Psalms

If you couldn’t join us for the launch night or need a refresher on what we went over, everything you need is at the link below including an audio recording of the evening.

Day 5, Application Question #2:
Fill in this sentence for your life personally:
If it had not been the Lord who was on my side when __________________,
Then _________________________.
Blessed be the Lord who ________________. My help is in the name of the Lord who made heaven and earth.

Response to Psalm 124, by Chris Trostel

The Book of Psalms is a collection of songs, laments, and praises. The Jews referred to  it as the Book of Praises. It was considered the hymnal of the Jewish people.

Psalm 124 is one of fifteen songs of ascents. As the Jews came to Jerusalem to  celebrate one of the annual festivals, they sang these songs. The city of Jerusalem was  situated high on a hill, and as the people ascended the hill, their singing could be heard.  How wonderful to hear Jews from all over Israel filling the hills with songs praising God!

Psalm 124 was written by David and is a psalm of thanksgiving, acknowledging God’s  deliverance in times of need. It describes times of overwhelming trouble, likening these  times to being swallowed alive and being engulfed by waters. David praises God for  helping his people escape, for breaking the snare.

It has been so good for me to be reminded of this truth. I have fretted over my future  many times, not knowing which way to turn. I have learned to look back at the ways the  Lord has brought me through difficult times in the past, when I didn’t know how things  would turn out, to remember His faithfulness to me. I am reminded, as David was, that  the Lord is on my side. Like David, I praise the Lord for walking with me through these  difficult times, for as Paul writes in Romans 8:31, “If God is for us, who can be against  us?”

This psalm reminds me of the hymn “It is Well with My Soul,” especially the line “When  sorrows like sea billows roll.” No matter what sorrow is sweeping over us, David  reminds us that the Lord is on our side. Along the same vein, the writer of this hymn  reminds us that Jesus Christ is our greatest friend. He was willing to go to the cross to  take away our sin so “we bear it no more.” As Jesus states in John 15:13, “Greater love  has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.” Jesus is our  greatest friend, and we can know, as David knew, that “our help is in the name of the  Lord, who made heaven and earth” (Psalm 124:8). May we sing praises to the Lord as the Jewish people did on their way to Jerusalem!  The Jews were reminded that the Lord was on their side, saving them from men who  wanted to swallow them alive, troubles that would engulf them and threatened to sweep  over their souls. “Blessed be the Lord” (verse 6) for loving us so much that He would die  for us! May we read this psalm and realize that the Lord is on our side and watches  over us in our times of trouble.

Day 5, Application Question #2:

Think about a time you cried out to the Lord and he delivered you from your distress. What were you facing, and how did God deliver you? How has that experience changed you? And how willing have you been to tell others about it?

Response to Psalm 107, by Candace McMahan

I cried out to the Lord in my trouble,
And this is what he said to me:
“Rise up at dawn and step into the day I have made for you. Hear my voice in the roaring waters
And in the rustling of the leaves of the giant cottonwood trees. Know that I delight in you
When you search the skies for my face
And see it in their vastness,
In their moving clouds.
Consider who designed the solstice and the equinox, Who measures the days,
Who designed this perfect feather at your feet
And knew from the beginning that you would discover it here, Just now,
When you need to be reminded
Of who I am.”
And he delivered me from my distress.
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
For his steadfast love endures forever!

Response to Psalm 66, by Janelle Rohrbaugh

Who doesn’t enjoy watching a grand stage production? Psalm 66 could be likened to a three-act musical with an arousing opening. We are treated to swelling choral strains, dramatic events, and stunning imagery. We’re taken from exaltation to pity. A notable aspect of this musical work is not the clever on-stage scene changes, but the changing audience. The writer chooses to progressively reduce the size of his audience.

The initial setting is the world’s stage, with the general timeframe positioned after the Israelites’ seventy-year Babylonian captivity. Our unnamed sixth-century BC writer is among the remnant of survivors.

Shout Joyfully!
In his opening appeal, the writer summons all the earth to join the chorus with unending shouts of praise for God’s mighty works and for His glorious name.

Act I: Come and See!
The writer’s first act calls the curious to come now and to see afresh God’s historical dealings with the nations.

Released from Babylonian captivity, tens of thousands of Israelites had recently returned to their homeland. Through a seven-hundred-year flashback, the action shifts to the Israelites’ widely known exodus from Egypt. We join with the firsthand witnesses of God’s powerful displacement of sea and river. The observance concludes as God allows the waters to return to their normal state.

For the remnant, there would be no simple return to normalcy. Their homeland had been wrecked by invading captors. Their eyes saw ruin instead of a once-familiar Judah. Despite their delayed obedience, the remnant eventually rebuilt the destroyed temple. Traditional worship practices, including sacrifices, could now resume.

Act II: Bless Our God!
During the second act, the writer provides an honest, “in-house” look at the interactions between God and His people. God had responded to their repeated depravities with the horrors of captivity. Out of this adversity, God had extracted a refined remnant. He had preserved their lives while they responded by blessing their God. Their labors and worship returned the honor due Him. The writer then describes his own offering of thanksgiving, given in the presence of his blood relatives, but paid out of the abundance restored by God.

Act III: Come and Hear!
Finally, the writer beckons to a more limited audience. He speaks on a more personal level, but only to those who understand what it is to fear God.

I, too, will now speak on a more personal level. Like our writer, I have known God’s refinement, especially through years of intermittent insomnia. I have repeatedly found myself trapped in serial night awakenings. The deprivation of restorative sleep has often robbed me of joy and familiar motivation, strained my key relationships, turned normal tasks into burdens, and vexed me with “I can do nothing” days. For years I sought help but was offered solutions that gave only temporary relief.

Yet I have come, with God’s guidance, to my own places of relative abundance. Jesus’ affirming words “She has done what she could…” (Mark 14:8) have brought acceptance of my limitations. Christ’s example, described in 1 Peter 2:23, “…when he suffered…he continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly,” implores me to entrust my wrecked self to the Judge who can fully restore.

