Year 8, Day 196: Psalm 51

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Psalm 51 is a classic psalm.  It contains refrains that are used over and over in popular culture.  The “Create in me a clean heart, Oh God, and renew a right spirit within me” refrain is present.  “Oh Lord, open my lips and I will declare your praise.” These phrases are often referenced as people turn to the Lord.

Looking back to the beginning of the psalm, we can understand why the psalmist would say these things.  The psalmist has a great understanding of their own sinfulness.  In fact, the psalmist has a great understanding of their own redemption, too.  It is God who washes us clean.  It is God who purifies us.  We do not purify ourselves.  The psalmist knows this, which is why the psalmist desires to request cleansing from God.  He creates clean hearts within us.  Our response should be to declare Him praise.

Ultimately, this brings us to the end of the psalm.  An oft overlooked passage, but a rather important one nonetheless, are Psalm 51:16-17.  He the psalmist tells us for certain what is in the mind of God.  God does not desire burnt offerings from an impure person.  As discussed yesterday, what can we sacrifice that really isn’t God’s anyways?

What God desires is a broken spirit and a contrite heart.  What God desires is that we understand our brokenness.  God desires an understanding of our sin and confession of our inability to resolve the situation.  God desires an attitude within that starts with our brokenness and looks ahead to our redemption.  These are the things that God does not despise.

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Year 8, Day 195: Psalm 50

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Psalm 50 has a great truth deep at its core.  Before getting there, though, look at the surface level of this psalm.  This psalm is about God being a judge.  He is capable of calling all into account under Him.  There is no fooling God.  He knows all and sees all.  He knows who are the righteous and the unrighteous.  Above all else, He is capable of judging.

Having said that, the second half of this psalm is about the nature of sacrifices.  I love the middle of the psalm where God talks about offering sacrifices to Him when the animals are already His!  How arrogant we are when we take something that already belongs to God and give it to Him, expecting it to raise His opinion of us!  That’s like a child making lunch for their parents out of groceries that the parents themselves bought!

Hopefully, in reading that last paragraph there is something that does jump out.  It truly is the thought that counts.  The child who makes lunch for their parents doesn’t sacrifice from their own life, but rather make a gesture in love.  It isn’t the sacrifice that the parent cherishes, it is the thought.

The same thing is true with God.  As we read through this psalm, we hear that God wants a sacrifice of thanksgiving more than anything else.  He doesn’t want us slaughtering some goat because it will make Him love us more, He wants us to turn to Him in gratitude and relationship. 

Those of us who live in the time of the New Testament know that this is even more true.  There is no way that we can buy our salvation.  No sacrifice of ourselves is good enough.  God has already given the sacrifice in His Son.  What He wants from us is thanksgiving.  He wants us to turn to Him in relationship.

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Year 8, Day 194: Psalm 49

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This psalm speaks to the heart of the human existence, especially for the person who’s trying to live a life that adheres to the tenets of God.  It’s easy to feel taken advantage of when you look out for people other than yourself.  It’s easy to feel unappreciated when you make decisions that benefit others and not yourself and nobody notices.  It’s easy to feel like you’re never the winner when others are willing to walk all over your back to get what they want.

This is often a core issue when people try to live a good life.  It’s hard to be the good person when other people don’t seem to get punished when they cheat, lie, steal, or take advantage of others.  It’s easy to get sucked into similar behavior and to respond in like kind.  It’s easy to doubt oneself when other people are living like they want and seemingly getting away with it!

All of this makes sense until we hit verses like Psalm 49:7, 11-12, 14-15, 17, 19-20.  The theme of all those verses is rather simple. The great equalizer is death.  This side of death gives us a rather tainted picture because God has given us free will.  Death will equalize the playing field, and the time after death with slant the playing field towards those who abide in God’s ways.  After all, Psalm 49:15 promises that God will ransom our soul from Sheol, the place of the dead.

In other words, the old adage “you can’t take it with you” is absolutely true.  Live as you want in this life.  Collect earthly rewards all you want.  Life high on the hog and step over people if you desire.  Realize, however, that such a lifestyle won’t do you any favors after death.  The only person who can ransom us out of death is God.  Rather than pursuing our own goals, doesn’t it make sense to spend our life living the pursuit of Him?

None of us can avoid the temptation to wonder about the righteous life in the short term.  It’s not right, but it is human nature.  What we need in those moments is what this psalm provides.  What we need is a divine eternal perspective.

