Days #121-139 | "Spending Time With the Psalms"

LOOK | WHAT DOES IT SAY?

Day #121: Read Psalms 8, 10, 11, and 14 (David's Psalms)

Day #122: Read Psalms 15, 16, 19, and 20

Day #123: Read Psalms 21-24

Day #124: Read Psalms 27-28 and 30-31

Day #125: Read Psalms 32, 33, and 36

Day #126: Read Psalms 37-39

Day #127: Read Psalms 40-41, 53, and 55

Day #128: Read Psalms 58, 61, and 62

Day #129: Read Psalms 64, 65, and 6

Day #130: Read Psalms 67, 68, and 70

Day #131: Read Psalms 69, 86, and 101

Day #132: Read Psalms 108-109 and 122

Day #133: Read Psalms 124, 131, 133, 138, and 139

Day #134: Read Psalms 1140-142

Day #135: Read Psalms 143-145

Day #136: Read Psalms 50, 73, and 74 (Asaph's Psalms)

Day #137: Read Psalms 75-77 and 79

Day #138: Read Psalms 78 and 80

Day #139: Read Psalms 81-83

Day #140: Read Psalms (Last day of section: May 19th)

THINK | WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

The songs of David - the school of worship. While it does not seem that all of the Psalms in the section marked "David's Psalms" were actually written by David (there are no attributions to David in the headers for Psalms 10 and 33, to take just two examples). these songs and prayers are still true to David's work. So we see that he approaches his faith expressed through song in a variety of ways: he praises God and calls for others to join in. He also laments and weeps before God. He meditates on the grace that God has given man in Psalm 8:3-6; then, he diagnoses all outward denial of God as foolishness in Psalm 14:1-7. Towards the end of the Psalms, David's voice reappears after a long silence to announce -in the context of the literary shape of the book of Psalms- the arrival of a true and better David who will rule the earth with grace and justice. This is especially the case in Psalms 138-145, where the return of David's consistent voice in Book 5 of the Psalms gives way to the final "fireworks" of praise statements in Psalms 146-150. David was not a fully consistent man, but he deeply loved the Lord and desired to glorify Him.

The songs of Asaph - instructions for faith. Many of the Psalms of Asaph perform a function that increasingly few worship songs have in our own day: they instruct. First, they call to mind historical things that God accomplished (Psalm 81:4-7; Psalm 83:9-11 and especially Psalm 78). Second, they inform us about the nature of God, in His personhood, titles, and character (Psalm 50). And third, by putting himself in the place of a struggling worshipper, Asaph has created Psalm 73 which is meant to help those struggling with doubt in God's goodness to move forward (Psalm 73).

A ray of light in a dark place - Psalm 73. You wouldn't know this from reading chronologically, but Psalm 73 actually starts off the third section of the book of Psalms -the darkest of all the sections- which is meant to cope with the realities of the Jewish exile (historical context) and the death of King David in Psalms 71-72 (literary context). But whereas Psalm 3 in David's voice was an unexpectedly somber beginning to David's contributions, Psalm 73 is an unexpectedly uplifting answer to David's demise: "Truly God is good to Israel...Whom have I in heaven but You? And on earth, there is nothing that I desire besides You. My heart and my flesh might fail, but You are the strength of my heart and my portion forever... for me it is good to be near to God; I have made the Lord GOD my refuge, that I may tell of all Your works" (Psalm 73:1, 25-26, 28).

DO | HOW DO WE RESPOND?

How can we respond in our worship, attitude, and actions? IN OUR WORSHIP we can take the Psalms that we will be reading over the next couple of weeks and pray alongside them, asking how they might point us to Christ as the deepest answer to our longings and the source of our highest joy.

PRAY | HOW DOES THIS BRING US TO GOD?

Whether in response to anything pointed out here, or to something else in your Bible reading time, take a few moments before you close up your Bible to pray in response to God. If you need a format for prayer, both the ACTS (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication), CALL (Confess, Ask, Love, Listen), and PRAY (Praise, Repent, Ask, Yield) methods are helpful ways to stay consistent.

-Sean