Tag: Psalms

December 2, read the Bible in a year; in PowerPoint, with comments.

1 John 4. Test the spirits. There is the spirit of God, and then there are many spirits of the Antichrist. Remember: “greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.” We know God through love and we see God through love, “We love him, because he first loved us.”

Proverbs 24 completes the sayings of the wise, and begins some more sayings of the wise. The two last verses are notable: “Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep:  So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth; and thy want as an armed man.

Psalm 137. When the Jews were exiled into captivity they were forced to sing songs on their way. So somebody wrote a psalm about it. Compare that to when Paul and Silas were put in jail, they voluntarily sang songs of praise to God.

Psalm 138. David, as psalmist reminds us that God will honor His word and perform it to completion.

Psalm 139, of David. God knows everything, and He knows me much better than I know myself. Fittingly, the Psalm ends up with a song: “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”

Psalm 140, of David. A heartfelt prayer for deliverance from evildoers.

November 3, read the Bible in a year; in PowerPoint, with comments.

Hebrews 11:23-40 is called “the great faith chapter”. The writer of Hebrews continues his history of faith with Moses’ parents, Moses, the people crossing the Red Sea, the fall of the walls of Jericho and the friendly innkeeper Rahab. Then the author ran out of time to mention Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah, about David and Samuel and the prophets. “These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.”

Proverbs 18, Proverbs of Solomon. God looks at the heart, take heed and do what is right in the eyes of the Lord, not men.

Psalm 106 is a follow-on of Psalm 105. While Psalm 105 tells of the story of God’s people from Abraham to Moses, Psalm 106 continues from the crossing of the Red Sea (or Sea of Reeds) to the sins committed ,even to the child sacrifices to the gods of Canaan. The psalmist prayed for deliverance from the heathens and return and restoration of the promised land. The Psalm begins and ends with a Hallelujah (praise the LORD).

March 8, read the Bible in a year; in PowerPoint, with comments.

Matthew 19:1-12 is relatively short but contains some of the most important aspects of life, such as marriage and divorce. “What therefore God hath joined together, let no man put asunder.”

Ecclesiastes 7. There is value in practical wisdom.

Ecclesiastes 8. Obey authorities for God’s Sake, and yes, this too is in Ecclesiastes: “Eat, drink and be merry.” It fits with the theme of vanity.

Psalm 19, of David. “This Psalm reflects, more than any other, the beauty and splendor of the Hebrew poetry found in the Psalter. C.S. Lewis wrote, ‘I take this to be the greatest poem in the Psalter and one of the greatest lyrics in the world.’” (VanGemeren)

Psalm 20, of David. The people’s prayer for the King is heard by the LORD. The most quoted part is: “ Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the Lord our God.” The Lord saves, we pray for the King.

Psalm 21, of David. The New Testament references from Revelation 14 seems to fit. When I read the Psalm the battle hymn of the republic kept ringing in my ears.