We Should Ask to See Cool Stuff [Psalm 48]
This is victory psalm, a song of celebration because the Lord has delivered Jerusalem from his enemies.
One phrase in particular stuck out to me:
“As we have heard, so have we seen” [Psalm 48:8].
In other words, we’d heard about what you have done in the past, Lord, but now we’ve actually seen it with our own eyes.
I think we should pray the same thing for our lives.
“Lord, help us to see cool stuff in our own time.”
TODAY, LORD!
Let’s Take This Literally [Psalm 47]
Let’s take the first line of Psalm 47 literally this Friday:
“Clap your hands, all peoples!
Shout to God with loud songs of joy!“
Seriously. Try it!
How to Be Calm in the Storm - Live Study 7 AM, 7 PM
I’m teaching a 15 minute Bible study TODAY at 7:00 AM and 7:00 PM on Psalm 46, today’s psalm.
2 ways to watch:
After the morning session, I’ll post the video here as well.
It’s a GREAT psalm—hope you’ll join me.
Royal Wedding! [Psalm 45]
The 45th Psalm is a psalm composed for a royal wedding in Jerusalem. It’s fun to imagine what it must have been like to see one of the descendants of David take his bride and ascend to the throne.
Marriage is everything—we are who we are because of the marriages of the people who came before us. Some were happy and some were unhappy, but all shaped us.
Whose marriage can you pray for today?
Took a Break For the Long Weekend
I haven’t written any Psalms posts since Friday; I’ll resume again tomorrow. I just needed a break, and we celebrated my son’s 10th birthday—a fun weekend.
Today, we’re reading Psalm 44. Cut your losses and jump back in.
(By the way, be sure to check your junk folder if you don’t see an email from me on any particular day—unfortunately, some folks have said my stuff ends up there.)
Happy Tuesday, everyone.
"40"
The power of U2’s “40” comes from its refusal to neatly resolve. But life itself lacks neat resolution, and so the song mirrors life perfectly. Life has times for praise—”I will sing, sing a new song”—and times for perseverance—”How long, to sing this song?”—and these times follow after one another in this life until the Lord calls us home.
I think “40” is my favorite artistic reworking of a psalm, or at least the one that has had the greatest influence on me.
The video below is from the legendary U2 show at Red Rocks on June 5, 1983, which almost didn’t happen.
Enjoy. Happy Friday, everyone.
40
I waited patiently for the Lord.
He inclined and heard my cry.
He brought me up out of the pit
Out of the miry clay.
I will sing, sing a new song.
I will sing, sing a new song.
How long to sing this song?
How long to sing this song?
How long, how long, how long
How long to sing this song?
You set my feet upon a rock
And made my footsteps firm.
Many will see, many will see and hear.
I will sing, sing a new song.
I will sing, sing a new song
I will sing, sing a new song.
I will sing, sing a new song
How long to sing this song?
How long to sing this song?
How long to sing this song?
How long to sing this song?
What the Heck, Lord?! [Psalm 39]
Psalm 39 is a mix of despair and hope and frustration. There are times in life when you just cannot understand what God is up to. Psalm 39 is for those sorts of times.
What emotions do you need to pray through today?
Penitent [Psalm 38]
“The psalmist is in physical, emotional, and psychological pain and turns to God for help. He knows that his suffering is a result of his sin and so he turns to the only One who can help him, namely God. He also urgently asks God for help against his enemies who seek to take advantage of his weakened condition….”
“Even before the psalmist feels completely forgiven, he still calls on God to help him against his enemies who want to take advantage of him….”
“Psalm 38 provides a model prayer for those who feel deep sorrow over their sin, not just to express their pain, but also to repent and turn to God.”
Remember, the psalms teach us to pray through our emotions, regardless of what they are. You may not identify with Psalm 38 today, but what emotions do you need to pray through today?
Hold Fast [Psalm 37]
Jack Tar used to get 8 letters tattooed across his knuckles:
H-O-L-D-F-A-S-T
It was a message that offered both instruction—hold fast to the rigging, lads, lest the storm carry you overboard—and defiance—if we hold fast and fight, we will make it through to victory.
I think Psalm 37 is essentially a perfect psalm; every line is worth repeating to yourself and underlining in your Bible.
“It reminds those hearing it to hold fast even in the face of a world where the wicked seem to do better than the faithful.”
Don’t be angry at the prosperity of the wicked, and don’t be fooled:
The Lord will vindicate those who trust in him, but the way of the wicked will perish.
It might seem that the wicked prosper, but that is only because you and I lack perspective: in the long run the Lord will bring the wicked to ruin—if you could see the end now, you’d know that the wisest course of action is to trust in the Lord, because his way is the only way that will last.
In the meantime, brothers and sisters, hold fast and don’t lose heart.
P.S. “The meek shall inherit the earth.” Who said that, and from what was he quoting?
