To the Chief Musician. A Song. A Psalm. Make a joyful shout to God, all the earth! Sing out the honor of His name; Make His praise glorious. Say to God, "How awesome are Your works! Through the greatness of Your power Your enemies shall submit themselves to You. All the earth shall worship You And sing praises to You; They shall sing praises to Your name." Selah

It is my contention that every Psalm deals with the glorification of the LORD, God the Almighty in one fashion or another. That supposition has been generally upheld, with the feeling that it is my failure, not the Psalmist's, to identify the praise in the one or two Psalms where I have not identified a Worship component.

Not so, not so at all here. This is a Psalm that bubbles and boils with praise and adoration and glorification; all directed towards the LORD, God, the Almighty.

Stick with me, enjoy the ride and mix a metaphore or two for the Praise Pool.

Reading

Morning Psalm 135, Noon Psalm 119:121-128, Evening Psalm 31

Alternate Reading Plan based on 7 chapters/day from 7 sections of the Scriptures. My groupings are: Genesis-Joshua, Judges to Esther, Job to Song of Solomon, Psalms breaking 119 into convenient sets, Isaiah to Malachi, Matthew to Acts, Romans to Revelation.

Set your own up in convenient groupings as fits your study habits.

I suggest either setting aside a period of the day to read all, or break the readings up into morning, mid-day, and evening series. Both approaches have their advantages, and both will build an awareness of the Bible as a whole over time.

They also who dwell in the farthest parts are afraid of Your signs; You make the outgoings of the morning and evening rejoice. You visit the earth and water it, You greatly enrich it; The river of God is full of water; You provide their grain, For so You have prepared it. You water its ridges abundantly, You settle its furrows; You make it soft with showers, You bless its growth. You crown the year with Your goodness, And Your paths drip with abundance. They drop on the pastures of the wilderness, And the little hills rejoice on every side. The pastures are clothed with flocks; The valleys also are covered with grain; They shout for joy, they also sing.

What a beautiful passage, celebrating the munificence of the LORD, God, the Almighty as He provides for the needs of His people. Obviously an agrarian society, totally dependent upon the produce of the land.

Not so anymore. We are a manufacturing society; we produce automobiles by the thousands per hour. Computers? Countless! HA!

Maybe we are described in that first phrase? Are we afraid of the signs of the LORD? Have we lost sight of our dependency on the food chain? There has been drought in the wheat growing regions of the mid-West; will we experience increasing bread prices next winter?

Reading

Morning Psalm 134, Noon Psalm 119:113-120, Evening Psalm 30

Alternate Reading Plan based on 7 chapters/day from 7 sections of the Scriptures. My groupings are: Genesis-Joshua, Judges to Esther, Job to Song of Solomon, Psalms breaking 119 into convenient sets, Isaiah to Malachi, Matthew to Acts, Romans to Revelation.

Set your own up in convenient groupings as fits your study habits.

I suggest either setting aside a period of the day to read all, or break the readings up into morning, mid-day, and evening series. Both approaches have their advantages, and both will build an awareness of the Bible as a whole over time.

By awesome deeds in righteousness You will answer us, O God of our salvation, You who are the confidence of all the ends of the earth, And of the far-off seas; Who established the mountains by His strength, Being clothed with power; You who still the noise of the seas, The noise of their waves, And the tumult of the peoples.

You are the God of Peace, the God of Tranquility, the God of Serenity, the God of Stillness, the complete opposite of the Evil One. It is to You, the LORD, God, the Almighty, that we bring our praises and our petitions. We lift our voices in the worship halls, in our homes, in the places where we labor, and in the shops, and where we relax.

Hear our prayers, LORD, grant us Your Peace, and guide us in the Way.

Reading

Morning Psalm 133, Noon Psalm 119:105-112, Evening Psalm 29

Alternate Reading Plan based on 7 chapters/day from 7 sections of the Scriptures. My groupings are: Genesis-Joshua, Judges to Esther, Job to Song of Solomon, Psalms breaking 119 into convenient sets, Isaiah to Malachi, Matthew to Acts, Romans to Revelation.

Set your own up in convenient groupings as fits your study habits.