We have all seen the grand scale on which God moves waters and restores His nation. On a more limited scale, God has chosen to work within the confines of my unseen soul. I am learning to better recognize His soul-work so that I, too, may see and sing of His awesome works within me.

Day 5, Application Question #2:

What “fire” and “water” (v 12) has God brought you through in your life? What has God done for your soul by having you go through these hardships? Have you been given any glimpses of abundance on the other side of these hardships yet?

Day 5, Application Question #2:
What suffering in Jesus’ life and death mirrors a current suffering in your life?
Thank Him for being the One who went before you in this pain and can sympathize with you perfectly.
What hope can you cling to in the midst of suffering by looking to Jesus’ victory?

Response to Psalm 22 

“FORSAKEN for me” by Matt Lacy

Jesus Christ: King of kings and Lord of lords. Mocked, beaten, despised, and crucified by men. Forsaken by God. What I deserved, Christ paid for. The punishment and condemnation that should be mine were paid in full by Jesus.

The dark bark overlaying Jesus represents my sin transferred to Jesus on the cross. I am made clean and holy in God’s sight because Jesus took my sin. I kneel before Jesus in awe and with gratitude and outstretched arms, knowing that Jesus dealt with my sins, and the sins of the world, on the cross. He was forsaken for me, that I might live. He is “over the whole world,” because the whole world will bow before Him. I will praise Him and proclaim His righteousness and dominion to the next generation.

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When I first got the email asking if I would be willing to submit a personal response to one of the psalms, I thought, “That’s nice; I’m sure other people will do it.” Then someone sought me out at church and asked if I was going to participate. It’s hard for me to say no to a personal invitation (much easier to not respond to an email). So I (almost begrudgingly) agreed.

I read the psalms almost every day. I love them and am constantly encouraged and challenged by them. But when I was “assigned” Psalm 22, I wasn’t too excited. Why not Psalm 2 or 32-34 or 86 or 95 or 127 or 145? Of all the psalms, there are probably at least 140 others that I would rather have been assigned (just not Psalm 109, Psalm 88, Psalm 137, and a few others). Truthfully, I wanted to bail on the whole thing. Everyone knows what Psalm 22 is about—it’s a prophetic psalm pointing to Jesus’ death on the cross. Plenty of sermons have been written about it. Commentaries abound and  agree. What in the world could I add to it or draw from it that hasn’t already been done?  I don’t read Psalm 22 with much anticipation or joy when it comes up in my reading schedule. And I’m not a great teacher and definitely not an artist. But I said I would respond, so I decided to try.

And it struck me. The Lord used this psalm in amazing and wonderful ways to teach me about Himself and meet me where I needed to be met. It was like I’d never read some of the verses before even though I’ve read this psalm or portions of it hundreds of times.  What really struck me first were verses 6 and 7 describing the disgust and disdain people felt for Jesus, scorning Him, insulting Him, shaking their heads at Him. And as I thought about that, God made it more real for me.

Some people I know were standing in a circle talking about some specific sins of other people. They were shaking their heads in disdain, insulting the “sinners” and probably making themselves feel more righteous by comparison. I realized that is probably the way people viewed and treated Jesus. Verses 6 and 7 came alive. I thought, “What if these people really knew my sins? What if I was in the center of this circle being insulted and chastised and they were shaking their heads at me? What if any one of us was in that position?” Then I thought, “I am particularly good at shaking my head at  people because of their sins.” It was heavy. Sins like these were laid on Jesus on the cross. Looking through the lens of Psalm 22, at Jesus on the cross, I saw my sins and thought about other people’s sins. The “sins of the world” were laid on Jesus, and most agonizing of all was that He was forsaken by God the Father—even though He himself had never sinned at all.

I woke up one morning weeping and wept for what seemed like quite a while. I had an overwhelming sense of my sin, placed on Jesus on the cross. “I’m sorry. I need help.”  And then a peace came over me as I whispered, “Thank you” and lifted my arms to Jesus. He was forsaken for me. He paid the price for my sins and made me holy. What a relief. What a good reminder.

Then I noticed more from Psalm 22 that I’ve glossed over before but is really emphasized in verses 22-31. Praise of the Lord for what He has done. Recognition of His dominion and rule over all. Proclamation of His righteousness. These are the proper responses to Psalm 22. And I can tell the next generation—even those not yet born—for He has done it!

Day 5, Application Question #2:
On a loose sheet of paper, write:
— Your sin that you think angers God most
— Your sin that causes you the most anguish
— Your sin that makes you feel foolish because you know better

On that same piece of paper, describe what you most desire God to do to help you overcome the separation from Him you feel because of these sins.

Lay these sins and righteous desires before God. Ask Him to help you see that He Is your salvation.

Tear up the paper and throw it away.

Psalm 38 Response
Gary Skiles, June 2022

My Lord, You know all my desires – the full range from resting in you to the selfish wants for pleasure in hidden spaces.  You also hear my frustration and impatience when I cannot fulfill those desires, or find that they are not the satisfying things that I wanted them to be.

I put all this energy into my desires, but I’m worn out without achieving anything.  I don’t have the stamina to reach either the Good or the Worst of them.  I feel like I’m stuck in the mud dying…

I have no help here – my people don’t know what to do with me, so they just stay away and let me suffer my consequences.  They shake their heads and say, “He should have known better.”

Is this how you felt, Jesus, in the Garden?  Desiring to obey, but desiring a different way?  Sweating blood, crying aloud… Already your friends were sleeping rather than helping…

You maintained through the beatings for my sake.  How did you physically survive?  How did you emotionally survive?  Was it enough to know that the Son of Man had to be lifted up?  Was it Compassion for my wandering desires that helped You to simply speak truth to Pilate after the beatings?  Can Love be enough to cover the pain of Peter’s denials?

