Year 8, Day 243: Psalms 113-114

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Psalm 113 asks a brilliant question.  Who is like the Lord?  Naturally, we hear this question and see it as a pretty obvious one.  After all, He is the creator.  He is eternal.  He knows all.  From that perspective, who is like Him indeed.

However, I think there is a more profound angle to this question.  We can see this angle by reading the psalm rather than bringing our own thoughts to the psalm.  What is the evidence that the psalmist gives for the Lord’s uniqueness?  The Lord raises up the poor from the dust.  The Lord lifts up the needy out of the ashes.  The Lord makes the barren into the mother of children.  What makes the Lord unique is that he finds value in the people in the world who seem valueless.  Who is like the Lord, indeed!

Psalm 114 brings us back to being in awe of the Lord because of His awesome power.  This psalm reminds us of the true impressive power of the Lord through the story of the exodus.  The Lord brought His people out of bondage in Egypt.  In doing so, the Lord did many powerful things.  He planted the people in a land that was not theirs.  He forced the sea apart.  He brought water out of a rock.  He did other things that the psalm doesn’t talk about.

This is an important point to remember.  Psalm 113 reminds us that God is impressive because of His perspective: He cares about those the world does not.  Psalm 114 reminds us that God is impressive because of His power: He can do things the rest of us can’t.  Who can bring water out of a rock except a God who knows the secrets of the universe?

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Year 8, Day 242: Psalms 112

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Psalm 112 speaks about the righteous and the benefits of being righteous.  There is something that is important to get right above all else.  It is the man who fears the Lord who will be blessed.  It is possible to extrapolate, then, that the one who fears the Lord is the righteous one.  In other words, when we live through fear of the Lord – respecting His ways -we are righteous.

So, what are the benefits of living a life in the fear of the Lord?  The generations of the upright will be blessed.  In other words, the people will have a bright future.  That’s pretty clear.  Righteousness breeds hope.  Righteous breeds a community that has a future together.

There are other deep benefits.  Living a life of being upright means living in the light.  This means learning to be gracious and merciful.  Living through a fear of the Lord makes us people who are good community members – even mentors.  We are filled with grace and mercy towards one another.

The righteous also lives in companionship with the Lord.  They are not afraid of bad news.  They are firm and steady, as unshakable as the Lord in whom they are in awe.  They live in confidence, knowing that the Lord is with them.

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Year 8, Day 241: Psalms 110-111

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Psalm 110 is a psalm that speaks of the order of Melchizedek.  This is an odd term, reaching the whole way back to Genesis 14:18.  In that passage, we meet the king of Salem, the town that under David would become Jerusalem.  In Genesis, we see that the king of Salem is actually a priest of God.  This is a cool connection.  It tells us that the king of Jerusalem can also be a high priest outside of the genealogy of Aaron.

Naturally, this history points us to Christ.  He is of the genealogy of David, not Aaron.  But, as king in the line of David, he is a high priest.  Jesus is both our king and our high priest.  We don’t need a human representative; He does it all for us.

We also know that this psalm is pointing us to Jesus because of the future tone of the words.  In the day of wrath, He will rule.  He will execute judgment on the nations.  He will fill the nations with corpses and overthrow their chiefs.  Jesus will rule in the end, and His rule will be complete.

Turning to Psalm 111, we see a psalm that seems in line with Psalm 110 but pointing in an opposite direction.  Certainly, the focus is still on the greatness of God and His ability to rule.  In this psalm, though, we see a focus on God’s splendor, glory, and salvation.

The psalmist reminds us that the Lord is merciful.  He is gracious.  He is marvelous.  He does provide for us.  He is faithful.  He is trustworthy.  He is just.  He redeems us.  He upholds His own covenant.

All of this being said, I love where this psalm ends.  The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.  Look at all that God can do.  Look at what He does for all of us.  What about Him does not cause us to be in awe of Him?

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Year 8, Day 240: Psalm 109

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Upon reading this psalm, I felt a great wrestle within me.  I don’t really care for it.  I know it is a part of God’s Word and therefore it should be respected as such.  Yet at the same time I am not sure how I feel about an author of God’s Word actively calling upon God’s wrath against His opponents.

Don’t get me wrong.  I understand the human emotion.  There is a lesson to be learned here.  David gets it.  God gets it.  Sometimes humans find themselves persecuted and we want those who persecute us to get what they deserve.  That’s human.  It’s part of who we are.