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Year 8, Day 193: Psalms 48

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On the surface, Psalm 48 seems to be about lifting up Jerusalem and giving its praise.  After all, it is a very defensible place.  The city has thick walls and high ramparts.  Its soldiers can see the surrounding area and warn of invaders.  Who can stand?  Even the kings of the area, when they gather to fight against Jerusalem, have to turn away from their pursuit.

We need to be careful with this kind of thinking, though.  If this is really what the psalm is about, then our theology is all wrong.  Is God great because Jerusalem is great?  Is the psalmist really saying that we should worship God more because of the greatness of Jerusalem?

This is a crucial theological point to make sure we get right.  Do we worship God more when things go the way we want or need?  Are we closer to God when our life is good?  If so, isn’t that a bit of a theology of glory coming through?  Isn’t that like saying because my life is good, I’ll worship God.  The problem with that isn’t that we worship God, it’s what happens when life isn’t good!  Or even what happens when we get so accustomed to the good that we no longer appreciate it as good and now see it as mundane!  If our worship of God is based on the circumstances around us, we are always in trouble!

If we go back and read through the psalm carefully, we see that the real point of the psalm is that Jerusalem is great because God is great.  The psalmist isn’t telling us to worship God because Jerusalem is such a wonderful and impenetrable stronghold.  The psalmist is telling us that Jerusalem’s magnificence and strength is evidence of God’s presence.  It should not cause us to worship Him more, it should draw us to Him who is already there.

This brings us to a theology of the cross instead of the theology of glory.  Rather than worshipping God because He treats us well and our life is good, we worship God because He’s already there and among us.  We worship Him because we desire relationship with Him.  We worship Him because we understand that it is through Him and His ways that we really find peace and wholeness.  Only when our position is moved from the theology of glory to a theology of the cross will we be able to worship God both in the good and the bad.

Let’s go back to Jerusalem.  What happens several hundred years after this psalm is written?  Jerusalem falls to Babylon, the temple is destroyed, and its inhabitants are dragged of into servitude.  Many of the Hebrew people, people who lived a theology of glory instead of a theology of the cross, saw the destruction of Jerusalem as a reason to fall away from God and live according to the world.  For them, the destruction of Jerusalem was a sign that God wasn’t the God they thought Him to be.

However, we know that a remnant remained.  There were people who lived a theology of the cross, which means that we look for God because of the relationship.  They were able to see God in the destruction of Jerusalem.  They were able to understand the refinement that God was trying to do among the people.  They were able to worship Him even when a generation experienced pain and suffering.  For these people, the glory of Jerusalem is not greater opportunity to see God than its destruction.  God is present at all times.

Returning to the psalm, this now brings greater depth.  Yes, Jerusalem was a powerful and mighty city.  Yes, it is evidence of God’s power and might.  In that moment in time for Jerusalem, it is a lesson we can earn and admire!  Just remember that it is Jerusalem made great because of God and not God made great because of Jerusalem.

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Year 8, Day 192: Psalms 46-47

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These psalms are an incredible set of praise to the Lord.  We hear the Lord exalted.  We hear that the Lord saves us.  We hear that the Lord conquers the nations.  The Lord subdues the world.  He rules over us, we are His subjects.  The psalms set the relationship between humanity and their God on a straight and narrow path.

As obvious s this theological point is, dive a little deeper into the words.  Look at the comparison between like things such as we find in verse 3 and verse 4.  In verse 3, the sea is a turbulent thing, boiling in protest and swelling in power.  Yet in verse 4, the water is a calm and tranquil place that testifies to the exaltation of God and His habitation.  In one case, water is turbulent and dangerous.  In another place water is tranquil and joyous.

What is the source of the difference in the waters?  Although no concrete conclusion is detectable, there is something that we can see.  The difference is the presence of the Lord.  In the presence of the Lord, that which is turbulent becomes calm.  That which is dangerous becomes tranquil.  That which once had the power to destroy now has the power to refresh in the presence of God.

This is merely a single example of what the presence of God can do within us.  He can take that which is destructive within us and turn it into something that can bring joy to those around us.  He is the source of transformation, ad because of this He deserves our exaltation.

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Year 8, Day 191: Psalm 45

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My first reaction to Psalm 45 is always that of distrust.  I know that it is God’s Word and therefore it is good.  I know that on a generic grand scale for the whole of God’s Word.  My issue is with the specific structure of this psalm.  It begins by praising the king and talking about how righteous the king is.  I am highly skeptical of anything that talks about the righteousness of a human being – especially when those passages talk about people in high positions of power.  After all, as human beings we are called to exalt God, not other human beings.

