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 45-51.

I love the imagery of Psalm 46.  If we put our trust in God we will fear nothing else.  If the earth quakes and the mountains crumble into the sea, we will not fear.  When the oceans roar and the waters surge, we will not fear.  Even in that situation, we will be still and know that He is God.  He created the world and will bring its destruction.  Wars end when He decides.  Imagining that sets me in the mind-frame that when I get to Psalm 47 I imagine a throng of people praising God as He ascends the steps of a building similar to the Philadelphia Art Museum.  A crowd like that which takes part in a sports championship parade.

The psalmist gives us another reason to have no fear of anyone in this world.  For all their wealth, for all their power, for all their wisdom, no one on this earth can redeem themselves from death.  No amount of money is sufficient to pay the ransom, no one has the power to coerce death to let them go.  Yet God has ransomed those of us who put our faith in Him, death holds no power over them.  God does not need our worldly goods.  After all, He created them and can create more should the need arise.  Instead He desires that we be thankful for what He has done for us and use our abilities and goods to help those in need.  God does not want us to recite His words and laws.  He wants us to live by them.

I had not planned on writing a third paragraph, but the contrast between Psalm 50 and 51 called out to me.  Psalm 50 is about those who go to Church every Sunday and give a tenth, or more, of all that they earn to charity, but during the week use every tool at their disposal to take advantage of those less powerful than themselves.  They may be a crime boss, a corrupt politician, or a dishonest businessman.  In any case, they think they are favored by God because they say the right things and are publicly lauded for their good works.  All the while slandering the innocent and spending their time with adulterers.  Then in Psalm 51 we have the man who calls on God to purify him from his sin.  Let us be the latter, begging God to transform us into His image so that we can do His will.  Only by God creating a clean heart within us and restoring our soul can we truly please Him. 

God fill me with your Spirit and cleanse me of the sins which fill me.

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 38-44.

Today’s first psalm, Psalm 38 is a counterpoint to the Book of Job.  Although it has much more to teach than just this, the primary point of Job is that not everyone who suffers does so because they had sinned.  Psalm 38 reminds us that when we suffer we should examine our life for sin which may have brought our suffering upon us.  The psalmist acknowledges his sin and begs God for forgiveness.  He makes no effort to defend himself against those who wish to use his sin and his suffering against him.  He relies upon God.  In this case, the psalmist’s opponents are attacking him for his sin for their own advantage, not in order to correct his behavior.  The psalmist chooses not to defend his actions from these attacks because he knows that he did wrong.  Nor does he try to convince these enemies of his contrition because he knows that they do not care if he sins or not, they merely wish to use his sin against him.  Instead, he humbly offers his confession to God and waits for God to act.

As I read Psalm 39 and 40 they seem to go together for me.  I don’t know if the message I see there is the one which the psalmist intended, but they speak to me.  Psalm 39 starts out with the psalmist vowing to avoid sin by keeping quiet.  This resonates with me.  I like to talk, I like to debate, but all too often I get caught up in the debate and say things I should not.  So, from time to time, after I have caught myself saying things which should not be said by anyone who believes in God, I vow to keep my silence the next time.  However, I find myself like the psalmist, in turmoil about the things I hear, on fire to use my gift of gab to give the Lord’s answer until I can keep silent no longer.  There, near the beginning of Psalm 39, is a hint at the answer to my dilemma.  Speak of the good things, and only of the good things.  Then Psalm 40 fleshes out that answer.  Wait patiently upon the Lord; take joy in doing His will.  Then He will give us a new song to sing, new words to speak. A song or words, or both, which will allow others to see what He has done and come to trust Him.  Psalm 40, as I read it, gives us the answer: do not be afraid to speak out about God’s justice, but do not go “off message”, do not allow what I say to be about me.  I am but a poor beggar with little to offer.  But I will praise God and do my best to show how He has the answer for those suffering and in need.

