Year 5, Day 212: Psalms 73-74

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Ambition

• Ambition: We all need a goal to which we can strive.  When our ambition comes from God, we find fulfillment in our obedience into that for which we have been equipped because our Out is in proper focus.  But when our ambition comes from ourselves, we find ourselves chasing after our own dreams and trying to find fulfillment in accomplishments of our own making.

I can completely resonate with the opening of Psalm 73.  I know what it feels like to look at people who are living in complete disregard of God’s ways and succeeding in life.  I know what it feels like to watch other people prosper through ungodly means.  I know what it feels like to look at other people seemingly coasting through life and I can’t help but feel the twinge of jealousy.

I know I’m in good company, because the author of Psalm 73 is right there with me.  For the record, so is the author of Psalm 74.  The opening of Psalm 74 is largely about the same issue.  Pslam 74 is about people who pay no heed to God and prosper.

The issue that the author of Psalm 73 wrestles with is ultimately an issue of ambition.  What is it I am pursuing?  If I want to thrive in the world, then I have to play by the world’s rules.  If I want to be on top in the world, I have to aspire to the world’s priorities and live as the world expects me to live.

That’s really where the crux of the issue rests.  To be a success in the world, I have to be worldly.  But that’s not a worthy ambition to chase.  That’s the conclusion that the psalmists both come to as they close out their psalms.  That’s the point of Psalm 73:16-17.  The end is just not worth it.

It’s not worth selling out to the world so that I can be a success in the eyes of the world.  I want to be successful at what the Father sets before me – regardless of whether or not the world values it or not.  That’s godly ambition.

Of course, while I know this, I have to confess again that it’s easier said than done.  I know this, yet I still look around at the world and wonder how it is that the godless can prosper so much.  Ambition is a constant enemy of mine – a constant temptation.  It is important to remember to make sure that our ambition is located in God and His ways.

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Year 5, Day 211: Psalms 71-72

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Evangelist

• Evangelist: One who looks for opportunities to proclaim the truth and is excited by it. The evangelist specializes in interacting with the world and reminding Christians that there are non-Christians in the world.  An evangelist is not timid about the faith and is often found have discussions with other people about the faith.

So why did I choose to focus on evangelism today?  For me as I read through this psalm, it was evangelism that leapt off of the page.  We will always need God and it is easy to turn to Him in our need.  We know that He will always provide.  But what I need to be reminded of quite frequently is that ever act coming out of the hand of God is an opportunity to tell others about Him.  God is so gracious and He is always there.  I shouldn’t need to be reminded to tell others about Him and His presence, but it is so easily forgotten.

When I really love about these psalms is that they come at evangelism from an angle of need.  The psalmist has known the pit, the God who saved Him from the pit, and he wants to tell other people about Him.  The psalmist has seen the poor and oppressed rescued by God and it is worth telling other people about it!  The psalmist even knows that God has seen him get himself into many calamities of his own making and yet the Lord is still there with him!  That is certainly worth telling other people about.  After all, who doesn’t make mistakes continuously and who isn’t comforted by the reminder that God doesn’t abandon us in our foolishness!

But the psalmist doesn’t just focus on what God has done for him.  That would be a bit egocentric.  The psalmist reminds us that it is God who brings the rain.  It is God who set the stars and the sun in the sky.  It is God who even gives us the fruit of the field.  It is not just what God has done for me – it is even more importantly what God has done for us in His general provision for life. 

How great is our God!  Why wouldn’t we want to tell others about Him?

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Year 5, Day 210: Psalms 69-70

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Up, In

• In: This is the word we use to express our relationships with our spiritual family.  These are often the people who hold us spiritually accountable.  They are the ones to whom we typically go for discussion and discernment.  These are the ones with whom we learn to share leadership.  They are the ones with whom we become family on mission.
• Up: Up is the word we use for what we worship.  If we are following God’s will, God will occupy the Up position.  Our life, our identity, our mission, our family on mission is all derived from Up.  This is why God needs to be in our Up position.

I think Psalm 69 may be one of my new favorite psalms.  Can you hear David’s turmoil within the words?  Of course David is in trouble.  David is pursued by his enemies.  In fact, he feels like there are more people who hate him than he has hairs on his head!  For the record, the same is true with the opening of Psalm 70, too.  Why does this resound within me?  I know that feeling.  I know what it feels like to be an outcast and feel like more people hate me than who desire to be associated with me.

And then we get to Psalm 69:9 and understand the true source of David’s pain.  Zeal of God’s house has consumed the psalmist.  Or even back to Psalm 69:7 where the psalmist says that it is for God’s sake that the psalmist has borne reproach.  He is the source of the psalmists pain.  He has chosen God.  In choosing God, the world around him has rejected him.  That’s a brand new perspective on what Up means to me today, and it is a perspective that resonates deeply within me.  Jesus says that if the world hates Him then the world will hate His followers, too.  The psalmist knows this feeling and out of his sense of Up he bears it well.  We’ll come back to Up a little later.

