Category: Psalms

October 9, read through the Bible in a year.

In between Paul’s letter to Philemon and the letter to the Hebrews we read two Psalms and three chapters of Jeremiah.

October 9: Psalm 121, Psalm 122, Jeremiah 45, Jeremiah 46, Jeremiah 47 (click on the chapter to begin reading).

Psalm 121, a Song of Accents. Psalms 120 to 134 were sung on the way to Jerusalem during the festivals.

Psalm 122, a Song of Accents. This one is of David.

Jeremiah 45. In 5 verses God gave assurance to Baruch to save his life, but disaster on the people.

Jeremiah 46. God proclaimed judgment on Egypt. Babylonia will strike Egypt but God will preserve Israel.

Jeremiah 47. And finally, there will be judgment on Philistia.

 

October 8, read through the Bible in a year.

Today we read Paul’s short letter to  Philemon, one Psalm and one chapter of Jeremiah.

October 8: Philemon, Psalm 120 , Jeremiah 44 (click on the chapter to begin reading).

Paul’s letter to Philemon is a letter from one person to another, and as such should not be for general consumption, and certainly not in the Holy Scriptures. But it is, and by divine inspiration it is a beautiful example of human redemption and how a former, thieving slave was given his freedom and welcomed into the fellowship of believers as a brother.

Psalm 120 is a song of accents, that means it was sung as the people went up to Jerusalem on their way to one of the Jewish festivals.

Jeremiah 44. Some Israelis escaped to Egypt.  Nothing good would come out of that. Read the horrible future that awaited them.

 

October 7, read through the Bible in a year.

In between Titus and Philemon we have now come to the giant  Psalm 119 (click on the chapter to begin reading).

Psalm 119 is a meditation on the excellence of the Word of God. It it anonymous, but is most probably a collection made by David and put in its final form during the time of Ezra. The Psalm is in the form of a true acrostic with eight verses for every letter of the Hebrew alphabet, totaling 176 verses. The acrostic form makes it possible to memorize, and so the students learning the Law did, even during Jesus’ time.

 

October 6, read through the Bible in a year.

In between Titus and Philemon we read two Psalms and one chapter of Jeremiah.

October 6: Psalm 117, Psalm 118, Jeremiah 43 (click on the chapter to begin reading).

Psalm 117. The shortest Psalm of them all, only two verses, but full pf praise.

Psalm 118. This is probably the best example of Hebrew poetry with verses repeated with only small variations. It is quoted  in the New Testament in many places, even by Jesus directly.

Jeremiah 43. Jeremiah is taken to Egypt.

 

October 2, read through the Bible in a year.

In between Second Timothy and Titus we read two Psalms and three chapters of Jeremiah.

October 2: Psalm 115, Psalm 116,  Jeremiah 34, Jeremiah 35, Jeremiah 36 (click on the chapter to begin reading).

Psalm 115 through Psalm 118 are part of the Hallel (praise) Psalms and are sung after the Passover meal. Psalm 115 gives praise that the Lord is our help and shield. Not so the heathens, their idols are worthless.

Psalm 116. The Lore heard my prayers, I will pay my vow of gratitude with the sacrifice of praise.

Jeremiah 34, Zedekiah is warned by God to give liberty to the slaves Slaves as commanded by Him, but the slaves were not freed, so bad things will happen.

Jeremiah 35 tells of the obedient Recabites.

Jeremiah 36. Jehoiakim burns Jeremiah’s Scroll, is this the end of David’s line?

 

September 30, read through the Bible in a year.

In between Second Timothy and Titus we read two Psalms and one chapter of Jeremiah.

September 30: Psalm 113, Psalm 114, Jeremiah 31 (click on the chapter to begin reading).

Psalm 113. This Psalm is part of the “Hallel”, consisting of Psalm 113-118. Two are sung before and three after the Passover meal. It begins and ends with Hallelujah, and praises God how He lifts up the lowly, even the barren woman.

Psalm 114 is the second Psalm of the Hallel. In eight short verses it retells of God’s miracles of delivering them out of Egypt and into the promised land. Short and to the point.