I also believe that God calls us above it.  God is a God of forgiveness.  God is a God of repentance.  He is a God of turning the other cheek.  He is a God of giving a second tunic the person who takes our first one.  God is grace, love, and mercy.  That’s God; that’s what makes Him different than us.

If there is any saving grace here, it is that the psalmist does call upon God to act and doesn’t take it upon himself.  While the psalmist does expose his darker inner being, at least he doesn’t act upon it.  He does call upon God to act, but He lets the action be up to God. It’s not, much, but it may also be the most important part.  We can’t help the humanity that we feel inside, but we can help how that humanity comes out.  Maybe the psalmist has it figured out after all.

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Year 8, Day 239: Psalm 108

Theological Commentary: Click Here

I believe that this psalm is two-fold. 

The vast majority of this psalm speaks about giving glory to God.  How many times in the opening verses do we hear about giving thanks to God, praising His name, exalting Him, and giving Him glory?  God is great; He deserves to have that remembered.

What truly strikes me about the bulk of this psalm is where God dwells.  Naturally, we think of God as dwelling in Shechem, Succoth, Ephraim, Gilead, Manasseh, and Judah.  Those are places where Hebrew people dwell, why shouldn’t they be where God dwells?  However, we also hear about Moab and Edom.  Those aren’t Hebrew lands, but they are lands that are settled by some of Abraham’s offspring through the likes of people such as Esau.  Even they make a bit of sense.  But then we hear about Philistia.  That is the place of the Philistines.  Those are people that God told the Hebrews to drive out.  They were opposed to God and rebelling against His ways.

What this reminds us is that God dwells everywhere.  This is His creation, He has a right to all of it.  Even the darkest places filled with the greatest of evil are places where the Lord has the right to tread.  God may not inspire the people who live there, He might not be pleased with the life of the people living there, and He might not even be welcome there.  Even so, the whole creation is still His.  That’s powerful to remember.

Finally, we end up at the last stanza of verses.  Here the psalmist turns the tone on its head.  We see the psalmist appear to ask where God is?  The psalmist wonders why the Lord can be everywhere yet not go out with the Hebrew people.

This is an important question to ask.  What does it mean when we don’t feel the blessing of His hand?  There are a couple of possible answers, but one thing that we can say is that when the blessing of the Lord is not felt something is wrong.  It could be that God’s people are doing something that the Lord hasn’t blessed.  It could be that the action is blessed but the people are doing something that is interfering with God’s blessing.  The important thing to understand is that the absence of feeling the blessing of God is an opportunity for us to examine the world around us.

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Year 8, Day 238: Psalm 107

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Psalm 107 is a marvelous psalm for study.  Naturally, it is another psalm of praise, lifting up the deliverance that we feel from the hand of God.  This psalm speaks to His greatness.  But as it speaks to the greatness of God, it weaves together multiple perspectives.

First, we can see the wanderers.  Whether these are people who chose to abandon their locale or forced into the wilderness we cannot know.  What we do know is that God is the God of the wanderer.  He hears their cry and brings them home.

Second, we see those who sit in darkness.  These are prisoners.  These are people who are near death.  These are also people who have spent time in the past rejecting God’s words.  God is God of these people as well.  He may bend them to humble them, He still gives them an opportunity to be humbled!  He allows them to see the error of their ways and the circumstance of their affliction.  He allows them to rise above it if they will listen to Him.  He is their God as much as anyone else’s God.

We then hear about the fools.  These are people who thought they knew better than God.  They made choices that may have made human sense, but weren’t really all that great in the end.  God heals them.  He brings them out of the destruction that their foolishness brought upon them.

There are others who went out in the world to focus on business and entrepreneurial efforts.  As they focused on their pursuits, they also found themselves in trouble.  Those who see the hand of the Lord at work turn and find salvation.  He calms the turbulent world of worry and risk around us.

God works miracles.  He will come to us in our time of trouble.  He will even save us from our own trouble if we are willing to be humbled and turn to Him and His wisdom.  God does not demand perfection from us.  God merely desires that we follow Him and humbly repent when we find ourselves walking away from Him.