What I absolutely loved about this pair of psalms is the incredible depth of emotion that the psalmist achieves in Psalm 69:6.  Do you see where David turns?  He has borne reproach.  He has the world against him.  What is his concern?  His concern is that the few people in this life who are his friends will bear the same persecution.  He is afraid that because of the world’s hatred for him that other people will feel that same hatred.  That’s a true sense of In, too.  David feels his place in community and he doesn’t want them to know what he has known.

However, all of this brings the psalmist back to Up.  Look at how both of these psalms end.  Both of these psalms end with praise for God, His name, and His work.  In spite of the persecution, David worships.  In spite of his concern for other people, David worships.  Lifting up God is his final and ultimate priority.

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Year 5, Day 209: Psalms 67-68

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Abide

• Abide: This is a moment, day, or even a season when we focus on God.  It is a time when we are rejuvenated by God.  It is the time for us to gather up what we will need for the coming growth after a season of pruning.  However, abiding is not the end.  We abide so that we can grow, bear fruit, prune, and abide again.

I’m going to talk about abiding in at least two different contexts today.  The first context parallels my theological commentary from three years ago on Psalm 67.  There is something comfortable in coming upon scripture that you know very well.  Psalm 67 opens with a paraphrase of Numbers 6:24-26.  It is a very familiar passage to those who worship liturgically.  It is called the Aaronic Blessing and it closes many of our worship services.

For me, passages like that often lead to abiding.  I feel at home and comfortable when I read scripture with which I am familiar.  I feel like I am revisiting a well-loved and well-read book.  I can remember all the times in my past when I came upon this scripture and think about how often this scripture has been true.  Coming upon beloved scripture simply reinforces the stability of the relationship I have with God.  In a word, it causes me to abide.

However, within these psalms we have genuine theological reasons to abide.  What does the psalmist tell us about the presence of the Lord?  He blesses us.  He is gracious to us.  His face shines upon us.  We sing for joy because of His justice.  The fatherless can abide in Him.  The widow can abide in Him.  We can abide in Him because He bears us up.  We can rest securely in His hands because He is like a fortress and a strong mountain.  We don’t have to handle the big world all on our own.  We can lean into Him and abide with Him as He prepares us to do His work.

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Year 5, Day 208: Psalms 65-66

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Kingdom

• Kingdom: We live in God’s creation, but it is fallen.  We do not yet live in the fullness of God’s Kingdom.  But we do know that the Kingdom of God is drawing near.  We do get to see glimpses of the kingdom each and every time that God works in us and through us as He tries to demonstrate Himself to the world.

As we look at these two psalms, we get an incredible sense of the kingdom of God.  But what is neat about the pairing of these psalms is that one psalm is a psalm of praise and the other is an evangelistic psalm.  How can we tell the difference?  Look at the intended audience.  In Psalm 65 the psalmist is speaking to God.  That’s why we hear the psalmist often use the 2^nd voice, “you.”  In Psalm 65 the psalmist is speaking to other human beings about God.  This is a psalm of evangelism, which is why we hear the psalmist speak about God in the 3^rd voice, “He.”  It is neat to see the reminder that when it comes to relating with God, we are supposed to relate directly to Him as well as tell other people about Him.  Our relationship with God is both personal and communal.  God’s kingdom is both a personal experience and a communal experience.

So what do we know about God’s kingdom?  I think that today I’m just going to create a long bulleted list from dramatic emphasis:

• Atonement for our transgressions
• Satisfaction
• Holiness
• Goodness
• Salvation
• Hope
• Awe Inspiring
• Joy
• Abundant Provision
• Beauty
• Glory
• Power
• Worship
• Praise
• Protection
• Sacrifice
• Offering
• Vow
• Promise
• Fear
• Steadfast

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Year 5, Day 207: Psalms 63-64

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Father

• Father: This is the pinnacle of the Covenant Triangle.  God is the Father.  He is the creator.  He is love.  Our relationship with the Father is rooted in His love for us.  We get our identity through Him.  When the Father is in our life, obedience becomes clear.

Today I am going to tackle these psalms in reverse order because I believe that they will make the most amount of sense that way.  Psalm 64 begins with the psalmist lifting a complaint to God.  When I think about the relationship that humanity has with God, I think that this is a very common dynamic.  Human beings tend to talk to God when things aren’t going well.  We tend to lift up our complaints to Him.  That’s why I’ve chosen to focus on God as Father.  We often treat our earthly fathers the same way.  When we have a complaint, we usually take it to the person that we think is powerful enough to help us do something about it as well as someone who will genuinely care about it.  That’s often a parent – especially a father.  That definitely describes God, too.

As we end the psalm, that’s actually where we see the psalmist return.  he’s lifted up his complaint, so he turns to focusing on the power of the Lord.  It is worth lifting complaints up to our Father because He can do something about it.  He can protect us.  He can thwart the plans of the enemy.  That’s part of what it means to be Father.  It’s part of why we are in relationship with Him.

This brings me back to Psalm 63.  This is a psalm that is almost entirely focused on praise.  We thirst for our Father.  Our Father is our sanctuary and He is steadfast.  His presence satisfies.  He watches over us in the middle of the night as a Father ought. 

