Proverbs 24

Proverbs 24:17

Do not rejoice when your enemy falls,
And do not let your heart be glad when he stumbles;

How many times have we indulged in "serves him right?"  We see something happen to someone we don't like, and smirk a little bit.  We are glad that they had a mischief, because they're wrong, and this is just that little bit extra to show it.  I'm not talking about actual punishment for wrongdoing, just those little things that happen "by chance."

However, what are are we really celebrating?  Probably just random chance, and the same exact thing could happen to us tomorrow.  I've always felt it's a mistake to put God's direct action onto most things that happen in the world (not saying He doesn't directly intervene, but I think it's a lot less frequent that some believe).

Proverbs 23

Proverbs 23:4

Do not weary yourself to gain wealth,
Cease from your consideration of it.

This has interesting timing.  Right before sitting down to read this, I was thinking about the house I'm going to purchase later this week, and how once that purchase is made, my checking account balance is going to be down to near-zero.

I don't think this verse is saying that money is bad.  However, it is saying that focusing on it is bad.  I should be responsible, which means planning ahead for the money I may need later, and what I'm going to do with it to benefit others.  But if all I do is think about making money, that's the wrong focus.

Proverbs 22

Proverbs 22:19

So that your trust may be in the LORD,
I have taught you today, even you.

In my Sunday School class today, we were looking at the progression in 2 Peter 1, which started with faith, then knowledge.  Another term for faith is trust.  So then I come to this verse, and it might as well be screaming at me for the connection.

The first thing you have to do is decide who you're going to trust.  You have to know who you believe to be true, before you can do anything about it.  To a Christian, this of course means trusting Christ.  Then you have to be willing to learn what is true, so that you can do it.  You don't know what you should be doing, unless you've been taught.

Proverbs 21

Proverbs 21:2

Every man's way is right in his own eyes,
But the LORD weighs the hearts.

It's verses like these that always make me concerned about those who seem to always have it together.  The people who always have a plan, and always follow that plan, no matter what happens, to get to that specific goal.  If something gets in the way, they do what they have to in order to still reach their goal.

Are these people working against God?  Do they stop to think about what God wants for them, rather than what they want?  Or are they simply blessed to know what God has planned for them, and are following His plan to get to His destination?  Does that make those of us who aren't sure less useful to Him?

Proverbs 20

Proverbs 20:24

Man's steps are ordained by the LORD,
How then can man understand his way?

When I first read this, it sounds like a forest-through-trees issue.  God guides our steps without us even knowing it.  He can see the big picture and we can't.  If we don't have a clue where we're going, why should we try to go anywhere?

However, thinking about it a little more, I think it's more of a matter of God guiding us.  We can only see a part of the path, whereas God knows the entire route.  We should always be pushing forward, heading for that next bend or rise, to see what comes next.  As long as we keep to the path, God can take care of what comes next.

Proverbs 19

Proverbs 19:6

Many will seek the favor of a generous man,
And every man is a friend to him who gives gifts.

I've definitely seen this in my own life, from both sides.  Growing up, I had friends whose families were both better off and worse off than we were.  I know that the ones who were better off, I was more eager to go with them, whereas I tended to want the ones who were worse off to come to my place more often.  However, I'd like to think I was aware of this, and did my best to avoid exploiting the better-off's generosity.

Today, I see this with some of the people I've helped out.  They seem to think we're friends, when the only connection between us is what I can do for them.  If I were unable to help them, I'd probably never hear from any of them again.

Proverbs 18

Proverbs 18:1

He who separates himself seeks his own desire,
He quarrels against all sound wisdom.

I wish I knew what was meant here by "separates."  Is this some kind of major separation, where one refuses to have anything to do with others?  Or is it less severe, meaning one chooses to disengage and avoid the issue rather than come to open disagreement?

I wish I knew because, depending on the answer, this might apply to me.  There are many areas where I have major disagreements with others, particularly other believers.  Unless it's an issue or theology, I normally choose to simply withdraw or remain silent, rather than risk causing a larger division.  Am I wrong to do this?

Proverbs 17

Proverbs 17:27

He who restrains his words has knowledge,
And he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding.

In Sunday School classes and bible studies, I get told on what seems like a regular basis that I rarely speak, but when I do it's usually worth listening.  Personally, I put this down less to knowledge and understanding, than I do to ADD/ADHD and introversion.

When I learned to control my ADHD's external symptoms, one of the things I had to learn was to keep my mouth shut, or everything in my ADD-riddled brain would come tumbling out.  I'm perfectly capable of having a multi-sided conversation in my head, and hashing a matter out there before opening the conclusion to the outside world.  Many people have to think out loud, I guess I'm the opposite.  But because they're thinking out loud, I'm too polite and introverted to normally interrupt, unless it's something I think only I have probably thought about.  So if I say something, it's because I've first thought it through, and it is something that no one else in the group is probably going to think up.

Proverbs 16

Proverbs 16:26

A worker's appetite works for him,
For his hunger urges him on.

When I read this, I don't just think about appetites and hunger.  I think about ambition.  All of us want stuff.  Sometimes it's big, sometimes little, but there's always something.  We may know we don't need it, but we want it, and I read this as saying that's not necessarily bad.