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Year 8, Day 237: Psalm 106

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Psalm 106 is a remembrance psalm.  The psalm primarily recounts the Exodus story, although it does look further into history to Abraham and a little more recently into the rebellion of the people.  In this light, the psalm certainly seems to be about causing the reader to remember what the Lord has done and what the Lord is capable of doing.

How many times did the people rebel?  How many times did the Lord save them?  He saved them from the famine by bringing them to Egypt.  He saved them from Pharaoh by bringing them out.  He saved them from famine in the wilderness.  He saved them from thirst.  He brought them into the Promised Land.  They continuously rebelled, but the Lord continuously saved them.  That’s what the Lord does.

What is significant is why the Lord saves them.  The psalm tells us, if ever so briefly.  The saves for His name’s sake.  He saves them so His power might be made known.  He saves them not because they are worthy, not because they are better, and certainly not because they ask.  He save them because of who He is and because the world deserves to know it and see it.  He saves them as a witness to Himself.

Through His salvation, He shows His love.  He reveals His blessing to us.  He remembers His covenant to us.  In response we give Him our praise.

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Year 8, Day 236: Psalm 105

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Psalm 106 is a psalm of remembrance.  Its purpose is to remind God’s people of their past.  God provided for His people.  He gave them a home in a time of famine.  He brought them out of Egypt when the time was right.  He gave them a land as inheritance.  God is a God of provision.  He cares for us.  If Go can care for an entire nation in bondage and then in the wilderness, He can care for a nation in any time.

This psalm is also a psalm of praise.  There is a clear declaration in this psalm.  God deserves the glory.  God deserves the praise.  He is the one who works.  He is the one with foresight.  He is the mover and shaker in the world. He is the one who is capable of providing for us.  God should be the focus of our praise.

This psalm is also a teaching psalm.  In each phase of God’s work, do you see the leadership that God raises up?  God starts with Abraham and Jacob.  Then We hear about Joseph.  Then we hear about Moses and Aaron.  We don’t hear about Joshua, but we certainly hear about the Lord’s work through Him.  God teaches us that He will raise up leaders in the times of His working.  He won’t abandon us, He will lead us and give us people to point to His leadership!

Why shouldn’t we praise the Lord?  He does everything for us.  He provides.  He leads.  He knows our needs.  He supports us.  He gives us something to follow.

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Year 8, Day 235: Psalm 104

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Psalm 104 is a fascinating psalm f praise.  The reason that I find it fascinating is because it points to one of the underlying reasons to trust God.  This psalm is about His ability to provide.  It is one thin to create.  It is another to sustain what one has created.  God can do both.

Let’s start with creation.  How many times does the psalm speak about the rain coming to sustain the plants?  How many times does the psalm speak about the plants satisfying the animals for food and shelter?  The psalm speaks about the rain nourishing the animals within creation, too.  God can provide for our most basic needs.

God does more than that, though.  This psalm speaks about God nourishing the crops so that human beings can cultivate it.  God cares about more than our most basic needs.  He cares about our mental health, too.  He allows us to have work.  He allows us to fill our days with purpose.  He cares about our physical and mental needs.

The psalm goes a bit deeper than this, actually.  God also put the moon above to mark the seasons.  In fact, He even gave the planet seasons so that we could learn to cycle life.  He wants us to understand seasons for resting, for planting, for tending, and for harvesting.  He knows that we have the psychological need to seasons and cycles in life.

Indeed!  How manifold are God’s works.  Look at the depth of His plans.  Look at the many levels that God comes to us and provides.  He is the answer to every need we have.

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Year 8, Day 234: Psalm 103

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I love psalms like this one.  It is far more easy for me to talk about psalms focusing on the character and nature of God than it is on a human psalmist and their need for God’s intervention.  Both psalm types are valid, one is easier for me to approach.

The psalm repeats the phrase, “Bless the Lord, oh my soul.”  I  find a few things interesting about this.  The human soul is the part of humanity that comes from God.  The soul is that which separates us from the animals.  All creation has biology.  All creation even has life.  But only human beings have a soul.  The psalmist is reminding us that we should take the part of us that is directly connected to God and use that as the basis for our giving Him praise.

Why are we to look to the Lord with blessing?  First, He is gracious to us.  He bestows us with favor.  He looks upon us and treats us differently than we deserve.  He heals our past.  He forgives our transgressions.  He is gracious; He deserves our blessing.