I know that to a degree I am reading from current events back into these psalms, but I am going to go where this lead anyway.  The psalmist knows why he is depressed, why he feels discouraged.  He remembers being among a crowd of worshipers praising God while they gathered to worship God.  He knows that he does not need to be discouraged.  All he needs to do is put his trust in God and worship Him again.  If he follows the guidance of God’s truth it will guide him to where he can worship God with others who love Him.  Then his joy will be renewed.  Worshiping and praising God with others who worship and praise God provides an antidote to discouragement and depression.  That antidote may take time, so we need to wait upon the Lord.  We will not overcome discouragement, depression, or whatever other obstacles we face by any human power, only by the power of God.  If you are suffering cry out to God and trust that He will answer.  If you feel that He does not hear you, if you need encouragement to put your faith in Him, reach out to me and I will strive to do what God enables me to do.  At the very least I will pray for you, but I will also seek God’s guidance to direct you to the appropriate counsel.  

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 32-37.

When I first read today’s psalms my thought was that each one stands alone, how do I write a blog entry on them that isn’t longer than they are?  Then I re-read them and saw a sort of progression from one to the next. So, I am going to try to write about that progression. I do really hope you are not reading my words in place of reading the psalms.

So, the progression begins with the psalmist writing about the joy which we have when our sin is forgiven.  First he tells us about the suffering which comes from sin in our lives, from pretending that the sins we committed were not wrong.  In order to experience the joy of forgiveness, we must admit that we have done wrong (probably repeatedly).  Then God will forgive us, but the joy truly comes when we follow the path which He shows us.  We cannot be follow God’s path until we have been forgiven for our sins, and we cannot be forgiven until we admit that we have done wrong.  If I do not follow the path which God shows me it indicates that I do not trust Him to know what is best for me.

When we follow the path which God lays before us it leads us to praise Him in word, song, and deed.  We see His unfailing love all around us and feel compelled to tell all we meet of the love He has for us, and for them.  If we rely on our own strength, wisdom, and wealth our plans will not succeed, but if we make God’s plans our plans and rely on His strength and power, we cannot fail.  In the next psalm we come to the best answer for those who doubt God: “Taste and see that the Lord is good.”  Don’t take my word for it.  Try it for yourself.  I can never show you what it is like to trust in God.  From my own experience I can tell you that the psalmist got it exactly right.  You will never know what God can do until you choose to act as if you believe in Him.  If you think you believe, you must act according to those beliefs.  If you do not believe, I beg of you, give it a try, act as if you believe.  If you act as if you believe the God of the Bible is real, soon you will KNOW that He is real.  You will experience God rescuing you from trouble when you cry to Him.

The life of trusting in God and serving Him is not easy.  You will be attacked by those who do not want to admit that they do wrong, those who deny that they are wicked.  They will tell lies about you.  They will malign you as committing the sins which they themselves commit, all the while denying that they are doing wrong when they do those things.  But if we continue to do what God desires, they will be humiliated and disgraced.  Even then they will not turn from their sin, nor acknowledge even to themselves that they do anything wrong.  Nevertheless, we should not worry about them, or envy them.  Let us commit our every action to God and not give in to anger against the wicked.  God will bring them down to death and destruction, but we must not give in to the anger which their sin provokes within us.  Instead, let us love them with God’s love and think of the joy they will have, and will bring to us, if they allow God’s Spirit to touch their lives and transform them so that they turn from their sins!

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 23-31.

Today’s passage begins with Psalm 23, which everyone knows, or thinks they know.  Certainly every Christian should know it.  If you don’t know it, please spend some time familiarizing yourself with it.  Anyway, I am not going to spend much time on it today, except insomuch as it contains themes also in today’s other psalms.  I will cover these themes in the order they jumped out at me as I read this over trying to decide what to write today (yes, that’s right, this is one of those times I went over the passage again and again trying to figure out what to write).

