Category: Psalms

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Day 199 – II Kings 18:1-8; II Chronicles 29-31 Psalm 48

Every time I read Isaiah I wonder what God thinks of our corporate worship practices. The example from today’s reading is worth our consideration.

Recall what we have learned from Isaiah about God’s opinion of His Old Testament people’s worship: He despised it, was offended by it, and wished they would not bother gathering to go through the motions of worshiping Him. Then, under King Ahaz, Temple worship was ended in favor of worshiping pagan gods.

It took Hezekiah’s order for the priests and Levites to resume their responsibilities, to reestablish the service of the Temple of the Lord. The first worship service was accompanied with rejoicing at what God had brought about in the hastily organized service, and they wanted more. So rather than moving forward with what they wanted to do, they planned for worship God’s way, observing the Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread as He had instructed in the Law.

“The hand of God was on the people to give them unity of mind to carry out” what was ordered to prepare for the proper celebration of the Passover. They didn’t exercise their creativity in devising an extravagant worship experience, but did what was instructed. In our culture we are conditioned to “having it our way,” and we expect that of our worship practices as well. If their unity of mind came from the hand of God, wouldn’t we be wise to ask Him for the same in our churches?

Some pilgrims came unprepared to observe the Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread as required in the Law, and apparently suffered physical ailments for doing so. Are we blessed to have so few guidelines laid out for our coming before God to worship? What guidelines are laid out for our coming into God’s presence for worship? Notice that Hezekiah didn’t pray for everyone afflicted because their failure to come prepared for proper Passover observance, but he prayed for those who set their hearts on seeking God. What a great way to handle that need: he didn’t have to know whose heart was set on seeking God, because God knew and would heal or not heal appropriately. That’s a great example for our prayers.

The worship done God’s way in the Passover celebration and observance of the Feast of Unleavened Bread was accompanied by more rejoicing – that word is used several times to describe the event. Doesn’t it seem from this example and the psalm we read today, that rejoicing is an appropriate and desirable feature of corporate worship of God? To what extent is our corporate worship characterized by joy? If it isn’t, should we be concerned about it?

Then worship was followed by action to destroy everything associated with pagan worship. Worship moved them to action. That is why preaching from the Word of God is part of our worship services; it we are truly worshiping God to delight Him, we will be moved to take action in response to what He reveals to us from His Word.

Hadn’t that removal been done before – more than once? One of the differences this time is that the people did the destroying, and the destroying didn’t just involve taking down the objects of pagan worship and stashing them somewhere, but smashing them and discarding the remains. Another difference was that they replaced pagan worship with something meaningful: they reestablished worship of God as prescribed in the Law. How does their example apply practically to you?

Things are thus looking rather good for Judah at the point Israel (or as Chronicles calls it, Ephraim and Manasseh) has been dispersed in exile for their unfaithfulness and sinfulness. The remains of God’s people have thrown off pagan worship, they have embraced worship of the Lord according to the Law, and if Hezekiah’s plan was fully enacted, they have renewed their covenant with God. They are also enjoying the strong leadership of a king who did “what was good and right and faithful before the Lord…, who sought His God and worked wholeheartedly, and so he prospered.” Isn’t life going to be good? Not if the enemy can help it.

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Day 181 — Obadiah, Psalms 82 & 83

Recall that Edom was the land adjacent to the south and east of Judah, inhabited by the descendants of Jacob’s brother Esau. Although they were a minor kingdom, they were not backward. The major ancient trade route that ran through their land made them cosmopolitan for their day and wealthy from trade. They were also proud because they saw themselves as secure in their high rock fortresses, and they looked down on their neighbors. They were able to pillage others, but no one was able to penetrate their defenses.

Here are a couple links to more information about the area that once was Edom.

https://randalldsmith.com/obadiah-reasons/

https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/326

The pictures will give you a greater understanding of why the Edomites felt so secure and proud. The architecture in the photos is from the people who inhabited their land after the Edomites were destroyed, but doubtless they simply improved what Esau’s descendants had built, and their buildings were made possible by infrastructure devised and built by their predecessors.

The history and pictures will also remind you that the Edomites were not just the people this obscure book talks about; they were real people who lived lives similar to ours: they took pride in their homes and their culture, they enjoyed great security, and thus they enjoyed stability and prosperity. They couldn’t imagine being taken from their homes or their prosperous lifestyles; nevertheless, they were. Could you imagine your home being so long abandoned that it becomes a historical curiosity? That our homes wouldn’t survive to be architectural and historical wonders like these structures, attests to the cleverness of this lost people; their abilities may have exceeded ours! They were magnificent, but that didn’t make them immune to God’s sovereignty. And neither are we.