That being said, this psalm is always a joyous surprise.  For me, this psalm is like eating spinach artichoke dip.  I don’t particularly care for cooked spinach – although I love raw spinach on salads and sandwiches.  But when I eat spinach artichoke dip, especially on bagel chips or tortilla chips, I really enjoy the experience.  My gut reaction to thinking about eating cooked spinach is negative, but I love the experience of spinach artichoke dip anyways.

Why do I love this psalm in the end when my initial reaction of one of skepticism?  The love comes from stepping back and looking at the structure of the psalm more than the words.  The structure of the psalm is three-fold.  In the beginning, we have praise for a king.  At the end, we have words of advice for the king’s bride.  In the middle, we have high praise for God.  Rather than being skeptical about the beginning and end, what we end up seeing is that this psalm is the perfect model for marriage.

The husband should be living a life in God, attractive to his bride.  The wife should also be living in God in such a way that she is attractive to her husband.  What is the key to a good marriage?  What is central to this psalm?  The key to a good marriage is the righteousness of God.

That’s what makes this psalm so beautiful in the end.  This psalm is a model for a godly marriage.  It isn’t about praising the man or praising the woman.  It is all about seeing what a good marriage can become.

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Year 8, Day 190: Psalm 44

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The first half of this psalm seems to be in line with the other maskils of Korah that we’ve read thus far.  It is through the Lord that we accomplish anything.  The psalmist truly knows where the source of life, power, and protection resides.  It isn’t us, it is God.  He is the one who does wonderful things through us.  That much is clear.

However, when we get to the second half of this psalm it takes on a much more ominous tone.  The psalmist has seen his people fail.  He has seen them fall in battle.  He has seen them live under the persecution of others.  He has seen them seemingly rejected by God.

What’s worse is that the psalmist can’t understand why.  From his perspective, the people aren’t falling away.  They aren’t rejecting God.  They aren’t turning to other gods.  They haven’t broken the covenant.  Had any of these things happened, the psalmist would accept the fate and acknowledge their worthiness to receive such a fate.

This can tell us at least two things.  Not being in the context, it is impossible to know which is correct.  It is possible that the people are being faithful.  If this is correct, then God simply hasn’t decided to move against the evil in the world around His people.  God could be giving the other people time to grow, mature, repent, or hang themselves and deserve true judgment.

More likely, however, I think the psalmist is a bit blind.  How many of us can honestly say that we’ve kept God’s commandments?  How many of us can say that we don’t chase other gods in our life?  Can we really believe that we are innocent in every way?

Not being there, I really don’t know what is going on.  But this psalm reminds me that I have a firm belief about repentance.  When things go poorly in my life, my first instinct should be to look within.  What is going on within my life that isn’t worthy of God?  When I find such a thing, I should focus my life upon repenting over that and asking for God’s forgiveness.  In such humbleness will God’s presence truly be found.

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Year 8, Day 189: Psalm 43

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Psalm 43 continues the tone of what we began yesterday.  We can get a sense that these psalms are a matched set because they contain the exact same phrase. “Why are you downcast, oh my soul?”  Here is another psalm dealing with the dichotomy of knowing the human existence but believing in a God who is creator and desires relationship with us.

In the middle of the psalm we get a clue about how to get past our misery.  The psalmist asks God to send him His light and His truth.  The psalmist asks to be led back into the presence of God.  Don’t miss the directionality of what’s being said here.

So often when Christians talk about faith we talk about our walk, our devotional life, and our worship life. We take a wonderful Christianity and cheapen it to the level of every other religion.  Religion is about human beings working their way into righteousness.  This psalm tells us about the difference between religion and Christianity.  God comes to us; we don’t come to Him.

The psalmist asks to be led to God’s presence.  The psalmist knows that we have no chance to work our way up to God.  We cannot find Him on our own.  He sends out His light to shine the path to Him.  He sends out His truth to be our guide.

We still must follow.  It’s not like we have no responsibility; but ours is a responsibility in response rather than in initiation.  God comes to us and leads us into relationship.

That brings me back full circle.  Why is the soul downcast?  Perhaps the soul has forgotten to look for the light and listen for the truth.  Perhaps the soul has become so focused on its own self-worth that it forgot about the most important action: God’s initial action.  When we forget God’s important act of initiating, it is easy for our soul to become downcast.

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Year 8, Day 188: Psalm 42

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Psalm 42 is not a psalm of David.  Once accustomed to the psalms of David, the psalms that are not of David are noticeable.  The psalm may have a similar theme or teaching, but it gets there a different way.  The vocabulary is different.  The tone is different.

