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 His later activities, the Lord has already prepared for His people whatever they need. Eventually they seek to take refuge in Him. He first hides them from the immediate danger, then he places them in some other location where they can be assured safety.

I remember reading The Hiding Place, the true story of Corrie Ten Boom, a Dutch woman who with her family sheltered and saved many Jews from Nazi persecution. An architect had built a secret room in the Ten Boom home, a “hiding place”, set off by a false wall camouflaged to look like a normal house wall. Jews in their city learned of the Ten Boom family’s protection and sought refuge in their home. The Ten Boom family first hid them in that secret place, then together with other Dutch resistance people helped them to escape more fully to England and other locations. Corrie and her sister and father were eventually arrested and sent to concentration camps where her sister and father died. She was released based on a clerical error and later became a well-known Christian writer and speaker. We could easily find similar parallels in Ukrainians today escaping from the Russian onslaught.

To me the interesting part of this full activity is that the Lord has already prepared in advance what we need: Oh, how abundant is Your goodness, which You have stored up for those who fear You… (v. 19a). The Lord knows our needs well in advance of our calling out to Him. We can pray with confidence in our difficulties, knowing that He is well aware of what is going on in our lives. His goodness is already stored up for us.

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. 5)
• Protestation of innocence or prayer for vindication (v. 6)
• Grateful recognition for God’s help (vv. 7-8)

This lament is then repeated with the same elements in the second half of the Psalm – tomorrow!

So, in reading today’s Psalm, how many of you see Job? He’s right there, in verses 9-13! His own lament, before laments were ever formalized in the Psalms! I really see him in verses 11-12: Because of all my adversaries I have become a reproach, especially to my neighbors, and an object of dread to my acquaintances; those who see me in the street flee from me. I have been forgotten like one who is dead; I have become like a broken vessel. We can see all the elements of a lament as we read back through Job. It’s always nice when the Bible supports itself.

Finally, Jesus quotes v. 5a from the cross: Into your hand I commit my spirit; (Luke 23:46) He knew His psalms!

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…”, since David was living on the mountain that is Jerusalem and was preparing materials for Solomon to build the temple. So, a strange title.

David seems almost arrogant in verses 6 and 7a: As for me, I said in my prosperity, “I shall never be moved.” By Your favor, O LORD, You made my mountain stand strong; , especially his quote, “I shall never be moved.” But then it seems that the Lord took him down: …You hid Your face; I was dismayed. (v. 7b) I’ve seen this scenario time and again in my life – things are going well and I am pleased, probably over-pleased with myself, then it all comes crashing down! Twice it happened to me in the last three months; I won’t recount those incidents here, but suffice to say that I was well-pleased with “where I was”, then things went upside down! It is so often the case that when we get too full of ourselves that God reminds us of who He is and of His desire to work in our lives. We need to remember that on the front end, praise and thanksgiving for who He is; there would be less repentance needed later!

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 we are less fearful as we sit in our well-built, sturdy homes; even tornado warnings induce only a casual glance or get ignored completely. Then the worst happens – hurricanes and wildfires – and we see God’s power and we cry to Him for deliverance.

David, in his closing verses (having recognized the power that is his God, Yahweh) gives the Lord the glory due Him: …and in His temple all cry, “Glory!” (v. 9b) He recognizes God as the King, enthroned as Lord over all and he sees His people as fully blessed with strength and peace. I’m afraid that with our modern science and technology we can be almost immune to God’s work in our natural world. It seems to me that they knew better back then than we know today…

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 Lord in my life.

For Jesus I see Him as my friend and my Savior. Savior is an easy one, but friend? Yes, friend… I can easily see myself sitting at a bar drinking a beer with Jesus.

How do I see the Father? As Daddy, Papa…? For me, not so much – I have a hard time putting myself on His lap. I see Him more as almighty, powerful, omniscient, almost unapproachable even – yet I know that I have access directly to Him through Jesus.

How do I see the Holy Spirit? All of those attributes in John 14-16: Helper, Comforter, Counselor, Advocate, Paraclete? All of those descriptors, I guess – He must be because Jesus said so! But I think I see the Holy Spirit more as my guide, my direction, or even, if you will, my wisdom. When I pray to be filled with the Holy Spirit, I want Him to lead in my life, especially when I am not even conscious of His work in my life. I want Him to be that “still, small voice” that Elijah heard (I Kings 19:11-12). And yes, I want Him to be more – so much more that I don’t even have words for what those wants might be. I think it’s enough for me to ask to be filled with the Spirit – daily, morning, noon, night, always. It’s enough.