And then…  After all the false accusations, You took on my sin – Did you actually feel my selfishness?  I can’t imagine your feeling of isolation from the otherwise Eternal Relationship.  Is this part of my being In You?  It is so hard to not let this be more burden for me…

Help me see Your Love through the fog around understanding Your Action. 

Help me see Your desire for me, Your plans for me, Your Salvation for me.

Day 5, Application Question 2:
What danger are you currently facing or fearing?
What do you imagine a place of safety from that danger looks like?
Where is God in that place?

Response to Psalm 91, by Meredith Willis

Oh, God.
Oh, God, this psalm oppresses me—
it weighs on me with a heaviness of confusion
and contradiction.
What protection will You offer us?
What refuge will You supply?
My heart longs to hear the literal words of this song
rung out in the heavens,
to hear You declare,
“From every disease, danger, and death I will protect you!
No one in your family shall die an untimely death or battle an insatiable illness!” But You do not say that. And yet this psalm seems to say it. What are the dangers You guard against?
If this word is to be trusted, from
disease,
death in battle,
the striking of the sun,
the natural terrors of the animal kingdom.
What then, should I fear?
Neither man nor beast nor natural evil.
All things must bow to Your will
to protect.
But I come at this after months of grieving the loss of my child. I come at this after feeling him torn out of my body,
gushing from me in bloody waterfalls,
painting the hospital floor red.
You did not protect him.
And I come to this anticipating the dangers of Africa, whence we go in four days. I come to this facing malaria, yellow fever, typhoid, meningitis. I come to this aware that my daughter is not fully vaccinated, that kidnapping has happened in this country,
that suicide bombing has decimated one of its marketplaces, where we will be.
Will You protect us, Lord?
My heart longs for a “Yes!” And my mind anticipates a “No.”
So I look at the psalm again and beg You to help me understand, beg You to help the eyes of my heart to see.
There! There is something.
Right in the middle.
“A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand…”
I see myself in the battlefield,
my comrades hit by arrows,
their bodies rent by swords,
their screams echoing in my ears,
blood and dirt and sweat coating my body.
This is no imagery of idyllic peace, of utter safety.
Yet here You are, protecting in the midst of real danger.
And there it is again:
“the snare of the fowler and the deadly pestilence.” 
The psalmist is endangered, close to being snared,
close to being the fowler’s dinner.
And the deadly pestilence is near enough for the psalmist to fear it— does it claim the lives of those around him?
Does it waste his town, making his neighbors bar their doors and keep their distance
like we keep ours?
He has reason to fear. Yet he doesn’t.
Instead, he trusts.
And what does he trust?
That Yahweh will deliver him unscathed, totally wound-free?
This cannot be; at least his mind would be rent by the battle-deaths of his friends. Nor can this be true in light of the biblical story…
Think of Joseph—betrayed and sold, enslaved and assaulted, imprisoned, then exalted. Think of David—hunted, bereaved, distrusted, and finally enthroned. Think of Stephen—stoned, yet suffused with joy.
Think of Paul—imprisoned and still singing.
And think of Jesus—Jesus, who had these words flung at him by our greatest enemy; Jesus, who refused to take this psalm as I long to.
Jesus, who dwelled perfectly in the Most High’s shelter, who abided intimately in the Almighty’s shadow,
yet agonized on two wooden beams.
Jesus, who was bruised and lacerated.
Jesus, who was questioned and derided.
Jesus, who was lonely when his hour came.
Jesus, who was sold for a few coins.
Jesus, who held under the beating storm of the Father’s just wrath, who held on ’til death’s final welcome.
Jesus, You unlock this psalm’s meaning.
Teach me.
Show me how to sing so victoriously in the midst of wounding and fear. This psalm sings to the melody of faith,
belting out the hymn of trust.
Help me sing it out,
even hum it,
even whisper it.
I vividly see Jim Elliot in the first verse,
abiding in the shadow of the Almighty even as he was slaughtered by violent spears. But You were his refuge;
You were his fortress.
And You were mine
when I left the hospital empty,
bereft of a baby and full of grief.
You were my refuge.
I want this psalm to be literal;
I want it to speak of actual death, actual disease.
But maybe it’s better that it more deeply speaks of spiritual death, spiritual disease. Woven through Scripture is suffering that tugs us closer—
pushing us to rest in Your protection,
calling us to stay under Your wings, naming it our dwelling place.
And while I cry out, begging You to protect my daughter from literal death and disease, I can trust that You will be my refuge in the midst of any trouble.
Help me sing the psalm of faith.
Help me hum it.

Day 5, Application Question #2:
What are you thirsting for in this season of life (eg. community, stability, peace, etc.)?
Write a sentence that describes how God is the perfect and ultimate satisfaction of that thirst.

Response to Psalm 63
By Jess Kuddes

Psalm 63 has three “My soul…” statements.

My soul thirsts for you.
“As in a dry and weary land where there is no water.” Oh, my soul relates to David’s  expressions of longing. So often this life hits my soul with thirst. We are sojourning like  the Israelites in this wilderness, this broken and cursed wilderness. We feel deeply the  discontinuity between this land we wander in and the land we were made for, the land  we call home. Here in Colorado we know what a barren and waterless land looks like.  Late in summer or early fall when any patch of ground that hasn’t been watered has  reverted to dusty, crusty, sandy, dirt—no green, not even weeds will grow. And yet our  hearts know there is more to be had.

