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 52-59.

    I have really been struggling with what to write about these psalms. I wanted to connect Psalm 52’s “great warrior” boasting about his crimes to things we see going on in the world around us, because I do indeed see many situations where people are boasting about wrongs they have committed. And I wanted to talk about Psalm 53 telling us that only the fool says in his heart that there is no God, because I see how much that happens in the world around us. But I could not get those to connect with each other, let alone with the rest of the psalms in today’s reading. So, I read through the psalms again and again, trying to find something to say which tied that all together. Each time I read through I got nothing that worked.

    But each time I read through I hit Psalm 54 verse 2 and it stopped me.

I would resume reading, only to be stopped by the same phrase in verse 1 of Psalm 55. Nevertheless, I could not see what the point was until I noticed a different, but similar phrase in Psalm 56 and Psalm 57.

“O God, have mercy on me.”

“Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy.”

These two phrases are A prayer. In the context of what is going on in the world, they are the prayer I want God to listen to above all else. The rulers of this world have forgotten the meaning of the word “justice”. They have lost all sense of the idea that justice is not an arbitrary concept. And so, we need to pray to God for His mercy, or we too will get caught up in the idea that justice is getting what we want, rather than something we should want to get. Justice is not relative and it is not just for some people. But it is only through God’s intervention that we will understand and receive justice. It is only by God’s intervention in response to our prayers that we will truly desire justice, not just for ourselves, but for everyone. If we do not seek justice for everyone, we will not receive justice either.

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.

    Every time I hear the Led Zeppelin song “Thank You” I think of the beginning of Psalm 46. But unlike the Zeppelin song, it will not be the strength of my love for my wife which will keep either her or me safe when the mountains crumble into the sea. No, it will be God’s love for us that will keep us safe. It is He who will be our refuge and strength in the face of trouble. And the end of Psalm 46 gives us a great image to remember. When our entire world is crashing into loud chaos around us (the mountains crumbling into the sea, the oceans roar and foam, the mountains tremble as the waters surge–what great imagery of chaos), we are to be still and know that He is God. I have been blessed a few times in my life to have seen a person of great faith face a crisis. They calmly did what needed to be done while everyone around them yelled and ran around. They showed no fear in the face of great danger, because fear could provide no aid. They had faith that God, who could provide aid, was at their side, giving them the strength to do what needed to be done. While that is all I am going to comment on, please read the rest of the Psalms in today’s reading as they too will encourage you to praise God in the face of a world falling apart.

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.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading. I am considering the way in which my approach to writing this blog changes over time. I noticed that the first couple of days there was a particular pattern to the way I was approaching my study of the Psalms. I can see that it has already changed as I write today’s blog.

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

    Today we start with Psalms 23, one of the most familiar passages from Scripture. I do not know why it struck me today, but in verse 3 it says:

He guides me along right paths,
bringing honor to his name.

This reminded me that God guides us along paths which bring honor to His name. This helps us know which path God wishes us to follow, it is the one which will bring honor to His name. If we honor God, He will honor us.

    I love the way in which Psalms 24 opens, “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.” When deciding how we treat this earth and the people who live on it we must remember that they belong to God. Let us treat the things in this world as if we truly believe that they are God’s and that He will hold us accountable for how we treat them. Treating God’s property with proper respect is part of what the Psalmist means when he says that those who seek God must have pure hearts and pure hands. We must not worship idols because that is treating something that belongs to God as if it belongs to itself.

    God shows us the right path for us to follow. If we trust God enough to follow the path which He shows us we will not be disgraced. No matter how great our distress, if we act with integrity and seek to do as God directs, He will rescue us and forgive us our past sins. Let us seek to be in a relationship with God. I love how the psalmist puts it:

My heart has heard you say, “Come and talk with me.”
And my heart responds, “Lord, I am coming.”

Are we eager to talk with God when He calls out to us? Do we strive above all else to live in the presence of God? If we do so, when we cry out to Him, He will hear and He will respond. He will give us strength and He will comfort us in our grief. He is my God and I will trust in Him.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading. Yesterday I commented how my approach to what I write each day changes. I was not entirely sure that I liked that when I wrote that yesterday. However, I realized today that I definitely like the way my writing has changed as I am reading Psalms. I am curious to see if my current approach lasts all of the way through Psalms.

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

    Psalms 18 and 22 have a similar theme. Both psalms are written from the perspective of someone who has reached the end of their rope, who can hang on no longer. Psalms 18 is written after God has answered their cry and saved them. Psalms 20 is written from the perspective of someone who is in the middle of their trouble, feeling abandoned. I love the imagery the psalmist uses in Psalm 18 to describe God coming to the rescue of His faithful follower who has cried out to Him in desperation. In Psalms 18 the psalmist declares that he praises God for the great things God has done for him. On the other hand, Psalm 22 is a great declaration of faith. The psalmist is in the midst of his trial, unable to take any more suffering. Yet, he declares that he WILL praise God in the assembly. He declares that God has not and will not ignore the suffering of the needy. God will listen to their cries for help and save them. Lord give me the strength to trust in You when trouble finds me, and give me the faithfulness to declare to all when You have rescued me.

    In between those two we have Psalms 19, 20, and 21. Their only common theme is the need to praise and worship God. As I sit here looking over my back yard with the trees thrusting up into the blue sky, I read Psalms 19 telling us that the heavens silently make God known and all I can say is “Amen!” In a world which is becoming scarier studying God’s instructions and commands brings us hope and joy. Yes, I will echo the psalmist’s cry, “Oh Lord, do not let the sins which lurk in my heart control me.”
    Psalms 20 I want to remember because it is one of the great blessings. If ever I need to give a toast or a blessing I want to remember to use Psalms 20:1-5. Right now I am praying it for anyone reading this blog today.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading. I just noticed how my approach to writing these studies changes over time. Sometimes I write about the message I see in the passage. Sometimes I write a summary of what the passage contains. Sometimes I write about how the passage inspires me. And sometimes my writing follows some other line of thought.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Psalms 10-17.

    As I read these psalms this morning they struck me as being so apt with what is going on right now. After the shootings in San Bernardino in December, one newspaper had a headline that really hit where all too many people are. It read “God Isn’t Fixing This.” Psalm 10 goes straight to the mindset behind how most people read such a headline.

The wicked are too proud to seek God.
They seem to think that God is dead.
Yet they succeed in everything they do.
They do not see your punishment awaiting them.
They sneer at all their enemies.
They think, “Nothing bad will ever happen to us!
We will be free of trouble forever!”

Yet, time and again bad things happen. They never see the connection between their failure to honor and fear God and the bad things which happen. God will arise and He will punish the wicked.

    Then Psalms 11 warns us against a response that is always tempting in such a world. The foundations of law and order have collapsed. It is oh so tempting to flea to the mountains to get away from the dangers which arise when that happens. But the psalmist reminds us that God will protect us if we keep our faith in Him. He still rules from heaven and will bring justice. In Psalms 12 I see yet more reflections of our society today. The wicked strut about and evil is praised throughout the land. But even so, God will protect the oppressed. If we trust in God’s unfailing love we will continue to call out to Him in prayer, even as the voices of our society are saying, “What good is prayer? We need action.” While they are not wrong in thinking that prayer is not sufficient, it is the place to start. If we pray and call on God, He will guide us in what action we should take.

    Psalms 14 tells us that only fools say in their heart that there is no God. In this world today I see more and more such fools. So few are truly wise. So few seek God. Even in such a world, I will seek to do God’s will. I will seek to stand up and worship Him. I will sing to the Lord because He is good to me.