Psalm 119:113-128 Psalm 119, Day 8. I’m on a bit of a kick where I see items repeated. Two days ago it was affliction; yesterday it was knowledge/understanding. Today it’s evildoers, the “wicked of the earth” (Ps. 119:115,118,119,126). Notice that it’s not the psalmist’s oppressors from Ps. 119:121,122; it’s very simply those who have broken …
Monthly Archives: October 2022
October 22 / Psalm 119:97-112
Psalm 119:97-112 Psalm 119, Day 7. Yesterday the psalmist had four verses in one stanza on affliction. Today he has four verses in one stanza devoted to knowledge/understanding (Ps. 119:98,99,100,104). Knowledge makes him wiser than his enemies, his teachers, and the aged. All this through following and keeping the Law. A good plan…!
October 21 / Psalm 119:81-96
Psalm 119:81-96 Psalm 119, Day 6, passing the halfway point on this Psalm! We had a discussion in Freedom Road yesterday on a phrase from the Serenity Prayer, “…accepting hardship as a pathway to peace…”. I had recalled Ps. 119:71 from yesterday’s reading: It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I might …
October 20 / Psalm 119:65-80
Psalm 119:65-80 Psalm 119, Day 5. The following phrase appears twice today: “…those who fear You…” (Ps. 119:74,79). Applying this Psalm to today’s world, I see “those who fear You” as believers. And I can see those two verses as very separate in time. That is, verse 74 can be the joy that older believers …
October 19 / Psalm 119:49-64
Psalm 119:49-64 Psalm 119, Day 4. You may recall three days ago that my intro to Psalm 119 included seven or eight synonyms for “the Law”. Those synonyms that I listed were “testimonies”, “ways”, “precepts”, “statutes”, “commands” / “commandments, “judgments”, “decrees”, and “word”. Six of those synonyms are straightforward substitutes, with no modifiers needed. Two …
October 18 / Psalm 119:33-48
Psalm 119:33-48 Psalm 119, Day 3. I typically read our day’s verses in the NASB first, then in the ESV. Today I had different reactions from one verse in the two translations. First, in the NASB, Establish Your word to Your servant, as that which produces reverence for You. (v. 38) Then in the ESV: …
October 17 / Psalm 119:17-32
Psalm 119:17-32 Psalm 119, Day 2. I noted yesterday that each of the 22 stanzas in this Psalm highlights a particular letter in the Hebrew alphabet. Today’s letter for verses 17-24 is “Gimel”; each of these eight verses begins with the letter “Gimel” in the Hebrew alphabet. For verses 25-32 the beginning letter for each …
October 16 / Psalm 119:1-16
Psalm 119:1-16 Psalm 119, today and the next ten days after. Psalm 119 is an alphabetic acrostic, 176 verses long – obviously the longest Psalm in the Psalter. There are 22 eight-verse stanzas. Each stanza and each verse in each stanza begin with the same letter of the Hebrew alphabet – 22 different letters for …
October 15 / Psalm 118:15-29
Psalm 118:15-29 More deliverance. A number of verses for comment today. First, very common for Avanza folks: This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. (v. 24) This is one of Carol’s gathering songs for our Avanza kids. They all know it (2nd grade and beyond); …
October 14 / Psalm 118:1-14
Psalm 118:1-14 This is the last of the praise psalms that we began with Psalm 111. The psalmist in today’s reading offers praise and thanksgiving for Israel’s victory over her enemies. But which set of victories? Was it their deliverance from Egypt and from their enemies as they did battle in the Wilderness? Or was …