My soul will be satisfied.
As believers in Jesus, following after Him through the desert of death, we know there  will be resurrection. We know there will be the day when our thirst will be fully  quenched with a river of living water pouring forth from the throne of God. And the  feasting! Isaiah 25:6-9 says that He will prepare an amazing feast for us while He  swallows up death forever. Yet here we live perpetually in the moment when the water  hits the very depths of our cup but before we can drink and drink and drink to eternal  satisfaction. We hope in our future satisfaction and somehow that brings us a measure  of satisfaction today. And in the meantime…

My soul clings to you.
And Your right hand upholds me. Here is my greatest comfort. As I wander this dry  and weary land, thirsting and looking to the day when I will be completely satisfied in  my God, I don’t walk alone. I cling to God, and He upholds me. I sojourn in union with  and am carried by the One who is King over the wilderness and over the feast. When I  am poor and needy and seek water and there is none, when my tongue is parched  with thirst, I walk with the One who answers, who opens rivers on the bare heights,  and fountains in the midst of the valleys, who makes the wilderness a pool of water  and the dry land into springs of water, who will fill the wilderness with cedar, acacia,  myrtle and olive, cypress and pine (Isaiah 41:17-19)! Praise You, God!

Day 5, Application Question #2:
Think of recent trials, discouragements, or heartbreaks that bring the brokenness and fleeting nature of this life to your heart and mind.
List everything you can think of about God and His glory and goodness that will continue on for eternity.

Response to Psalm 102 
A personal testimony by Russ Brockmann

When I was a child, life didn’t seem short. There was always another milestone ahead  of me. “I can’t die yet…” Slowly I began to notice the milestones blurring in the rearview  mirror—my first time without training wheels, my first day of school, marriage, children, grandkids, retirement. Even so, there was always something that kept me from saying  “I’m okay now; I’ve achieved all of the milestones I want before I die.”
Now I’m watching the winding down of this life in real time. I’ve seen tragedy in our  family, wept as parents and other loved ones died, and watched my own increasing  frailty. Things that seemed would never get here are now becoming fading memories.  Indeed, life is a vapor.
At first glance, Psalm 102 seems to focus on someone whose life is being cut short,  before his time. In a way, that’s not where I am. Still, like the psalmist, I’m all too familiar  with dark moods that come more frequently now, when clouds I can’t explain hang over  my head, when I want relief but can’t find it. Sometimes the angst is mental, sometimes  physical. I connect with the cries of the psalmist: “Do not hide your face from me.” But  the solution eludes me.

But then I remember another cry—a lament from a cross: “My God, my God, why have  you forsaken me?” The psalmist was writing about my suffering Savior, experiencing  the darkness of the weight of sin and not finding relief. The glimmer of the answer I  need appears. This life is a vapor. God is eternally immutable. Jesus, forsaken by His  Father for my sake, mocked, beaten, in misery, and carrying not only my darkness but  the darkness of the world, is the one we see here. Jesus, who for the joy set before  Him, endured the cross for my sake. Jesus, the one who prayed that the darkness could  be avoided. Still, He submitted to His Father’s will, making a way for me.
Jesus knows my darkness, because He bore it. But He is mighty God, everlasting  Father, the unchanging One. His plan will succeed. This Jesus is not bound by time.  When the stars wear out like a garment, He will still love me. His immutable character gives me confidence.

Dark moods come more often than I like. Something trivial may trigger me to obsess  over something I cannot control. From my dark place, I blame others around me,  sometimes taking my frustration out on them for not fixing me. God is the answer, but  even as I turn to Him, the answer is often elusive. Sometimes it’s physical: I need food  or rest or time. Sometimes, I need a friend or even a distraction. But I always need God.  I can, and must, wait on Him alone.
God doesn’t always answer on my timetable. But I know His plan is always best. Even in  times of discouragement, I know that God will still be God, He still cares for me, and His  plan is sure. In my waiting, I see my need more clearly. I see Him more clearly. And then  I love Him more dearly. His plan is good.

Psalm 102 points me to the immutable God whose love for me is eternal. He will always  love me, no matter how dark my day. I can wait through the dark times, knowing that  even in the darkness He is demonstrating His love for me and has already delivered me  through what Jesus did.

Day 5, Application Question #2:
Spend some time in nature (in your yard, on a walk, looking out the window or at a houseplant you love, etc.). Really soak it in, enjoy it, let God speak to you through it, let Him minister to you through what He has made.
Record your response to that experience or what God spoke to you.

Response to Psalm 19
Poem by Haley Hendrickson

The sky above with moon and stars declare God’s glorious works.
With each new day, we greet the sun as it travels ’round the Earth.
God shows us who He is; we see His wonders great and small.
The universe is in His hands, and He is Lord of all.

And lines within an ancient text still speak to us today.
His law is good, commandments pure, His precepts guide our way.
God shows us who He truly is when we open up His Word.
It teaches us how we should live so we can be assured.

There is no greater treasure, no higher prize to seek.
God’s holy Word is sweeter than the honey from the bee.
God shows me who He is when he reveals the sin inside.
And because of this I have great joy—for me the Savior died.

Oh, Rock and my Redeemer, I stand firm in knowing you.
You’ve washed me clean of all my sins, and I am made brand-new.
I pray that all would know this truth; it is my hope and plea.
I praise you, God, for who you were, and are, and always will be.

Psalm 19 Video

Day 5, Application Question #2:
In what ways do you feel wickedness speaking to you today?

1. List the ways you feel wickedness pressing in on you apart from your choices.
2. List the ways that you are letting wickedness cause you to not fear God and therefore make sinful choices.

How does the steadfast love of God help you trust Him as you walk through unjust wickedness that affects you today?

How does the steadfast love of God help you walk in personal righteousness today?

Response to Psalm 36
by Sara McConahy

Wickedness lurks all around me; evil, dark, relentless, oppressive, arrogant, wanting to devour everything and everyone.
Wickedness whispers to my heart; tells me to fear something or someone besides God – lie, hide, deceive, I won’t be found out..

LOOK UP!
Look to the heavens, the infinite, measureless, beautiful expanse above – they shout of your steadfast love and faithfulness.  Look to the mountains, the towering, strong, immovable majesty – your righteousness echoes in the valleys as it calls from the lofty peaks.  Look to the great deep, the mysterious, boundless, terrifying vastness – your judgments are beyond our comprehension.