I suggest either setting aside a period of the day to read all, or break the readings up into morning, mid-day, and evening series. Both approaches have their advantages, and both will build an awareness of the Bible as a whole over time.

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. A Song. Praise is awaiting You, O God, in Zion; And to You the vow shall be performed. O You who hear prayer, To You all flesh will come. Iniquities prevail against me; As for our transgressions, You will provide atonement for them. Blessed is the man You choose, And cause to approach You, That he may dwell in Your courts. We shall be satisfied with the goodness of Your house, Of Your holy temple.

An interesting way that this Psalm, a hymn of praise ties together vows, prayer, and atonement. I catch a whiff of confession between vows and atonement, perhaps as if on a slide smoothed and lubricated by contrition. It is not that my confession is the vehicle of contrition and forgiveness, but it certainly provides an atmosphere of joint trust.

Reading

Morning Psalm 132, Noon Psalm 119:97-104, Evening Psalm 28

Alternate Reading Plan based on 7 chapters/day from 7 sections of the Scriptures. My groupings are: Genesis-Joshua, Judges to Esther, Job to Song of Solomon, Psalms breaking 119 into convenient sets, Isaiah to Malachi, Matthew to Acts, Romans to Revelation.

Set your own up in convenient groupings as fits your study habits.

I suggest either setting aside a period of the day to read all, or break the readings up into morning, mid-day, and evening series. Both approaches have their advantages, and both will build an awareness of the Bible as a whole over time.

They encourage themselves in an evil matter; They talk of laying snares secretly; They say, "Who will see them?" They devise iniquities: "We have perfected a shrewd scheme." Both the inward thought and the heart of man are deep. But God shall shoot at them with an arrow; Suddenly they shall be wounded. So He will make them stumble over their own tongue; All who see them shall flee away.

All men shall fear, And shall declare the work of God; For they shall wisely consider His doing. The righteous shall be glad in the LORD, and trust in Him. And all the upright in heart shall glory.

David continues in much the same vein as earlier in this verse; how will God see him? Is it a conviction that God is blind or ignorant. Of course not! God's holy eyes see evil as it occurs. He cannot associate with evil anywhere, anyway, anyhow.

But all who fear Him; all who declare His work, will wisely consider His doing. We will be glad and trust in Him. It is the way of Glory for the upright in heart.

Reading

Morning Psalm 131, Noon Psalm 119:89-96, Evening Psalm 27

Alternate Reading Plan based on 7 chapters/day from 7 sections of the Scriptures. My groupings are: Genesis-Joshua, Judges to Esther, Job to Song of Solomon, Psalms breaking 119 into convenient sets, Isaiah to Malachi, Matthew to Acts, Romans to Revelation.

Set your own up in convenient groupings as fits your study habits.

I suggest either setting aside a period of the day to read all, or break the readings up into morning, mid-day, and evening series. Both approaches have their advantages, and both will build an awareness of the Bible as a whole over time.

Remember the word to Your servant, Upon which You have caused me to hope. This is my comfort in my affliction, For Your word has given me life.

The proud have me in great derision, Yet I do not turn aside from Your law. I remembered Your judgments of old, O LORD, And have comforted myself.

Indignation has taken hold of me Because of the wicked, who forsake Your law. Your statutes have been my songs In the house of my pilgrimage.

I remember Your name in the night, O LORD, And I keep Your law. This has become mine, Because I kept Your precepts.

“Remember the Word to Your servant” Who was this servant? I have not found a single hint in all my study of the precious hymn to our LORD, God, the Almighty. But lets look at the hints in this one stanza that shed some light on his relationship with Elohim.

• He was a servant.

• He found his comfort there.

• His hope was through Elohim

• His life is through Elohim

• He is steadfast in the Word

• He is indignant with the lawbreakers

• His song is continually based on the statutes of Elohim throughout his life of pilgrimage.

• The Law has be come his because he has kept Elohim's precepts.

Surely he must have been recognized as Ish-Ha-Elohim, the Man of the God.

Disclaimer, I am not a Hebrew scholar, but I have friends who are. They would probably prefer to remain nameless rather than take the blame for my miss-interpretation of their wisdom.