The teaching in this maskil of the sons of Korah is similar to that which David speaks.  This psalm is about the disparity between the reality of existence and the hopefulness that should be found in God.  It opens with the familiar expression, “as the deer pants for water, so my soul pants for you, God.”  The psalmist clearly knows God and knows the salvation that comes from Him.  The psalmist understands relationship with God and the joy that it brings.

Quickly, however, the psalm turns to the interrogation of the soul.  If we know God, know His salvation, know His redemption, and know His restoration, then why is the soul downcast?  Why is it focused on the enemies and their taunts?  Why is the soul unable to look past its fear?  Why is the soul so quick to feel forgotten by God?

This is one of the dynamics that is at the core of the human existence.  We know the potential that life has!  We also know the reality of life when we introduce our own sinfulness and the sinfulness of others.  When we recognize this disparity, we tend to accuse God for allowing it to exist when we should be turning to Him for hope.  We allow our souls to become downcast when we should spend our time looking for hope.

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Year 8, Day 187: Psalm 41

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There is an interesting trend that becomes quite clear when reading the psalms.  More often than not, the people in the psalms mentioned in connection with God have a few specific things in common.  They are the poor, the downtrodden, the outcast, the persecuted.  It is rare that we hear positive mention of the rich, well-to-do, and powerful.

It think there is a very plain reason for this.  Those who need God seek Him.  Those who seek Him find Him.  He does not hide from those who seek Him honestly and humbly.  But one must desire to seek Him.  If one does not live a life that has need of Him, why would someone seek Him?

I think there is a deeper level to this fact that we should discover.  Remember that the most prolific psalmist was David.  He was a king.  He was the greatest Hebrew of his time.  He is the one who is writing about the poor, the downtrodden, and outcast.

I think there are two linked reasons for this.  First, David is a man after God’s own heart.  He acknowledges his failings and humbly presents himself before God.  Although he is king of the Hebrew people, he’s not out of touch with his humanity and his failings.  When David thinks about himself, he sees himself as a part of the poor and outcast.  That can teach us a good bit about leadership.

The second reason that we hear so much about the poor and outcast in David’s psalms is because of his humble beginnings.  Remember that David was a shepherd.  He was the youngest of his family, his brothers all growing up and becoming men before he did.  He would understand the life of the poor; he would certainly understand the life of the oppressed.  If we want humble leaders, it makes sense to look from among people who understand humble beginnings.

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Year 8, Day 186: Philippians 4

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In the final chapter of Philippians, Paul gives us his final pieces of advice.  His crowning piece of advice is to rejoice in the Lord.  Our relationship with God should give us reason to be joyful.  After all, if God promises life eternal, what temporary adversity can harm that joy?  Of course, that doesn’t mean we can be happy all the time.  Things will come up in life that will make us unhappy or angry.  But such times should be fleeting.  Our normal status quo should be an air of rejoicing.

What can our attitude of rejoicing lead to?  First of all, our rejoicing should lead us to less anxiety.  If we are with the Lord, and the Lord can grant eternal life to us, what have we to be concerned about?  Again, there will be a few small things that do make us anxious.  We can’t help being anxious from time to time.  But that should not be our standard feeling.  Anxiety, when it comes, should be a fleeting feeling instead of one that dominates us.

The second effect is that we should have peace.  If the Lord is where our trust resides, what can the world throw at us that the Lord cannot bring us through?  Sure, we won’t have perfect lives.  Even Jesus, the only sinless man, was crucified!  God can bring us through our troubles.  That should give us a peace that passes all understanding.

Because of this, we should put our mind on the things that are good and pure.  In other words, this goes back to the end of yesterday’s passage.  We aren’t saved by our works, but our works should give evidence of our salvation.  If we have an abundance of joy, if we have the ability to let go of anxiety, if we have a peace that passes all understanding, why would we not desire to focus on the good and pure things of God?  Why would we not want to practice such things? 

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Year 8, Day 185: Philippians 3

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Paul tells his audience to be careful of certain people as we read through this passage.  Please note who it is that Paul warns others about.  Paul doesn’t caution them about hanging out with worldly folks.  After all, had Paul said that, to whom would we take the Gospel?  No, Paul warns his audience about people who say they are religious but have their mind focused on the wrong things.  Paul is concerned that people will start thinking that they have earned their salvation, not that their salvation is a gift.

This is why Paul lists all of the things in his past.  Reading through that list with an eye to what would impress a first-century Jew, Paul has it all.  He’s got a good biological heritage, he’s been readily trained in religion, and he’s followed the law his whole life.