So, why should I be afraid?  That is what the psalmist asks in the first verse of Psalm 27.  The psalmist had addressed this same issue in Psalm  23 when he said, “I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me.”  Again and again through these psalms he tells us that if we trust in the Lord we not only don’t need to be afraid, we should not be afraid.  In fact, it is our enemies who should be afraid.  Of course, it is not enough to trust in the Lord.  We must give our lives to Him and humbly follow the path which He shows us.  

We will be tempted to sin in order to gain pleasure, comfort, or wealth.  If we remember what the psalmist tells us here it will help us to resist the temptation: God will give us all that we need if we remain faithful.  The earth and everything in it belongs to God.  From that plenty He will supply our needs.  Besides which, not only does everything in this earth belong to God, so do all of the people.  Which means that we belong to Him, so we should do as He commands even if He had not promised to care for our needs.  

Let us praise the Lord and sing of His glory.  He will protect us and care for us.  When we sin, He will forgive us.  If we focus on doing His will, He will not let us be disgraced.  The psalmist even has something for those who feel that their prayers are bouncing off of the ceiling: 

In panic I cried out, “I am cut off from the Lord!” But you heard my cry for mercy and answered my call for help.

That’s right, even when we think we are cut off from God He hears us.  Do not lose faith. Continue to put your trust in Him and He will answer you.

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 10-17.

I am not sure I will be able to pull this off, but as I read today’s psalms I see some intertwined themes which go through them.  I will try to bring out those themes in my blog today.  Psalms 10, 11, and 12 take different perspectives on one idea: society is breaking down, the wicked are prospering, and the righteous are disappearing.  God seems far away and the wicked appear to be prospering.  The godly seem to be disappearing from society; everyone lies and deceives even those who should be their friends.  Perhaps because too many take the advice to flee and hide in the mountains/wilderness.  But if we trust in the Lord we will stand our ground and remember that He will bring justice to the wicked.

In these psalms the psalmist uses two metaphors for those who have brought about the situation described above.  First he tells us that the wicked think that God is dead.  Then later he tells us that only a fool says in his heart that there is no God.  Those that say God is dead mean that God was a useful fiction which has stopped being useful, which of course means that they believe that there is no God.  They think that God is not necessary for there to be a stable and good society.  And that is where the second part comes in, because such a belief is complete folly.  Such thinking results in society descending into complete chaos and evil becoming ascendant.  Of course such people are mistaken because there is indeed a God and God will rain down destruction on evildoers while protecting and lifting up the righteous.

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 1-9.

I could probably make this entire blog entry on Psalms 1, but that would shortchange the rest of the psalms in today’s passage.   The wicked may show us how to gain pleasure, but it will come at the expense of joy.  The path to joy is meditating on God’s laws and commands so as to internalize them.  This seems binding and limiting to many, but it is the path to joy and satisfaction.  The wicked reject good as slavery and embrace the bindings which come from evil.  Those who seek after God’s law find joy and prosper in all they do.  Many people misunderstand what this means because they see doing good as a means to an end, but those who truly listen to what God says see doing good as an end in itself.  If I do good as an end in itself, prospering in what I do means that I have done good, not that I have gained wealth.

In fact, the psalmist illustrates in the next several psalms that just because we do good does not mean that we will not experience trouble and suffering.  However, when we experience trouble let us cry out to God.  If we put our faith in God we will be able to lie down in safety and rise up with joy.  Even when we experience suffering let us rejoice in doing God’s will.  Then we will have greater joy than those who have all of the good things material wealth can bring.  Even while we are in distress we can praise the Lord for we know that He will rescue those who rely on Him and do His will.

When we look at the world around us, how can we not see the majesty of God, who created all of it?  The God who created the majestic mountains and the stars in the night sky, died for me!  I am but a speck in this universe which He made, and yet, He values me enough to suffer for me.  When I look at nature around me I struggle to understand how anyone can believe that it all just happened by chance.