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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Year 5, Day 185: Philippians 3

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.

When I think about Paul, I naturally think of a man who has great character.  This chapter in Philippians really illustrates Paul’s character.  You have to be a person of godly character to give up all that he had going for him for some undetermined fate.  Don’t get me wrong.  Paul had his faults.  Paul was no perfect man.  But a person doesn’t sacrifice all that they have and completely reorient their life to a new perspective on God without having a strong godly character within.

Look within this passage of all that he had going for him in this life.  He was a Pharisee – and a well respected one at that.  He had been obedient to the law since his birth and circumcision.  He had the approval of the religious leaders as he persecuted the church.  He had the growing respect of the Jewish leadership around him.  Yet because of a single encounter with Jesus Christ, his life changed and he gave all of that away.  He realized that it is better to have the approval of God and follow in the example of His Son than to have all that he had according to human standards.

However, what I believe is most telling of his character is what he asserts after speaking about what he gave up.  The first thing that he asserts is that it was for the sake of Christ.  He wasn’t looking out for his own reputation or his own glory.  All that he did was for the sake of Christ.  The second thing that he asserts is an exhortation for the Philippian people to join him in imitating Christ.  He encourages them to look around themselves and see who is walking according to the ways of Christ and then follow them. 

At the heart of Paul’s of Paul’s character is a two-fold perspective.  This should familiar.  Paul first focus is on God.  Paul’s second focus is on the people around him to whom God has called him.  That should sound a little bit like Jesus when he says that the two greatest commandments are to love God and love your neighbor.  At the heart of Paul’s character is a removal of self so that he can focus on God and those to whom God calls him.  That’s a godly character.

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Year 5, Day 184: Philippians 2

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Imitation

• Imitation: This is the second over-arching step of the discipleship process.  First we gain information, then we imitate our spiritual mentor.  Imitation leads to innovation of spirituality in our own life.

Philippians 2 is a great chapter for looking at the topic of imitation.  It begins with Paul encouraging the people of Philippi to be humble and live according to God’s ways.  They are to do nothing of selfish ambition.  They are not to be conceited.  They are to think of other people as more important as themselves.

However, look at what Paul points to next.  If the Philippians need inspiration, all they need to do is look at Christ.  Jesus gave up all that He had in order to become man.  He came to teach other people who didn’t deserve to be taught.  He came to die for people who were certainly less than Him.  He came to show others what it means to think of other people first.  He came to demonstrate the godly life.

Jesus is the greatest example that any of us could ever hope to have.  When we are in a moment of temptation, we can look to Christ.  When we are in a moment of self-centeredness, Christ can cure it.  When we are in a moment of indecision, we can see how Christ was willingly obedient.

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Year 5, Day 183: Philippians 1

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: 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.

Philippians is an incredible book through which we can view Paul.  In most of his letters, Paul is writing because there is some kind of problem that needs to be sorted out and dealt with.  This is true in Galatians.  It is true in both of the Corinthian letters.  It is certainly true in Philemon, and in a different sense it is true in the letters to Timothy and Titus.  But here in Philippians we don’t have an issue.  We have Paul rejoicing in his relationship with the people of Philippi.

That’s what In is all about.  Our In are the people with whom we long to be spiritual.  Our In are the people with whom we can be honest and be ourselves.  Our In are the people that we let see our problems and we really let them rejoice when something in our life is worth rejoicing.

Look at what Paul says in this letter.  He loves them.  He rejoices over their memory.  He prays for them.  He honestly shares with them about his hardships.  He tells them about the imprisonments and other persecutions.

However, I think one of the most In-related verses of the Bible that I have read in a long time is Philippians 1:25.  As Paul wrestles with his desire to be with God or to continue living this life, he comes to a very bold conclusion.  While he would rather die and move ahead on the eternal journey with God, he knows it is best to remain alive for the sake of the Philippian people.  While he would rather be with God in eternal life, he knows that the Philippian people need to continue to grow and he is willing to play that role in their life.