However, Paul then says all of this is actually counted as a loss.  These things don’t make him better, they actually have the potential to be a hindrance!  Such things lead to pride and arrogance.  Such things often lead us away from appreciation and dependency upon God, not towards it.  Salvation comes through the righteousness of Christ and the grace of God, not through our ability to earn it.

Paul thus warns his audience to be wary of people who tell you that certain things have to be true in order to be saved.  Such people might be: people who claim you have to be baptized in a certain way, people who claim you have to say the right things, people who claim you have to part of a certain denomination, etc.  The reality is that we are saved because God loves us and in that love Jesus died for our sake.  We are saved because of Christ, not because of anything we do.

However, this doesn’t give us permission to live as we like.  While Paul makes it clear that none of us will be saved because of what we do, he also wants to be sure we know that we do need to imitate Christ.  In fact, he tells us to imitate other people who are imitating Christ!  What we do is important, but not because it helps to save us or make us more appealing to God.  What we do is important because it shows our love for God.  What we do because a part of our witness.  It because a part of our thought process.  What we do, shows who we are.  If our heart truly is God’s, then our actions should display that reality.

We aren’t saved because of what we do.  We should be careful of anyone who makes us think our actions do influence our salvation.  But while we aren’t saved by what we do, we should also realize that what we do should reflect our salvation.  That’s what Paul is getting at.

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Year 8, Day 184: Philippians 2

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Philippians 2 takes us right back to where we left off yesterday.  If our focus is others and their relationship with God, how can we act selfishly?  How can we live lives making others angry, inviting others to sin, or doing other things with ourselves at the core of the gain?

Then Paul makes it plain that he is speaking the truth.  Look at God Himself.  What is His example?  God sent His Son to us.  Yet, His Son didn’t come here to boss us around and show us how much better He was.  His Son came to point us to the Father and then die for our sake so that we can get to the Father.  God Himself is a God of self-sacrifice.  He didn’t do things with Himself in mind, He did things with others in mind.

In the example of Christ, we see that Paul is right.  If we are following Christ, we should be like Him.  If we are like Him, we should live like Him.  We should think of others.  We should do things that bring people closer to the Father, not drive them further from Him.

There’s another dynamic to what’s been discussed.  Not only can we look into the hearts of others by looking into their actions, but even more importantly we can see into our own hearts.  When we stop and see what we are actually doing, it gives us the ability to see into our heart as God sees us.

When I look through my actions and into my heart, what do I see?  Do I see a person who is primarily about manipulating others so that I get what I want?  Do I see a person who doesn’t care about others and does whatever it takes to push them away so I am left alone?  Or do I see a person who embraces the needs and concerns of the people around him in order to show the love of God as deeply as possible?

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Year 8, Day 183: Philippians 1

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Today we take a short jaunt into the New Testament and the letters of Paul. In the opening chapter, we can see the deep theme of mission at work.  Clearly, Paul has come and worked among the Philippians in the past.  He is also suffering persecution because of his ministry.  That’s the past and present of this passage.

Look at Paul’s endgame, though.  What’s the purpose and point of Paul’s ministry?  What is his focus for the ministry?  What is the critical value that Paul is trying to accomplish?

Paul’s ultimate focus is what happens when Christ returns.  He wants to make sure that when Christ does return that the Philippians are still walking with Christ.  For Paul, salvation is the endgame.  Paul wants to know that the Philippians will be pure and blameless in the presence of God.  Naturally, this purity comes through Christ, not through their own works.

That’s a very significant lesson to learn, because that focus can help us at every moment in life.  If the relationship between God and the other person is my focus, then I should naturally avoid many sins.  If I truly am concerned about my wife and her relationship with God, why would I ever do anything that angers her?  If I truly am concerned about the people around me and their relationship with God, why would I ever do anything selfish such as speeding on the roads or behaving selfishly in the grocery store? 

The point is that we can learn much about the heart of a person by watching their actions.  When a person acts only for themselves and what’s best for them, their focus shines brightly.  In such a case, the person’s focus is not God and His relationship with others.  This is why Paul says that he hopes the love of the Philippians abounds more and more with knowledge and discernment.

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Year 8, Day 182: Psalm 40

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Psalm 40 is a great psalm to follow the ones from yesterday.  Listen to the confidence in the words of David.  David knows that the Lord will not withhold mercy.  The Lord will preserve him.  The Lord is David’s help and deliverer.

As I often do, remember the context of David’s life.  Here is a man who has obvious places of sinfulness in his life.  He has his fair share of character flaws.  He knows his weaknesses.  He’s a man after God’s own heart, sure.  But he’s far from perfect.

