Day #129

Sermon - Audio
Pslam 25,29,33,36,& 39 - Audio
Pslam 25,29,33,36,& 39 - Reading

Daily Insights - Please Comment

Daily Reading: Psalm 25, 29, 33, 36, & 39

Psalm 25: all the basic elements of prayer: from A to Z

Psalm 25 starts with the first letter of the hebrew alphabet (aleph) 22 verses later (and 22 letters later—the hebrew alphabet has 22 letters) we have the last letter. This represents that this Psalm holds everything you need to pray. I'm going to spend the most time on this Psalm, breaking it into sections. I'd recommend drawing lines in your bibles.

25.1 A good translation: “O LORD, I come before you in prayer” fits the function of this Psalm. The hebrew expression litterally is “to you, LORD, my life I lift up.” To “lift up” one’s “life” (nephesh) to the Lord means to express one’s trust in him through prayer (NET).”

25.2-3 These verses form an interesting poetic construction. Notice the repetition of shame (3x). Also see that the first poetic line talks about the faithful, while the last poetic line talks about the exact opposite type.

25.4-7 represent the next section of this Psalm. Notice that we have moved from trust to teachability and a plea for forgives. Interesting that he combines the two. The psalmist is acknowledging that he does not have all the answers (show me, teach me, guide me). He makes room for the fact that he might be wrong about things and has in fact messed up. He needs a teacher, and he picks God to be that teacher. We can learn something from this Psalm in that regard-especially if confession is not part of our prayer life.

Verse 7: “sins of my youth” seems to have a present tense connotation. It is not quite that he is asking forgiveness for sins of long ago, but is rather saying that his sins are childish. His “immaturity” is contrasted to God's antiquity in verse 6.

25.8-11 the themes from the last section continue, but now it takes on a tone of praise. The Psalmist is calling the LORD a good teacher and a merciful one at that (who forgives our mistakes).

25.12-14 These verses answer the question posed in the first line of verse 12. Don't think prosperity gospel here (though many translations use the word). The hebrew is “tov” or “good.” We see that those who fear the Lord choose to live in tune with his will—this is defined as the “good life.” On the contrary, we see that the wealthy are often not content if all they posses are material “goods.” Think about what it meant for Israel to live/stay in “the land.” It meant that they were following Torah (God's law).

25.15-19 We raise our eyes to God, but more importantly is the fact that God is looking toward us. A good thing to remember when we feel lonely.

25.20-22 We end up exactly where we started. Do not let me be put to shame... my hope/trust is in you

Psalm 29: The Power of the LORD's Voice

This is a very LOUD Psalm. Notice how often the word “voice” appears in the Psalm-wowzers. The Psalmist must be trying to say something.

29.1 Who exactly are those other heavenly beings? For starters, the Bible affirms the existence of both angels and demons. It could also be acting as a polemic (an attack) on the other pagan gods that Israel was tempted to worship (as well as acting “evangelistically” toward the other nations who put their faith in something other than the one true God). Perhaps this does not connect with us in a North American culture, but you can think of the heavenly beings as “the powers that be.” It is an acknowledgment that although governments, dictators, etc think they are in control, it is the LORD God who has the real power.

19.10-11: we have a contrast here between “flood” and “peace” (shalom). While floods represent chaos, shalom speaks to the holistic harmony we long for and is described in Revelation 21-22 (there will be no more sea).

Psalm 33: The Creator and the Lord of History

33.1-3 The Lord is both the reason and the object of worship.

33.4-5 A beautiful verse of praise describing his character. But the thing about God's character is that God acts in history. He loves justice, so he works to promote it. The Psalmist says, “the earth is full of his unfailing love.” This is not talking about a future time, but a present time. God is a sovereign king NOW. He is in control NOW. It is not as if we are waiting for him to take his throne. While the earth is full of examples of injustice, think of some examples of justice and goodness in the world and praise God for them. It's a good exercise to look for God's hand in everyday life. Sometimes it takes a trained eye to see it.

33.6-7 Key in on verse 6. As we have seen before, we have creation by God's word. Recall John 1.1: “In the beginning was the word.” There we find out that “the word” is personal: Jesus Christ. “Through him all things were made.”

Psalm 36: Human Faithlessness and Divine Commitment

36.1-4 compromises the first section of the Psalm. It almost sounds like a proverb against the wicked.

36.5-9 To contrast the wicked, God's righteousness is like the highest mountains. God shows a commitment to his people despite our unfaithfulness. This is some really beautiful poetry.

36.10-12 is a plea to God to continue that faithfulness. Check out verse 9 one more time. We again are reminded of Jesus in the Psalms: he is “living water,” the “the bread of life,” and “the light of the world.” Light and water here are metaphors for life—life cannot exist without them (NET Bible). God is the originator and sustained of life.

Psalm 39: Living in light of the fact that we will die

This is a strange Psalm. The attitude of the Psalmist appears to be bitter. Though it sounds somewhat like Ecclesiastes, he comes out differently. This comes out especially in the closing verse. Insetad of “Fear God and Keep his commandments (Ecclesiastes), he ends: “look away from me, that I may enjoy life again.” Essentially asking God to leave him alone! As my dad would often say to me, “he needs an attitude adjustment.” Perhaps it is significant that Psalm 39 sits beside Psalm 40. Immediately, you can hear the difference in the tone. Perhaps we are looking at a comparison between two types of people. After all, God is the same in both (he does not change). (although both are attributed to David, keep in mind that those subtitles are added much later. It is possible they have different authors.)

Note: headings borrowed from the Baker Old Testament Commentary on the Psalms. Even