Week 20--Psalms, Part 2

Once more we take a week to study and reflect on the Psalms, but with far fewer of my favorites this time. That doesn’t make them any less valuable--it just means they may be less familiar. There’s only 29 Psalms this week, unlike the 47 we had last week. Let’s see what David and his co-Psalmists were meditating on as they wrote.

Psalm 103 has two of my favorite verses. Hey, I didn’t say these Psalms weren’t my favorites, I just said there weren’t as many. “For as high as the heavens are above the earth, So great is His lovingkindness toward those who fear Him. As far as the east is from the west, So far has he removed our transgressions from us.”

We have many more songs of praise and blessing in this section of the Psalms. We also read some of the Psalms of Ascents, which Hebrews would recite on their way up to Jerusalem to celebrate certain Feasts. 

Psalm 139 is again, a beautiful poem of creation, when David describes how God knit him together in his mother’s womb. All our days are written out before even one of them takes place, David writes. This knowledge is too wonderful for David, and for me.

Psalm 88-89 are two of the many not written by David. Psalm 88 was penned by Heman, and Psalm 89 by Ethan, both of whom were Ezrahites, or possibly priests. These are quite dissimilar Psalms--Psalm 88 is full of pain, with Heman waiting for relief or at least a reason for his pain. Ethan, on the other hand, praises the goodness of the Lord and looks forward to the day when the Lord will reveal Himself again.

The rest of the Psalms from this week, 50 and 73-83, were written by Asaph or the Sons of Asaph. Who is this mysterious Asaph? He was, in fact, one of the singers of the temple, appointed along with Heman and Ethan (1 Chronicles 15:19). The three of them also played the cymbals. I like it! 

Many of the Psalms of Asaph speak of judgment. Psalm 73, 75, 79, 82, and 83 all ask God to severely judge the nations who are causing Israel pain. Granted, Israel is not exactly pure and innocent, as we have seen by reading the historical books so far this year. 

In Psalm 74, Asaph mourns the fact that God has rejected the nation of Israel forever. This poem is a cry for salvation from enemies, not just a call for the enemies’ destruction. 

Psalms 77, 80 and 81both ask the Lord for blessing and salvation again. In Psalm 78 we find the condensed version of Israel’s history--of their unfaithfulness, and God’s faithfulness despite their actions. There is fire and wrath, and retelling of the plagues from Egypt, and--my personal favorite--verse 54 “So He brought them to His holy land, To this hill country which His right hand had gained” (See, I told you Texas was in the Bible). Unfortunately, as we know, Israel eventually pushed too far, and God allowed them to be destroyed. Even then, He awoke and preserved a remnant, shepherding and guiding them safely in the end.

Finally, Psalm 76 is a song of praise of God’s glorious might, especially in battle. Asaph reminds the Israelites to make vows to God, and then, most importantly, to fulfill them.

Next week we return to history again. Are you ready for stories about King Solomon? 

Week 19--Psalms, Part 1

Psalms have been dear to me for as long as I can remember. When I was 10 and was in Bible drill, we had to memorize 25 Bible verses. I think 5 of them were from Psalms. On my 10th anniversary, when my husband was in the hospital and almost died (a much longer story that can be found on a friend's blog here) I sat on the hospital floor and crocheted a blanket while quoting these same Psalms. Indulge me for a while as we meander through the poetry of the Bible.

This week’s reading covers 47 different Psalms (which I was nice enough not to list separately in the title, did you notice?) and, for the record, they are almost all “my favorite.” We have spent so much time reading about King David, it is fascinating to find a record of his thoughts and prayers. It is refreshing to hear about his fears, his faith, and how those two attributes balance each other. Here are some highlights from this week, and some things we learn from when we read the Bible through instead of just memorizing verses.

Psalm 8:4-5 “What is man that You take thought of him, And the son of man that You care for him? Yet You have made him a little lower than God, And You crown him with glory and majesty!” 

Psalm 9:1 “I will give thanks to the LORD with all my heart; I will tell of all Your wonders.”

Psalm 16:11 “You will make known to me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; In Your right hand there are pleasures forever.” It’s just happy, no?