For me, the heart of this conversation is how David can be so confident in God’s mercy when he’s done what he’s done.  We’re not talking about a garden variety liar here.  David is an adulterer and a murderer.  Those are fairly serious issues.  How can David be so confident in the midst of his sin?

I think the ability to have these words in this psalm comes from the lesson discovered in the last two psalms.  David can be confident in God’s mercy because he isn’t running from his sin.  David knows God will save him because he is honest with God and himself about his sin.

This is a great perspective to realize.  Only when we acknowledge our shortcomings can we improve upon them.  Only when we accept our guilt can we accept its absolution.  David can speak confidently in these verses because of his honest relationship with the Lord.

David can speak of the greatness of God because of his openness.  David can witness to the love of God because he’s been able to experience it.  David can share news of the deliverance of God with others because he’s known deliverance from his own sinfulness.  The very joy and assurance that is woven masterfully through this psalm originates in David’s honestly about his own sinfulness.

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Year 8, Day 181: Psalms 38-39

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Psalm 38 gives us a psalmist in a low spot in their life.  Clearly the psalmist is feeling attacked, perhaps entrapped, and certainly a bit on the helpless side.  In the midst of his pain, the psalmist asked not to be rebuked by God.

I’m not sure about anyone else, but I’ve been there.  I know the feeling well when something goes wrong and I realize my mistakes.  There is a sense of hopelessness when I recognize just how poorly I’ve acted or spoken.  Sometimes the feeling comes when I’ve been selfish and evil; sometimes those feelings come when I’ve been clueless about what I’ve been doing.  This feeling can come when I have been both intentionally and unintentionally involved in wrongdoing.

In that context, there is something I love about what the psalmist never does.  He never makes excuses.  He never tries to deny his involvement.  He never tries to pin it off on someone else and give away the blame.  The psalmist looks to God and acknowledges his wrongdoing.  He owns that his unhealthy life is due to his own sin.  He acknowledges that he is drowning in his own iniquities.  He confesses his sin.

This is maturity in action.  Everyone makes mistakes; some mistakes are intentional and others are not.  Everyone has sin in their life.  Everyone gets caught.  How we recognize maturity is when someone owns their error instead of trying to circumvent it.  That is what this psalm has for us today.

We can’t possibly know the whole context of the psalms and why they were written.  Psalm 39 seems to be about a time when David said something he shouldn’t have.  Now he is dealing with the consequences of his indiscretion.

What is the error about which David is guilty?  He tried to hold his tongue, but as he did his anger got the best of him.  In his anger, he lashed out with his tongue.  He said something he shouldn’t have said.  Now he is paying the price for it, because his enemies have gathered around.  As with the earlier psalm, I know that feeling, too.

Look at when the knowledge of his sin takes David.  David tells the Lord that his hope is in Him.  Redemption lies with God.  There’s no need to hide from our sin or place the blame on other people.  The reality is that the quickest way through our sin and into restoration is through acknowledgement and ownership of our misdeeds and turning to the Lord for redemption.  Our hope is in the Lord, not ourselves!  When we try to blame other people or try to hide from our sin, all we do is run from the possibility of redemption!

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Year 8, Day 180: Psalms 36-37

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There is a very simple lesson to be learned in Psalm 36.  When we have unchecked evil within us – even seemingly harmless evil like laziness or the occasional white lie – we get haughty and proud.  We start to think we are invincible.  We flatter ourselves and think we won’t be found out.  The evil and deceit grows, opening up paths for greater misdeed.

On the other hand, the presence of the Lord and His ways has the opposite effect.  We can take refuge in His love.  We can learn by His precepts.  He is our fountain of life.  He prevents the arrogance that comes with sin from grabbing a foothold within our existence.

Psalm 37 continues these themes and contrasts the righteous with the wicked.  There is a phenomenal piece of wisdom found amidst the comparisons of good and evil, wisdom that is worth bringing out.  What is the advice that David gives to the righteous?  Be still and wait for the Lord.  Don’t worry about those who prosper in their own evil schemes.

This is a huge angle to consider as we contemplate the choices in our life.  How often does it seem like the wicked prosper?  How easy is it to become envious of those who seem to win even though they clearly do wrong?  How typical it can be to wonder where justice is in the world and why we should do right especially when nobody is looking.

We are told to be patient and wait upon the Lord.  In other words, human beings see the now and focus on the present.  God sees the future and focuses on the eternal.  Where we see evil prospering, God sees a long chain of evil getting ready to destroy itself.  Where we see unrepentant sin prosper, God sees arrogance and pride growing before the fall.  In those moments when we are forced to choose between good and evil, we are told to wait upon the Lord.  We are told to see through His eyes and hear His wisdom.  We are told not to fret when we see evil prospering, as if we should give it no heed whatsoever.