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 that “personal relationship” with Him that we hear spoken so often in evangelical circles. And I wonder if I do, in fact, have that personal relationship. I have told the Avanza kids so many times, “Get to know Jesus; the more you know Him, you can’t help but love Him more.” And I know that and I believe that and I feel that love for Him. What more is there in that “personal relationship”? I feel like I’m missing something. Help! Wisdom, anyone?

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 that? We’re all concerned for our reputation, and integrity is a big part of that. Reading further, in all of the first seven verses David could be seen as bragging on his behavior. But looking more deeply I find that I don’t see David as arrogant. I see him seeking God; I think his statements that could hint at arrogance are really him imploring God to help him continue to walk in those paths where he truly wants to follow God.

I also see Job in today’s Psalm, David justifying himself and claiming to avoid hypocrites, evildoers, the wicked (vv. 4-5). Verse 5b struck me personally: …I will not sit with the wicked. I came to EKU as chair of the economics department and was invited by another chair to join him and the dean and other chairs for coffee and doughnuts once a week. I recall going two or three times and really felt out of place – not because I was “the new guy”, but because of the level of conversation in this room with other Ph.D. administrators. I won’t say that they were “the wicked”, but my heart told me that I didn’t belong there.

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 third-person reflections interrupted by his very personal verse 11. In verses 8-10 David speaks of sinners, the humble, and the faithful. Then in verses 12-14 he continues with the faithful, “the man who fears the LORD” (v. 12a). He suggests that this “man” will receive abundant grace from the Lord: instruction, prosperity, and the Lord’s personal friendship (or secret counsel or intimacy).

I am touched by this “personal friendship” gift. We know today that we have that very gift ourselves, what Archbishop Beach speaks of so often, that “personal relationship with the Lord”. We have that available through the Holy Spirit’s indwelling. We have but to ask! I want to be that “man who fears the Lord”!

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 of the Hebrew alphabet, which contains 22 letters. These Psalms are known as “alphabetic acrostics”; sometimes the verses begin alphabetically in order while other times the letters are scrambled, but each is used. FYI.

Today is another of David’s laments. What is he lamenting? Often he is sorry for his own sins – see verses 7 and 11b today. Other times he is sorry for the sins of the nation Israel. Most often in these laments David is sad, lonely, and afflicted (Ps. 25:16-18 tomorrow). But an unusual item appears in today’s Psalm in verse 11a: For your name’s sake, O LORD… (see also v. 7b). David is concerned for God’s reputation, occasionally reminding God of His promises of compassion, mercy, and forgiveness (vv. 6-7), but also reminding God of how Israel’s enemies will regard Him when they win victories over Israel.

David’s laments are not simply “pity party” times in his life, whining about how things are going. Although it may not be going well for him, David’s desire is to grow closer to God. That’s why we’ll find praise (vv. 9-10), repentance (noted above) and thanksgiving in all his laments. David offers us a good model for our own prayer life when times are difficult.

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 ascend onto the hill of the LORD? And who may stand in His holy place? … He will receive a blessing from the LORD and righteousness from the God of his salvation. (vv. 3, 5) Simple enough – just transferring Old Testament verses to our New Testament times. And yes, I left out the requirements for entry in verse 4. 😊

The second context is, I think, the most obvious, when the Ark of the Covenant was brought to Jerusalem. See II Samuel 6. This Psalm could have been written for that specific occasion or as a celebration of the memory of that occasion, possibly at some fixed time every year.

A third context came from one of my Study Bibles, a context that I’ve never thought of on my own, that the church has long used this Psalm to celebrate Jesus’ ascension into Heaven, into that holy heavenly sanctuary, there to reign for all time.

Finally, the fourth I thought on my own, so maybe it’s valid, maybe not. I thought of the crowd singing this Psalm on Palm Sunday, to the true King of Glory ascending the hill as He approached the Temple at Jerusalem: Lift up your heads, O gates! And be lifted up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is this King of glory? The LORD, strong and mighty, the LORD, mighty in battle! Lift up your heads, O gates! And lift them up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts, He is the King of glory! (vv. 7-10) Even if the crowd did not sing this Psalm back then, we can surely sing it ourselves today!