Fun fact: did you know that Psalm 19:1 and Psalm 19:14 were the first and last verses of the same chapter? Well, sure, it’s easy when you look at the references. Since I memorized them separately, these two verses existed unconnected in my mind for many years. Psalm 19:1 speaks of the heavens declaring the glory of God. His rule is seen even in the order of the sun and the stars. David progresses through this chapter from of the wonder of God’s creation to the sacredness of the law and order of God. Psalm 19:14, which kept me sane while SSG OPSEC was sick, is David’s plea that his own thoughts and meditations would be pleasing to God. It’s one thing to know these two lovely verses, it’s another thing to be able to see them as the beginning and end of a larger thought.

Don’t laugh, but a friend recently pointed out to me that Psalm 23 comes right after Psalm 22. Did I need to be reminded? Yes, but about the content, not the numbers. See, Psalm 22 is the Psalm of the Cross. It begins, “My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?” David spends 31 verses processing his pain and reminding himself that God is his comfort. Then he can write Psalm 23, which begins, “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures.”

Another pain-filled Psalm is number 27. Life is hard for this warrior poet, and he is being attacked on all sides. But he ends with verse 13-14, “I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the LORD In the land of the living. Wait for the LORD; Be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the LORD.” 

Psalm 30:5 “For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for a lifetime; Weeping may last for the night, But a shout of joy comes in the morning.” Look at the end--joy comes in the morning! This is what I look forward to, that no matter what today brings, tomorrow may be better. And if tomorrow isn’t better, heaven will be.

Psalm 67:7 “God blesses us, That all the ends of the earth may fear Him.” 

Psalm 86:11 “Teach me Your way, O LORD; I will walk in Your truth; Unite my heart to fear Your name.” Yeah. Exactly.

Well, I’ve gone on longer than I meant to. Psalms do that to me. Have a great day. Take time to enjoy these Psalms if you haven’t already. See you next time!

Week 18--2 Samuel 19-2 Kings 2; 1 Chronicles, selected Psalms

This week’s reading has us examining the final years of David’s reign and the end of his life (sniff). I’m often saddened when major Biblical characters die; we spend so much time with them and come to know them so well that it’s like losing a friend. Of course we know King David died, he lived 3,000 years ago and isn’t here anymore. Spending a month reading about him, and then reading about his death, well, it’s a bit of a downer.

Before we get there, though, there is still more story. 2 Samuel 20 tells of a man by the name of Sheba who stages one last revolt against David. There is delay and confusion in the mustering of David’s troops; David goes through three generals in about as many days. It doesn’t help that Joab, one of David’s longest-serving officers, kills one of the new guys.

We also have a famine caused by God because of something Saul had done 40 years ago. God requires the death of seven members of Saul’s family to make restitution, and rain finally falls again.

One of David’s last acts as king is to take a census of the people, specifically to number the military strength of Israel. This was David’s idea, though, and not God’s, and God sent a pestilence to punish David and the nation of Israel for focusing on the power of man instead of the power of God. When the nation repents, the pestilence is over.

David writes one last psalm, recorded in 2 Samuel 23. He then decides to follow up on his earlier idea of building a temple. David knows that he will not build the temple, Solomon will. However, David will do what he can to help. He goes to a man named Araunah/Ornan (one name in 2 Samuel, another in 2 Chronicles) and buys his threshing floor. Ornan tries to donate it to the king, but David refuses to have sacrifices in a place which does not cost him anything. I have heard this story before, and enjoy the powerful message. There is no a sacrifice in giving up something that is not personally important or meaningful. The threshing floor needed to cost David something in order for it to be a proper sacrifice from him, and a proper place to offer sacrifices. What I didn’t know about this story until reading the Bible through is that this particular threshing floor is going to be the site of Solomon’s temple, Mount Moriah, in the city of Jerusalem.

David names the son that sill succeed him as king. Solomon is crowned the last king of the United Kingdom of Israel. Finally, like many other people in the Bible, David is gathered to his fathers. 1 Chronicles 29:28 tells us he “died in a ripe old age, full of days, riches and honor.” (Sniff.)

We will take a break from history for a few weeks to read David’s Psalms, and then we will study the life of King Solomon.

Have a great week!