Psalm 119:161-176 Psalm 119, Day 11, the end. It seems fitting to me that the focus I see in today’s reading is praise. See Ps. 119:164,171,172,175. This has been a joyful 11-day trip for me through Psalm 119. Seeing the psalmist’s use of all those synonyms and his alphabetic acrostic mode… Even though we don’t …
Category Archives: RTB 2022 – Psalms and Wisdom Literature
October 25 / Psalm 119:145-160
Psalm 119:145-160 Psalm 119, Day 10. God’s Law is eternal. The psalmist closes each stanza in today’s reading (Ps. 119:152,160) with this truth. When God gave Moses and the Israelites the Ten Commandments, they weren’t something that He had just dreamed up for the moment. These commandments are eternal practices that give life; they’re not …
October 24 / Psalm 119:129-144
Psalm 119:129-144 Psalm 119, Day 9. Thinking again about those synonyms for the Law… Here they are again, the ones that I listed on Day 1: “commands” / “commandments”, “decrees”, “judgments”, “precepts”, “statutes”, “testimonies”, (Your) “ways”, (Your) “word”. What I did not say back on Day 1 is that each of these words has a …
October 23 / Psalm 119:113-128
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 …
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 …