Not necessarily, but it can be.  We can want the wrong things, or too much of things.  This would be where hunger in the proverb turns to gluttony.  While ambition can be a good thing, it also needs to be properly harnessed and directed, to point us the direction God wants us to go.

Proverbs 15

Proverbs 15:7

The lips of the wise spread knowledge,
But the hearts of fools are not so.

This verse has very interesting timing.  Earlier this afternoon, I got a message from a less-fortunate person, who I've helped in emergencies with rides and occasional money.  She wanted me to bring her a Dr. Pepper when I got off work.

I've told her before that I am not her personal chauffeur or piggy bank.  So I immediately wanted to respond with a harsh "no," and explain again that I would not be an enabler for her poor behavior.  However, I knew that would cause a harsh reaction, so for now, the best I've been able to do is stay silent.  I pray that if a response becomes required, God will give me the correct words or knowledge.

Proverbs 14

Proverbs 14:30

A tranquil heart is life to the body,
But passion is rottenness to the bones.

I feel like I've lived my life by this verse, without knowing it.  As I learned to control my ADD, I found that my emotions, my passion as it were, tended to be the cause of my troubles.  It was when I let my emotions guide me instead of my rational mind that I let my ADD out and caused trouble.

However, I guess I do wonder if "passion" is the word here that I would expect.  There are things that are worth being passionate about, as long as it doesn't take complete control.  Is there some subset of passion, or type of passion, that this is more accurately warning about?

Proverbs 13

Proverbs 13:7

There is one who pretends to be rich, but has nothing;
Another pretends to be poor, but has great wealth.

This sounds a lot like the modern day "keeping up with the Jones" syndrome of our consumer culture.  The thing that concerns many people today is appearance.  You have to fake it until you make it.  But what happens if you don't make it, if you fall short?  You're deep in debt and stuck.

At the same time, I'm not quite certain if that's what this is supposed to hint at, or if there's another message in there.  Could it be a warning about putting up false appearances, even if you have money?  I'll admit I'm doing OK, but I still tend to act as if I'm fairly poor, both to fit in better with my peers who aren't doing as well, and because I don't want the attention.  Am I wrong to do this?

Proverbs 12

Proverbs 12:12

The wicked man desires the booty of evil men,
But the root of the righteous yields fruit.

This serves as a dual warning.  First, there is the advisory of the evil man.  He wants what others have, and often it's another evil man who has more, or what the other evil man has is more desirable.  Good men, on the other hand, get what they've planned for, and are better for it.

However, there's another warning in this, as well.  If you get what you have by evil, then you will attract the attention of other evil men.  They will want what you now have.  So even though you've gotten stuff, you're immediately at risk of losing it to someone else, which perpetuates the cycle.

Proverbs 11

Proverbs 11:16

A gracious woman attains honor,
And ruthless men attain riches.

A lot of people would look at this verse and say, "if the ruthless get riches, why would I want to be nice?  You can't spend honor."  My own first reaction was similar, wondering why it would seem to bestow such a positive light on both sides.

However, while you can't spend honor, it is worth much more in the long run.  First, the ruthless will see others turn against them, while the gracious gain favor with others.  Also, you can't take money with you when you die, but graciousness will be rewarded to the Believer.

Proverbs 10

Proverbs 10:28

The hope of the righteous is gladness,
But the expectation of the wicked perishes.

The righteous person (today we could say Christian) doesn't need to worry.  He doesn't need the things of this world.  What's needed is what he's already promised, and that's Heaven.  No matter what happens, he can approach it with gladness, because he knows where he will end up.

On the other hand, whatever expectations a wicked person (non-believer) has, they're not going to happen.  Oh, he might get what he wants here, in the short-term.  But in the end, he can't take any of that with him, and will regret his choices for the rest of eternity.

Proverbs 9

Proverbs 9:8

Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you,
Reprove a wise man and he will love you.

I think the word usage has shifted some over the years for this verse.  The modern definition of reprove is to reprimand.  With that definition, this doesn't make much sense.  I understand why a scoffer would hate someone who reprimanded him.  But why would a wise man love him?  Just because someone reprimands you doesn't mean they're right.

I think you have to look to an older definition of reprove for the answer, which I think comes closer to "correct."  Then it makes sense why a wise man would love reproof.  He's been shown that he was wrong about something, and therefore is now closer to doing all things right.

Proverbs 8

Proverbs 8:13

"The fear of the LORD is to hate evil;
Pride and arrogance and the evil way
And the perverted mouth, I hate.

It's a well known expression, in Christian circles at least, that the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom.  However, most don't know what it means to fear God.  I myself have wrestled with what that means.  I came to think it means a respectful reverence for what He is and can do, and how little we truly matter in comparison.

However, this verse makes me think I probably overstated what it means.  This verse says that to fear God is to hate evil.  Then it gives us some key points of what evil is.  Pride and arrogance are closely related, and both lead to thinking more of yourself than of God.  Evil ways is a pretty broad description.  I'm not sure what all falls under a perverted mouth, whether it's cursing or lying or all of the above.

