God's Mercy, Our Mortality

Psalm 103

This is a beautiful, expansive psalm of praise which is worth reading through slowly several times. One part I’ve always found interesting is the psalmist’s statement that one of the reasons the Lord has compassion on humanity is because our lives are so short:

“As a father has compassion on his children,
so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him;
for he knows how we are formed,
he remembers that we are dust.
The life of mortals is like grass,
they flourish like a flower of the field;
the wind blows over it and it is gone,
and its place remembers it no more.
But from everlasting to everlasting
the Lord’s love is with those who fear him,
and his righteousness with their children’s children—
with those who keep his covenant
and remember to obey his precepts.”

— Psalm 103:13-18

And then the psalmist contrasts our mortality with the Lord’s long-suffering love for us.

How does Psalm 103 speak to you today?

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Psalm 103

Of David.

1 Praise the Lord, my soul;
    all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
2 Praise the Lord, my soul,
    and forget not all his benefits—
3 who forgives all your sins
    and heals all your diseases,
4 who redeems your life from the pit
    and crowns you with love and compassion,
5 who satisfies your desires with good things
    so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

6 The Lord works righteousness
    and justice for all the oppressed.

7 He made known his ways to Moses,
    his deeds to the people of Israel:
8 The Lord is compassionate and gracious,
    slow to anger, abounding in love.
9 He will not always accuse,
    nor will he harbor his anger forever;
10 he does not treat us as our sins deserve
    or repay us according to our iniquities.
11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
    so great is his love for those who fear him;
12 as far as the east is from the west,
    so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

13 As a father has compassion on his children,
    so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him;
14 for he knows how we are formed,
    he remembers that we are dust.
15 The life of mortals is like grass,
    they flourish like a flower of the field;
16 the wind blows over it and it is gone,
    and its place remembers it no more.
17 But from everlasting to everlasting
    the Lord’s love is with those who fear him,
    and his righteousness with their children’s children—
18 with those who keep his covenant
    and remember to obey his precepts.

19 The Lord has established his throne in heaven,
    and his kingdom rules over all.

20 Praise the Lord, you his angels,
    you mighty ones who do his bidding,
    who obey his word.
21 Praise the Lord, all his heavenly hosts,
    you his servants who do his will.
22 Praise the Lord, all his works
    everywhere in his dominion.

Praise the Lord, my soul.

Pray This When You Are In a Bad Way

Psalm 102

Remember that one of the purposes of the psalms is to teach us how to pray through our emotions to God. Psalm 102 is a bitter, desperate psalm for times when the only faith you can muster is a bitter, desperate faith. I wish it could be the case that you would never need to pray a psalm like this, but unfortunately life contains bitter moments, too.

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“For my days vanish like smoke;
my bones burn like glowing embers.
My heart is blighted and withered like grass;
I forget to eat my food.
In my distress I groan aloud
and am reduced to skin and bones.
I am like a desert owl,
like an owl among the ruins.
I lie awake; I have become
like a bird alone on a roof.
All day long my enemies taunt me;
those who rail against me use my name as a curse.
For I eat ashes as my food
and mingle my drink with tears
because of your great wrath,
for you have taken me up and thrown me aside.
My days are like the evening shadow;
I wither away like grass.”

— Psalm 102:3-11

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Psalm 102

A prayer of an afflicted person who has grown weak and pours out a lament before the Lord.

1 Hear my prayer, Lord;
    let my cry for help come to you.
2 Do not hide your face from me
    when I am in distress.
Turn your ear to me;
    when I call, answer me quickly.

3 For my days vanish like smoke;
    my bones burn like glowing embers.
4 My heart is blighted and withered like grass;
    I forget to eat my food.
5 In my distress I groan aloud
    and am reduced to skin and bones.
6 I am like a desert owl,
    like an owl among the ruins.
7 I lie awake; I have become
    like a bird alone on a roof.
8 All day long my enemies taunt me;
    those who rail against me use my name as a curse.
9 For I eat ashes as my food
    and mingle my drink with tears
10 because of your great wrath,
    for you have taken me up and thrown me aside.
11 My days are like the evening shadow;
    I wither away like grass.

12 But you, Lord, sit enthroned forever;
    your renown endures through all generations.
13 You will arise and have compassion on Zion,
    for it is time to show favor to her;
    the appointed time has come.
14 For her stones are dear to your servants;
    her very dust moves them to pity.
15 The nations will fear the name of the Lord,
    all the kings of the earth will revere your glory.
16 For the Lord will rebuild Zion
    and appear in his glory.
17 He will respond to the prayer of the destitute;
    he will not despise their plea.

