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

As I read today’s psalms I was drawn once more to write about Psalm 69, although I will be adding some thoughts from the other psalms in today’s reading.  However, I am going to start with some thoughts from Psalm 68.  There the psalmist tells us that God will be a father to the fatherless and protect widows.  Further, he tells us that God will place the lonely among those who will be family to them.  What are your needs?  Turn to God and He will provide for them.  Having written that I come to my thoughts on Psalm 69.  The psalmist cries out to God because he is at the end of his resources.  He is overwhelmed and feels like he is about to drown.  He acknowledges that he has sinned and begs God to not allow his sin to bring shame upon others who also call upon God.  The psalmist recognizes that his enemies are attacking him because of his desire to serve God, but that they will attempt to use his failings to belittle all who seek God.  I understand his pleadings to mean him asking God to help him overcome his sins so that they cannot be used to make all who seek God look bad.  In the same way, I ask God to give me the discipline and self-control to not do that which can be used against those who seek to do His will.  God knows my sins, I beg of Him that He take them from me so that they cannot be used to make faith in Him seem hypocritical and something of which to be ashamed.  If I must face shame for my faith in God, so be it, but I ask that God not allow others who seek Him to be shamed by my actions.

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 68-71.

The psalmist begins the first of today’s psalms by asking God to arise and scatter His enemies.  If God does so the psalmist tells us that the righteous will be glad and will rejoice.  That reads as if the righteous will only rejoice after they see God scatter His enemies, but I believe that the psalmist is calling on the righteous to rejoice because they know that God will scatter His enemies.  Let us proclaim the power of God, even while it appears that His enemies are thriving, because God will give strength to his people to do His will.

Elsewhere we are told that if we faithfully follow God, many will hate us without reason and become our enemies for no cause other than our desire to do God’s will.  I will follow the psalmist’s example and pray to God that He keep me from doing anything which might cause those who seek Him, who put their hope in Him, to be disgraced because of me.  I pray that He will keep me from doing anything of which I should be ashamed.  May He rescue me from the mire which will inevitably rise around me and help me to always have hope because I rely on Him.  With God’s help I will praise Him as long as I live and call on everyone to do likewise.

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.

There are a few things I want to touch on from today’s passage, but I am not sure I am going to be able to connect them as I write.  All of today’s psalms represent prayers which we should make to God at one point or another in our lives (and probably at more than one point).  The psalmist cried out to God begging that God not allow others who put their hope in God and those who seek God be put to shame because of his actions and the suffering which he endured.  Let us make a similar plea to God, that He keep us from doing that which will bring shame on those who trust in Him, but also that He turn back on our enemies the ways in which they slander us by misrepresenting our words and actions.  And, let us beg Him to protect His faithful from being blamed for our failings.  Of course, that also means that we must open ourselves up and allow His Spirit to guide our actions. Well, when I started writing this I thought I would talk about some of the other things which the psalmist touched on in these psalms, but I feel that this is where I should end.

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

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 68-71.

The psalmist expresses his despair and cries out to God, but what really strikes me are these lines:

“If only one person would show some pity;
    if only one would turn and comfort me.”

I pray that there is no one in my life who can honestly say this.  I desire to seek out those around me who might feel that way and let them know that they are not alone.  If you are reading this and feel that this is true, I pray that God sends someone into your life to show you His love.