psalmist evokes on Psalm 18.  First we have the image of the distress in which the psalmist found himself:

• “The ropes of death entangled me”
• “death laid a trap in my path”

  Then we have the images of God’s response to his cry for help:

• “the earth quaked and trembled”
• “Smoke poured from his nostrils”
• “He shrouded himself in darkness”
• “rained down hail and burning coals”
• “great bolts of lightning flashed”

The psalmist paints an image with his words of God’s power. A power which God will exert when the faithful cry out to Him, or when He deems it time to act on behalf of the oppressed.  I wish to never be on the receiving end when God strikes down those who abuse the poor and weak because, as the psalmist mentions here, then it will be too late to call out to God for rescue.

Psalm 19 speaks of how the created world testifies to God’s glory.  All of Creation speaks of God without making a sound.  No one has an excuse for believing that there is no God.  More importantly, Creation should inspire those of us who believe to praise and glorify God, just as the rest of Creation does.  But Psalm 19 tells us more than that.  It tells us of the beauty of God’s Word, and the pleasure in studying His Law.    Only by the careful study of His Law and the power of His Spirit can we be cleansed from sin.  And by “cleansed” neither I nor the psalmist just means forgiven.  Cleansed from sin means transformed so that I sin no more, a transformation I humbly pray that God completes within me soon (although I fear that it will not be soon).

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, oh Lord.

And finally, my prayer for those reading this today (from Psalm 20):

“In times of trouble, may the Lord answer your cry.
    May the name of the God of Jacob keep you safe from all harm.”