18 Let this be written for a future generation,
    that a people not yet created may praise the Lord:
19 “The Lord looked down from his sanctuary on high,
    from heaven he viewed the earth,
20 to hear the groans of the prisoners
    and release those condemned to death.”
21 So the name of the Lord will be declared in Zion
    and his praise in Jerusalem
22 when the peoples and the kingdoms
    assemble to worship the Lord.

23 In the course of my life he broke my strength;
    he cut short my days.
24 So I said:
“Do not take me away, my God, in the midst of my days;
    your years go on through all generations.
25 In the beginning you laid the foundations of the earth,
    and the heavens are the work of your hands.
26 They will perish, but you remain;
    they will all wear out like a garment.
Like clothing you will change them
    and they will be discarded.
27 But you remain the same,
    and your years will never end.
28 The children of your servants will live in your presence;
    their descendants will be established before you.”

A Prayer for Integrity

Psalm 101

To have integrity is to be “one” all the way through—no deceit or hidden places.

Psalm 101 is a beautiful prayer for integrity, and it’s an aspiration for my own life.

What about you?

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“I will conduct the affairs of my house
with a blameless heart.
I will not look with approval
on anything that is vile.”

— Psalm 101:2-3

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Psalm 101

Of David. A psalm.

1 I will sing of your love and justice;
    to you, Lord, I will sing praise.
2 I will be careful to lead a blameless life—
    when will you come to me?

I will conduct the affairs of my house
    with a blameless heart.
3 I will not look with approval
    on anything that is vile.

I hate what faithless people do;
    I will have no part in it.
4 The perverse of heart shall be far from me;
    I will have nothing to do with what is evil.

5 Whoever slanders their neighbor in secret,
    I will put to silence;
whoever has haughty eyes and a proud heart,
    I will not tolerate.

6 My eyes will be on the faithful in the land,
    that they may dwell with me;
the one whose walk is blameless
    will minister to me.

7 No one who practices deceit
    will dwell in my house;
no one who speaks falsely
    will stand in my presence.

8 Every morning I will put to silence
    all the wicked in the land;
I will cut off every evildoer
    from the city of the Lord.

Sunday Psalm

Psalm 100

This psalm’s title makes it a perfect psalm for Sunday:

“A psalm. For giving grateful praise.”

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Psalm 100

A psalm. For giving grateful praise.

1 Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.
2     Worship the Lord with gladness;
    come before him with joyful songs.
3 Know that the Lord is God.
    It is he who made us, and we are his;
    we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving
    and his courts with praise;
    give thanks to him and praise his name.
5 For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;
    his faithfulness continues through all generations.

What Are the Cherubim?

Psalm 99

The cherubim are mysterious and terrifying angelic creatures mentioned in the Bible, often as servants of God in a holy place. They are composite creatures with elements of lions, eagles, bulls, etc., representing all the animals of creation.

When the psalmist mentions in today’s psalm that “the Lord…sits enthroned above the cherubim”, we are meant to imagine the Lord’s terrifying majesty.

Question for you: In the Bible, angelic creatures—spiritual beings—are terrifying. Where do you think we got the cultural idea of angels being cute and cuddly?

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“The Lord reigns,
let the nations tremble;
he sits enthroned between the cherubim,
let the earth shake.”

— Psalm 99:1

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Psalm 99

1 The Lord reigns,
    let the nations tremble;
he sits enthroned between the cherubim,
    let the earth shake.
2 Great is the Lord in Zion;
    he is exalted over all the nations.
3 Let them praise your great and awesome name—
    he is holy.

4 The King is mighty, he loves justice—
    you have established equity;
in Jacob you have done
    what is just and right.
5 Exalt the Lord our God
    and worship at his footstool;
    he is holy.

6 Moses and Aaron were among his priests,
    Samuel was among those who called on his name;
they called on the Lord
    and he answered them.
7 He spoke to them from the pillar of cloud;
    they kept his statutes and the decrees he gave them.

8 Lord our God,
    you answered them;
you were to Israel a forgiving God,
    though you punished their misdeeds.
9 Exalt the Lord our God
    and worship at his holy mountain,
    for the Lord our God is holy.

A New Song

Psalm 98

One of the recurring commands in the Psalms is to sing “a new song”. This is because God’s grandeur is so great that it’s not possible to exhaust our creativity in praising it. In fact, each of us has the responsibility to praise God—to sing a new song—in our own way.

