Tag Archives: Psalms 45-51

Daily Bible Study

June 24, 2023 Bible Study — Be Still, And Know That I Am God

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Psalms 45-51.

There is a song by Led Zeppelin titled “Thank You”.    The first verse goes:

If the sun refused to shine
I would still be loving you
When mountains crumble to the sea
There will still be you and me

Which brings to mind, for me, the beginning of Psalm 46:

Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging.

Even the music for the Led Zeppelin song fits Psalm 46 in my mind.  The Led Zeppelin song is a love song, and in a way, so is Psalm 46.  Of course, the singer of “Thank You” is merely a human being saying that the love they shared with their lover would endure the earth falling apart.  While, the psalmist is writing a song of God’s love for us, reminding us that He, and His love for us, will endure beyond the earth falling apart around us.  We need not fear being crushed as the mountains collapse into the sea around us, nor that the rise of the oceans will drown us, because God is our refuge.  Unlike in the song “Thank You” we do not depend on the love of another created being to survive, but rather on the love of the Creator.  If we put our trust in God, we will not panic when disaster strikes, instead we will be able to be still, knowing that He is indeed God.

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

Daily Bible Study

June 24, 2022 Bible Study — Meditate on God, Praise God, Remain Calm, And Teach Others So That Sinners May Turn To God

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.

Daily Bible Study

June 24, 2021 Bible Study — Don’t Quote The Bible If You Are Not Going To Submit To God’s Laws

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Psalms 45-51.

When I started reading through these psalms I had an idea about what I wanted to write, but then I came to Psalm 50 verse 16:

But to the wicked person, God says:

“What right have you to recite my laws
or take my covenant on your lips?

And I was struck by the number of times that people who ordinarily want nothing to do with the Bible quote from it when they think that they can use it to support their otherwise godless position on some issue.  There are many examples of those to whom the psalmist is referring.  Politicians, and others, who promote abortion but quote the Bible to support some other policy are but one such example.

When I read the passage I commented on in the previous paragraph, I was going to comment on just it.  Then I got to Psalm 51, which I strive (often unsuccessfully) to make my daily prayer.

Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
…
Restore to me the joy of your salvation
and grant me a willing spirit,

I pray that each of you reading this will make this your prayer as well. Let God open your lips so that your mouth may praise His name.  God does not desire our sacrifices, what He wants from us is a broken and contrite heart, repentant of our sins so that He can heal us and make us whole.

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

Daily Bible Study

June 24, 2020 Bible Study We Need Not Fear When the Oceans Roar and the Mountains Crumble Into The Sea

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 have always loved the first couple of phrases of Psalms 46:

God is our refuge and strength,
    always ready to help in times of trouble.
 So we will not fear when earthquakes come
    and the mountains crumble into the sea.
 Let the oceans roar and foam.
    Let the mountains tremble as the waters surge!

The psalmist goes on to tell us that God is here among us and tells us to “Be still and know that I am God.”  Let us clap out hands and shout praise to God with joy.

God does not need our sacrifices.  He does not need out material wealth.  He desires that we acknowledge our sinfulness and brokenness.  That we humbly and contritely turn to Him for healing.  If we do so, He will purify our hearts, restore our joy, and make us willing and able to obey Him.  Neither our wealth nor our power will redeem us from death and neither of those things will do us any good when we enter the grave.  Let us teach God’s ways to those who rebel against Him, starting with ourselves, so that they will return to Him.

Daily Bible Study

June 24, 2019 Bible Study — Be Still and Know That He Is God

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.

Daily Bible Study

June 24, 2018 Bible Study — Those Who Trust In God Need Not Fear

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 know what I want to write about today, but I am struggling with how to introduce the topics (see, what I did there. I couldn’t figure out an introduction, so I used that as the introduction). The psalmist tells us that if we place our trust in God we do not need to fear trouble. In Psalm 46, he sets aside the fear of natural disasters. In Psalm 49, he sets aside the fear of human beings. When all is going crazy around us, we just need to be calm and recognize that God has power over all of it. Panic and fright will not aid us in any way, but calmly waiting for God to tell us what to do will. Others may trust in their wealth and/or political power, but no matter how rich they are, no matter how powerful they are, they cannot buy their way out of dying. Only God can redeem us from death.

    God has no need of our wealth or possessions. All of the earth is His. What He desires from us is thankfulness. The psalmist warns us to not think that talking about God and His commands will do us any good if we spend our time commending those who violate them. Slandering our brother (and I want to point out that I think Jesus’ example about who our neighbor is applies to who our brother is as well) is an indication that we are not living with the thankfulness which God desires. Ultimately, we have all sinned. Let us throw ourselves on God’s mercy and pray for Him to wipe us clean from those sins. Then strive to sin no more. As I read these psalms and write this blog, I am reminded once more how much less skilled I am at word crafting than the psalmist. Please read these psalms, my ability to express the thoughts they evoke is inadequate to the task.

Daily Bible Study

June 24, 2017 Bible Study — Keep Calm and Know That He Is God

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.

    The Psalms readings for the last several days were written from the perspective of someone who suffered from depression and outlined how he dealt with it. Today’s Psalms reflect the thoughts of a psalmist who takes joy in worshiping the Lord. He tells us that we need not, and should not, fear, no matter what is happening around us. God will be our shelter and our strength. So, we need not fear when earthquakes come and mountains crumble into the sea, not even when the oceans rise and storms bring floods. A God who can protect us from the mighty forces which nature can bring to bear, and our God can, will find the forces which mere mortals can exert a minor nuisance. When turmoil surrounds us, rather than panic and run and shout, let us be still and know that He is God. I cannot emphasize that enough, when turmoil is all around us, the earth shakes, mountains are crumbling, the waves are rising, be still, stay calm, and know that God is in control. We do not need to fear the rich and/or powerful. They too will die. No matter how much money or power they have, they do not have enough to ransom themselves, or anyone else, from the grave. On the other hand, God will redeem those who trust and obey him from the grave.

    The final two psalms call for us to recognize that we have sinned, to confess our sins, and to turn away from our sins and commit them no more. That last is much easier said than done. God does not need our material possessions. We cannot bribe Him to look the other way when we sin. Sacrificing from our material goods benefits us, not God, and no amount of money, or goods, given to charitable organizations will make up for doing wrong. If we lend our approval to the dishonest, spend our time with the adulterer, speak lies and slander those closest to us (or even those not so close to us) God will rebuke us. He calls on us to repent of our sins and acknowledge that we have wronged by our sins. We are unable to do anything to clean this up. It is only by God’s action that we can be made clean, that our hearts may be made pure. He must make us willing to obey Him. Only then will we teach the rebellious His ways so that they too will return to Him.

Daily Bible Study

June 24, 2016 Bible Study –Mountains Crumble Into The Sea

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

DSCN0731

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.