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Year 5, Day 206: Psalm 62

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Power

• Power: This is the natural outcome when we truly get our authority from the king.  When our authority is from God, we are equipped with His power to accomplish His will.  We act on His behalf in a world that He desperately loves.

Psalm 62 gives us a very interesting perspective.  At first take, it seems like a typical psalm of calling out to God.  We hear the psalmist sound as though he is under persecution.  He calls out and wonders just how long he will be subject to the persecution of other men.  This psalm seems to be set up for a typical look at protection and God’s deliverance.

However, look at where the psalmist is led by God.  In verse 11 the psalmist concludes that power belongs to God.  No matter how much we are subject to the persecution of the world, ultimate power belongs to God.  People may do their worst to us here in this world.  But nobody can touch God’s promise of eternal life.  Power genuinely belongs to Him in spite of how this temporal world appears.

However, the psalm doesn’t end like we would think.  In our world, ultimate power means domination and control.  But look at what happens when ultimate power rests in the hand of God.  Verse 12 tells us that love ultimately belongs to God.  Humanity often uses power for our own gain and our own benefit.  But with God, power is an implement of love.  Power is something God uses for our benefit, not His.  He desperately loves us, and it is out of that love that His true power comes.

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Year 5, Day 205: Psalm 60-61

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Invitation

• Invitation: God is always inviting us into relationship with Him. He desires that we know Him and that we know His desire for us.

Both of these psalms are written by the psalmist from the perspective of anticipation of being with God.  In Psalm 60 we hear the psalmist speaking from the perspective of feeling abandoned by God.  He feels as though they are failing in battle because God is not near to them.  However, the psalmist reminds us that when we are invited to the side of the Lord we have His banner to run to for protection.  It is at the Lord’s invitation that we find salvation.  It is the Lord’s invitation that brings us into His fortified city.  It is the Lord’s invitation that allows us to fight valiantly for Him as He provides the means to tread down our foes.

Psalm 61 is far more straightforward with the invitation.  It is the Lord who leads us to the rock that is higher than I.  It is the Lord who invites us to dwell in His tent forever.  It is at His invitation that we realize that He has indeed heard our cries and answered them.

Invitation is always a great place to return in our journey of faith.  It is at the invitation of the Lord that we have anything good.  It is at the invitation of the Lord that we can be saved.  It is at the invitation of the Lord that we can have the promise of eternal life.  It all begins with Him, and without His invitation we find ourselves mired in the ways of this world as the psalmist does in Psalm 60.

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Year 5, Day 204: Psalm 59

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Appetite

• Appetite: We all have needs that need to be filled.  When we allow ourselves to be filled with the people and things that God brings into our life, we will be satisfied because our In will be in proper focus.  But when we try to fill ourselves with our own desires we end up frustrated by an insatiable hunger.

I’m going to go a bit on the symbolic route today, but I think that this is a good day to talk about human lust.  I don’t mean sexual lust.  I mean the lust that is within our own hearts.  I mean that we should talk about how we as human beings will often move heaven and earth to accomplish what our heart truly desires.  That’s lust.  It comes out of the appetite of our hearts.

Symbolically, the psalmist gets this concept.  Look at what he says.  There are people who are wandering around the world looking for him so that they can take care of him and report back to Saul for their reward.  How does the psalmist describe them?  They are like dogs, howling in the night, looking for food, and growling when they don’t get their fill.  The psalmist understands this concept.  When people are living out of the lusts of their heart, human beings become like animals who are hungrily pursuing the prey out of the hunger in our being.

The appetite – that is, lust – of humanity blinds us to community.  When our appetite takes over, we stop thinking about others.  When our appetite takes over we stop being concerned about community and how our actions will impact the people around us.  When our appetite takes over we stop considering whether or not our actions are in line with godliness or actually working against God’s plan for us.  That’s what David ultimately critiques about the people who are seeking him out.  They are more concerned about fulfilling their role in Saul’s kingdom and receiving their reward than they are concerned about fulfilling their role in God’s kingdom.  That’s the danger of appetite.

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Year 5, Day 203: Psalm 58

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: King

• King: This is the pinnacle of the Kingdom Triangle.  When we look towards God’s position in the universe, we acknowledge that He is an omnipotent king.  Authority comes from Him.  Power comes through His authority.  He is looking for representatives for His kingdom.

As I say in my theological commentary form 3 years ago, Psalm 58 is a great psalm to follow Psalm 57.  Much of the themes are the same.  Humanity is corrupt.  Humanity is self-centered – from birth, even!  Humanity looks out for itself first and foremost and is willing to step over and on each other to get above the next person.  But I believe I hit that nail pretty hard yesterday.

So where does the psalmist go after making this point again?  The psalmist turns to praising God.  The psalmist turns and recognizes God’s superiority.  The psalmist reminds us that in the end, we will glory in His righteous judgment.  In the end, we will recognize that God is king.

This world may have many flaws.  Most of those flaws begin with human influences in the world.  But instead of being depressed by these flaws we can rejoice that God is king over all of this.  We might not be able to accomplish perfection – or even righteousness – in life.  But we can know God.  We can know His righteousness.  We can look forward to living with Him in His glory.  That’s why it is important to remember that He is King.