What form will praise take for you today?

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“Sing to the Lord a new song,
for he has done marvelous things”

— Psalm 98:1

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Psalm 98

1 Sing to the Lord a new song,
    for he has done marvelous things;
his right hand and his holy arm
    have worked salvation for him.
2 The Lord has made his salvation known
    and revealed his righteousness to the nations.
3 He has remembered his love
    and his faithfulness to Israel;
all the ends of the earth have seen
    the salvation of our God.

4 Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth,
    burst into jubilant song with music;
5 make music to the Lord with the harp,
    with the harp and the sound of singing,
6 with trumpets and the blast of the ram’s horn—
    shout for joy before the Lord, the King.

7 Let the sea resound, and everything in it,
    the world, and all who live in it.
8 Let the rivers clap their hands,
    let the mountains sing together for joy;
9 let them sing before the Lord,
    for he comes to judge the earth.
He will judge the world in righteousness
    and the peoples with equity.

The Lightning of the Lord

Psalm 97

1 The Lord reigns, let the earth be glad;
let the distant shores rejoice.
2 Clouds and thick darkness surround him;
righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.
3 Fire goes before him
and consumes his foes on every side.
4 His lightning lights up the world;
the earth sees and trembles.
5 The mountains melt like wax before the Lord,
before the Lord of all the earth.
6 The heavens proclaim his righteousness,
and all peoples see his glory.

7 All who worship images are put to shame,
    those who boast in idols—
    worship him, all you gods!

8 Zion hears and rejoices
    and the villages of Judah are glad
    because of your judgments, Lord.
9 For you, Lord, are the Most High over all the earth;
    you are exalted far above all gods.
10 Let those who love the Lord hate evil,
    for he guards the lives of his faithful ones
    and delivers them from the hand of the wicked.
11 Light shines on the righteous
    and joy on the upright in heart.
12 Rejoice in the Lord, you who are righteous,
    and praise his holy name.

The Trees Sing

Psalm 96

This is a song of praise to the Lord, and the psalmist even imagines the trees themselves joining in the choir.

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“Let all the trees of the forest sing for joy.”

— Psalm 96:12

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Psalm 96

1 Sing to the Lord a new song;
    sing to the Lord, all the earth.
2 Sing to the Lord, praise his name;
    proclaim his salvation day after day.
3 Declare his glory among the nations,
    his marvelous deeds among all peoples.

4 For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise;
    he is to be feared above all gods.
5 For all the gods of the nations are idols,
    but the Lord made the heavens.
6 Splendor and majesty are before him;
    strength and glory are in his sanctuary.

7 Ascribe to the Lord, all you families of nations,
    ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
8 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;
    bring an offering and come into his courts.
9 Worship the Lord in the splendor of his[a] holiness;
    tremble before him, all the earth.
10 Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns.”
    The world is firmly established, it cannot be moved;
    he will judge the peoples with equity.

11 Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad;
    let the sea resound, and all that is in it.
12 Let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them;
    let all the trees of the forest sing for joy.
13 Let all creation rejoice before the Lord, for he comes,
    he comes to judge the earth.
He will judge the world in righteousness
    and the peoples in his faithfulness.

Psalm 95 (Come Worship the Lord)

I’d encourage you to sit with this beautiful psalm for 5 minutes today and listen to the musical arrangement of it I’ve included above.

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Psalm 95

1 Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord;
let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.
2 Let us come before him with thanksgiving
and extol him with music and song.

3 For the Lord is the great God,
    the great King above all gods.
4 In his hand are the depths of the earth,
    and the mountain peaks belong to him.
5 The sea is his, for he made it,
    and his hands formed the dry land.

6 Come, let us bow down in worship,
    let us kneel before the Lord our Maker;
7 for he is our God
    and we are the people of his pasture,
    the flock under his care.

Today, if only you would hear his voice,
8 “Do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah,
    as you did that day at Massah in the wilderness,
9 where your ancestors tested me;
    they tried me, though they had seen what I did.
10 For forty years I was angry with that generation;
    I said, ‘They are a people whose hearts go astray,
    and they have not known my ways.’
11 So I declared on oath in my anger,
    ‘They shall never enter my rest.’”