When You Need To Remind Yourself of the Truth [Psalm 36]
Ever had to look at yourself in the mirror and remind yourself of what you know to be true? Sometimes it’s good to say that kind of stuff aloud—I know I’ve had lots of those moments these past 2 months.
In Psalm 36, David sees that the wicked continue to act with impunity, believing they are untouchable:
1 Transgression speaks to the wicked
deep in his heart;
there is no fear of God
before his eyes.
2 For he flatters himself in his own eyes
that his iniquity cannot be found out and hated.
3 The words of his mouth are trouble and deceit;
he has ceased to act wisely and do good.
4 He plots trouble while on his bed;
he sets himself in a way that is not good;
he does not reject evil.
In the face of that kind of arrogance, David reminds himself of what he knows to be true nevertheless:
5 Your steadfast love, O Lord, extends to the heavens,
your faithfulness to the clouds.
6 Your righteousness is like the mountains of God;
your judgments are like the great deep;
man and beast you save, O Lord.
Sometimes it’s good to say that kind of thing out loud.
What truth do you need to remind yourself of today?
Why It's Okay to Pray Against Your Enemies [Psalm 35]
Like so many psalms, the Thirty-Fifth Psalm is a prayer for the Lord to defeat David’s enemies.
Question: Praying against my enemies—is that even allowed?
Answer: Yes. More than allowed, it is required.
Remember, the psalms teach us to pray through our emotions, and sooner or later you will have the emotions that come with enemy opposition. Enemies are people who deliberately work to harm you or your loved ones in some way, and if you tell me that you’ve never had any enemies, I’ll tell you it’s only a matter of time: enemies are inevitable. When enemies attack, we have 2 choices:
Lie and pretend that we are so holy that enemy attacks don’t cause us pain;
Tell the truth and ask the Lord to defend us.
Honesty in prayer is essential, and asking the Lord to defeat your enemies does NOT mean you are hating them. To love is to will the good of the other, and if your enemies are wrong, then it is to their good that the Lord stop them from doing greater evil. In fact, the surest way to end up hating your enemies is to
refuse to pray honestly to the Lord (thereby letting your hurt fester into hate); and
have them do more evil to you (thereby fanning the flames of hurt into hate in your heart).
When we pray for the Lord to defeat our enemies we are doing a very important thing: we are giving a desire for vengeance over to the Lord and trusting him to judge justly.
Praying in this way is a way to remove the venom from the bite before it turns your heart black.
The psalms teach us to pray through our emotions.
Through what feelings do you need to be praying today?
He Pretended He Was Insane By having Spit run dOwn His Beard [Psalm 34]
The background to Psalm 34 is fascinating—no wonder it’s such a psalm of praise.
10 That day David fled from Saul and went to Achish king of Gath. 11 But the servants of Achish said to him, “Isn’t this David, the king of the land? Isn’t he the one they sing about in their dances:
“‘Saul has slain his thousands,
and David his tens of thousands’?”
12 David took these words to heart and was very much afraid of Achish king of Gath. 13 So he pretended to be insane in their presence; and while he was in their hands he acted like a madman, making marks on the doors of the gate and letting saliva run down his beard.
14 Achish said to his servants, “Look at the man! He is insane! Why bring him to me? 15 Am I so short of madmen that you have to bring this fellow here to carry on like this in front of me? Must this man come into my house?”
1 Samuel 21:10-15
What Kind Of Nation Will We Be After This? [Psalm 33]
I have been praying that somehow the Lord would use this crazy pandemic to bring about a spiritual awakening in our country. We are a wealthy country, but we are neither a wise nor good country. I think Psalm 33 offers a challenge and an opportunity to us:
12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,
the people whom he has chosen as his heritage!
All the wealth and military might in the world is not enough to save us if we are spiritually broken. It is from God that we can receive blessing and security, not from the work of our own hands. I like how Psalm 33 puts it:
16 The king is not saved by his great army;
a warrior is not delivered by his great strength.
17 The war horse is a false hope for salvation,
and by its great might it cannot rescue.
Are you putting your hope in the right place today?
Man or Mule? [Psalm 32]
It’s good to confess:
1 Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven,
whose sin is covered.
2 Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity,
and in whose spirit there is no deceit.
But David knows from personal experience how stubborn we can be in refusing to admit wrongdoing:
3 For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away
through my groaning all day long.
4 For day and night your hand was heavy upon me;
my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer.
So, I like his warning to us:
9 Be not like a horse or a mule, without understanding,
which must be curbed with bit and bridle,
or it will not stay near you.
Will you be man or mule today?
Did You Know Jesus Quoted This? [Psalm 31]
“Into your hands I commit my spirit.” Those are the last words of Jesus on the cross—he is directly quoting Psalm 31:5!
Remember, the psalms are there to teach us to pray through our emotions to God.