Reading

Morning Psalm 130, Noon Psalm 119:81-88, Evening Psalm 26

Alternate Reading Plan based on 7 chapters/day from 7 sections of the Scriptures. My groupings are: Genesis-Joshua, Judges to Esther, Job to Song of Solomon, Psalms breaking 119 into convenient sets, Isaiah to Malachi, Matthew to Acts, Romans to Revelation.

Set your own up in convenient groupings as fits your study habits.

I suggest either setting aside a period of the day to read all, or break the readings up into morning, mid-day, and evening series. Both approaches have their advantages, and both will build an awareness of the Bible as a whole over time.

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. Hear my voice, O God, in my meditation; Preserve my life from fear of the enemy.Hide me from the secret plots of the wicked, From the rebellion of the workers of iniquity, Who sharpen their tongue like a sword, And bend their bows to shoot their arrows—bitter words, That they may shoot in secret at the blameless; Suddenly they shoot at him and do not fear.

This is a very interesting prayer of Davids as he prays to the LORD, God, the Almighty for relief from fear of the enemy, the wicked, the rebellious whose tongues are swords and who shoot their bitter words. How often do we find that we considered many to be friends, but underneath that smarmy exterior, lay a fetid, jealous swamp.

LORD, guide me to respond in love, not in kind.

Reading

Morning Psalm 129, Noon Psalm 119:73-80, Evening Psalm 25

Alternate Reading Plan based on 7 chapters/day from 7 sections of the Scriptures. My groupings are: Genesis-Joshua, Judges to Esther, Job to Song of Solomon, Psalms breaking 119 into convenient sets, Isaiah to Malachi, Matthew to Acts, Romans to Revelation.

Set your own up in convenient groupings as fits your study habits.

I suggest either setting aside a period of the day to read all, or break the readings up into morning, mid-day, and evening series. Both approaches have their advantages, and both will build an awareness of the Bible as a whole over time.

When I remember You on my bed, I meditate on You in the night watches. Because You have been my help, Therefore in the shadow of Your wings I will rejoice. My soul follows close behind You; Your right hand upholds me.

There is a special quality(?), tone(?), intimacy(?) to prayers and meditations during the still of the night. I'm not sure what the correct word is, maybe all of them. But to lay quietly, perhaps with a collection of hymns and Psalms playing softly in the background, laying out the joys and sorrows of the day is an appropriate way to end my day.

Sometimes I drop off to sleep in the middle of my prayers and sometimes I am stimulated to continue.

Reading

Morning Psalm 126, Noon Psalm 119:57-64, Evening Psalm 23

Alternate Reading Plan based on 7 chapters/day from 7 sections of the Scriptures. My groupings are: Genesis-Joshua, Judges to Esther, Job to Song of Solomon, Psalms breaking 119 into convenient sets, Isaiah to Malachi, Matthew to Acts, Romans to Revelation.

Set your own up in convenient groupings as fits your study habits.

I suggest either setting aside a period of the day to read all, or break the readings up into morning, mid-day, and evening series. Both approaches have their advantages, and both will build an awareness of the Bible as a whole over time.

A Psalm of David When He Was in the Wilderness of Judah. O God, You are my God; Early will I seek You; My soul thirsts for You; My flesh longs for You In a dry and thirsty land Where there is no water.So I have looked for You in the sanctuary, To see Your power and Your glory. Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, My lips shall praise You. Thus I will bless You while I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name. My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness, And my mouth shall praise You with joyful lips.

Down in the dumps, got the Wednesday morning blues? Study verses 1-5 of the 63^rdPsalm (and stick with passages for Thursday and Friday)

Who will not be lifted by this recipe for drawing nearer to the LORD, God the Almighty? Maybe I need to prepare for the mid-week doldrums by ending Tuesday night by a meditation on this message from the Word of the LORD.

Reading

Morning Psalm 125, Noon Psalm 119:49-56, Evening Psalm 22

Alternate Reading Plan based on 7 chapters/day from 7 sections of the Scriptures. My groupings are: Genesis-Joshua, Judges to Esther, Job to Song of Solomon, Psalms breaking 119 into convenient sets, Isaiah to Malachi, Matthew to Acts, Romans to Revelation.