The Avenging God

Psalm 94

C.S. Lewis, in his little book on the psalms, offers the insight below into today’s psalm (and the other psalms of vengeance like it). Since I read first read this several years ago, the psalms that call on God to avenge the psalmists’ enemies have become much more meaningful to me. After all, it often seems as if the wicked get away with their crimes. Lord, come and make things right!

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“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.”

—from “Reflections on the Psalms”, by C.S. Lewis

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Psalm 94

1 The Lord is a God who avenges.
    O God who avenges, shine forth.
2 Rise up, Judge of the earth;
    pay back to the proud what they deserve.
3 How long, Lord, will the wicked,
    how long will the wicked be jubilant?

4 They pour out arrogant words;
    all the evildoers are full of boasting.
5 They crush your people, Lord;
    they oppress your inheritance.
6 They slay the widow and the foreigner;
    they murder the fatherless.
7 They say, “The Lord does not see;
    the God of Jacob takes no notice.”

8 Take notice, you senseless ones among the people;
    you fools, when will you become wise?
9 Does he who fashioned the ear not hear?
    Does he who formed the eye not see?
10 Does he who disciplines nations not punish?
    Does he who teaches mankind lack knowledge?
11 The Lord knows all human plans;
    he knows that they are futile.

12 Blessed is the one you discipline, Lord,
    the one you teach from your law;
13 you grant them relief from days of trouble,
    till a pit is dug for the wicked.
14 For the Lord will not reject his people;
    he will never forsake his inheritance.
15 Judgment will again be founded on righteousness,
    and all the upright in heart will follow it.

16 Who will rise up for me against the wicked?
    Who will take a stand for me against evildoers?
17 Unless the Lord had given me help,
    I would soon have dwelt in the silence of death.
18 When I said, “My foot is slipping,”
    your unfailing love, Lord, supported me.
19 When anxiety was great within me,
    your consolation brought me joy.

20 Can a corrupt throne be allied with you—
    a throne that brings on misery by its decrees?
21 The wicked band together against the righteous
    and condemn the innocent to death.
22 But the Lord has become my fortress,
    and my God the rock in whom I take refuge.
23 He will repay them for their sins
    and destroy them for their wickedness;
    the Lord our God will destroy them.

Stronger Than the Waters

Psalm 93

To the Ancient Israelites, the seas represented primeval power; the seas were forces of chaos.

This is why so many of the psalms talk about the Lord being stronger even than the waters, taming them, fixing their boundaries, founding his world on top of the flood.

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Psalm 93

1 The Lord reigns, he is robed in majesty;
    the Lord is robed in majesty and armed with strength;
    indeed, the world is established, firm and secure.
2 Your throne was established long ago;
    you are from all eternity.

3 The seas have lifted up, Lord,
    the seas have lifted up their voice;
    the seas have lifted up their pounding waves.
4 Mightier than the thunder of the great waters,
    mightier than the breakers of the sea—
    the Lord on high is mighty.

5 Your statutes, Lord, stand firm;
    holiness adorns your house
    for endless days.

Flourish Like a Palm Tree

Psalm 92

This is a simple, sweet song of praise for the Sabbath. Enjoy!

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“The righteous will flourish like a palm tree,
they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon;
planted in the house of the Lord,
they will flourish in the courts of our God.
They will still bear fruit in old age,
they will stay fresh and green,
proclaiming, “The Lord is upright;
he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him.””

— Psalm 92:12-15

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Psalm 92

A psalm. A song. For the Sabbath day.

1 It is good to praise the Lord
    and make music to your name, O Most High,
2 proclaiming your love in the morning
    and your faithfulness at night,
3 to the music of the ten-stringed lyre
    and the melody of the harp.

4 For you make me glad by your deeds, Lord;
    I sing for joy at what your hands have done.
5 How great are your works, Lord,
    how profound your thoughts!
6 Senseless people do not know,
    fools do not understand,
7 that though the wicked spring up like grass
    and all evildoers flourish,
    they will be destroyed forever.

8 But you, Lord, are forever exalted.

9 For surely your enemies, Lord,
    surely your enemies will perish;
    all evildoers will be scattered.
10 You have exalted my horn like that of a wild ox;
    fine oils have been poured on me.
11 My eyes have seen the defeat of my adversaries;
    my ears have heard the rout of my wicked foes.

12 The righteous will flourish like a palm tree,
    they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon;
13 planted in the house of the Lord,
    they will flourish in the courts of our God.
14 They will still bear fruit in old age,
    they will stay fresh and green,
15 proclaiming, “The Lord is upright;
    he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him.”