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Year 5, Day 202: Psalm 57

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Identity

• Identity: Our true identity comes from the Father.  Only when our identity comes from God can we be obedient in ways that satisfy our person to our core.

This psalm gives us an absolutely depressing perspective of humanity.  But it gives us a great opportunity to look at our identity.  We all have an innate human identity within us.  The question we each need to ask is whether that identity is as worth pursuing as the identity found in God the Father.

Look at how the humans around the psalmist are portrayed.  They trample upon the psalmist.  They are lions.  They are fiery beasts.  Our teeth are spears and arrows.  Our tongues are like sharp swords.  We set nets for one another.  We force one another’s souls to bow down.  We dig pits for one another and wait for them to fall into it.  Yes, this is the psalmists perspective on humanity.  Sounds like a bleak perspective to me.

Hopefully we aren’t following this identity all the time!  But I think if we are honest, most of us have had times in our life where each of these comments apply.  Each of us have had moments where we’ve actively sought – or at least wished for – the downfall of another person.  What is our identity?  Our natural identity is self-serving.  We want what is best for us and if we aren’t careful we’re ready to step over or on other people to get it.

On the other hand, we can see the true identity of God the Father.  As we’ve heard often in the psalms, God is a protector.  He is a redeemer.  He is capable of watching over us and leading us in a good direction.

He is worthy of praise because His character is genuine and good.  When our identity comes from Him, we are going to know a different life than our natural human identity.

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Year 5, Day 201: Psalm 56

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Protection

• Protection: In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus teaches us to pray that God might deliver us from evil – even the Evil One.  Sometimes we need God’s protection from the sin around us.  Sometimes we need protection from the sinful people around us.  Other times we need protection from the sin that lies within ourselves. In any case, Jesus’ point is clear.  We need protection from the Father to make it through each and every day.

Psalm 56 is clearly a psalm of protection.  But there is something that we should take note of before returning to this familiar theme for the psalms.  Notice that the first half of the psalm is actually confession.  

The psalmist begins by confessing fear.  He is afraid when people surround him.  He is afraid when people come to thwart him – or worse – to take his life!  He is afraid when the life that he knows is suddenly in jeopardy.  The psalmist needs to confess fear first.

However, then the psalmist takes us down to a deeper level in Psalm 56:3-4.  He has to confess what his fear really means.  He has to ask why he is even afraid.  After all, if we place our life in God’s hands, what reason do we have to fear?  No, the psalmist knows what we all should know.  Fear is the time in our life when we reach back into God’s hands and try to wrestle control of our life back from God.  We fear when we don’t really trust God as much as we should trust Him with our life.  We fear when our circumstances around us are so potent that we are no longer certain of God’s ability to save us.  That’s the heart and the root of fear.  The psalmist has to confess that.  The psalmist has to ask himself why it is that he is afraid.

One the psalmist puts that behind him, notice that he is now primed and ready to look forward onto the protection of God.  Once the psalmist can move past his fear and the root of his fear, he can once again focus on God’s ability to sustain his life.  God is truly a God of our protection.  He can and does save us.  He is worthy of placing our life in His hands.  He has kept us.  We should praise His name.

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Year 5, Day 200: Psalm 55

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Character

• Character: Having the interior life that is necessary to support the work that God sets before a person.  It is hearing from God and obeying.  It is doing the right thing when nobody is looking.

Psalm 200 is an incredible psalm upon which we can throw the lens of character.  Take a look at what is happening in this passage.  The psalmist is realizing that the people around him that he thought were friends are actually turning on him.  They speak smooth words, but they have hatred in their hearts.  And the psalmist can feel the noose slipping in around him.  You can almost hear the panic in his voice through the middle portion of the psalm.  So how does this point us to character?  Well, there are two angles about which we can talk about human character and one angle to take on godly character.

Let’s look first at the antagonists.  They speak smooth words, but hatred is in their hearts.  They lie with their mouths.  They are disingenuous.  They are putting up a façade.  They have no character.  They hide and plot and scheme in the shadows.  They deceive people in order to get their way.  Their character is evident, and it isn’t good.  It has become all too clear what they do when nobody is looking.

On the other hand, let’s look at the character of the psalmist.  What does the psalmist do?  Does the psalmist join the battle and duke it out with them?  Does the psalmist slander them in return?  Does the psalmist plot against them as they have plotted against the psalmist?  No.  The psalmist turns to the Lord and asks the Lord to handle it in His righteousness.  The psalmist does not take vengeance into his own hands.  The psalmist puts his trust and faith in the Lord.  Now that’s character.

And what of the character of God?  As we would expect, God is painted in this psalm as a protector.  He is painted as one who is righteous.  he is painted as the ultimate victor who ahs the last say.  This is the character of God.  In Him we can readily place our trust.

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Year 5, Day 199: Psalm 54

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Protection

• Protection: In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus teaches us to pray that God might deliver us from evil – even the Evil One.  Sometimes we need God’s protection from the sin around us.  Sometimes we need protection from the sinful people around us.  Other times we need protection from the sin that lies within ourselves. In any case, Jesus’ point is clear.  We need protection from the Father to make it through each and every day.

