Today, I am reading and commenting on  Psalms 52-59.

The psalmist begins Psalm 53 by writing that the fool says in his heart that there is no God.  We often read the rest of that psalm from that perspective, but I believe the second line tells us better whom the psalmist is writing about.  There he writes, “They are corrupt, and their ways are vile.”  He goes on to tell us that no one does good and that everyone has turned away.  In a later psalm in today’s passage he writes that the wicked go astray from birth, that no sooner are they born than they begin spreading lies.  There is no room in this for us to set ourselves apart.  If no one does good, than neither do we.  However, this brings me back to that first line.  However, if we acknowledge that God exists, then we may cry out to Him in our distress and He will hear us.  Then He will rescue us from our sin and teach us/cause us to do good.  I will praise God, not because I am good, but because He is good.  I will put my trust in Him and He will transform me.  And even here the psalmist gives us great advice.  When we fear, let us put our trust in Him.  Then, if we put our trust in Him, we need, and He will make it so that we do not, fear anyone.  If God Almighty will speak for us, and act as our protector, what can someone who is merely mortal do to us?  So, join me in praising God in front of everyone.  I will not hide that my trust, my faith, and my hope lies in God.  He has never let me down.

I use 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 often feel inadequate when I try to write about the psalms because the psalmist is a much better wordsmith than I could ever be.   Nevertheless, I want to write a few things about today’s Psalms.  Psalm 46 reminds us of the importance of meditating on God and God’s word.  Sometimes we need to silence our minds in order to appreciate what God has done.  And yet, there are times when God’s glory should inspire us to make noise. clapping, shouting, crying out, and singing praises to God.  From there he goes on to tell us that we should not fear when evil days come, nor when the wicked surround us, because God will redeem us from the realm of the dead and take us to Himself.  In fact, He has already redeemed us and claimed us as His own.  Finally for today, the psalmist reminds us the purpose for which we pray to God for deliverance and for which we teach others about sin.  Our goal in all of this should be to inspire sinners to turn to God for the deliverance which we have experienced.

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

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Psalms 38-44.

As I read these Psalms today I thought I saw a flow of ideas.  Let’s see how that works out.   I am going to write this the way I see it applying to me.  I start with seeing how the psalmist acknowledged that God had reason to be angry with him and begged God not to discipline him in that anger.  He goes on the beg God not to leave him, not to go away from him.  I recognize this in my own life.  God has ample reason to be angry with me, to abandon me to my fate.   The psalmist goes on to write of how he tried to keep silent, to avoid saying the wrong thing at the wrong time by saying nothing at all.  Perhaps I am misreading it, but it seems like the psalmist said something which caused hurt in another and regretted it.  In any case, I know that I have said things which upset people, things I wish I had not said.  Every time after doing so, I promise to keep my big mouth shut.  But just as the psalmist wrote, I soon find the words welling up within me.  Soon I cannot help myself and I must speak out against the foolishness I hear others saying.  I feel the spirit, and some of the time, the Spirit, compelling me to speak.  For a time, I seek to only speak the words which the Spirit gives me, but eventually I lose my humility and begin to say that which comes from me, not from God and I find myself back where I started.  So, I will strive to wait patiently for the Lord, and only speak the words He desires me to speak.  When I fail once more, and I know that I will fail once more, I will still put my hope in Him and praise the Lord with all that I am.

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

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

The first psalm in today’s passage starts off by reminding us that God’s forgiveness is the greatest blessing we may receive.   Only by acknowledging our sins can we be forgiven.  We must recognize that we have done things which have created some, or perhaps all, of the problems in our lives.  We must recognize that our sins were mistakes, that they were things we wish we had not done.  In Psalm 36, the psalmist tells us that the wicked have no fear of God.  This results in them flattering themselves too much for them to be able to detect, let alone regret, their own sin.  If we truly fear the Lord, we will listen to His instruction and avoid taking the actions which we will later regret.

There is much more in these psalms, but I think this is a good place to stop.

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

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Psalms 23-31.

Psalm 23 is beloved for good reasons.  The imagery used by the psalmist communicates God’s love for us in ways which are both comforting and complete.  However, we can miss some of what the psalmist is saying because so few of us know anything about shepherding.  Fortunately, the some of the other psalms in today’s passage speak on the same theme. Let’s start with that first phrase: “The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing”                                                               The sheep trust the shepherd, and we must trust the Lord.  Just as a shepherd guides the sheep and teaches them the paths to take, we must allow God to guide and teach us.  This Universe belongs to God, as does everything, and everyone, in it.  Therefore, if we trust in God, He can, and will, provide for all of our needs.  Further, if we put our trust in God, and walk in the ways to which He guides us, we need fear nothing, no matter how desperate our situation may appear to us, because God will be at our side.