That’s In.  That’s relationship.  That’s sacrifice.  That’s what Christian community really looks like.

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Year 5, Day 182: Psalm 40

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.

As I read through Psalm 40, I was hit by an old and familiar and favorite concept.  However, I was not aware that this concept was in Psalm 40!  I knew of its existence in passages like Hosea 6:6, Psalm 51:16-17, and Joel 2:13.  But I was not familiar with its presence in Psalm 40.  I’m talking about Psalm 40:6-8.  Burnt offering and sacrifice are not truly what God is after.  What God desires is a heart that is inclined towards Him.

In other words, God is not just looking to make us behave a certain way.  God is not just looking for certain outcomes in our life.  He’s not expecting us to do certain things and that’s okay.  God wants our hearts rent.  He wants our hearts, not just our outward action.

So, how exactly does this tie into the topic of the evangelist?  Look at one of the natural themes that David gives to us as a conclusion to what God desires.  If our heart is rent and our ear is inclined towards God, we will tell other people about what He has done in our life!  See Psalm 40:6, Psalm 40:9-10, and Psalm 40:16.  The natural fruit of a heart that is inclined to God are moments of evangelism towards His people!

God is at work in all of our lives.  If we are God’s people, then we should recognize His hand at work.  If we are God’s people, we should want to declare what God is doing within us and through us.  If we are God’s people, then evangelism should be a part of what we do in our life.  We should be attributing God’s glory and presence in our lives so that the people around us can see His hand at work.

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Year 5, Day 181: Psalm 38-39

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.

At first this seems like a weird choice for a topic when looking at both of these psalms.  After all, each of these psalms is about struggle.  Each of these psalms finds the psalmist struggling with life, with meaning, and with external persecution.  How can such psalms of anguish really be about identity?

If we look at Psalm 38, we hear David speaking about being in the snare of enemies.  We hear him holding his tongue because his life is in such turmoil.  We hear him speak about even his friends standing aloof.  He sounds so much like Job!  But look at where David lets this thought drive him.  David waits for the Lord.  David knows that he is in the protection of the most high.  He may be experiencing pain, turmoil, and persecution.  But his identity is with the Father and he knows that God will not disappoint him.

In Psalm 39 we see David struggling with a deep “meaning-of-life” kind of internal struggle.  He knows how fleeting human life – his own life, even – is!  He knows how we strive after things that will not last.  So what is the answer to the human condition?  We must remember that our identity is with God, not the things of the world.  David tells us that his hope is in the Lord, not the things of this world.  He understands that he is at best a sojourner upon God’s land. 

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Year 5, Day 180: Psalm 36-37

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Authority

• Authority: Our calling.  This comes from God as king.  Because He calls us as His representatives, He gives us authority to go and do His will.

Psalm 36 really is about authority.  Look at the contrast that we are given between the first and second halves of the psalm.  In the first half of the psalm, the psalmist speaks about those who seek their own desires.  They plot and plan trouble thinking that they will never be found out.  They relish in the fact that nobody can truly know the depth of depravity that exists in their mind.  They are their own authority.

On the other hand, we have the second half of the psalm.  Here the psalmist speaks about the life of those who give authority to God and God’s ways.  God’s love is precious.  His ways are steadfast.  He is a fountain of life.  Rather than seeking our own depravity, God when we give authority to God we find life and love and security in life.  This is why is it good to look to the Father as the source of our authority.  It’s just not worth trying to be our own authority in this life.

Psalm 37 largely picks up where psalm 37 left of in comparison of the wicked versus the righteous.  There are too many comparisons to mention here, but I’ll list a few poignant ones.  When we are our own authority, we fade like grass, we look for others of whom we can take advantage, we experience the emptiness of our abundance, we know the limit of our days, we know greed, and we don’t know true wisdom.  But when God is our authority we will know justice as the noonday, we delight in relieving the oppressed, we know the fullness of God, we know that our days are endless with God, we know the joy of giving, and we have the benefit of genuine wisdom.  I don’t know about you, but that is quite an impressive list.  I certainly think the benefits of submitting to God and letting Him be the authority in our life far outweighs whatever we might think we are giving up!