This is a pretty straight forward protection psalm.  David is in trouble.  Enemies have risen up as the look for him in order that they might do away with him.  He feels the noose slipping around his neck and is not sure how to get out of it.

What is neat about the protection psalms is that they give us a clear example of what to do.  When David feels threatened, he turns to the Lord.  When David’s future looks uncertain, he talks to His God and sings the praises of God.  When David realizes that his salvation might be out of his own grasp, he turns to God and knows that salvation most certainly is still within the grasp of His Lord.

That’s really what makes the Lord such a good and faithful protector.  Who can wrestle our salvation out of the hand of the Lord?  Who can uphold our life any better than God?  Who else can promise us the ability to live forever with Him and actually deliver upon that very promise?  God is our protector indeed, a very present help in the time of trouble.

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Year 5, Day 198: Psalm 53

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Forgiveness

• Forgiveness: Forgiveness is when our sins are absolved by God.  We do not deserve this forgiveness, but God grants it to us anyway.  We cannot earn forgiveness, but God gives it to us anyway.  As we are forgiven by God, He also asks us to forgive others.  In fact, Jesus Himself teaches us to pray for our forgiveness in the Lord’s Prayer when He says, “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”

Psalm 53 is a great psalm for people like me.  Talk about blunt!  The psalmist doesn’t mince words and he certainly tells it like it is.  “God looks down from heaven on the children of man to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God.”  That sounds like a good thing, right?

But look at the conclusion that the psalmist reaches in the very next verse.  They have fallen away; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one.”  Ouch.  That pretty much lays out the human condition right there, doesn’t it?

Think you are good?  What does Psalm 53:3 tell you?  Think that person in your life that you love or admire or look up to is good?  What does Psalm 53:3 say about that?

To be fair, we do need to temper this verse.  There is no good in us by our nature.  That’s the point of the psalm.  But when God is in us and working through us, then good can be found.  So on those days that you are in fact good, it is because God is at work within you.  Those people that you look up to, admire, or love are only good when God is at work through them.  Therefore we can be an example of good in our actions and words, but only because of God’s hand within us.

How is all of this possible?  That’s where forgiveness comes in to play.  God looked down from heaven and saw that not one of us was good.  However, He still sent His Son.  He still wanted relationship with us.  He still desires us to come to Him, know His ways, and be like Him.  That’s all possible because He forgives.

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Year 5, Day 197: Psalm 52

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Ambition

• Ambition: We all need a goal to which we can strive.  When our ambition comes from God, we find fulfillment in our obedience into that for which we have been equipped because our Out is in proper focus.  But when our ambition comes from ourselves, we find ourselves chasing after our own dreams and trying to find fulfillment in accomplishments of our own making.

This psalm is prefaced with the notation that it was written by David at the time when Doeg the Edomite had reported his whereabouts back to Saul.  The first half of the psalm is a reaction to this fact.  David is wondering where Doeg’s motivation comes.

David wonders why it is that Doeg is so bent on plotting evil.  Why is Doeg so intent on working to ruin David’s life?  Why does Doeg desire to devour the life that God has given to him?

I believe the answer to this question is rooted in the idea of ambition.  Saul wants to find out where David is so that he can come and confront him.  Doeg knows that if he finds David and reports back to Saul, then he will rise in Saul’s standing.  Since Saul is the king of Israel at the time of this psalm, that means that Doeg will rise in importance within the kingdom.  That’s really what Doeg is after.  David simply is the avenue that Doeg is using to accomplish his own ambition.

This answers most of David’s question, by the way.  Why is Doeg so intent on evil?  He does evil because he wants to increase his status.  Why does Doeg want to devour David?  Doeg sees David as a means to an end.  Because his ambition is rooted in worldly values and worldly perception, Doeg is willing to use David’s life as a stepping stone for his own increase.  Doeg doesn’t care about God’s agenda and God’s ambition for Israel.  Doeg is simply thinking about himself and his own means to an end.

But David reminds us of an important truth as this psalm closes.  God cannot be fooled.  God will get the last say and the last word.  God will destroy the evil ones in this world.  Their ambition will not last.  In the end, we will know who was ambition in God’s ways and who was ambitious in their own desires.

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Year 5, Day 196: Psalm 51

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Evangelism, Forgiveness

• Forgiveness: Forgiveness is when our sins are absolved by God.  We do not deserve this forgiveness, but God grants it to us anyway.  We cannot earn forgiveness, but God gives it to us anyway.  As we are forgiven by God, He also asks us to forgive others.  In fact, Jesus Himself teaches us to pray for our forgiveness in the Lord’s Prayer when He says, “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”
• Evangelist: One who looks for opportunities to proclaim the truth and is excited by it. The evangelist specializes in interacting with the world and reminding Christians that there are non-Christians in the world.  An evangelist is not timid about the faith and is often found have discussions with other people about the faith.