Why else should we bless Him?  We bless Him because He is eternal.   He goes from age to age.  He always was, is, and will be.  He transcends time.  In that respect He is so utterly unlike us that we should bless Him.

There is a third reason.  He is in charge.  He rules over creation.  Naturally, creation is His to make so it is also His to rule.  But He also rules over the heavens.  He rules over the angels.  His dominion is both creation and heaven.  He is the omnipotent one.  Both worlds submit to His will.

We bless Him because He is so utterly unlike us that He is deserving of that blessing.  We bless Him because of who He is.  We bless Him because of what He does.

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Year 8, Day 233: Psalm 102

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There’s a neat thought that comes out of this psalm.  The Lord created this world – the earth and all that is in it – and He will outlast it.  The earth’s foundations will crumble, and the Lord will remain.  The earth will wear out like a garment, but the Lord is eternal.

In fact, the Lord is consistent!  He never changes.  He loves truth; He always will!  He loves justice; that won’t change.  He desires to be in relationship in us.  He wants to be in relationship with all of us.

It is this relationship that is a foundation for the first part of the psalm.  The psalmist is under persecution.  His life feels as though it is slipping away before its time.  The psalmist’s enemies taunt him.  He feels rejected and cast off by God.

However, the psalmist does not give up hope.  If the psalmist truly gave up hope, why write a psalm?  The psalm’s existence is proof that the psalmist continues to believe that God can save him.  The psalm’s existence is proof of the relationship that exists and continues to exist.

This is a great moment for understanding.  The psalmist feels rejection and abandonment.  Yet, the psalmist is not willing to give up.  The psalmist knows that the salvation of the Lord is bigger than any rejection He might feel.  He knows that God will be roused.

In fact, the psalmist wants this psalm to be a record.  He wants the generations that follow Him to know what He is feeling and to know that there is still hope.  It doesn’t matter what persecution we may feel, God can still be there for us.  He can be trusted.  He can be relied upon.  This is why we’ve come through so many psalms that praise His name!

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Year 8, Day 232: Psalm 100-101

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It’s been a string of praise psalms for the last few days.  It’s been an incredible journey to remember that our hearts should be lifted up.  Why should our hearts be lifted up?  We are His people.  We are the sheep of His pasture.  We belong to God, and God is Lord over all.  That’s reason to give praise right there.

That being said, Psalm 101 brings us back to reality.  Do you hear the words of warning in this psalm?  The slanderer will be destroyed.  The haughty and the arrogant will not be tolerated.  No deceitful person will dwell with the Lord.  The liar will be a curse before God.

We have every reason to celebrate, but we also have every reason to stay alert.  Remember the lessons about cheap and costly grace from Dietrich Bonhoeffer.  Cheap grace tells us about God’s love but never encourages us to change.  It is costly grace – the kind of grace that God spent in coming to earth to die for us – that calls us to change and become more like Him.

Yes, God is love.  Yes, God calls to us and embraces us in relationship.  But in doing so, He asks us to pursue righteousness.  He wants us to live in the light of His truth.  He wants us to cast aside lies and deceit and slander.  He wants us to live like Him. 

We are to be joyful and give praise to God.  But it can’t stop there.  God’s love transforms us.  God’s love brings about change.  God’s love transforms us into beings that we cannot be without Him.

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Year 8, Day 231: Psalm 98-99

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Psalm 98 is another psalm of praise.  I love the imagery presented here.  We are supposed to shout.  That’s not quiet.  We are supposed to sing with the lyre (a type of guitar).  That’s not quiet, either.  We are to use trumpets and horns.  Those aren’t known for being quiet instruments, either.  What’s the point?  Praising God is part of our testimony!  Praising God is something that should help other people come into a closer relationship with God.  Our praise is something that should help people come to know God more deeply.

Psalm 99 brings us to the character or God.  He is righteous.  He loves justice.  He executes mercy as well as well as avenges wrong.  These are all typical statements when it comes to the nature of God.

When we probe into Psalm 99 a little more deeply, we note an unusual comment within.  Aaron and Moses and Samuel are mentioned.  The point of mentioning them?  They are God’s priests.  They talked to God and God answered them.  They were in relationship with this being who loves righteousness, justice, and mercy.

In a sense, we now come full circle with these two psalms.  We, like Moses and Aaron and Samuel, are priests of the most high God.  We, too, can know relationship.  We can call upon Him and He will know our voice and answer us.  We can count on His pursuit of grace, mercy, and justice.  This is why we have reason to praise Him.  This is why we have reason to give testimony to His name.

