Psalm 31:14-24 David continues his lament. My focus today is on Ps. 31:19-20, with a focus on four verbs describing the Lord’s activity in our lives: He has stored up abundant goodness for His people; His people take refuge in Him; He hides them; and He stores them in His shelter. As a precursor to …
Author Archives: Fred
March 24 / Psalm 31:1-13
Psalm 31:1-13 I’ve got a number of comments for today’s Psalm, a couple of them from my Study Bibles. First, I don’t ever recall reading all the elements of a lament, but one of my Study Bibles listed them out: A cry for help (vv. 1-5) The psalmist’s situation (v. 4) Expression of confidence (v. …
March 23 / Psalm 30
Psalm 30 The header for today’s Psalm says “A Psalm of David. A song at the dedication of the temple”, but there is nothing in the Psalm that even hints at a temple dedication. The closest the Psalm comes to the temple is in verse 7 where David says, “…you made my mountain stand strong…”, …
March 22 / Psalm 29
Psalm 29 All the imagery in Ps. 29:3-9 suggests a mighty storm – a tornado or hurricane, even – with thunder and lightning, trees set on fire or splintered and uprooted. These storms must have been fearful to ancient peoples; even a mighty storm short of a tornado or hurricane could cause severe damage. Today …
March 21 / Psalm 28
Psalm 28 David uses a number of metaphors to describe his relationship to the Lord: rock (v. 1), strength and shield (v. 7), saving refuge (v. 8), shepherd (v. 9). Yesterday we had two more – light and salvation (Ps 27:1). I’m asking myself if there are other metaphors that describe how I view the …
March 20 / Psalm 27
Psalm 27 Thinking and praying over the following verses: You have said, “Seek My face.” My heart says to You, “Your face, LORD, do I seek.” Hide not Your face from me. (vv. 8-9a) As I ponder, clearly I am not asking to see the Lord’s face, but I am asking for a deepening of …
March 19 / Psalm 26
Psalm 26 A couple of small items come to mind quickly today. First is Kathy’s comment yesterday about David’s arrogance. With her comment in mind, it’s easy to read today’s Psalm and see an arrogant David. Twice he says he will walk in his integrity (vv. 1, 11). But don’t we all try to do …
March 18 / Psalm 25:12-22
Psalm 25:12-22 Continuing David’s lament… Both yesterday and today (vv. 8-10, 12-14) David goes off his first-person speaking directly to the Lord and moves to third-person reflections. In so doing he sets a balance for the Psalm – seven personal verses early and seven personal verses later (plus that “outlier” verse 22), with the two …
March 17 / Psalm 25:1-11
Psalm 25:1-11 You may have noticed that many Psalms have 22 verses – Psalm 25 today, Psalms 33, 34 later this month; Psalm 119 much later with 176 verses is actually 8 x 22. When you see a Psalm with 22 verses, it is typically the case that each verse begins with a different letter …
March 16 / Psalm 24
Psalm 24 I think context helps for us to understand or even embrace Psalm 24. I saw at least four contexts that helped me to look at the Psalm differently each time I read it. My first context was simple enough – all of us joining one another at church on Sunday mornings. Who may …