Day 146 (Psalm 131, 138-139, 143-145) - Year 7
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Hey, Bible readers, I'm Tara Lee Cobble, and I'm your host for The Bible Recap. After today, we only have three more days of Psalms. So if you're enjoying these days, make the most of it. And if you're struggling with all the poetry, hang in there. It won't be much longer for you.

Today we open with Psalm 131, which is another one of the Psalms of Ascent. These are the Psalms the Israelites would sing when they were going up to Jerusalem three times a year for the festivals. And as a refresher, they're called the Psalms of Ascent because Jerusalem is at a higher elevation. So no matter where you're coming from, you go up to Jerusalem. I'm just guessing on this, but it seems like David may have written this song of confidence during a time of uncertainty in his life.

Maybe he's confused about all the things that are happening around him or why they're happening. But either way, he resolves to trust God with the things he does know and leave the unknowns to God. One of the things he does know is that God is sovereign over it all and can be trusted with the outcome. When David reminds his soul of this, it sets him at ease. Whether that's where David was coming from or not, this song can certainly serve as a comfort to us when we're in that place.

Okay, let's tackle verse 1 of Psalm 138 before we move into the rest of the psalm. What on earth does David mean when he says, The word used here is in reference to spiritual beings of some sort. So some people believe this word would be better translated as angels, since David is in the house of God when this happens and there would likely be angels present.

Others believe this word is translated accurately as gods and that David is praising Yahweh, the one true God, in front of all the lesser gods, the not true gods or the false gods that exist in the world. The pagan gods, the demon gods, the idols, the created beings. If that's what's happening, then it seems like David wants them all to see his praise of Yahweh. By the way, acknowledging the existence of these other gods is not in conflict with the idea of monotheism.

The true idea behind monotheism is that we worship one God, that He is the Creator God, the only true God. We've talked about this before, and I touched briefly on it in February's R&C episode as well. But if you want more info, we'll link to a really helpful, lengthy, detailed resource in the show notes. I really love this chapter overall. It's so rich with its descriptions of God and His character.

As we're reading each day and looking for our snapshot of God and His character, this is a good reminder for us all. Look for what God loves, what He hates, and what motivates Him to do what He does. And this chapter has all of that. In verse 2, we see what He loves and what motivates Him to do what He does. It says, "...you have exalted above all things your name and your word."

In verse 6, we see what he loves and what he hates. It says, And in verse 8, we see what motivates him to do what he does. It says,

Psalm 139 is so personal and intimate. David acknowledges that he is fully known by God, which could maybe feel threatening if you're the kind of person who dwells in a lot of shame. But David models a great response to God's knowledge of him. He worships God for it. He cherishes God's thoughts of him. In verse 17, he says, "'How precious are your thoughts, O God!'

And he even invites the God who knows him best to help him know himself even better, to reveal his own blind spots to him and to direct his steps. If David didn't trust God, he certainly wouldn't ask this of God. But he seems to understand what Tim Keller articulated so beautifully when he said, "'To be loved but not known is comforting but superficial. To be known and not loved is our greatest fear.'"

But to be fully known and truly loved is, well, a lot like being loved by God. It is what we need more than anything. It liberates us from pretense, humbles us out of our self-righteousness, and fortifies us for any difficulty life can throw at us. Amen. Psalm 143 is a penitent psalm. David is in dire straits, and he realizes that some of his problems may be the result of his own sin—

But one thing that really reveals David's humility and his proper understanding of God is that before he asked God to deliver him from his enemies, he asked God to deliver him from himself and his own sin. In Psalm 144, David attributes his wartime victories to God, who has trained him to fight. He remarks on God's awe-inspiring displays of power, and he's humbled by the fact that such a huge, powerful God would even pay attention to humanity at all.

Then, knowing that God does pay attention to humanity, David asks God to bless him again and promises to praise him. He has high hopes for God's deliverance of him and his people. And I love how he ends the song. He says, That's us. Psalm 145 has a special place in my heart, but I'll try to keep this short for you and just point to my top three favorite parts.

Verse 3 tells us His greatness is unsearchable. That doesn't mean we can't find it. We're finding it. That just means we will never plumb the depths of all of it. There's always more greatness to find. Between all of us doing this reading plan together, I bet there are a thousand different God shots on any given day. Do you know how much of Him and His goodness and His greatness there still is to discover? Infinity. That's how much. Verse 9 tells us that God is good to all.

That's what theologians call common grace, like the fact that we all get to breathe His air and taste His food, and it goes on to say that His mercy is over all that He has made. So even His enemies experience His mercy. He doesn't annihilate them the moment they rebel against Him. That's a kind of common mercy.

Then my most favorite is verse 17. It says, The Lord is righteous in all His ways and kind in all His works. Righteous and kind. He's so kind, you guys. Why don't people talk about this more? How nice He is. I see it all the time. It's in His yes, it's in His no, it's in His wait. Every answer He gives to every prayer I pray is His kindest possible answer. If

If he tells me no to something that I ask for, then his yes would be less kind. He's so very kind. I kind of want that to be my God shot, but instead I'll go back to another verse from today that encourages me so much. I want to read it to you a few times and put the emphasis on a different section each time. We have no idea where David put the emphasis, but I think it could go just about anywhere in the whole verse. This is Psalm 138, 8, and I love meditating on it like this. Here it goes.

The Lord will fulfill His purpose for me. He will, and He is, and He's where the joy is.

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