The Devil's Favorite Psalm

Psalm 91

This is the psalm that the devil quotes Jesus during the temptation in the wilderness (Matthew 4).

5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. 6 “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written:

“‘He will command his angels concerning you,
    and they will lift you up in their hands,
    so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”

7 Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

The devil’s point: “Well, Psalm 91 promises that God will protect you from any problems, so go ahead and test it.”

But, that’s not what the psalm actually says. What it actually says is that God will be with the faithful person in the midst of trouble.

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““Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him;
I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
He will call on me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble,
I will deliver him and honor him.
With long life I will satisfy him
and show him my salvation.””

— Psalm 91:14-16

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Did you catch that?

“I will be with him IN trouble.”

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Psalm 91

1 Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High
    will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
    my God, in whom I trust.”

3 Surely he will save you
    from the fowler’s snare
    and from the deadly pestilence.
4 He will cover you with his feathers,
    and under his wings you will find refuge;
    his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
5 You will not fear the terror of night,
    nor the arrow that flies by day,
6 nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
    nor the plague that destroys at midday.
7 A thousand may fall at your side,
    ten thousand at your right hand,
    but it will not come near you.
8 You will only observe with your eyes
    and see the punishment of the wicked.

9 If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,”
    and you make the Most High your dwelling,
10 no harm will overtake you,
    no disaster will come near your tent.
11 For he will command his angels concerning you
    to guard you in all your ways;
12 they will lift you up in their hands,
    so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
13 You will tread on the lion and the cobra;
    you will trample the great lion and the serpent.

14 “Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him;
    I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
15 He will call on me, and I will answer him;
    I will be with him in trouble,
    I will deliver him and honor him.
16 With long life I will satisfy him
    and show him my salvation.”

The Moses Psalm

Psalm 90

This psalm is the only one in the scripture attributed to “Moses, the man of God.”

It’s a beautiful, sonorous psalm that has a weight to it, like a paperweight you find in the drawer of an old desk.

I like to think of the Children of Israel, wandering in the wilderness, and Moses, reflecting on all that he has seen, writing these lines.

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Some of my favorite lines from Psalm 90:

Lord, you have been our dwelling place
throughout all generations.
Before the mountains were born
or you brought forth the whole world,
from everlasting to everlasting you are God.

and

Relent, Lord! How long will it be?
Have compassion on your servants.
Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love,
that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.
Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us,
for as many years as we have seen trouble.
May your deeds be shown to your servants,
your splendor to their children.

and especially the beautiful ending:

“May the favor of the Lord our God rest on us;
establish the work of our hands for us—
yes, establish the work of our hands.”

Amen.

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Psalm 90

A prayer of Moses the man of God.

1 Lord, you have been our dwelling place
    throughout all generations.
2 Before the mountains were born
    or you brought forth the whole world,
    from everlasting to everlasting you are God.

3 You turn people back to dust,
    saying, “Return to dust, you mortals.”
4 A thousand years in your sight
    are like a day that has just gone by,
    or like a watch in the night.
5 Yet you sweep people away in the sleep of death—
    they are like the new grass of the morning:
6 In the morning it springs up new,
    but by evening it is dry and withered.

7 We are consumed by your anger
    and terrified by your indignation.
8 You have set our iniquities before you,
    our secret sins in the light of your presence.
9 All our days pass away under your wrath;
    we finish our years with a moan.
10 Our days may come to seventy years,
    or eighty, if our strength endures;
yet the best of them are but trouble and sorrow,
    for they quickly pass, and we fly away.
11 If only we knew the power of your anger!
    Your wrath is as great as the fear that is your due.
12 Teach us to number our days,
    that we may gain a heart of wisdom.

13 Relent, Lord! How long will it be?
    Have compassion on your servants.
14 Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love,
    that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.
15 Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us,
    for as many years as we have seen trouble.
16 May your deeds be shown to your servants,
    your splendor to their children.

17 May the favor of the Lord our God rest on us;
    establish the work of our hands for us—
    yes, establish the work of our hands.

The Few Days I Have Left

Psalm 89

This long psalm is a remembering of Israel’s story—how the same God who created all things formed a people, Israel, and how God made a promise to David that he would protect Israel forever.

But the Babylonians have come and destroyed Jerusalem (that part is not explicitly stated, but is in the background), and the psalmist wonders, “Lord, when will you come and keep your promise?”

He then makes a heartbreaking statement:

“Lord, don’t you know that my life is short? In the few days I have left, I’m desperate to see you fight for your people.”