This book reminds us that God is sovereign over all nations. We may be tempted to fear the power of other nations, but they are in God’s hand. He can destroy the wealth and power of any nation prospering today, just as He destroyed Edom so thoroughly that no one believes they were ever great because no one remembers anything about them at all.

Obadiah is also an interesting reminder that God’s people have always been engaged in a battle for their existence. Just as modern-day Israel is surrounded by powerful nations who hate her and are determined to destroy her, so God’s people were surrounded in ancient times. They have suffered much, have long been exiled from their land and thus deprived of the privilege of being a nation. They have suffered much hatred and persecution as exiles. But today they exist as a nation once again, and enjoy a measure of respect on the world scene because of God’s amazing care for them. They are a thriving, dynamic nation, while Edom is an abandoned tourist attraction. God can do the same to every one of Israel’s modern-day enemies.

Do you have cares from watching the news, about which you need to talk to the sovereign Lord, your Heavenly Father? The one who loves you and wants to hear you express your thoughts to Him even though He already knows them all, is also powerful enough to do something about your concerns. Take them to Him today!

If you have read from January 1st, you are now halfway through the Bible! Please recognize your accomplishment and celebrate it! If you haven’t been faithful to read daily, please don’t let the enemy get you down about that. Rather, you have the next half of the year to improve that performance. Choose now and commit to God to take advantage of His power to help you form this new habit for life.

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Day 166 — Psalms 134, 146 – 150

Verse 146:5 says “Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God.” That’s the kind of relationship He wants to have with us, the kind of relationship with Him that He wants us to enjoy. He wants us to rely on Him for all the help we need. That implies that we need help, and need to recognize our need and go to Him for the help we need. Is it possible that the One who created everything by just His commands, who sustains everything, who owns all, and is sovereign over all, is unable to help me? He wants to help me. He can be trusted to give me good help because He is good, and to know what good help I need because He is all-knowing. Oh, He can definitely be a help to me.

He also wants us to hope in Him. Do we appreciate what a relief that is, to hope in Him and not in anyone or anything else that is fleeting? Romans 5:5 says, “and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” The more we place our hope in God, the more we find ways to delight in Him.

These psalms praise God for who He is and what He has done, reminding us of all the reasons why we can rely on Him for help and place our hope in Him. What is needed in your life today? His help? Hope? Why not choose to make that more real today by seeking Him for what you need? These psalms offer a good place to start our assessments.

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Day 165 — II Chronicles 6 – 7 & Psalm 136

On this second run through Solomon’s prayer at the dedication of the Temple, make note of two things as you read:

  • The conditions upon which God’s response to His people’s prayers would be based. How can you apply these to your own life?
  • What Solomon asked God to do. What verbs did he use to describe the actions he wanted God to take on behalf of His people? How does this inform the way you pray for what you want God to do in your own life? How does it reveal how you can pray for others?

I hope you didn’t fail to notice that God held up David as a standard for future kings’ faithfulness to God, and an example of one who walked before God, did all that He commanded and observed His decrees and laws. We never fail to remember David as much for his sin with Bathsheba as for courageously killing Goliath, but his sin wasn’t fatal because he did the very thing God presented as a condition upon which He would “hear from heaven and forgive their sin and heal….” He humbled himself, prayed, sought God’s face and turned from his wicked ways. God doesn’t count us total losses if we sin, either, as long as we respond to it by humbling ourselves, praying, seeking His face and turning from our wicked ways.

God’s promise to Solomon on the occasion of the dedication of the Temple reminds us of His faithfulness to His promises. It also reminds us of man’s unfaithfulness. David’s descendants weren’t faithful, and the people of Israel weren’t faithful. The nation was cast from their land in 70 A.D. when the Temple was flattened, never to be rebuilt. Israel ceased to be a nation from that time until it formed again in 1948. That is a lot of years for Israel to suffer the judgment for their sin – and they surely suffered in those years.  If God said that His eyes and His heart will always be in Jerusalem, His eyes and His heart are still there.