Set your own up in convenient groupings as fits your study habits.

I suggest either setting aside a period of the day to read all, or break the readings up into morning, mid-day, and evening series. Both approaches have their advantages, and both will build an awareness of the Bible as a whole over time.

Surely men of low degree are a vapor, Men of high degree are a lie; If they are weighed on the scales, They are altogether lighter than vapor.

Do not trust in oppression, Nor vainly hope in robbery; If riches increase, Do not set your heart on them. God has spoken once, Twice I have heard this: That power belongs to God. Also to You, O Lord, belongs mercy; For You render to each one according to his work.

How easy is it to overrate our capabilities? Exceedingly easy according to David. Man is but a vapor no matter how he views himself. And while you are at it, don't put any value in the results of sinful man's machinations. Oppression, robbery, riches!

All that lasts is from God. Only from God. And He renders justly.

Reading

Morning Psalm 124, Noon Psalm 119:41-48, Evening Psalm 21

Alternate Reading Plan based on 7 chapters/day from 7 sections of the Scriptures. My groupings are: Genesis-Joshua, Judges to Esther, Job to Song of Solomon, Psalms breaking 119 into convenient sets, Isaiah to Malachi, Matthew to Acts, Romans to Revelation.

Set your own up in convenient groupings as fits your study habits.

I suggest either setting aside a period of the day to read all, or break the readings up into morning, mid-day, and evening series. Both approaches have their advantages, and both will build an awareness of the Bible as a whole over time.

My soul, wait silently for God alone, For my expectation is from Him. He only is my rock and my salvation; He is my defense; I shall not be moved. In God is my salvation and my glory; The rock of my strength, And my refuge, is in God. Trust in Him at all times, you people; Pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us. Selah

What better way to start a conversation with the LORD, God the Almighty? “My soul, wait silently for God alone” and then begin to reiterate the many ways in which I am dependent upon Him. That exercise alone, is a valuable way to open my prayers.

Reading

Morning Psalm 123, Noon Psalm 119:33-40, Evening Psalm 20

Alternate Reading Plan based on 7 chapters/day from 7 sections of the Scriptures. My groupings are: Genesis-Joshua, Judges to Esther, Job to Song of Solomon, Psalms breaking 119 into convenient sets, Isaiah to Malachi, Matthew to Acts, Romans to Revelation.

Set your own up in convenient groupings as fits your study habits.

I suggest either setting aside a period of the day to read all, or break the readings up into morning, mid-day, and evening series. Both approaches have their advantages, and both will build an awareness of the Bible as a whole over time.

Teach me, O LORD, the way of Your statutes, And I shall keep it to the end. Give me understanding, and I shall keep Your law; Indeed, I shall observe it with my whole heart. Make me walk in the path of Your commandments, For I delight in it.

Incline my heart to Your testimonies, And not to covetousness. Turn away my eyes from looking at worthless things, And revive me in Your way. Establish Your word to Your servant, Who is devoted to fearing You. Turn away my reproach which I dread, For Your judgments are good. Behold, I long for Your precepts; Revive me in Your righteousness.

What a beautiful plea for the LORD, God, the Almighty's guidance in all things. This is a complete shopping list focused on moral issues, our Psalmist throws himself on the LORD's guidance and accepts the consequences, reserving nothing.

What an example for us, modern man who knows it all and has access to enormous resources of information and wealth, but still cannot manage his life.

Reading

Morning Psalm 122, Noon Psalm 119:25-32, Evening Psalm 19

Alternate Reading Plan based on 7 chapters/day from 7 sections of the Scriptures. My groupings are: Genesis-Joshua, Judges to Esther, Job to Song of Solomon, Psalms breaking 119 into convenient sets, Isaiah to Malachi, Matthew to Acts, Romans to Revelation.

Set your own up in convenient groupings as fits your study habits.

I suggest either setting aside a period of the day to read all, or break the readings up into morning, mid-day, and evening series. Both approaches have their advantages, and both will build an awareness of the Bible as a whole over time.