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Year 8, Day 230: Psalm 97

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This is a very stereotypical psalm.  The point of this psalm is to give praise and glory to God.  He is an amazing God.  He sits above the people.  He sits above the creation.  He is above it all.

His splendor is amazing!  He lights up the world.  Fire goes before Him, causing His enemies to be consumed.  The mountains melt before Him.  Nothing can stand in His presence; His splendor is that incredible!

There is more to this psalm that simply glorifying God.  Yes, that is of the utmost importance.  However, His splendor should go beyond this.  His splendor should evoke joy in us!  His majesty can enliven us and lift our hearts!  Why wouldn’t it?  The most splendid being in the entire universe – the creator of the whole universe – desires to be in relationship with us.  Why should that not bring joy to our hearts?

Our reaction should go beyond joy, though.  Our reaction should bring about a change in us.  The joy in our hearts should bring us to a place where we hate evil.  We should shun that which causes us to sin.

After all, light is sown for the righteous.  Joy is sown for the upright.  We should live with glad hearts.  We should live in joy.  We should rejoice, for He is a glorious God indeed!

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Year 8, Day 229: Psalm 96

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Psalm 96 picks up where Psalm 95 leaves off.  It is a psalm of exuberance.  It is a psalm of joy.  It is a celebration.  It is a psalm of recognizing the Lord’s greatness!

The Lord is a God of salvation!  He saves us.  He brings us out of our sin.  He redeems us.  He offers us a joy that we cannot earn on our own.  He is deserving of our praise.  He is the focus of our worship.

When we recognize this, we should go forth in testimony.  Our lives should proclaim this truth daily!  When people look into our being, they should see a reflection of the joy of the Lord.  They should see a celebration of the redemption that He offers us.  They should see the God that we know and with whom we are in relationship.

We cannot make other people believe, certainly.  We cannot force other people to know God’s salvation for themselves.  But we can reflect it into their life.  We can give witness to it.  We can spread the splendor and love and majesty of our God to those who are around us.  We can be a living testimony, a constant and ever-present banner of God’s love.

We can be, of course.  There is nothing stopping us.  If God is for us, who can prevent us from being that incredible testimony of the greatness of God and what He has done for us?

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Year 8, Day 228: Psalm 95

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Ever sit back and wonder about the glory of the Lord?  How magnificent is He?  Can our words even begin to describe His majesty?  Can our thoughts even begin to fathom His greatness?

Don’t get me wrong.  Just because we cannot fathom God doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t try.  Just because we cannot completely speak to God’s majesty doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try.  It does mean that we should do it humbly.  As we see in this psalm, we can give glory to God and sing of His incredibly majesty to the best of our ability.  He is a great God and evidence of His hands are everywhere.  Such a realization should bring great joy to us!

In this greater context, the psalmist reminds us of the evil generation.  These are the Hebrews who wandered the desert for 40 years.  These are the Hebrew people who saw the sea part, who saw the plagues in Egypt, who saw evidence of the presence of the Lord at Mt. Sinai.  These are the people who saw all of this and who failed to be moved.  The psalmist encourages us to not be like them.

Instead, rejoice!  Live in the majesty of our God!  Sing and dance as one who intimately knows the Lord!  Go forth and live as a testimony to God and to the world about His splendor and glory and grace and mercy and love and blessing!  He is our God.  He is our joy.

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Year 8, Day 227: Psalm 94

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At first, this psalm seems to be about vengeance.  To read the opening lines of this psalm is to strap oneself in for yet another psalm that seeks to bring God out of His complacency and into action against the enemies of the psalmist.  It feels like another, “I’m right, so avenge me, God” kind of psalm.

However, that isn’t really what’s going on.  That may be the context, but that isn’t the point of the psalm.  Yes, God rules over the world.  Yes, God can vindicate His people.  Yes, God can deliver the oppressed.

Look at the heart of the psalm, though.  Blessed is the one whom the Lord disciplines.  Blessed is the one to whom God points out their errors and encourages to go through the tough process of change.

When put that way, it doesn’t sound very blessed, does it?  Who likes reprimand?  Who likes correction?  Who likes to be told they’re wrong?  Who likes to have growth areas illustrated?  Growth, change, and reprimand is never fun.