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Day 149 — I Kings 3 – 4; II Chronicles 1; Psalm 72

Solomon didn’t waste any time in getting into sin as king. Recall the brief passage in Deuteronomy 17:14-20 in which God gave His instructions for the future king. The consequences of Solomon’s actions led to another consequence, and then another, and ultimately had a big impact on the nation. Why wouldn’t God have reminded Solomon? It’s possible that He did, as He confronted David with his sin, and Saul, his. What does this teach you about God and how He deals with men? How do you relate that with His dealings with you?

Solomon didn’t get it all wrong, though. Psalm 72 reveals that he understood God’s heart for the leadership of His people, and apparently intended to lead them that way. According to the descriptions of his subjects’ lives under his rule in the early years of his reign, he started out leading that way, and the people benefited. However, that changed. His life reveals the inadequacy of good intentions when one is disobedient in other matters. A divided heart is not on God’s side.

It’s interesting also that the very things used to describe Solomon’s greatness as a national leader are the very things that God had said the king must not do. Could God have given Israel victory over any enemy without the numerous horses and chariots? Could He have established Solomon as a great ruler, and Israel as a world-class nation, without the many wives, key alliances, and wealth? He had demonstrated His ability to do those very things, and yet Solomon chose to put his trust in these other security measures and allow the power to corrupt him. If the one whom God loved in such a special way, to whom He gave great wisdom and many other blessings, could fail thus, what hope do any of us have to enjoy relationship with God? None at all, which I believe is part of the point of the long history of the Old Testament, the story of the world’s long wait for the promised Messiah. There can be no doubt that we have no hope for a relationship with God apart from His intervention on our behalf.

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Days 147 & 148 — Psalm 119

This psalm is precious to me because it was while reading it that I asked God to give me the love for His word that this psalmist had. At that time, I was frustrated with all the ways the poet was able to find to draw out his work by restating the same idea over and over again; I have since learned to appreciate the significance of each idea expressed in conveying all the reasons why God’s word is so precious.

I have taken different approaches to studying this psalm over the years, and found each valuable. For interest’s sake, you may want to keep track of any of the following central ideas as you read through it:

  • The benefits of keeping God’s word that the psalmist describes. Do you realize these benefits in your own life? If so, praise God for them. If not, why not? You should be seeking them.
  • The ways the psalmist uses to know God’s word. He was no slacker. Compare that to your diligence in knowing God’s word. Does that make you a seeker or otherwise? If you lack diligence, what ways speak the most to you as disciplines you could observe in your pursuit of knowing God?
  • What the psalmist asks of God. If he asks, couldn’t we? Shouldn’t we?

What are the connections between some of the ideas the writer presents in his parallelisms? Some of them are not obvious at all, but rather than dismissing the odd ones as odd, you should consider them for a deeper understanding.

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Day 146 — I Kings 1 – 2; Psalms 37, 71 & 94

David was plagued with the promised consequences of his sin even into his old age. Let us remember that God knows how to impose painful consequences for our sin. No one was still living who would have remembered God’s pronouncement to Eli of the consequences of his sin in preferring not to offend his sons at the cost of offending God; but God remembered. Do you recall God’s telling Eli that his descendants would not be holding the office of High Priest as a result of his sin? The sad stories here remind us that we cannot presume upon God’s mercy by choosing to sin.

It’s difficult to understand why David charged Solomon with seeing justice accomplished when he failed to accomplish it himself, because justice in that day and place differed from our ideas of justice today. Don’t you wish Scripture would comment on some of these situations so we could understand them better? My only comment is that I find it interesting that the man after God’s own heart, faced with determinations of justice that were beyond his ability to decide, erred on the side of mercy. He is contrasted with God, who is perfect; but where he was imperfect, he was strong on mercy and weak on justice. Solomon was more wise and less conformed to God’s heart compared to his father, and was able to carry out justice better than David was. Again, these imperfect men point to God’s perfect balance of all character qualities.

David showed in Psalm 37 that he treasured God’s justice. Imagine if we took his advice and let go of our life’s dramas to wait on God to work them out in His time: at the very least, our relationships with God would be so much more intimate. Waiting in favor of attempting to work matters out ourselves builds trust and the hope in Him that He wants us to have. David’s life shows that God can be trusted to do as He promises, both for good and for bad. Is there anything for which you need to wait on God today?

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Day 145 — Psalms 111, 112, 114 – 118

These psalms remind us that God is personal. His works are great, and they are done for our sakes, that we might give Him the glory He deserves and serve our intended purpose of loving Him intimately and sharing with Him a relationship of mutual delight.

