Month: June 2021

Psalm 105:1 Give praise to the LORD, proclaim His name; make known among the nations what He has done.

Psalm 105:4 is what first jumped out at me when I read today’s psalm. It reminded me of a conversation with a friend recently about love, grace, mercy, compassion—applying it to ourselves and to others. God laid this truth on my heart during that conversation: My failings are many. His grace is abundant. His strength is sufficient.

Psalm 105:2 Sing to Him, sing praise to Him; tell of all His wonderful acts.

If I look to my own strength, if I trust in my own strength, I will end up exactly where I am at the end of this semester—exhausted, frustrated, depleted. When I look to the LORD, when I look to His strength, when I seek His face, THEN I have hope.

Psalm 105:3 Glory in His holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice.

Lord, Thank You for this day and this scripture. Thank You for the reminder that I need to look to You, Your strength, seek Your face always. Help me, Lord, to realize when I’m trying to do life in my own strength. Help me to redirect, to look to You and Your strength, always. Draw me closer. Amen.

Psalm 105:4 Look to the LORD and His strength; seek His face always.

Have a blessed day.

Psalm 104:31 May the glory of the LORD endure forever; May the LORD rejoice in His works….

My first, very pessimistic thought as I read Psalm 104:31 this morning was, “Does God rejoice in His works? Does He look down right now and rejoice at the way we are caring for each other and the world?” I’m a little skeptical, given that we are so ego-centric that we always think of ourselves first, how things affect us and those we love. 

Psalm 104:32 …He who looks at the earth, and it trembles, who touches the mountains, and they smoke.

Spending too much time going down that dark rabbit hole is not good for me. I have to focus on what I have the ability to control—myself. Are my thoughts, words, actions, and reactions what they should be? If God looked at me right now, if He looked at my thoughts and behavior, would He rejoice in His works? 

Psalm 104:33 I will sing to the LORD all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.

Lord, Thank You for this day and this scripture. Thank You for the reminder that I can only control myself and that being sure I am acting according to Your will is a full time job. Help me to act in such a way that causes You to rejoice in Your creation. Draw me closer. Amen.

Psalm 104:34 May my meditation be pleasing to Him, as I rejoice in the LORD.

Have a blessed day.

Psalm 103:1 Praise the LORD, my soul; all my inmost being, praise His holy name.

I remember clearly that at the beginning of my first year of teaching, I called my parents to thank them for the environment in which they raised me. They weren’t perfect, of course, but until I saw clearly students whose parents didn’t provide safe, stable, loving environments, it never occurred to me that they way I was raised wasn’t everyone’s normal.

Psalm 103:2 Praise the LORD, my soul, and forget not all His benefits….

Today’s psalm reminds me of the magnitude of what I take for granted and what I should do a much better job praising God for. He has given me so much. If He had stopped at sending His Son for my sins, I could never praise Him enough. And yet He showers me with grace upon grace beyond salvation. 

Psalm 103:8 The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love.

Lord, Thank You for this day and this scripture. Thank You for this gentle reminder of all that I take for granted. I am so thankful for You, Lord. Forgive me for not showing my gratitude with every breath. Help me to praise You, to glorify You in all I say and do. Always. Amen.

Psalm 103:22 Praise the LORD, all His works everywhere in His dominion. Praise the LORD, my soul.

Have a blessed day.

Psalm 102:18 Let this be written for a future generation, that a people not yet created may praise the LORD….

Reread Psalm 102:18 again and let that verse sink in. It was written about you and me and all those who come after us. How profound to think that the author of this text had us in mind when this text was written, knew we would stumble and struggle and need encouragement, knew that we would read these words and praise our amazing God.

Psalm 102:25 In the beginning You laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands.

Life follows certain patterns. Struggle and the need for encouragement are definitely two biggies. I pray that I can live my life and my struggles in such a way “that a people not yet created may praise the LORD….”

Psalm 102:26 They will perish, but You remain; they will wear out like a garment. Like clothing You will change them and they will be discarded.

Lord, Thank You for this day and this scripture. Thank You for the reminder that You are eternal and that while struggle and doubt and the need for encouragement are universal life patterns, Your love, grace, and mercy are everlasting truths. Help me live my life in such a way that others can see Your presence in my struggles and be encouraged. Draw us closer. Amen.

Psalm 102:27 But You remain the same, and Your years will never end.

Have a blessed day.

Psalm 101:1 I will sing of Your love and justice; to You, LORD, I will sing praise.

Commentary on today’s verse put me in mind of a novel I recently read, which dealt with psychology, uncertainty, and tragedy and whether we are who we think we are, who we want to be, in our darkest moments.

Psalm 101:2a I will be careful to lead a blameless life….

The whole thing—psalm, commentary, novel—brought to mind the idea that God knows our hearts intimately. He knows who we are, who we can be, who He designed us to be. He knows how to take our failings and use them for our good and His glory, beauty from ashes. 

Psalm 101:2b …I will conduct the affairs of my house with a blameless heart.