I want to touch on a few other things mentioned in today’s Psalms I want to write about.  While God offers us guidance and teaching, we must humbly accept that teaching without demanding more than what He offers us at this time.  God will test us and try us, examining our hearts, as He shows us what He next desires of us.  If we wish to spend our days in God’s house, we must not allow ourselves to be influenced by the deceitful and hypocrites.  If we assemble with evildoers and socialize with the wicked, we will drift, or perhaps move even more rapidly, away from God.  Let us seek the Lord by joining with those who also seek His face.

I use 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 both the message of Psalm 18 and the imagery which the psalmist uses.  First, the imagery (I am just going to pull a few phrases out and paraphrase them together):

The chords of death entangled me, so I called to the Lord in my distress.  He heard my voice, the earth trembled and quaked because He was angry.  Smoke rose from His nostrils, fire came from His mouth. He parted the heavens and came down. Out of His presence clouds advanced with hailstones and lightning.  He reached down from on high, took hold of me and pulled me out of deep waters.

There is much more to this, and the psalmist says it so much better, but that imagery relates the power God will use to deliver those who put their trust in Him.  The psalmist goes on to point out that putting our faith in God is more than just calling on Him when things go bad.  God is faithful to those who faithfully follow Him, He is blameless to those who strive to be blameless, He is pure to those who seek to be pure, but to those who think they are clever enough to find loopholes in His Law, He will demonstrate that He is no less clever.

When I started writing the above I intended to write about how the psalmist tells us in Psalm 19 about how the Universe testifies to God’s greatness, and a bit about Psalm 22, which Jesus cited while He hung on the cross, but the above seems so complete I will stop here and leave those for you to read and meditate on your own.

The heavens declare the glory of God;
    the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
² Day after day they pour forth speech;
    night after night they reveal knowledge.
³ They have no speech, they use no words;
    no sound is heard from them.
⁴ Yet their voice^[h] goes out into all the earth,
    their words to the ends of the world.

Keep your servant also from willful sins;
    may they not rule over me.

Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
    but we trust in the name of the Lord our 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 10-17.

Today we have once more several different Psalms which are not really thematically connected, and yet there is a thread running through them.  In them all the psalmist writes of a time when wickedness abounds, when no one seems to be seeking the Lord.  The wicked do not believe that they will ever be called to account.  Everyone looks around and sees evil around them, but none (or, at least, very few) examine themselves to see if they act in a manner pleasing to God.  Everyone, it seems, lies to their neighbors, flattering others so as to deceive them.  But God sees the trouble of the afflicted and oppressed and will act.  Let us take refuge in God, then we will not need to flee to the mountains, or to the wilderness, to escape the evil in this world.  Yes, the attempt is being made to destroy the foundations of righteousness, but despite their best efforts God still sits on His throne.  So, let us call on God in prayer that He might call people back to Him.  The answer to the problems we face today is not changing the government, is not changing the institutions around us.  We will not solve the problems we see by getting new laws passed, or even by changing Church leadership.  The answer lies in turning our hearts to God and seeking to do His will, on calling those around us to seek Him.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Psalms 1-9.

Most days I try to find a single theme to focus on, but in the Psalms and the other Wisdom books (Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, etc.) there is often so much worth commenting on that I have a hard time choosing what to write.  So, for today, I have chosen to pull a few things out to write about.  We will see if I make a connection between them as I write.

In Psalm 1 the psalmist tells us that those who delight in God’s Law and meditate upon it will be blessed.  They will be firmly planted and able to weather the storms, and droughts, of life.  If you seek to understand and obey God’s Law you must not allow yourself to be influenced by those who reject His Law.   In Psalm 2, the psalmist speaks of the futility of those who seek to throw off the limitations which God has placed upon us.  Further on, the psalmist writes that the trouble they cause rebounds upon them, that they will fall into the pit which they have dug.  As I read this I am reminded of those who attempt to use their control over information to mold people into beliefs which are contrary to God’s plan.  For a time, such molding seems to work, then the very systems they have put into place begin to rebound against them.  They use their tools to bring the weight of social stigma against those who seek to remain faithful to God, but God will deliver those who remain faithful, and be a shield around them against unjust attacks.

So, that did all kind of fit together, but the final bit I want to write about does not quite fit into that.  The psalmist writes about how God is majestic in all the earth.  In fact, he tells us that God has used the praise of children and infants to establish a stronghold.  God’s strength comes from the powerless.  This really strikes me as important to Christians, because we know that God’s greatest victory came through Christ’s death on the cross.  God’s greatest victory over evil did not come through killing evil-doers.  It came from dying.  Consider, the One who made the heavens, the sun, the moon, and the stars in all of their glory, defeated death by dying.  And that great God cares for all of mankind.  That great God cares for you.

I will give thanks to you, Lord, with all my heart;
    I will tell of all your wonderful deeds.
² I will be glad and rejoice in you;
    I will sing the praises of your name, O Most High.

The nations have fallen into the pit they have dug;
    their feet are caught in the net they have hidden.

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