TAKE HEART!
You love ME with a steadfast love!
You protect and comfort me in the shadow of your wings. You are close, warm, and careful – so very tender with me. I feel you all around, tucking me in to you. You have everything I need and you give it to me in abundance! You invite me into your house and you feed me, nourishing my hungry soul. You give me delightful drink that deeply satisfies my thirsty heart.
You give me life! Abundant, full, bubbling over, refreshing, eternal.
You light up my darkness! Pure, holy, good, unstoppable, all encompassing, gloriously commanding wickedness to flee.

HOLD ME FAST!
Oh the goodness of knowing you! I don’t want to live without your steadfast love! I want it to penetrate and preserve my heart so that the wickedness that presses in from the outside, and seeks to enslave from the inside, would be driven far away, thrust down, never to rise – because you have risen.

Day 5, Application Question #2:
Rewrite the psalm in your own words as a testimony to the specific great works God has done in your life or on your behalf.

Response to Psalm 111
by Bev Kniegge

In light of all the struggles of the past couple of years, I realized this psalm shows how God is trying so much to build a strong-through-any-storm relationship with us!

The heart is verse 1: Giving thanks to God with all my heart.

The bright branches represent verse 3: Splendid and majestic is His work!

The flowers remind me of His truth and justice (verse 7) as well as His grace and compassion (verse 4).

Day 5, Application Question #2:
What is a specific part of your heart or life that you long to be more deeply known and loved?
Take some time to ask God what He wants to say to you about that area of your life.

Response to Psalm 139
by Jerome Dybzinski

My God knows me intimately and searches my heart and discerns my very thoughts as well as my whereabouts and heart. I can’t hide from Him. He is near wherever I try to hide. He is near and is my light. I can’t play hide-and-seek with Him. He is aware of all my hiding places. The question in my heart is “Why do I live and act at times like He doesn’t exist?” He is my Creator! I know intellectually these things, so why am I afraid to draw near at times? His thoughts to me are precious continually. The last two verses of this psalm help drive my apathy and unawareness toward Him.

Alright Lord, please search me, please clean and refine me, please lead me where I need to be in humility and sincerity of heart. Take this dumb sheep and lead me in the way everlasting.

Day 5, Application Question #2:
What specific reasons do you have in this season of life to praise the Lord?
Which attributes of God are driving your reasons for praise?

Response to Psalm 33
By Andrew Hendrickson

Why Should I Praise:

Why should I praise him today?
So many cares and fears seem to get in my way
If I could sing to Him a new song
Could it move my heart to praise?

Did he speak our whole world into being?
Did he gather all the waters in place?
He stood firm the mountain tops
He deserves my shouts of praise

Why should I praise him today?
So many cares and fears seem to get in my way
If I could sing to Him a new song
Could it move my heart to praise?

Has He fashioned me a heart from the stone I was born with?
Does He look down from heaven above?
He’s made me a new creation
I can hope in His steadfast love

Praise Him!
Shout for joy
Praise Him!
For He is faithful
Praise Him!
Shout for joy
Praise Him!
For His lovingkindness

Yes I should praise him today
No matter what cares and fears try to get in my way
When I sing to Him a new song
It will move my heart to praise!

Day 5, Application Question #2:
Take a few deep breaths and take stock of what is in your heart right now (emotions, concerns, goals, struggles, troubles, joys, tasks, etc.).
Pour out your heart to God (v 8) and then ask Him to show you how His power and love (v 11-12) are the trustworthy answer for all that is in your heart today.

Response to Psalm 62
By Savannah Neave

Where have you placed your confidence? Where is your safe place to run when the pains of this life settle in? When the bad news comes, when you don’t get the job, when you don’t feel joy, when you experience persecution, when someone you thought you could trust betrays you, where do you stand?

Psalm 62 is another psalm of David that appears to be written in the midst of trouble. However, unlike many of its counterparts the tone of this psalm is never questioning, afraid, or doubtful. Instead, this psalm declares firm confidence in the Lord.

Six times in this Psalm David uses the Hebrew word Ak as the qualifier of God’s attributes. This word is a strong and earnest word roughly translated to “only” or “alone” in English. Over and over the psalmist declares “God Alone!”. “For God alone my soul waits (vs 1)” and “He alone is my rock (vs 2)” There is no other that David is banking his life on. He doesn’t have a contingency plan. It’s only the Lord.

Notice also that David doesn’t declare these characteristics of God as something general. He claims them to be true for himself. “He alone is my rock and salvation (vs 2)” and “My mighty rock, my refuge is God (vs 7)”. He doesn’t just objectively know these attributes of the Lord but he rejoices in experiencing them to be true in his own life.

This is all held in contrast with mankind. Whereas the Lord is rock, refuge, stable, unchanging man is described as unstable, a wall ready to topple (or ready to topple others).The Lord is salvation, yet man is prone to deceit and betrayal. The rich and the poor alike are just a breath in this life that is here today and gone tomorrow.

At the end of the psalm we find something breathtaking. Not only is the Lord strong (vs 11), but he is also abounding in unending love (vs 12). The one who reigns above the heavens in power, justice,
strength, and holiness is also the one who draws near and calls his people to pour out their hearts and find refuge (vs 8).

Do not bank your life on what can shift, change, and fail. Set your whole weight, all your trust, all your waiting, and all your hope on God. He alone is our safe place. He alone is the one who can save. He is our one place to rest. He alone can carry the whole weight of our hopes, fears, joys, sorrows. Fix your eyes on Jesus: kind and strong.

Day 5, Application Question #2:
Write down some times in your life when God was good and merciful to you even though you didn’t deserve it.
Tell someone younger in your life about those times to encourage them to set their hope in God (v7).