On the other hand, who ever wants to be the same?  Does any of us really wish we had the same wisdom as when we were fourteen?  Would any of us like to go back to the maturity of a sixteen-year-old?  Would any of us like to go back to the lack of genuine confidence felt in one’s early twenties?  I’m sure ten or twenty years from now I’ll look back on myself and say that I’m glad I’m not the same person that I am now.  Life is about growth.  Life is about change.  Life is about bettering oneself and becoming a new person.

That’s why the discipline of the Lord is a blessing.  God causes us to growth and mature.  He causes us to change.  In Him we find our true rock and stronghold.  Yes, relationship with God is tough.  It’s difficult to look in the mirror and see flaws and faults.  But I’d rather look in the mirror and see the flaws and faults than to pretend they aren’t really there.

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Year 8, Day 226: Psalms 92-93

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The two psalms for today give three perspectives for reflection.  Take them in order of importance.  First, we have the perspective of God.  He reigns.  The world testifies to His splendor.  He is mightier than the forces of nature which He has created.  His reign is eternal.  His thoughts are unfathomable.  He deserves our praise because of His character.

That brings us to His people.  He exalts us.  He pours fresh oil over us to cause us to shine give off an aura of health.  He brings down our enemies.  He causes us to flourish and grow strong.  We are empowered to bear fruit for the length of our life.  In other words, He looks upon us with favor and lavishes His blessing upon us.

This brings us to a third perspective: His enemies.  The stupid cannot fathom Him.  The fool does not understand Him.  He dooms the wicked to destruction. He scatters the evil before Him.  Those who are not in Him live under a shadow of curse and opposition.

What, then, are we to do with all of this?  In all of this, it is good to give Him thanks.  It is good to sing His praise.  It is good to be a testimony unto Him.  It is good to be glad in Him and declare His wonder and splendor to the world around us.  We should delight in being His hands and His feet, calling out His favor to anyone around us who will listen!

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Year 8, Day 225: Psalm 91

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The opening verse to this psalm sets a great tone.  What is the result of dwelling with God?  We get to live in His shadow.  This is an interesting tone to set.  Typically, human beings work hard to get out of someone else’s shadow.  We are trying to get noticed.  We are trying to get attention.  We want to be unique and different.  Yet, being with God means inherently trying to dwell in His shadow.  This is why true Christianity feels so counter-cultural.

There are some perks to dwelling in the shadow of the Lord.  He protects us when we are in His shadow.  He will ease our fears.  He will turn aside destruction.  Evil will run from His sight.  He will send His servants to raise us up.  He will walk with us through turmoil.  Living in His shadow brings great benefit.

This really brings us back to being humility.  Christ Himself gave up being God to come and dwell with us and die for us.  He was willing to think lower of Himself than was truly deserved.  To follow Christ implies being humble.

Our relationship with God is better when we are humble and dwell in His shadow.  For the record, our communities are better, too.  When we are humble and think of others and place ourselves in the shadow instead of in the spotlight, our communities are better off for it.

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Year 8, Day 224: Psalms 89-90

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The theme for Psalm 89 should be the steadfastness of the Lord.  This psalm is about praising God for His promise.  God will uphold His people.  God will love them.  God will cause them to prosper.  He will strengthen us.  He will embolden us and not cause our enemies to triumph over us.

There’s something more in this psalm about God’s promise that I find even more amazing.  The truth is that even when God’s people rebel against Him, God does not remove His love.  His love is always present.  Even in the midst of our rebellion, God is always standing at the door, waiting for us to repent, so that we can share in God’s love once again. 

He does not remove His love from us; we turn our back on His love.  He does not break His promise; we reject His promise!  He does not lead us in turmoil; we suffer the consequences of our own rebellion against Him.

This is truly why God deserves to be praised.  Human beings are prone to walking away from relationships that go sour.  We hold grudges.  Not so with God.  God loves His creation.  Even when we ignore Him and intentionally go against His ways, His operating position is a position of love as He waits for us to return to Him.

Psalm 90 opens the fourth subset of psalms.  This psalm picks up where the last psalm left off.  The goal of Psalm 90 is to remind us to see the glory and splendor of God.  After all, He is our true dwelling place.  It is in Him that we find our home.