Psalm 51 is one of my favorite psalms.  It has a very famous worship song that has its words taken directly out of the middle of this psalm.  Psalm 51:16-17 is incredibly inspirational for my own personal faith walk.  When you add to this that the psalm is written by David as he is in the midst of the turmoil following the Bathsheba incident the psalm takes on a whole new meaning.

This is why this psalm has such an overtone of forgiveness.  David has just had a man killed.  He took his wife – and added her to his growing harem.  And then Nathan catches him and brings God’s judgment upon him.

We know that David is a man after God’s own heart.  we know this because of what David says here in this psalm.  He is humble.  He confesses his mistake.  He comes before God and asks for forgiveness.  His heart is contrite.  God forgives.  As egregious as David’s sin was, God forgives!  That is the nature of God.  He knows we will fail Him and we will choose horribly in some seasons of our life.  But He is a forgiving God!  As David says in this psalm, “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.”

But what I really love about this psalm is that it inherently connects the concepts of forgiveness and evangelism.  David tells God that when he has been forgiven that he will tell the nations about what God has done.  What an incredible revelation!  Our sinfulness can speak volumes into the lives of others with respect to God’s love.  After all, if God can forgive me in my sin, then certainly He can forgive you in your sin!  When we are forgiven, we should inherently desire to sing the praise of the one who forgave us – especially God!  Forgiveness should lead into evangelism!

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Year 5, Day 195: Psalm 50

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: King

• King: This is the pinnacle of the Kingdom Triangle.  When we look towards God’s position in the universe, we acknowledge that He is an omnipotent king.  Authority comes from Him.  Power comes through His authority.  He is looking for representatives for His kingdom.

This psalm opens with a great statement of God’s omnipotence.  He is clearly king.  He comes.  He judges.  He does not have to tell us His secrets – like when He is hungry.  He is the one who controls the movements of heaven.  He is the one who can testify against us.  He is the one who does not have to accept our sacrifices.  This is God.  He is omnipotent.  He doesn’t need us to validate Him.

On the other hand, we also see a picture of us in contrast. What right do any of us have to what He offers to us?  We hate discipline.  We put God’s Word aside so that we can do what pleases us.  We enjoy the downfall of others.

Do you see the contrast between these two paragraphs?  This is why God is king and we are not.  This is why we should humble ourselves to Him and submit to Him.  He is the only one who can righteously sit in judgment over us.  He is the only one who truly knows what we need.  He is God.  He is king.  We are not.

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Year 5, Day 194: Psalm 49

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Ambition, Appetite

• Appetite: We all have needs that need to be filled.  When we allow ourselves to be filled with the people and things that God brings into our life, we will be satisfied because our In will be in proper focus.  But when we try to fill ourselves with our own desires we end up frustrated by an insatiable hunger.
• Ambition: We all need a goal to which we can strive.  When our ambition comes from God, we find fulfillment in our obedience into that for which we have been equipped because our Out is in proper focus.  But when our ambition comes from ourselves, we find ourselves chasing after our own dreams and trying to find fulfillment in accomplishments of our own making.

Psalm 49 is inherently a psalm of subtle mourning.  There are two things towards which the psalmist points us when he looks toward humanity and its perspective on life: wealth and legacy.  Neither of which will last forever, certainly not beyond the grave.

The primary focus of this psalm is about the futility of chasing after money.  Almost every human who has ever lived has felt that pull.  We all wish we had a little more to spend.  We all wish that we had more influence.  We just want the next threshold until we make it, and then we want the next one.  If we aren’t careful, our human existence is all about our appetite and our pursuit of wealth.  But the psalmist has it right.  Don’t fear when a person becomes rich, because he can’t take it with him.  when we die, how much money we have access to will have no impact upon our eternal standing with God.

The question that remains, then, is what is worth thirsting after that will last beyond the grave?  Find that answer and then pursue it with all your heart!

The psalmist also talks about reputation and station within this psalm.  He speaks about people who have enough land or influence so that a place is named after them or in their memory.  Many of us have the ambition of legacy.  Many of us want to be remembered into eternity because of our greatness in thought.  But what’s the point of that?  Can even our legacy extend beyond the grave?  Will our human fame influence God’s judgment over our life?

Again, the question of ambition remains.  What is worth pursuing that will last beyond the grave?  Discover that answer and you will truly have an ambition worth pursuing!

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Year 5, Day 193: Psalm 48

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Abide

• Abide: This is a moment, day, or even a season when we focus on God.  It is a time when we are rejuvenated by God.  It is the time for us to gather up what we will need for the coming growth after a season of pruning.  However, abiding is not the end.  We abide so that we can grow, bear fruit, prune, and abide again.

Notice how this psalm begins.  “Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised!”  This psalm is absolutely focused on the greatness of God.  This psalm is rooted in God’s glory.

Then the psalm goes on to talk about how people interact with the greatness of God.  Kings assemble and are amazed at what God has brought to Jerusalem.  Enemies of God come against Him and they are defeated soundly.  Jerusalem is a sound and safe city with towers and defenses because God is great.  God is not great because these things happened.  These things happened because God is great.