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Year 8, Day 179: Psalms 34-35

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Psalms 34 and 35 give us two sides of the same coin.  David wants us to praise God for upholding the cause of the righteous.  He also wants us to praise God for punishing the cause of the unrighteous.

Within this greater context we can see a few neat working assumptions that David uses.  For example, look at those who are within God’s favor and who will listen to David’s words.  The humble hear and are glad.  The poor find salvation in Him. Those who fear the Lord have no lack.  Children listen and are taught. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and crushed.  There’s a trend here.  God is a God of the oppressed, those in need, and those who live humbly.

On the other hand, look at those with whom God contends.  There are those who seek the lives of others. There are the ones who devise evil schemes. There are those who act without cause. There are the malicious witnesses.  There are people who repay good with evil.  There are people who rejoice when another stumbles.  There are people who do not speak words of peace.

The dichotomy is pretty easy to see.  People who live humbly and do not take away from the community around them can find God – even find themselves within God’s embrace!  People who think more of themselves than they should and seek to lift themselves up above those around them often find themselves opposed by God.

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Year 8, Day 178: Psalms 32-33

Theological Commentary: Click Here

In this pair of psalms today, we can see a trio of messages.  To start, take the middle of psalm 33.  There is a tendency among human beings to place trust in things that are not really able to fulfill our trust.  We trust in warhorses and chariots.  Today, we might speak of trusting in the absolute protection of our military.  Human beings tend to trust that their house can protect them.  Often, such as in the face of a thunderstorm, it can.  But what can a house do in the face of a sinkhole, a tornado, or even a fire?  Human beings like to think that gold and money can save them.  While we can spend money on needs like food or clothing or even on desires like entertainment and transportation, the truth is that no amount of money can buy happiness.  Human beings like to search for places for us to place our trust.  There is only one sure place for our trust to find fulfillment.

That brings us to a second theme in these psalms: God.  God is where our trust should reside.  He is the one who saves us.  He is the one who can protect us.  He is the one who can bring us into eternal dwelling with Him.  He gives good counsel while frustrating the schemes of mankind.  He created this world and is master over it.  There is no better place to store our hope than within Him.

What then, should we do?  Our response is found best by turning to Psalm 32.  In the face of a God who is capable of securing our hope, we should acknowledge our wrongdoing before God.  We should then turn in our ways and embrace the ways of the Lord.  Then we may truly enter into the relationship with Him that He provides.  We can glorify His name.  We can learn from His teachings.  We can know His love.  We can glorify in His name.

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Year 8, Day 177: Psalms 30-31

Theological Commentary: Click Here

In Psalms 30 and 31 we can see a neat contrast between God and humankind.  Before I go too far, though, understand that I am speaking in generalities.  Naturally there will be specific moments of human existence that do not conform to what I say.  There are exceptions to every generic rule.

In Psalm 30, we hear about why the Lord should be extolled.  His anger is fleeting, but His favor lasts a lifetime.  He makes us strong when His face shines upon us.  He is merciful.  He turns our mourning into dancing.  He clothes us in gladness.  These are reasons to praise Him.

In contrast, we hear about David’s experience with humanity.  Human beings conspire against David and seek to entrap him.  They want what he has.  The people around him turn him into a reproach.  They turn him into an object of dread, causing others to disassociate from him.  They whisper behind his backs, scheming against him and making him as dead.  They lie in their pride.  They try to cut David off from his Lord.

God is often spoken of as holy.  In the Bible, holy means different.  These psalms show us why God is holy.  Whereas human beings are generally self-centered and self-seeking – even the best among us have moments of selfishness, God is looking for our edification.  God desires to lift us up.  God desires to bring us to a better place.  Human beings desire to sacrifice others for their benefit; God desires to sacrifice Himself for our benefit.

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Year 8, Day 176: Psalms 28-29

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Psalms 28 and 29 give us a great one-two punch today for meditating on the relationship between human and divine.  You could also think of this dynamic as eternal versus finite.  How do human beings relate to an eternal divine being?  Why do human beings relate to an eternal divine being?

If we look at Psalm 28, we see that the psalm begins with a return to the idea of fear of the Lord.  David begins the psalm by asking God to not drag him away with the wicked.  He doesn’t want to get lumped up with those whose hearts are not inclined to God.