Response to Psalm 78
By Christine Anderson

This psalm is a story with a purpose. Here we have a spiritual leader calling his people to remember all that God had done for them, all the ways He had been faithful, so that their hope would be set on Him. 

We have a different story to remember, and I would argue an even greater one: of Jesus Christ our friend and redeemer. It is in this story that the Father meets each of us in an individual encounter. The story of how He met, loved, and guided you as His child is different from every other story. And it must be remembered and told, and in this we will see His faithful hand that never left, our caring shepherd who always led, our friend who called us out of the darkness and into His light. 

You are the children of this Father. This God. And we know him to be faithful. I encourage you to remember your own story of the love of the Father “so that you should set your hope in Him and never forget his works,” the greatest of all being his Son, Jesus Christ, whom he sent to be light and life to man, to make a sacrifice we did not deserve, and atone for the sins He did not commit. What a friend we have in Jesus! With a great love we were saved! This is the greatest story ever told. 

This psalm helps us to know who we are and who our God is. It illuminates our need for him and turns our gaze in praise to Him who is faithful. In it we find the brokenness of man’s response to a holy and blameless Father.  

Because when you are…

Forgetful, He guides. 

In need, He provides.

Rebellious, He remains. 

Questioning, He assures.

Discouraged, He nourishes.

Doubtful, He satisfies.  

Deceitful, He is gracious. 

Lost, He leads.

He is…

Steadfast. Constant. Established. Faithful.

Oh, how I love to think of the memories of the riches of God’s works being kept from generation to generation! From Abraham to Isaac to Jacob. From Paul to Timothy to me. The story of Jesus connects us from generation to generation. And the story must be told. 

It was through the Word that the world was created, through the Father’s words that God blessed Abraham and his children to come. Through Jesus’ spoken words did we come to understand His purpose here on earth. And through our words that the good news spreads. It is through our personal declarations of faith that the Father and His Son are made known to the world.

He has been faithful. He is faithful and will forever be faithful. May we be faithful to praise His name. May we never forget His works! May the praise “All I have needed your hands have provided, great is your faithfulness” be ever on our lips! To Him be the glory forever!

Day 5, Application Question #2:
Are there ways that our scientific understanding of nature causes you to overlook the equally true miracle and grace of God’s work and presence in nature?
Write a sentence like David’s proclaiming some way that God is working in nature today right outside your window and praise Him for it!
How does acknowledging God’s work in creation minister to you today?

Response to Psalm 104
by the Dornfeld Family

The painting is centered on the verse, “When you open your hand, they are filled with good things.” Psalm 104:28.

Fire blows away from His hand to represent, “His ministers a flaming fire.” Verse 4

Valleys and mountains are in the picture based on the verse, “The mountains rose, the valleys sank down to the place that you appointed for them.” Verse 8

Water is running down out of His hand for, “From your lofty abode you water the mountains,” and it runs between the mountains. “You make springs gush forth in the valleys; they flow between the hills.” Verses 10 & 13

Above the mountains the birds are flying. “Beside them the birds of the heavens dwell.” Birds are also coming out of the forest. “They sing among the branches.”  Verse 12

“Man goes out to his work and to his labor until the evening.” “You cause the grass to grow for the livestock and plants for man to cultivate, that he may bring forth food from the earth.” Farms spread out through the valley. Verses 23 & 14

“The trees of the Lord are watered abundantly, the cedars of Lebanon that he planted.” A forest of cedars grow beside the spring. Verse 16

“The high mountains are for the wild goats; the rocks are a refuge for the rock badgers.” There are mountain goats and sheep far away on the mountains and a rock badger in the left corner. Verse 18

“He made the moon to mark the seasons; the sun knows it’s time for setting.” The moon and sun are tied to his fingers, showing his timing and control. Verse 19

“There go the ships, and Leviathan, which you formed to play in it.” The ships and leviathan’s tale are in the background, under the sea. Verse 26

Day 5, Application Question #2:
Truly analyzing yourself
– What worldly prosperity or security are you tempted to desire?
– Write it on a piece of paper, hold the paper in your hands, and imagine yourself walking into “the sanctuary of God” (the Holy of Holies, the throneroom of God, heaven, or simply God’s safe presence).
– Ask God what he has to say about what you wrote.
– Do what He tells you to do with that piece of paper.

Response to Psalm 73
By Justin Wood

This was a marvelous, eye opening, revealing study for me on Psalm 73. It is a lesson of seeing my life and perspective through God’s eyes and not my own, also it speaks to the Christian life. Our own perspectives can be a weight and burdensome. We can be envious, jealous, misunderstanding, sinful people blinded by our own thoughts, desires and actions forgetting about the real true gift we have been given as believers; Christ Jesus – in Him we have everything because He has everything. Don’t look at what the world has, don’t look at what the people of the world do and how they live and definitely don’t compare any of it with your own life (I absolutely know this); look at what you have in Christ Jesus! This Psalm is a beautiful display of our hearts motives & intents; how God sees us in Christ Jesus vs. how we can see each other. Also how we must respond to this by going to tell others of the great, awesome and loving good nature of our glorious God who has saved us through Christ Jesus. It is about faithful living in a corrupt and unfair world, continually focusing our eyes on our Savior.