Jeremiah 31 is a most remarkable chapter. Jeremiah in a dream hears God say “Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love” and goes on promising that the remnant of Israel will be saved, Then, in verse 15 an abrupt change “A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weeping; Rahel weeping for her children refused to be comforted for her children, because they were not.” Then, back in the dream an even more remarkable statement “O thou backsliding daughter? for the Lord hath created a new thing in the earth, A woman shall compass a man.” Then Jeremiah wakes up from his pleasant dream. God speaks on, promising mercy on Ephraim, future Prosperity to Israel, and promises the New Covenant: “But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”

 

September 29, read through the Bible in a year.

In between Second Timothy and Titus we read one Psalm and two chapters of Jeremiah.

September 29: Psalm 112, Jeremiah 29, Jeremiah 30 (click on the chapter to begin reading).

Psalm 112. Like Psalm 111 an acrostic Psalm, meaning that each line (not verse) begins with the next letter in the Hebrew alphabet, starting with Alef and ends with Taw. It tells of the blessings that follow the man that fears the LORD. Not so the wicked.

Jeremiah 29, Jeremiah sent a letter to the exiles, a letter of hope, and a promise of return “And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. And I will be found of you, saith the Lord: and I will turn away your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places whither I have driven you, saith the Lord“. Then follows a message to Shemaiah, a not so promising message.

Jeremiah 30, a beautiful chapter promising the restoration of Israel.

September 25, read through the Bible in a year.

Today we read one Psalm, the first chapter of Second Timothy and two chapters of Jeremiah.

September 25: Psalm 111, 2 Timothy 1, Jeremiah 21, Jeremiah 22 (click on the chapter to begin reading).

Psalm 111. A short, beautiful psalm with this truth: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.”

2 Timothy 1 starts out with a greeting and Paul is encouraged by Timothy’s Faith, which he got from his mother Eunice and grandmother Lois. Paul is not Ashamed of the Gospel “for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.” Then Paul urges Timothy toe loyal to the faith.

Jeremiah 21. Jerusalem is doomed, and God delivers a message to the house of David.

Jeremiah 22 continues God’s messages to the House of David, the Sons of Josiah, and proclaims the end of the Davidic line with Jehoiachin. This is one reason  Jesus had to be adopted by Joseph according to the gospel of Matthew.

 

September 24, read through the Bible in a year.

In between  First and Second Timothy we read three Psalms and one chapter of Jeremiah.

September 24: Psalm 108, Psalm 109, Psalm 110, Jeremiah 20 (click on the chapter to begin reading).

Psalm 108, a Psalm, a song of David. Here David repeats parts from Psalm 57 and Psalm 60 and uses it to ask for God’s help in his further conquests as he subdues nations around him.

Psalm 109, of David. Leaving vengeance to God, David prays for the full measure of God’s vengeance to be poured out on his wicked enemies. He is “poor and needy” and vengeance is God’s business.

Psalm 110, of David. Two quotes stand out from this Psalm: “The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.“, and “The Lord hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.” Who is David talking about? Hint: The book of Hebrews gives the answer.

Jeremiah 20. The chief priest Pashhur hears Jeremiah prophesy bad outcomes, so he punishes Jeremiah, which leads to the word of God to Pashhur. Jeremias gives yer another complaint to God, this time even to the point of complaining he was born.

 

September 22, read through the Bible in a year.

In between  First and Second Timothy we read one Psalm and one chapter of Jeremiah.

September 22: Psalm 107, Jeremiah 17 (click on the chapter to begin reading).

Psalm 107. God to the rescue. It is a telling of four “saysos” ass the Southerners used to say “Let the redeemed of the LORD say so“. They got in trouble and finally cried out to the LORD and He saved them out of their distresses. This is a remarkably positive Psalm.

Jeremiah 17. Judah’s sin is deep and worthy of punishment. Jeremiah gives a profound confession and delivers a beautiful prayer for deliverance. Then he reminds the people to  keep the sabbath holy.