We are reminded to number our days, because this will give us wisdom in perspective.  We are reminded to be satisfied with Him in the morning, as that will set the tone for the day.  We are reminded to look for His work so that we can truly be His servants.

Relationship with God is a two-way street.  We’ve already spoken about How God comes to us and doesn’t leave our side even when we rebel.  God’s position towards us in not the problematic one, though!  We must remember to turn to Him.  We must look in His direction.  We have to do our part; God is always doing His.

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Year 8, Day 223: Psalms 87-88

Theological Commentary: Click Here

These psalms focus on the relationship between God and His people.  Start with the more obvious psalm, Psalm 88.  Here we have another psalm about a man who feels persecution and is struggling to find a way out.  Here we have a man calling out to God not just for salvation but for relent.  The psalmist feels as though God has joined the attack against him.

There is a powerful thought to make are it remains in us.  God is for is people, not against us.  If we are truly walking with the Lord, we shouldn’t think that He is against us!  God does not walk away from us.  God will allow us to feel the consequences of our own actions, but He will not walk away from us.  He is always there for us.  We simply need to turn to Him.

Now look to Psalm 87.  At first, this psalm appears to be about a profound love for Jerusalem.  Naturally, it is that.  But there is a subplot in this short psalm that is important to catch.  While the psalm is focused on Jerusalem, we get to see who it is that knows Jerusalem.  Who are the ones considered to be born there?

Notice how much time the psalmist spends speaking about non-Hebrews.  Rahab is mentioned.  Babylon is mentioned!  Phylistia, Tyre, and Cush are mentioned.  These nations draw a pretty large circle around the Hebrew nations.

There is a very simple lesson here.  The people who know God are defined by their heart, not their biology.  God’s people are claimed by Him because their heart is inclined to Him, not because they live in a geographic boundary.  As Christians, this is our position, too.  Is the status of a person’s heart, not the status of their citizenship, that matters most.

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Year 8, Day 222: Psalms 85-86

Theological Commentary: Click Here

The psalms for today are pleas for salvation.  The first of which is spoken in a great time of need for the psalmist’s nation.  That starts us with an interesting thought.  So often we hear the plea psalms as psalms for a personal salvation.  So often we meet a psalmist who is in great personal need or under great personal persecution.  This first psalm is a national psalm.  It is a psalm where the psalmist sees much more than themselves in peril.  They see their culture in peril around them.

When we examine this idea, we can look at what basis the psalmist has for hope.  Can God save a nation from persecution?  Of course He can!  God has already done it in the Hebrew past.  God brought the people out of Egypt.  In fact, it is in this same story that we find God’s forgiveness to a wicked generation.  God brings a faithful generation out from within the midst of an unfaithful one.  The psalmist has good reason to hope.  It God can bring faith out of unfaith, He can certainly do it again.

The psalmist has every reason to be hopeful.  The psalmist has every reason to anticipate the salvation of the Lord.  He has every reason to think about the steadfast love of the Lord.  He knows that righteousness will go before the Lord.  He knows that the blessing of the Lord can fall upon a nation.  The Lord has done it before.  He can and will do it again.

Why will the Lord do this?  Psalm 86 can shed a little light.  The Lord does this because He is great and wonderful.  The Lord does this because He longs to teach us.  The Lord does this because His nature, His character, is just.  When we walk with the Lord, we have every reason to believe and to hope.

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Year 8, Day 221: Psalms 83-84

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Psalms 83 and 84 are two sides to the same coin, even if they feel like opposites at first glance.  That’s actually true of many things.  For example, hate and love are both strong emotions that show passion.

Starting with Psalm 83, we get a strong sense of anger.  The psalmist is feeling threatened.  He feels the oppression of the nations around the Hebrew people.  He cries out for God to do something.  In fact, He cries out for their destruction!

It’s easy for me to look at this psalm and see some very unchristian behavior.  After all, does God not tell us to love our enemies and turn the other cheek?  We are to pray for our enemies, but where does God’s Word tell us to pray for the destruction of our enemies?

Yet, I’ve been there.  I’ve felt oppression.  I’ve felt anger towards people who want to see my destruction.  I know what this psalmist is feeling.  It’s human to occasionally feel this way.  It’s human to ask God to look down and rescue the orphaned and oppressed.  While I may disagree with the psalmist’s desire to see his enemies crushed by God, I need to admit that I absolutely understand it.