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“How long, Lord? Will you hide yourself forever?
How long will your wrath burn like fire?
Remember how fleeting is my life.”

— Psalm 89:46-47

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But after that urgent complaint, the psalm ends with a sure note of praise:

Praise be to the Lord forever!
Amen and Amen.

It’s as if the psalmist has to remind himself that the Lord should always be praised, even when times are dark.

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Raise your complaints to the Lord today, but be sure to always end with praise. Life is too short not to.

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Psalm 89

A maskil of Ethan the Ezrahite.

1 I will sing of the Lord’s great love forever;
    with my mouth I will make your faithfulness known
    through all generations.
2 I will declare that your love stands firm forever,
    that you have established your faithfulness in heaven itself.
3 You said, “I have made a covenant with my chosen one,
    I have sworn to David my servant,
4 ‘I will establish your line forever
    and make your throne firm through all generations.’”

5 The heavens praise your wonders, Lord,
    your faithfulness too, in the assembly of the holy ones.
6 For who in the skies above can compare with the Lord?
    Who is like the Lord among the heavenly beings?
7 In the council of the holy ones God is greatly feared;
    he is more awesome than all who surround him.
8 Who is like you, Lord God Almighty?
    You, Lord, are mighty, and your faithfulness surrounds you.

9 You rule over the surging sea;
    when its waves mount up, you still them.
10 You crushed Rahab like one of the slain;
    with your strong arm you scattered your enemies.
11 The heavens are yours, and yours also the earth;
    you founded the world and all that is in it.
12 You created the north and the south;
    Tabor and Hermon sing for joy at your name.
13 Your arm is endowed with power;
    your hand is strong, your right hand exalted.

14 Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne;
    love and faithfulness go before you.
15 Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you,
    who walk in the light of your presence, Lord.
16 They rejoice in your name all day long;
    they celebrate your righteousness.
17 For you are their glory and strength,
    and by your favor you exalt our horn.
18 Indeed, our shield belongs to the Lord,
    our king to the Holy One of Israel.

19 Once you spoke in a vision,
    to your faithful people you said:
“I have bestowed strength on a warrior;
    I have raised up a young man from among the people.
20 I have found David my servant;
    with my sacred oil I have anointed him.
21 My hand will sustain him;
    surely my arm will strengthen him.
22 The enemy will not get the better of him;
    the wicked will not oppress him.
23 I will crush his foes before him
    and strike down his adversaries.
24 My faithful love will be with him,
    and through my name his horn will be exalted.
25 I will set his hand over the sea,
    his right hand over the rivers.
26 He will call out to me, ‘You are my Father,
    my God, the Rock my Savior.’
27 And I will appoint him to be my firstborn,
    the most exalted of the kings of the earth.
28 I will maintain my love to him forever,
    and my covenant with him will never fail.
29 I will establish his line forever,
    his throne as long as the heavens endure.

30 “If his sons forsake my law
    and do not follow my statutes,
31 if they violate my decrees
    and fail to keep my commands,
32 I will punish their sin with the rod,
    their iniquity with flogging;
33 but I will not take my love from him,
    nor will I ever betray my faithfulness.
34 I will not violate my covenant
    or alter what my lips have uttered.
35 Once for all, I have sworn by my holiness—
    and I will not lie to David—
36 that his line will continue forever
    and his throne endure before me like the sun;
37 it will be established forever like the moon,
    the faithful witness in the sky.”

38 But you have rejected, you have spurned,
    you have been very angry with your anointed one.
39 You have renounced the covenant with your servant
    and have defiled his crown in the dust.
40 You have broken through all his walls
    and reduced his strongholds to ruins.
41 All who pass by have plundered him;
    he has become the scorn of his neighbors.
42 You have exalted the right hand of his foes;
    you have made all his enemies rejoice.
43 Indeed, you have turned back the edge of his sword
    and have not supported him in battle.
44 You have put an end to his splendor
    and cast his throne to the ground.
45 You have cut short the days of his youth;
    you have covered him with a mantle of shame.

46 How long, Lord? Will you hide yourself forever?
    How long will your wrath burn like fire?
47 Remember how fleeting is my life.
    For what futility you have created all humanity!
48 Who can live and not see death,
    or who can escape the power of the grave?
49 Lord, where is your former great love,
    which in your faithfulness you swore to David?
50 Remember, Lord, how your servant has been mocked,
    how I bear in my heart the taunts of all the nations,
51 the taunts with which your enemies, Lord, have mocked,
    with which they have mocked every step of your anointed one.

