May 17 - Psalms 1-5
The Psalms are so personal, yet they contain so many truths about God's will for the whole world, too. These first five are a good example of that.
There could not be a better introduction to the Psalms than the first Psalm. It very succinctly summarizes life. Either a person follows the way of sinners to the point where he joins them, or a person joins the congregation of the righteous by following God's Word on a daily basis. The ones who follow God receive His blessings and bear His fruit. The others perish. That is life in a nutshell.
Then, Psalm two expands this to the whole world. The kings and powerful people may put up a great fuss and try to get their way, but it will never happen, because God is in control. God has set His king, Jesus, in Zion. Zion refers to heaven and in an earthly sense it refers to Jerusalem. Both of these are places where God reigns. The world needs to bow before Jesus and kiss Him, so they can be blessed and not perish.
However, our personal lives are a series of encounters with those who trust God and those who don't. As the Psalmist says over and over, God is our shield and our defender. We can't protect ourselves from the ungodly of this world. We must depend on the Lord for His protection. He is our life. Have you learned this yet, or are you still trying to do things yourself? Listen to the Psalms. Life will get you down unless you run to Jesus, your Strong Tower. When you sincerely cry out to Him, He will hear you and answer in His wisdom. In fact, David says in Psalm 5, pray in the morning. Start off the day by crying out to God before anything else happens. Then, stay in touch all day. This will allow you to be joyful in the midst of an ungodly world.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Psalms 6-8.
There could not be a better introduction to the Psalms than the first Psalm. It very succinctly summarizes life. Either a person follows the way of sinners to the point where he joins them, or a person joins the congregation of the righteous by following God's Word on a daily basis. The ones who follow God receive His blessings and bear His fruit. The others perish. That is life in a nutshell.
Then, Psalm two expands this to the whole world. The kings and powerful people may put up a great fuss and try to get their way, but it will never happen, because God is in control. God has set His king, Jesus, in Zion. Zion refers to heaven and in an earthly sense it refers to Jerusalem. Both of these are places where God reigns. The world needs to bow before Jesus and kiss Him, so they can be blessed and not perish.
However, our personal lives are a series of encounters with those who trust God and those who don't. As the Psalmist says over and over, God is our shield and our defender. We can't protect ourselves from the ungodly of this world. We must depend on the Lord for His protection. He is our life. Have you learned this yet, or are you still trying to do things yourself? Listen to the Psalms. Life will get you down unless you run to Jesus, your Strong Tower. When you sincerely cry out to Him, He will hear you and answer in His wisdom. In fact, David says in Psalm 5, pray in the morning. Start off the day by crying out to God before anything else happens. Then, stay in touch all day. This will allow you to be joyful in the midst of an ungodly world.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Psalms 6-8.