There are many things that were revealed to me through this study and I feel very blessed by God to have gone through it. I noticed a big picture view of the world as Asaph saw it and as God sees it. Asaph humbles himself throughout the Psalm and has a huge epiphany in v.17. The psalm begins by honoring God; as it should be to always give glory to our Heavenly Father. He then proceeds to confess his own sin by admitting he was envious of the arrogant when he saw their prosperity (which happens on the daily to all of us). Asaph in his own words tries to explain the motives of the hearts of the wicked, how they see no wrong with what they do (I can remember this as an unbeliever). It is such a wearisome task to discern the ways of the wicked people of the world; “Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I discerned their end.” (Psalm 73 v.17 ESV). This is the pinnacle of revealing to me as with coming to faith in Jesus Christ; Asaph recognizes his own failures and only when he goes to the sanctuary of God do the blinders cease, the knowledge is given by God and the truth is revealed. Asaph realizes that in his own strength in this task is daunting, but in God’s sanctuary (when we go to God and seek his guidance) He guides us with His counsel. There is comfort in knowing that there is nothing on earth better than God, it is good to be near God, to make God our refuge, and to share of all His works (v.28). In summary Asaph honors God, he confesses his sin, he repents by turning to God, he reconciles with God, he knows he has forgiveness and one day restoration with God, therefore he makes it a point to go and tell of all His (God’s) works. Just a gorgeous display of the Christian life and the promise we have been given in Christ Jesus. Continually focus on the Savior, “as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4:18 ESV

I give many thanks for this study as it has been a blessing on my heart, mind and soul. As always our Lord is constantly molding us into who He wants us to be, how He wants us to act, and what He wants us to do with the knowledge he gives and reveals to us.

Day 5, Application Question #2:
Considering all the benefits that David lists, which one is most moving or meaningful to you in this season as a chosen child of God? Why?
This psalm is an acrostic of the Hebrew alphabet. Consider making your own acrostic with the English alphabet praising God for His benefits to you.

Psalm 103 Reflection:
Acrostic of Praise and Enumeration of Benefits from a Relationship with the Lord
A Song of Janice

Adoration and praise to the Lord!
Bless the Lord O my soul,
Call out praises to His holy name,
Deliverer of all good things!
Everlasting to everlasting is His love for us.

Bless the Lord O my soul,
With the heavenly hosts around His throne! 
O my soul, O my soul, praise Him!

Forget not all His benefits!
God of forgiveness be praised,
Healer of all our diseases!

Bless the Lord O my soul,
With the heavenly hosts around His throne! 
O my soul, O my soul, praise Him!

In Him we are blessed,
Justified, and redeemed—
Keeper of our souls from the pit,
Lavished with a crown of love and compassion,
Moved to satisfy our desires with good things, 
Now having our youth renewed like the eagles.

Bless the Lord O my soul,
With the heavenly hosts around His throne! 
O my soul, O my soul, praise Him!

O bless the Lord for His mighty works of righteousness!
Praise His works of justice for the oppressed.
Quick to make known to Moses and Israel His deeds,
Rejoice in His compassion and graciousness!

Bless the Lord O my soul,
With the heavenly hosts around His throne! 
O my soul, O my soul, praise Him!

Slow to anger, abounding in love,
Treated not as our sins deserve!
Up as high as the heavens are from the earth, our iniquities are removed.
Very great is His love for those who fear Him,
Worship and praise for His removal of our transgressions as far as the east is from the west!

Bless the Lord O my soul,
With the heavenly hosts around His throne! 
O my soul, O my soul, praise Him!

eXtol Him, abounding in compassion for His children as a Father.
Yes! His love flows to those who keep His covenant and remember to obey His precepts.
Zealous in compassion, as He remembers we are but dust and, like the flowers, are soon gone.

Bless the Lord O my soul,
With the heavenly hosts around His throne! 
O my soul, O my soul, praise Him in song!

Response to Psalm 103
By Janice Skiles

There is a renewing of gratitude to God for providing His Word whenever we take the time to study it in depth. In studying Psalm 103, we experience David’s three-part expression of praise as he blesses God. In the first part of the psalm, he personally, from his inmost being, praises the Lord. His elation as one of God’s chosen is evident in the first verse. In the second part of the psalm, David enumerates the many benefits of being in relationship with the Lord, benefits we share with David! Finally in the last part, he reminds us that the Lord has established his throne in heaven, and he encourages all the beings in the heavenly realm and all of God’s works in His dominion to bless the Lord.

Even though we are created from dust and our lives are as brief as that of a flower, we are blessed from everlasting to everlasting with the love of God. What a privilege to be invited into praise and worship of our God along with the angels! This psalm moved me to truly join David in saying, “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all my inmost being praise His holy name!”

In the image you see us represented as creations of dust, and like flowers, with our hands lifted in praise, blessing the Lord, right alongside the angels. 

We and the angels, blessing the Lord! I just couldn’t get my hands lifted high enough, even on my tiptoes!

Day 5, Application Question #2:
What keeps you from listening to God?
In what areas of your life do you hunger?
Ask God to show you any way that you are closing yourself off to Him.
What would it look like practically for you to “open your mouth wide” and let God fill that hungry space?

Response to Psalm 81
by Rich Hawley

Psalm 81 begins by calling for the joyful worship of God. Often in our churches today, the pastor
or music leader begins the Sunday service with a call to the congregation to come together in
singing and playing instruments in praise of God, our strength.

God’s rebuke in the psalm starts with a reminder of what God had done in delivering the Jews
from Egypt. The people had called to Him, and He heard them, answered them, rescued them.
Two central verses of this psalm are verses 8 and 9: “O Israel, if you would but listen to me!
There shall be no strange god among you; you shall not bow down to a foreign god.” This
warning is the second of the ten commandments found in Exodus 20:3, “You shall have no
other god before me.” Our God is a jealous God! He wants my whole heart! Do I please God
with my worship, or do I just worship God outwardly while my heart is not set upon Him but
rather on the worship of other gods—wealth, pleasure, drugs, comfort, or even self?

Psalm 81 ends with the tragedy of missed opportunity and unfulfilled potential. God would have
richly provided and satisfied his people if they had only listened and obeyed. “But He would feed
you with the finest of the wheat and with honey from the rock I would satisfy you” (verse 16).
Spurgeon said, “Our cup is small, and we blame the fountain.”

When a mother bird brings food to her chicks, she never has to ask them to open their mouths
wide; their appetite and eagerness are never lacking.

But God gave them over to their own stubborn hearts and to walk in their own wisdom, which is
like a ship without a rudder. Verse 13 says, “Oh, that my people would listen to me.” May it be
so with me.