52 Praise be to the Lord forever!
Amen and Amen.

When There Is No Escape

Psalm 88

The power of the psalms is that they teach us to pray through our emotions. They don’t lie or obfuscate—they honestly give vent to all the emotions of human experience, even despair.

Psalm 88 is a scream of despair from a man who finds no way out, no escape.

Why should we pray like this? Because these screams, if kept inside, will poison our souls. We need to give voice to them and give them over to God.

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“I am shut in so that I cannot escape;
my eye grows dim through sorrow.”

— Psalm 88:8b-9

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How can you pray more honestly today?

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Psalm 88 [ESV]

1 O Lord, God of my salvation,
    I cry out day and night before you.
2 Let my prayer come before you;
    incline your ear to my cry!

3 For my soul is full of troubles,
    and my life draws near to Sheol.
4 I am counted among those who go down to the pit;
    I am a man who has no strength,
5 like one set loose among the dead,
    like the slain that lie in the grave,
like those whom you remember no more,
    for they are cut off from your hand.
6 You have put me in the depths of the pit,
    in the regions dark and deep.
7 Your wrath lies heavy upon me,
    and you overwhelm me with all your waves. Selah

8 You have caused my companions to shun me;
    you have made me a horror to them.
I am shut in so that I cannot escape;
9     my eye grows dim through sorrow.
Every day I call upon you, O Lord;
    I spread out my hands to you.
10 Do you work wonders for the dead?
    Do the departed rise up to praise you? Selah
11 Is your steadfast love declared in the grave,
    or your faithfulness in Abaddon?
12 Are your wonders known in the darkness,
    or your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?

13 But I, O Lord, cry to you;
    in the morning my prayer comes before you.
14 O Lord, why do you cast my soul away?
    Why do you hide your face from me?
15 Afflicted and close to death from my youth up,
    I suffer your terrors; I am helpless.
16 Your wrath has swept over me;
    your dreadful assaults destroy me.
17 They surround me like a flood all day long;
    they close in on me together.
18 You have caused my beloved and my friend to shun me;
    my companions have become darkness

Jerusalem, God's City

Psalm 87

The psalmist loves God’s city—Jerusalem, founded on Mount Zion—and he knows to be from Jerusalem and to grow up in God’s city is a blessing and a privilege that those born in the surrounding nations do not have.

---

“Glorious things of you are spoken,
O city of God.”

— Psalm 87:3

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Lord, help me to love your things—your Church and your Word—the way the psalmist loves your City.

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Psalm 87 [ESV]

1 On the holy mount stands the city he founded;
2     the Lord loves the gates of Zion
    more than all the dwelling places of Jacob.
3 Glorious things of you are spoken,
    O city of God. Selah

4 Among those who know me I mention Rahab and Babylon;
    behold, Philistia and Tyre, with Cush—
    “This one was born there,” they say.
5 And of Zion it shall be said,
    “This one and that one were born in her”;
    for the Most High himself will establish her.
6 The Lord records as he registers the peoples,
    “This one was born there.” Selah

7 Singers and dancers alike say,
    “All my springs are in you.”

Because I Want to Walk in the Right Way

Psalm 86

This psalm is a cry for help from God, but the psalmist is wise enough to know that his problems are deeper and greater than the problem of malevolent enemies; the psalmist also knows that he needs the Lord’s guidance in life, and that left to his own devices, he will choose the wrong way and walk in the way that leads to death.

That is to say, even if we had no external problems, we’d still have the internal problem of disordered desire and disunited heart that results from spiritual rebellion.

---

“Teach me your way, O Lord,
that I may walk in your truth;
unite my heart to fear your name.”

— Psalm 86:11

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Lord, save me from mine enemies.

Lord, make me one today, all the way through—give me integrity.

And, Lord, show me the way I should walk, because I want to walk in the right way.

Amen.

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Psalm 86 [ESV]

1 Incline your ear, O Lord, and answer me,
    for I am poor and needy.
2 Preserve my life, for I am godly;
    save your servant, who trusts in you—you are my God.
3 Be gracious to me, O Lord,
    for to you do I cry all the day.
4 Gladden the soul of your servant,
    for to you, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.
5 For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving,
    abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon you.
6 Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer;
    listen to my plea for grace.
7 In the day of my trouble I call upon you,
    for you answer me.