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Year 5, Day 179: Psalm 34-35

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.

Up is a natural choice for Psalm 34.  Look at how it begins.  I will bless the Lord at all times.  This psalm is about praising God’s name.  This psalm is about worshipping God.  This psalm is all about lifting up God as the center of our life and acknowledging Him for all that He does in our life on a daily basis.  Psalm 34 is a naturally Up-focused psalm.

However, Psalm 35 might not have the connection to Up as quite so obvious.  At first, Psalm 34 seems to be more about discipleship concepts like protection and guidance than Up.  Certainly protection and guidance are a large part of this psalm.  However, look at the conclusions that the psalmist reaches in the middle and end of the psalm.  In the middle of the psalm, the psalmist stops and announces that he rejoices in the Lord and exults in His salvation.  That sounds like Up to me.  In the end of the psalm, look at where the psalmist sees the protection and guidance of the Lord lead.  The protection and guidance of the Lord should lead other people who look into our life to give praise and glory to God.  Our lives should help ourselves and those who know us stop and give praise to God.  Yes, this psalm is largely about protection and guidance.  But ultimately that protection and guidance should lead us into greater worship of the Lord Almighty.

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Year 5, Day 178: Psalm 32-33

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Forgiveness, Information

• 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.”
• Information: This is the initial phase of become a disciple of Jesus.  Before we can do anything meaningful we must begin to understand what we are doing.  We may never gain full understanding of God and His ways, but God calls us to study Him, His Son, and His ways as the foundation of being His follower.

This is twice since studying the psalms that I have grouped the ideas of forgiveness and information together.  I think that this is as important pattern to see.  It is essentially the theme of Psalm 32 and is highly supported by Psalm 33.  We are taught by God.  But in order to be taught by God, we must humble ourselves before Him and put ourselves in a position of being ready and willing to learn.  That takes submission and forgiveness.

Look at where Psalm 32 begins.  The psalmist notes that at one point in his life he was silent.  When he was silent, he was essentially rotting away in his life.  But then a change came.  Then he confessed his sins.  Then he was forgiven.  Then God came into his life and added meaning to it through His instruction in His ways.  That’s largely the process of spiritual growth right there.

Psalm 33 takes this pattern and goes on with it further.  The Lord’s instruction is great.  It leads to faithfulness and an upright heart.  The counsel of the Lord stands forever while it frustrates the wisdom of the nations.  But the crux of this psalm is getting the listener to the natural outcome of the greatness of the Lord and His instruction.  Because of the Lord and His ways, we should praise Him and give glory to His name.

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Year 5, Day 177: Psalm 30-31

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.

It is pretty easy to read through these psalms and pick up on the idea that they are about protection.  The psalms repeated use words like “refuge,” shelter,” “delivered,” “rock,” “fortress,” and “restored.”  These are words of protection.

In Psalm 30 we hear about a free exchange between God and mankind.  God saves us from the wicked, rescuing us from those who intend to harm us.  In turn, we give Him praise and worship.  He does not save us so that we will praise Him.  Rather, He protects us because He is God.  We worship Him because He is God.  It is truly a free exchange.

In Psalm 31 we hear a much more personal plea.  I am always struck by the personal nature of verses 11-13.  Who hasn’t felt like the object of hidden scorn?  Who hasn’t felt like the subject of whispering in the shadows?  Who hasn’t known that feeling of other people plotting against you?  Who doesn’t know the sense of helplessness that comes from such times?

But what is the point of both of these psalms?  God is our rock.  He is our refuge.  There is nothing that anyone can do to me or you that God cannot make right in the end.  Why wouldn’t we praise a God who can protect us in anything - even in death!

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