This leads me to think about abiding as we look at this psalm.  Things become great because of God.  God’s presence inherently improves something.  We don’t affect God, He affects us!  This is why abiding is important.  When we abide, we are taking time to just be in the presence of God.  That is when we focus on being with God.  And when God is with us, that is when we are improved upon!  As we focus on God and are rejuvenated by abiding in His presence, we naturally become better because of His presence.

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Year 5, Day 192: Psalm 46-47

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: King

• King: This is the pinnacle of the Kingdom Triangle.  When we look towards God’s position in the universe, we acknowledge that He is an omnipotent king.  Authority comes from Him.  Power comes through His authority.  He is looking for representatives for His kingdom.

Today we have two psalms that really speak to the nature of God as king.  In Psalm 46, we hear about the king who is able to protect us.  We hear about the king who is able to speak and have the earth obey Him.  We hear about the king that outlasts the human kings of this world and their schemes.  This is the nature of God.  He is forever.  He always will be.  No matter what the people around us plan and scheme, God will outlast them.  Given that perspective, what is better: serving the king who will be around forever or some human agenda that will run its course and then end?

In Psalm 47 we also hear about God as King, but this psalm is from a different perspective.  Here we listen about the greatness of God and why it should lead to our praise of His name.  We hear the psalmist praising God’s kingship because He uprooted the Canaanites and gave their land to the Hebrew people.  If God is king, then we should trust in His ability to provide what we truly need.  He need not provide every desire of our heart, of course.  But He will provide our needs.  And as we hear about in this psalm, when the Lord does provide because He is king then we should give praise to His name.

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Year 5, Day 191: Psalm 45

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Up

• Up: Up is the word we use for what we worship.  If we are following God’s will, God will occupy the Up position.  Our life, our identity, our mission, our family on mission is all derived from Up.  This is why God needs to be in our Up position.

However, notice the structure of the psalm.  The first set of verses begins with the king.  The psalmist praises the king and his character.  The last set of verses ends with the queen.  The psalmist exhorts her to be the bride and mother that her family will need.  But the middle verses – the verses that bind together the verses about the king and queen – are about God.  The middle of this wedding psalm is focused on God.

That’s really how it should be.  God should be the center of our life.  That’s why we place God in our Up position.  He is the focus of our worship.  But if He is the center of our life, then He should also be the center of every activity.  Chief among these would be marriage!  God should be the center of marriage.  He should be that which binds and holds a man together with His wife.

If God is the center, then it will have meaning.  If God is not the center, then why do it?  The same is true about a marriage.  If God is at the center of the marriage and the point of the marriage, then it will have meaning.  But if God is not at the center of marriage, then its meaning will always be transient and in question.  The psalmist knows this idea.  Even our marriages should call upon the worship of God as He binds us together.

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Year 5, Day 190: Psalm 44

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: King

• King: This is the pinnacle of the Kingdom Triangle.  When we look towards God’s position in the universe, we acknowledge that He is an omnipotent king.  Authority comes from Him.  Power comes through His authority.  He is looking for representatives for His kingdom.

God is indeed King of the universe.  We can say that confess with incredible boldness because we logically believe it to be true.  But as I seem to be saying a lot in these past few days, there is a difference between saying it with our logic and living it out.

Let’s look at Psalm 44 as a test case for this idea.  The psalm begins with the psalmist confessing the works of the Lord.  He speaks about how he has heard the mighty hand of God as he brought the Hebrew people forth out of Egypt and planted them in the Promised Land.  He’s heard about how he uprooted the native Canaanites.  He can confess the great stories from the past that he’s heard about all of his life.  Logically, he knows about the power that the king of the universe commands over creation.

However, as we get into the second half of the psalm we hear the psalmist turning to his own life and his own experience.  The psalmist is in a time of turmoil and trouble.  He’s in a time where life isn’t so great.  He feels like the king of the universe has abandoned him because he’s experiencing some hardship.  It’s a natural place to be.  Haven’t we all been there?  Haven’t we all stopped once and a while and asked God where He is because He seems far off?

That’s what Psalm 44 is all about.  But the reality is that just because God seems far off doesn’t mean that He is.  Just because things might seem hard and difficult doesn’t mean that the King of the universe has abandoned us.  God is indeed King of the universe.  He can bless us with good times and He can carry us through bad times.  Just because we don’t always live a happy life that goes in a good direction doesn’t change who God is.  Nor does it change God’s proximity to us.  He is always king.

Our problem is living that out.  As the psalmist is describing here in this psalm, it is easy to know and confess God’s greatness while being hard to live it out on a day to day basis.  He is always king.  We need to live in ways that reflect this reality more.

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Year 5, Day 189: Psalm 43

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Protection

• Protection: In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus teaches us to pray that God might deliver us from evil – even the Evil One.  Sometimes we need God’s protection from the sin around us.  Sometimes we need protection from the sinful people around us.  Other times we need protection from the sin that lies within ourselves. In any case, Jesus’ point is clear.  We need protection from the Father to make it through each and every day.

We can see that Psalm 43 is a natural extension of Psalm 42, which is one of the reasons that some Bibles – especially Jewish Old Testaments – place it as a part of Psalm 42.  The context is similar.  We even have the repeated chorus that expresses the battle between human reason and the soul.