Day 5, Application Question #2:
In what area of life or in what sin is God teaching you about walking in His path?
What are some evidences of God’s steadfast love and faithfulness in the way He is teaching you?

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1c_SLuSwNBee99GLOH-taDAxbrt5-LD62/view?usp=share_link

Response to Psalm 25
by Esther Schuett

Psalm 25 (Remember Me)

Verse 1
Lonely and afflicted 
My guilt it is great
Let me not be put to shame 
For in You I hope and wait

Pre Chorus
Rescue me from trouble
Forgive all my sins
To You I lift up my soul
My Salvation and Deliverance

Chorus
Remember not my younger sins and transgressions
Remember Your mercy and lovingkindesses
Remember me according to Your steadfast love
For the sake of Your goodness Lord

Verse 2
Teach me Your paths Lord
I take refuge in You
Make me know Your ways, God
Lead me in Your truth

Pre Chorus 2
Help me keep Your testimonies
And Your covenant
You are Love and Faithfulness
Your grace is permanent

Chorus
Remember not my younger sins and transgressions
Remember Your mercy and lovingkindesses
Remember me according to Your steadfast love
For the sake of Your goodness Lord

Verse 3
The mysteries of Yahweh
are to those who fear His name
He makes known to them His promise
They will not be put to shame

Pre Chorus 3
Redeem Your people Lord
Bring humility
In You we take refuge
From sin You’ve set us free

Chorus
Remember not my younger sins and transgressions
Remember Your mercy and lovingkindesses
Remember me according to Your steadfast love
For the sake of Your goodness
For the sake of Your name
For the sake of Your goodness Lord

Day 5, Application Question #2:
Jesus is prophesied in this psalm as King of Kings, Priest forever, and Judge of the nations.
Which of these roles of Jesus is most meaningful to you in this season?
Why?

Response to Psalm 110
by Kurt Rentel

Who are the characters in Psalm 110?
Psalm 110 is only seven verses long, but it has a lot going on and a lot of characters to understand. Here is a simple list of the names and groups of people mentioned in this psalm: David, LORD, Lord, your enemies, your people, Melchizedek, kings, nations, and chiefs. Without knowing who each of these characters is, how they relate to each other, and how they relate to us, it’s difficult to understand how this psalm meets us where we are.

This psalm is “A Psalm of David,”so who is David? He was many things: King of Israel, a man after God’s own heart, a giant slayer, a sinner like each of us, a prolific writer, and, in the case of this particular psalm, a prophet. David ruled Israel about 1,000 years before Christ was born, and Jesus ’earthly father, Joseph, was of the house and lineage of David and lived about thirty generations later.

The first character we meet in Psalm 110 is The LORD. The ESV Bible uses LORD to refer to Yahweh. Yahweh is the God that the people of David’s time worshiped as “God, the maker of heaven and earth” and “the one true God.” In this case, it’s easiest to understand LORD as God the Father.

The LORD, God the Father, is talking to my Lord. David is calling this character my Lord. Who is his Lord? His Lord is Adonai, the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ, the one who sits at the right hand of the LORD. David is referring directly to Christ as his Lord 1,000 years before Christ was born—clearly a prophecy.

Your enemies are referenced in verse 1. These are enemies of the Lord, or enemies of Christ. They are the people who are not followers of Christ, unbelievers.

Your people show up in verse 3. They belong to the Lord and worship him freely. They are followers of Christ, believers in Him.

Melchizedek is referenced in verse 4. Melchizedek’s name means “King of Righteousness,” and he is mentioned in Genesis 14:18-20. In that passage he brings bread and wine to Abram, and, as priest of the God Most High, he blesses Abram in the name of the God Most High. He, like Christ, was both a king and priest of God Most High.

In verses 5 and 6 are kings, nations, and chiefs. These are earthly positions of power and the people they rule. In Psalm 110 these kings and chiefs are shattered, and nations are judge by the Lord. They have earthly power but are ruled and judged by the Lord.

Day 5, Application Question #2:
The psalmist lists different categories of reasons God is worthy of worship: His care, provision and power.
Which of these characteristics of God do you personally feel the most need for in this season of life?
What evidence can you see around you of that characteristic of God (care/provision/power)?

Response to Psalm 147
by Becky Wade

Psalm 147 is a psalm of praise. It lists several reasons why God is worthy of praise, which can be placed into three different categories: His care, His provision, and His power. There are multiple examples of each, but they are not clustered together in the psalm, and verses 10-11 speak of what He delights in, which was hard for me to fit into those other categories.

Because there isn’t really a strong central theme and the stanzas don’t connect to each other in a logical sequence (that I could see), I thought this one lent itself nicely to a quilt pattern. I chose some stanzas I felt I could represent and turned them into quilt squares, then interspersed the text of verse 1 in between. Because “Praise the LORD!” was repeated in the last verse, I repeated it at the bottom of the quilt.

The verses that are represented are:
2—the city of Jerusalem against a blue sky
3—a broken heart being sewn back together
4—the constellation Orion against a night sky
6—a person in a position of humility being lifted by the hand of God
7—a lyre with golden strings against a backdrop of sheet music
8-9—rain clouds above green hills (and a deer) on a backdrop of rain
13-14—silhouettes of children playing on fields the color of wheat
16-17—a snow-covered tree with snowflakes in the background
19—the star of David overlaid with a scroll reading “Jehovah” in Hebrew

Day 5, Application Question #2:
Ask God to show you how he wants to be your rescuer and equipper in this season of life.
Consider asking Him to show you a picture of it (like David describes in verses 7-19) and try putting it down on paper in the form of a written description, a drawing, painting, etc.

Responses to Psalm 18
by Dave Yauk

A Study: Chiastic Christianity

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1eb-BKlKpAz1rbRqlDOsZLuoKucnqHYRE/view?usp=share_link