Today, I am reading and commenting on Psalms 23-31.
These psalms have several related themes which appear in different forms in each of them. In Psalm 23, the psalmist writes “I will fear no evil, for You are with me.” Then in Psalm 27, he writes, “whom shall I fear?” and “of whom shall I be afraid?” He also writes about how we get to that place where we do not fear; we get there by following God’s leading. In Psalm 23, the psalmist tells us to follow God’s guidance on the path we should follow. In Psalm, he tells us to allow God to teach us. Throughout these psalms the psalmist tells us to put our trust in God, to rely on Him, and on nothing else. He writes that there can be no greater joy than to live in the presence of the Lord. If we seek the Lord, He will answer when we call and He will protect us.
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.
Today, I am reading and commenting on Psalms 23-31.
I could easily make this whole post on just Psalm 23, preachers have made entire sermons on it, even series of sermons. In some ways the rest of the psalms in today’s readings expand on the themes contained in Psalm 23. Or, perhaps a better way to put it, Psalm 23 sets things up for where the rest of today’s psalms go. God provides for us, guides us, protects us, and comforts us. Those who put their trust in God and do as He instructs will not be put to shame. Make God your stronghold and there will be no one and nothing you need fear. Do that which God commands even when times are good and He will answer you cry when you face hardships.
Today’s psalms bring me great joy. I wish my words describing them were as inspiring as they are.
Today, I am reading and commenting on Psalms 23-31.
I could write an entire entry on Psalm 23, but there is so much more here and most people are at least somewhat familiar with it. So, I am going to focus on the rest of the psalms in today’s passage. There is a set of themes which run through all of these psalms. The earth, and everything in it (including all of its people) belongs to God. This means that all of the things of this earth and the people dwelling in it should be treated with respect and dignity. Because we belong to Him, God will show us the path which we should follow. If we seek the truth, which is His truth, God will teach us how to follow that path. Then, if we follow that path and learn from His teaching, God will forgive our sins, our failings, and will not allow us to be disgraced. If we stay near to Him, His light will drive away all darkness so that we will not need to fear anything.
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.
Today, I am reading and commenting on Psalms 23-31.
Psalm 23 is well known and as a result is often discussed. So, I am only going to make a few comments about it, mostly in context with the rest of today’s Psalms. God will provide us with all of our needs and we need never fear, not even death itself, because God is with us. God is able to provide our needs because, not only is the earth and everything in it His, but He made everything that is in the first place.
If we seek the Lord He will show us the path to follow and the decisions we should make. If we trust God enough to do the things He directs us to do we will never be disgraced. If we turn to God for knowledge He will teach us all that we need to know. The psalmist even tells us how to recognize where God is directing us: He will never direct us to lie or to do that which is not pure. If the path we are travelling calls for deceiving others, it is not the one to which God has directed us. God will not direct us to accompany liars, defend hypocrites, or join in with those who do evil. No, God directs us to live with integrity and according to His truth, which is the only truth that there is. I want to emphasize the importance of not lying, of not being deceitful. I had a discussion with someone who said that any religion which does not allow for lying to avoid persecution is irrational. Unfortunately, I was distracted by other issues in the discussion and failed to point out that neither Judaism nor Christianity do so. There are passages in the Bible which can be interpreted as supporting lying in order to protect others from harm, but none that support lying for your own protection.
I have a few final points I would like to make today, but I am not sure I will be able to tie them together. The antidote to fear is meditating on God’s words and instructions. Meditating on His commands and instructions should lead us to act in accordance with those instructions. If we do so, we will know that we are under His protection and that no true harm may come to us. God is calling us to come to Him to talk with Him. I pray that you are willing to have a conversation with Him. I pray that I am willing to converse with Him when He calls to me. Sin will drain our strength, when we find this happening we can either let it drain us completely or we can allow the Holy Spirit to cleanse the sin from us. I will praise the Lord for He has stored up goodness for those whose fear of Him leads them to follow His instruction.
Today, I am reading and commenting on Psalms 23-31.
There is a common theme running through most of these psalms: trust in the Lord and He will protect you. Today’s passage starts with Psalms 23, which is familiar to anyone who knows the Bible even a little bit. It is familiar to so many because it offers great comfort. Yet that familiarity may lead us to miss its great meaning, meaning which is echoed and amplified in the other psalms in today’s passage. These psalms tell us that God will look after us, protect us, and guide our paths. He will honor us in front of our enemies so that they will know that He will not allow them to destroy us. However, we often miss that a condition of that protection is that we follow God’s guidance. Again and again throughout these psalms the psalmist tells us that God guides us along the paths which we should take.
So, the psalmist tells us that God will protect those who trust Him. If we truly trust God we will walk down the paths which He guides us along. When the psalmist says in Psalm 23, “Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid,” the subtext is that he is in that valley because God guided him there. The psalmist is seeking to inspire us to walk down the path which God guides us no matter where that path leads us. He assures us that God will direct us to the correct path. No matter how dark and frightening the path may appear, we can trust that God has chosen it for us and will protect us as we walk along it.
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 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.