As we look at this psalm, we hear the continued plea of the psalmist.  However in this portion of the psalm we hear more than just the internal struggle between knowing that we are with God and actually living as though God is protecting us.  Here we can hear the psalmist call out for protection and vindication.  Here we listen as the psalmist attempts to rouse God.  Here we can take note that the psalmist calls God his defender.

We do ask God to defend us from the unrighteous.  However, we also have to understand that if we ask God to defend us, that He will defend us in a way and timing of His choosing.  For the record, His way and His timing are always best.  But this is an important lesson to learn.  If God is our defender, we need to let Him be our defender and in His wisdom choose the means with which to accomplish our defense.  While we might want quick and harsh judgment that metes out God’s wrath, God may want to go about our defense a different way.

But He is still our defender and our protector.  And we are still His people.  Thanks be to God.

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Year 5, Day 188: Psalm 42

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Protection

• Protection: In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus teaches us to pray that God might deliver us from evil – even the Evil One.  Sometimes we need God’s protection from the sin around us.  Sometimes we need protection from the sinful people around us.  Other times we need protection from the sin that lies within ourselves. In any case, Jesus’ point is clear.  We need protection from the Father to make it through each and every day.

This is a very interesting psalm to view through the lens of protection.  Clearly this psalm was written in the midst of a bad time in the author’s life.  In fact, what makes this psalm interesting is that the author seems to be having difficulty focusing on the positive.  The author seems to be having difficulty seeing the silver lining.  The author seems to be having difficulty seeing a point in the future where life is enjoyable again.

We can tell this by the repeated refrain spoken with the psalm.  Why are you downcast, oh my soul?  Why are you in turmoil within me?

The author recognizes that his spirit is having difficulty.  What is interesting is that this psalm reads as an internal debate between one’s spirit and one’s reason.  Logically, the author knows to trust in the Lord.  Logically, the author knows that the Lord is capable of protecting us from our enemies.  Logically, the author knows that there is no reason to be downcast.  This is why the author asks himself, “Why are you downcast, oh my soul?”

However, spiritually and emotionally the author cannot help but look around him.  He cannot help but see his enemies around him.  He cannot help but see how they plot and scheme against him and look for his destruction.  He cannot remember the tears shed so often that they have seemed like his food.  His soul cannot help but ask God why God has abandoned him.

This is a profound psalm.  It lifts up the idea that the Lord is indeed our protection.  However, there is a difference between logically knowing that the Lord is our protection and genuinely living as though we believe it.  Anyone can know this fact logically.  All who know God should know this fact logically.  But it is difficult in the midst of turmoil to live as though God is our protection.

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Year 5, Day 187: Psalm 41

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Provision

• Provision: God gives us what we truly need.  God knows our needs better than we can know them.  We learn to trust God to provide for us.

As we turn back to the Old Testament and the psalms, I’m going to stick with the topic of provision.  It is a natural topic in the psalms, and it makes for a very good tie between the Old Testament and the New Testament.  Yesterday we heard Paul praising the provision of the Lord for protecting him and providing for him even when things are bleak.  Today we hear the psalmist essentially giving us the exact same message!

Look at all the things to which David ascribes as provision form the Lord.  The Lord provides forgiveness when David repents.  The Lord provides protection and security when people come up against him and either slander his name or even try to do away with him!  The Lord provides grace even when close friends betray David.  The Lord provides His presence when we are in most need.

However, I skipped over an essential point in the very beginning of the psalm.  From a human perspective, we would assume that God would protect the king of the land.  After all, that’s what gods of human origin do.  They protect and prosper those who are most likely to give back to them lavishly.  Gods of human origin naturally look out for the most prosperous because of what they can get out of the exchange. 

But not so with the one true God.  Our God watches over the poor.  Our God watches over those who from the perspective of this world can offer Him nothing in return.  This is because our God is a true God and does not reflect the human agenda.  Our God is not caught up in the things of this world but rather He is caught up in righteousness and grace and glory.  That is our God.  God provides even for the lowest among us.

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Year 5, Day 186: Philippians 4

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Provision

• Provision: God gives us what we truly need.  God knows our needs better than we can know them.  We learn to trust God to provide for us.

Philippians 4 gives us several really good perspectives on God’s provision in our life.  Of course, the first perspective on provision is the simplest to understand: the things we need in our life.  In Philippians 4 we hear Paul talk about how God has used the Philippians community to meet his needs.  He says that he has no need because they are so willing to partner with God and accomplish His will.  So we see that God does indeed meet our physical needs and He is often willing to use one another to do so.

However, there is more than just physical provision that God supplies.  God provides us with the ability to dismiss anxiety from our life.  He has provided us with an ability to communicate with Him through prayers and supplications.  God provides a peace in our life that surpasses understanding.  I can honestly write this paragraph thinking of times in my life where I should have been anxious and filled with anything but peace – yet God provided an inexplicable peace in my life.

Much like Paul, I feel the need to end by praising God’s name.  He is the author of life.  He is the author of all that is good.  He is the author of the inexplicable moments that defy human reason but are a part of our experience anyways.  May His name be praised forever.

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