8 There is none like you among the gods, O Lord,
    nor are there any works like yours.
9 All the nations you have made shall come
    and worship before you, O Lord,
    and shall glorify your name.
10 For you are great and do wondrous things;
    you alone are God.
11 Teach me your way, O Lord,
    that I may walk in your truth;
    unite my heart to fear your name.
12 I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart,
    and I will glorify your name forever.
13 For great is your steadfast love toward me;
    you have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol.

14 O God, insolent men have risen up against me;
    a band of ruthless men seeks my life,
    and they do not set you before them.
15 But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious,
    slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.
16 Turn to me and be gracious to me;
    give your strength to your servant,
    and save the son of your maidservant.
17 Show me a sign of your favor,
    that those who hate me may see and be put to shame
    because you, Lord, have helped me and comforted me.

That Glory May Dwell in Our Land

Psalm 85

(Every day in May, I’ll be posting a brief reflection on a daily psalm. I explain more here.)

The story of Israel is a story of God’s faithfulness despite his people’s faithlessness.

The psalmist looks back on previous times when God was merciful toward Israel and prays for those times to happen again. (Note that Israel is often poetically called “Jacob” in the Bible, referring back to the patriarch from whom the nation took its name.)

What I love about this psalm is the confident way the psalmist reminds the Lord of his commitment to his people—his khesed, an unstranslatable Hebrew word that means something like “generosity+steadfast loyalty+promise-keeping+mercy”.

The psalms teach us how to pray, and it would be good for us today to pray in the same way:

Lord, remember your commitment to your people and revive again.

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“Surely his salvation is near to those who fear him, that glory may dwell in our land.”

— Psalm 85:9

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Psalm 85 [ESV]

1 Lord, you were favorable to your land;
    you restored the fortunes of Jacob.
2 You forgave the iniquity of your people;
    you covered all their sin. Selah
3 You withdrew all your wrath;
    you turned from your hot anger.

4 Restore us again, O God of our salvation,
    and put away your indignation toward us!
5 Will you be angry with us forever?
    Will you prolong your anger to all generations?
6 Will you not revive us again,
    that your people may rejoice in you?
7 Show us your steadfast love, O Lord,
    and grant us your salvation.

8 Let me hear what God the Lord will speak,
    for he will speak peace to his people, to his saints;
    but let them not turn back to folly.
9 Surely his salvation is near to those who fear him,
    that glory may dwell in our land.

10 Steadfast love and faithfulness meet;
    righteousness and peace kiss each other.
11 Faithfulness springs up from the ground,
    and righteousness looks down from the sky.
12 Yes, the Lord will give what is good,
    and our land will yield its increase.
13 Righteousness will go before him
    and make his footsteps a way.

A Psalm a Day in May

White Rock Lake. 21 April 2021. 7:14 AM.

2021—The Year of Paul

This year at Munger we’re studying the life and writings of the Apostle Paul, and the plan is for us to have read through Acts and all Paul’s letters by the end of the year. I’m also preaching on Acts and Paul throughout the year (at least until Advent 2021).

The problem is that we read through the letters faster than I can adequately preach through them!

For example, we’ve been reading through Philippians (4 times over the past month), but I am not close to being done preaching through Philippians.

(I’m sorry I haven’t been able to keep up a regular blogging schedule through Philippians, by the way.)

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My Own Personal Daily Reading Plan: One Psalm a Day, Every Day

In April 2020, we started a reading plan in the Psalms at Munger, one psalm a day. I’ve continued doing that reading plan, and am now in my 3rd sequence—I’ve gotten a lot out of reading one psalm a day (for 150 days), and then starting over again. I particularly like seeing my notes and markings from the previous times I’ve read through. Also, I appreciate the simplicity of one psalm a day, every day.

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My Bible Reading Plan for May

For May, I’m not ready to begin a new Pauline letter, as I’m planning on continuing to preach through Philippians. So, to allow us to catch up, I’d like to invite you to jump in to reading the Psalms along with me—one psalm a day.

We’re going to start at Psalm 85 tomorrow (May 1), because that’s where I personally am in my own daily reading.

We’ll finish with Psalm 115 on Memorial Day, May 31.

(We’ll start reading Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians on June 1.)

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What to Expect

If you are on my daily Bible mailing list, for the month of May I’ll post a brief devotional thought on that day’s psalm each day at 3:30 AM, and mail it directly to your inbox at 4:00 AM.

Feel feel to unsubscribe if this doesn’t work for you—I know what it’s like to get unwanted email!

Looking forward to reading along with you.