Looking at Psalm 84, we see an entirely positive psalm.  Instead of the psalmist looking poorly on the current existence, the psalmist looks hopefully towards the future.  The psalmist knows what it feels like to be in the Lord’s presence.   The psalmist gets that if God can care for the sparrows that we can place out hope in Him.  The psalmist knows that while enduring the persecution of the present can seem like an eternity, a true eternity with God will pass like a day.  This hopefulness is also a part of the human existence.  Life isn’t worth living without hope to shine light upon our path.

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Year 8, Day 220: Psalms 81-82

Theological Commentary: Click Here

These psalms form a really neat pair today.  Psalm 81 is all about worshipping God.  He desires that we worship Him alone.  In fact, He wants us to shout, sing out, and blast a trumpet regarding the fact that we should be worshipping Him.  He is to be our God.  We are to worship Him.  We are to follow Him.

He is a jealous God.  When we do not worship Him, He will allow us to go over to the consequences of the desires of our hearts.  He will allow us to pursue that for which our stubbornness longs.

The question is, what does it look like when we aren’t worshipping Him?  This is where Psalm 82 comes into its own.  When we judge unjustly, we turn away from Him.  When we show partiality to the wicked, we turn away.  When we refuse justice we turn away.  When we don’t uphold the rights of the afflicted and destitute, we turn away.  When we don’t rescue the weak and the needy, we turn away.  When we live without wisdom and knowledge, we turn away.

On the other hand, when we turn to him He feeds us.  He makes sure that we have what we need.  He will give the sweetest honey to us and satisfy us.  He will nurture us and care for us.  That is what He promises to those who worship Him as their God.

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Year 8, Day 219: Colossians 4

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Colossians 4 is the final chapter of the book before we dive back into the psalms tomorrow.  As we read through the chapter, there are two things that are clear.  First, this is the chapter for Paul to make sure the Colossians know who is coming to them and who wishes them well.  More importantly for this study is that Paul is absolutely focused on one element of ministry above all else.  Paul’s focus is looking for the doors that are opened up for the Word.

I think we must be careful to not overlook the means through which this door is opened.  What does Paul ask the Colossians to do?  What is the most important thing that Paul can request from them?  It’s not money.  It’s not even time.  It’s not that they go on a missionary journey with him.  It’s their prayer.  Paul knows that doors for the Word open through the power of prayer.

How often do I underestimate the power of prayer?  How often do I surge ahead with the action in life without pausing to make sure that the action is supported in prayer?  How often do I forget to stop and genuinely ask God what course of action He desires to bless in my life?  The power of prayer is a magnificent thing, especially as we look to opening up doors for the Word.

In the end, this should absolutely feel like the perfect bookend for Colossians.  In chapter 2, the path of spiritual growth can be seen.  Remember all the why questions that were asked?  In chapter 3, the importance of spiritual change and spiritual growth can be felt.  Remember the important distinction between cheap grace and costly grace?  Here we have the point of it all.  Why do we grow and change?  We grow and change as a witness to the world around us.  We grow and change so that when others look upon us a door is opened for the Word.

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Year 8, Day 218: Colossians 3

Theological Commentary: Click Here

When we hit Colossians 3 we truly get Paul’s version of costly grace vs. cheap grace.  Going back to yesterday, we do understand that God can forgive all.  There is no sin too big for God to forgive.  But we must not be careful to see this as permission.  Just because God can forgive all does not mean we have permission to do all!

As Paul says here in this chapter, there are certain activities that belong to the world and are not a part of God.  Anger, wrath, malice, slander, obscene talk, and lies.  These behaviors have no place in the Christian walk.  These are behaviors that are all self-interested and self-serving.  These are behaviors that arise when we put ourselves first and stop thinking about the other.

When we allow ourselves to do these behaviors, what we are promoting is cheap grace.  We promote a belief that God’s grace doesn’t change us.  We promote a belief that the cross didn’t cost us – or God – anything at all.  That simply isn’t true.  Salvation is especially costly!

Instead, we replace such behaviors with these tasks.  Compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, patience, bearing with one another, forgiveness, and love.  These are all actions that put the other person ahead of ourselves.  These are actions that show we are interested in the life and being of the other person.  This is what we see in Jesus.  God became man, put aside His greatness, humbled Himself, and died for our sake.  He did it for us.  It cost Him substantially, but he did it with us in mind.

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