The words to some of these Psalms are very familiar, like the beginning of the Pledge of Allegiance, or “The Star Spangled Banner”, and the there are some parts that are powerful…but I remember them as well.
Psalm 1: Let my eye focus on God revealed in His Word, and in Him alone. The eye is an amazing creation, able to adjust focus from distant to very near in a tenth of a second, truly incredible….but it can only focus on one thing at a time. “Lord, may my eyes always focus on you. Let the world be out of focus, that’s okay…but may I always see you clearly”.
Psalm 2: I was reading verse 7 before I remembered that this passage is foreshadowing Christ. Why DO the nations rebel against Jesus? Why is there such animosity towards Him? That can only come from the devil, because serving God makes so much sense. What peace awaits those who learn to interpret spiritual matters correctly, and what horrors await those who cannot!
Psalm 15: Perhaps it sounds strange, but this Psalm jumps out at me today. It’s so simple, and yet so profound. Don’t speak ill of your neighbors, and keep your promises..even when it hurts. What a wonderful, peaceful world we would live in if only we could perform the duties requested in this short Psalm! I think a whole sermon series could be preached from this one passage.
Psalm 22: Again, David is subjected to isolation and persecution at some point during his rule. This Psalm also foreshadows Christ, speaking from antiquity into the future about the day when the Ruler of all Creation would hang on the cross. As terrible as these moments must have been for David, God brought this beautiful psalm from it. As horrific as crucifixion was, God brought salvation from that. Sometimes difficult times are wonderful times….it just depends on where you’re standing. The ending of this Psalm looks far beyond the crucifixion, perhaps to Judgement Day. And the last stanza speaks directly to me, and who knows….perhaps directly to America.
Psalm 23: repeated so often that I barely read the words. That’s one good reason to read in a different translation, you pick up on cues that you didn’t notice before.
Psalm 24: Jerusalem sits on top of a small hill (mount Zion) and you have to walk uphill to enter the temple area. That’s why the Psalmist says “who may climb the mountain of the Lord”. He isn’t talking of Mt. Sinai, because on this mountain are “ancient gates” that will only be opened to permit entrance to those who are worthy. Of course, the King is worthy…and that leads us into the celebration of Psalm 47.
Psalm 68: One of the things that I like about David is that he is honest and transparent in his love for God and in his dislike (hatred?) of those who don’t love God. I don’t think David would be popular in our day, he wasn’t very “politically correct”…then again…he was the king, and who cares what people think when you’re the king?
Vs 11-14 must be talking of a lopsided battle when the Israelites entered the Promised Land. There are other instances where plunder littered the ground after God routed the enemy army…but they haven’t happened as of this writing. I’m thinking of Hezekiah’s reign.
I love how David looks at the majestic peaks of the snow capped mountains and imagines that those beautiful ageless parts of creation wish they could be the small mountain in the hills of Judea…because that’s where God lives. Great image.
Here’s an image: God carries us, and crushes the skulls of others. Wow. I mean, this is in the Bible. David says somewhere in here that God can become angry quickly. Thinking of this, we should take that to heart and live humbly before Him. In His anger, He could destroy us. Today I am thankful that He loves me, and “carries me in His arms”.
I wonder if Verse 22 and following are speaking of end times? Does “coming up from the sea” mean raising the dead? or is it a reference to people from all walks of life and all nations gathering together…Armageddon, or Judgement Day? Either way, in the end all nations will bring Him tribute….this reminds me of the passage that says “every knee will bow”. Romans 14:11.
It seemed like a lot of reading when I looked at the numbers, but in reality there isn’t any more text than any other day. However, I do believe there is more content. So many more topics are touched on in a Psalm than in a historical account.
Faithfully,
PR