I’m reasonably sure that this is a pretty natural response.  It’s human nature to worry that someone who has such a greater degree of power or authority will not be fair.  How many people doubt the fairness of governments or militaries?  How many students doubt the fairness of teachers?  How many employees doubt the fairness of employers?  The doubt is not always deserved, but the doubt is human nature for the person in a lesser position.

This is where Psalm 29 comes in.  How do we know that David has a recognition of God’s vastly more powerful position?  Read the psalm.  Look at all the things that David says about God.  God is strong, splendid, and holy (holy means different, remember).  God thunders over water.  God’s voice alone is capable of breaking cedar trees.  God’s voice shakes the wilderness.  God’s voice bursts forth like the flickering flames of fire.  God brings forth the birth of the next generation of all animals, not just humans.  God is also capable of bringing the end of things, including nature!  God rules over the uncontrollable forces like floods.  David has every reason to see God as a being of vast power.

Remember the other half of having a fear of the Lord, however.  Notice that in Psalm 28, while David has fear of the Lord and he asks the Lord to make sure that he is not swept away with the wicked, he also does not lose faith that God will hear him.  Even in the midst of doubt, the Lord is his strength and shield.  The Lord is where his heart trusts.  The Lord continues to be his refuge even in the midst of his desire to remind the Lord to not sweep him away.

This is a great picture of how fear of the Lord works.  Fearing something does not mean losing faith in it.  When we are doing it right, it shouldn’t.

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Year 8, Day 175: Psalms 27

Theological Commentary: Click Here

I am going to run the risk of sounding like a broken record today.  This is a good thing, though.  There is a principle that is important when it comes to Biblical study. Scripture should interpret scripture.  What that means is that when we read scripture, we should pick up on themes.  We should see common threads.  We should be able to see continuous messages throughout God’s Word.

As I read this chapter, I hear David crying out to God.  Yes, this is a plea serving as a reminder for God to protect him.  David is coming under persecution and he wants to be spared.  He wants to be brought into peace.  How many people cannot resonate with that, especially in a moment of persecution?

Look more deeply.  Where is David’s focus?  What is the one thing that for which he asks?  He simply wants to dwell in the house of the Lord.  His focus is upon God and His dwelling place.  In the midst of His turmoil, he does not forget where His heart resides.

This doesn’t mean that David doesn’t see the persecution around him.  This psalm begins with David’s plea.  David recognizes his plight.  What David does, though, is allow his plight to bring him back to his center.  David allows the turmoil in his life to remind him about his focus.

Once he has his focus upon the Lord, he can take confidence in what he knows.  The Lord is His shelter.  The lord will lift David’s head up.  The Lord will teach David in His ways because his heart is focused on God.  He has reason to be strong.  He has reason to wait upon the Lord.  He has reason for courage.

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Year 8, Day 174: Psalms 25-26

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Psalms 25 and 26 are both psalms asking God to look past transgression and bring the psalmist into righteousness.  This is not a surprise; both the psalms are written by David.  If anything is true about David, it is that he lived life to the fullest.  When he was righteous, he was gloriously righteous.  When he was in the wrong, he was gloriously in the wrong.  Furthermore, he was incredibly aware of his strengths and weaknesses.  This is why he was a man after the Lord’s own heart.

On this very point, I think one of the key verses in this chapter is Psalm 25:12.  Who is the man who will fear the Lord?  The one that the Lord instructs in His ways.  There is something deeply spiritual about this concept.

First of all, understand the inherent connection because fear and instruction.  When I say fear, I’m not talking about a paralyzing fear.  I’m talking about the kind of fear that recognizes authority and the ability to affect one’s life.  I know this feeling as a teacher.  The day before every test, I make sure that my students realize that I have the capacity of putting a few very challenging problems on the test.  I don’t make them feel like they will all fail as that would be defeating.  But I do make them realize their need to be masters over the material.  Their fear of my evaluation of their skill motivates them to study harder and eventually to do better.

This is the inherent connection between fear and instruction.  When we are afraid of God’s evaluation of our life – specifically His judgment that we are found wanting – we are motivated to become better.  When we fear that we may end up with an eternity of separation from Him, we are motivated to become masters of His ways.  The fear of the Lord is where our righteousness begins.  As other places in the Bible say, “The beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord.”

We need to make sure that we don’t lose that.  Sure, we don’t want to have a paralyzing fear of the Lord.  But we do need to have recognition that the Lord is the final judge.  He is the one who will righteously determine our eternal fate.  He is the one who can save and make right.  When we understand this perspective properly, we become open to His instruction and we can change to become more like Him.

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