By the way, when you read the entire psalm, it really changes how you hear those last words on the cross. In some sense, it makes the words of Jesus more hopeful, I think.
What do you think?
"I Was a Fool When Times Were Good" [Psalm 30]
The structure of the psalm is simple, its two outbursts of praise flanking the confession in verses 6-10 of overconfidence and its dire results. David’s unaffected delight at being restores shines through every word, quite undimmed by time.
Psalm 30
A Psalm of David. A song at the dedication of the temple.
1 I will extol you, O Lord, for you have drawn me up
and have not let my foes rejoice over me.
2 O Lord my God, I cried to you for help,
and you have healed me.
3 O Lord, you have brought up my soul from Sheol;
you restored me to life from among those who go down to the pit.4 Sing praises to the Lord, O you his saints,
and give thanks to his holy name.
5 For his anger is but for a moment,
and his favor is for a lifetime.
Weeping may tarry for the night,
but joy comes with the morning.
“For you have drawn me up”—it’s the same word for drawing water from a well.
6 As for me, I said in my prosperity,
“I shall never be moved.”
7 By your favor, O Lord,
you made my mountain stand strong;
you hid your face;
I was dismayed.8 To you, O Lord, I cry,
and to the Lord I plead for mercy:
9 “What profit is there in my death,
if I go down to the pit?
Will the dust praise you?
Will it tell of your faithfulness?
10 Hear, O Lord, and be merciful to me!
O Lord, be my helper!”
David has been foolish because he boasted in good times that nothing bad would happen: “I shall never be moved.”
Then, when bad times came, he realized that he needed the Lord more than ever.
11 You have turned for me my mourning into dancing;
you have loosed my sackcloth
and clothed me with gladness,
12 that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent.
O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever!
David is PUMPED! The Lord has been faithful, and he knows he didn’t deserve it.
What about you?
VIDEO: 15 Minute Bible Study on Psalm 29
I taught a 15 minute Bible study on Psalm 29 this morning; I’ve included the video below.
If you understand one small word, then the whole psalm opens up before you!
I mention:
thunderstorms;
the mountains of Lebanon;
and even the auroch, an extinct wild ox.
I love Psalm 29, and I hope you will, too. Let me know if you find the study helpful.
Why Should I Fear? [Psalm 27]
The Lord is my light and my salvation;
whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life;
of whom shall I be afraid?
Amen.
Take 5 minutes to sit still, breathe, and listen to “Psalm 27 (One Thing)” by Shane and Shane:
Plaintiff, not Defendant! [Psalm 26]
The psalmists talk about judgement all the time, and they seem to actually want to be judged!
C.S. Lewis has an excellent explanation for why this is—be sure to read the whole excerpt:
The ancient Jews, like ourselves, think of God’s judgement in terms of an earthly court of justice. The difference is that the Christian pictures the case to be tried as a criminal case with himself in the dock; the Jew pictures it as a civil case with himself as the plaintiff. The one hopes for acquittal, or rather for pardon; the other hopes for a resounding triumph with heavy damages. Hence he prays “judge my quarrel”, or “avenge my cause” (35, 23). And though, as I said a minute ago, Our Lord in the parable of the Sheep and the Goats painted the characteristically Christian picture, in another place He is very characteristically Jewish. Notice what He means by “an unjust judge”. By those words most of us would mean someone like Judge Jeffreys or the creatures who sat on the benches of German tribunals during the Nazi régime: someone who bullies witnesses and jurymen in order to convict, and then savagely to punish, innocent men. Once again, we are thinking of a criminal trial. We hope we shall never appear in the dock before such a judge. But the Unjust Judge in the parable is quite a different character. There is no danger of appearing in his court against your will: the difficulty is the opposite—to get into it. It is clearly a civil action. The poor woman (Luke 18, 18, 5) has had her little strip of land—room for a pigsty or a henrun—taken away from her by a richer and more powerful neighbour (nowadays it would be Town-Planners or some11other “Body”). And she knows she has a perfectly watertight case. If once she could get it into court and have it tried by the laws of the land, she would be bound to get that strip back. But no one will listen to her, she can’t get it tried. No wonder she is anxious for “judgement”.
Behind this lies an age-old and almost world-wide experience which we have been spared. In most places and times it has been very difficult for the “small man” to get his case heard. The judge (and, doubtless, one or two of his underlings) has to be bribed. If you can’t afford to “oil his palm” your case will never reach court. Our judges do not receive bribes. (We probably take this blessing too much for granted; it will not remain with us automatically). We need not therefore be surprised if the Psalms, and the Prophets, are full of the longing for judgement, and regard the announcement that “judgement” is coming as good news. Hundreds and thousands of people who have been stripped of all they possess and who have the right entirely on their side will at last be heard. Of course they are not afraid of judgement. They know their case is unanswerable —if only it could be heard. When God comes to judge, at last it will.