Note in Psalm 111 what one does to enjoy that relationship with Him: giving thanks, congregating with the upright for the purpose of worship, studying His works, delighting in His works, remembering His works intentionally- reviewing and recalling them. Where does the psalmist begin in remembering and studying God’s works? With the most basic of them, something so basic we tend to take it for granted: with His providing food for us. We are able to take that for granted much more than the people of the psalmist’s day did, but it’s likely that man has always been inclined to take for granted that a seed planted and properly tended bears fruit. It is God’s goodness that gives us the luxury of taking such reliable blessing for granted. What else do we take for granted? The natural wonders are works of God that cannot fail to inspire awe in their creator. The more he is able to delve into their depths, the more man realizes how amazing they are, and how little he truly understands about them. That is why studying them is so important.

As it is with His works of creation, God’s love and faithfulness are shown in the salvation He has worked out for man. If the psalmist was able to find reasons to praise God for His redemption through the Old Covenant, how much more can we praise Him for our abundant salvation!

I encourage you to spend some time today contemplating – remembering, observing, giving praise and thanks – God’s wonderful works, and specifically His wonderful works for you. You may not be enjoying the wealth and riches spoken of in Psalm 112, and yet, perhaps you are: perhaps your concept of wealth and riches is different than God’s. Accepting the promise of an all-powerful God who made and sustains everything by His word alone, you have all that you need, and that is great wealth indeed. You may not feel like light has dawned in your darkness, but that is not the end of your story. If you feel that God has not dealt bountifully with you, you need to remember and study your salvation.

Does it seem to you that these psalms lack structure, flitting from topic to topic rather insensibly? That understanding had long left me feeling mostly frustrated with the psalms, and believing that they were fluffy and shallow. However, study has led me to a greater insight into them, and they are truly powerful conveyors of truth. I invite you to take one of these psalms and dive into it in study. Ask God to reveal to you the connections between the ideas, and spend some time thinking over them. You might look up other Scriptures referenced in footnotes within the psalm. This kind of study is beyond the scope of this blog, but happily, your best guidance for study is found in the One living inside of you. He wants to be asked and sought! He rewards those who diligently seek Him!

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Day 144 — I Chronicles 26 – 29, Psalm 127

The exhortation that the man after God’s own heart gives to his son on the occasion of his handing the throne over to him are significant for us. I suggest that you make a list of all that David advised Solomon. Is any of it appropriate for application to your own life?

Isn’t it interesting that giving offerings for the temple to be built was a joyous event, prompting the people to praise not themselves for being such generous givers, but to praise God? The description of that experience demonstrates what an act of worship giving should be. If you aren’t to the point where you can give generously to God with a willing and glad heart, don’t neglect to give, for that would be failing to worship in that way. Rather, work on the generous and willing and joyful parts!

Note what David prayed for the people and for Solomon in chapter 29. These are great ideas for how we can pray for others in general and our children in particular.

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Day 143 — Psalms 131, 138, 139, 143, & 145

We’re getting to the end of David’s psalms, presumably words he would have written toward the end of his life. Psalm 131 is precious to me: at a time in my life when I faced a great and perplexing need, I first found this gem: “I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvelous for me. But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me. O…hope in the Lord.” Can you imagine in a time of profoundly felt, overwhelming need, the resolution of which you felt helpless to work out, being freed from the burden of working it out yourself? Can you imagine instead, resting as if cradled in God’s arms, as one fully satisfied? It’s not the most “sensible” response to such need, but then, “God has chosen the foolish things of this world to confound the wise….” Finding gems like this that feed our souls in time of great need, are one of the reasons people treasure the psalms so much.

Psalm 143 finds David crushed to the ground by the pursuit of the enemy, sitting in deep darkness in a hopeless state, faint of spirit. Do you ever feel that way? If you don’t presently, you may. If the man after God’s own heart can feel that way, how can we expect to be immune from such afflictions ourselves? Note all the things David did, all the things he requested from God, to address the problem. Do you need to do any of these things, request any of these things from God? There are some great prayer prompts in these verses.

In Psalm 145 David says that “One generation shall commend your works to another.” How are you doing in that regard? Note all the things he is going to share with the next generation to commend God’s works. Notice also that he isn’t just going to list the works, but also he meditates on them. What is the purpose of meditating on God’s works, do you suppose? What do you find worth meditating on in the list of things you noted that David intends to share with the next generation? Why not spend some time meditating on them today?