Lord, Thank You for this day and this scripture. Thank You for knowing my heart, what I’m capable of, what You designed me for. Help me to strive to become the person You designed me to be. When I stumble and fall, which is inevitable, help me to dust myself off and keep striving for You. Draw me closer. Amen.

Psalm 101:7 No one who practices deceit will dwell in my house; no one who speaks falsely will stand in my presence.

Have a blessed day.

Psalm 100:1 Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.

Today’s psalm is serving as a much needed reminder of what I need to be doing but am not: Choosing Joy. I have reminders everywhere in my life to choose joy, yet this time of year, exhaustion, frustration, and annoyance seem to win out instead. Father, forgive me.

Psalm 100:2 Worship the LORD with gladness; come before Him with joyful songs.

I have so much to be joyful for in this life. Psalm 100:3 is a perfect encapsulation of the root of my joy: God. Jesus. My Creator and Redeemer. If that were all I had, it would be enough to cause me to rejoice forever. But that’s just the root of my joy, the anchor. So much more has blossomed from that root, so many other reasons to be joyful. Thank You, Jesus.

Psalm 100:3 Know that the LORD is God. It is He who made us, and we are His….

Lord, Thank You for this day and this scripture. Thank You for the reminder of all the many reasons for joy in my life. Help me to be mindful daily to be joyful to You. Help me to choose joy as my default. Draw me closer. Amen.

Psalm 100:4 Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His name.

Have a blessed day.

Psalm 99:1a The LORD reigns, let the nations tremble….

As I was reading Psalm 99, I get a very clear sense of a poem in two voices or a call and response set up within the psalm. The implications of that form really struck me.

Psalm 99:1b …He sits enthroned between the cherubim, let the earth shake.

Both the idea of poem in two voices or call and response allude to the necessity of each participant, each voice in worship. If one part was missing, one voice, one response, worship would be incomplete, lacking full praise. 

Psalm 99:2 Great is the LORD in Zion; He is exalted over all the nations.

Lord, Thank You for this day and this scripture. Thank You for the reminder that my role in worship, my voice in praise, is important. It is so easy to think that my participation doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things, but You love each voice raised in praise. You know when any voice is missing. Each one matters to You. Thank You. Draw me closer. Amen.

Psalm 99:3 Let them praise Your great and awesome name—He is holy.

Have a blessed day.

Psalm 98:4 Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music….

I love the sound of the ocean crashing on the shore. I have several video clips of just that on my phone from previous trips to the beach. I can absolutely see those glorious crashing waves as praise to God.

Psalm 98:5 …make music to the LORD with the harp and the sound of singing….

And while I don’t have stream videos on my phone, the joyful burble of a mountain stream puts me in mind of the hubs and our oldest, their foray on the Appalachian Trail, and the “Mountain Stream of the Day” that appeared in most of their trail videos. I can hear praise in that joyful burble.

Psalm 98:7 Let the sea resound, and everything in it, the world, and all who love in it.

Lord, Thank You for this day and this scripture. Thank You for the infinite ways to praise You. Help us to praise You joyfully, abundantly, authentically, with all that we are. Draw us closer. Amen.

Psalm 98:8 Let the rivers clap their hands, let the mountains sing together for joy….

Have a blessed day.

Psalm 97:11 Light shines on the righteous and joy on the upright in heart. (NIV)

I have always been fascinated with the different wording and the subtle shift in meaning that occurs between different translations of a verse. And Psalm 97:11 really jumped out at me today.

Psalm 97:11 Light is sown like seed for the righteous, And gladness for the upright in heart. (NASB)

The idea of sowing God’s light really captivated me. Maybe it is because it’s spring, the growing season, this image of physically sowing God’s light, tending it, watching it bloom and grow for others to enjoy intrigues me so. 

Psalm 97:11 Light dawns for the righteous, gladness for the upright in heart. (CSB)

Lord, Thank You for this day and this scripture. Thank You for sowing Your light in my heart and my life. Help me to sow Your love and joy in the lives of all those I come in contact with today. Draw me closer. Amen.

Psalm 97:11 If you obey and do right, a light will show you the way and fill you with happiness. (CEV)

Have a blessed day.

Psalm 96:11 Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let the sea resound, and all that is in it.

Psalm 96 is a good example of how commentary has helped me understand context a bit more. Psalm 96:13 says that the LORD comes to judge the earth. In and of itself, that sounds a bit terrifying to me. The earth will not come at looking very favorable. Yet verse 13 talks of all creation rejoicing because of Him presence to judge. What am I missing?

Psalm 96:12 Let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them; let all the trees of the forest sing for joy.

Commentary says most judges at the time were corrupt and required bribing for favorable judgment. If you had money or property, I don’t guess that was a big deal. But if you were poor, you could not afford a bribe. The people rejoiced because they knew God would judge fairly without bribery.

Psalm 96:13a Let all creation rejoice before the LORD, for He comes, He comes to judge the earth….

Lord, Thank You for this day and this scripture. Thank You for the understanding that comes with the background of commentary. Thank You for Your fairness and impartiality coupled with Your undeserved mercy and compassion. Draw me closer. Amen.

Psalm 96:13b …He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in His faithfulness.

Have a blessed day.