Proverbs 7

Proverbs 7:21

With her many persuasions she entices him;
With her flattering lips she seduces him.

The man isn't necessarily looking to get himself into a situation here.  He's at least somewhat resistant.  However, she knows what she's doing, and how to get what she wants.  She doesn't just throw herself at him.

Instead, she seduces him.  She persuades, explains why it will all be okay, how they'll never get caught.  She flatters him, telling him why he's so special, why he deserves her, and what wonderful times they'll have together.  It's a careful effort, but dangerous because of how effective it is.

Proverbs 6

Proverbs 6:11

Your poverty will come in like a vagabond
And your need like an armed man.

A vagabond creeps in, preferably with no one seeing him, and finds a spot to hole up.  I remember hearing on the radio once about a guy who snuck into a man's detached garage which was rarely used, and then because he was there for a while without being discovered, the city considered him a tenant, and the homeowner couldn't legally throw him out.  Poverty creeps up on you, because you weren't paying attention.

An armed man, on the other hand, doesn't need to sneak anywhere.  He's packing, and makes sure everyone knows it.  He strides in confidently, and can do whatever he wants.  Need crashes in, and makes its presence well-known, and dares you to do something about it.

Proverbs 5

Proverbs 5:6

She does not ponder the path of life;
Her ways are unstable, she does not know it.

First off, "she" is an adulteress.  I don't want people to think this is about women in general, or an alliteration of wisdom.  The verse says she doesn't ponder the path of life.  I take this to mean she has no real plans.  She's just goes from one thrill to another, whatever it takes to make her happy.

Since she has no plan, and thrills can't last, her path is unstable.  Sooner or later, she's left without the fun, and reality hits hard.  However, she thinks that will never happen, that she can just keep going and going on her merry way.  But eventually, life will happen, and then she's going to be risking a big fall.

Proverbs 4

Proverbs 4:15

Avoid it, do not pass by it;
Turn away from it and pass on.

First off, an explanation:  "it" is the path of the wicked.  So, we're being warned not to go on that bad path.  It seems like pretty obvious advice, but how often do we still ignore it, and take that bad path to a bad destination?

But we're not only to avoid it.  We're not to even pass by it.  Don't go to that part of town.  You don't want to even take a path that crosses it, because you're probably toeing too close to the line then.  You want to avoid any path that even connects to that path, and keep going the right way.

Proverbs 3

Proverbs 3:12

For whom the LORD loves he reproves,
Even as a father corrects the son in whom he delights.

This verse make me feel a bit uncomfortable.  However, it's not for the reason most people might think.  I don't feel uncomfortable because God will reprove sin.  I'm uncomfortable because I know I sin, but I don't feel like I'm being reproved.

I know I sin.  There are a couple things that could border on habitual sin.  Yet while I feel guilty at times about them, I don't feel like I've been reproved.  I don't feel like there's been any consequence to the sin, besides what I do to myself because of it.  Is that s all that reproof is, or is there more?  Should there be more?

Proverbs 2

Proverbs 2:10

For wisdom will enter your heart
And knowledge will be pleasant to your soul;

Wisdom isn't something that works when it's just in your head.  It has to move beyond that, to really be a part of you.  This is something I personally struggle with, because I have the personality where I like to know things.  But going from head knowledge to application can be very difficult for me.

However, wisdom doesn't come without knowledge.  You have to know what is true in order to be wise about applying it.  Therefore, when you have the wisdom needed, the knowledge you have gained is pleasing, rather than uncomfortable.

Proverbs 1

Proverbs 1:3

To receive instruction in wise behavior,
Righteousness, justice and equity;

This verse is part of a list of the reasons Proverbs was written.  It's so that readers can receive instruction.  It's not written for the writer to be exalted or honored.  It's for the reader to learn from.  How many non-fiction books today are essentially written just so that the writer can toot his own horn?  We're getting into election season now, so everyone's released books.

There are four areas to receive instruction in.  First is wise behavior; this is about behavior, not just knowledge.  Second is righteousness; behaving wisely is behaving correctly.  Third is justice; correct behavior will lead you to treat people properly.  Fourth is equity; if one is just, you do not favor one side or the other, only what is true and right.

Psalm 150

Psalm 150:4

Praise Him with timbrel and dancing;
Praise Him with stringed instruments and pipe.

This talks about the many ways to praise God.  The main ones appear to be the instruments.  The tambrel is like our modern tambourine, without the little cymbals, just the drumhead part.  Also, praise with strings and what we would call woodwinds.

It also says to praise with dancing, which you don't see nearly as much as with music.  Personally, I'm not much of a dancer, and even less of a dancer in public.  One thing I saw that was odd is that nowhere in the entire Psalm does it say anything about singing.  Is that supposed to be reserved for the Temple choir, and not to be done by the common man?

Psalm 149

Psalm 149:2

Let Israel be glad in his Maker;
Let the sons of Zion rejoice in their King.

Interesting that it refers to Israel as a he, not an it.  I'm not certain if this is an alliteration, or supposed to be a reference to Israel the person, Jacob.  Certainly, Jacob was aware of his Creator, and he recognized and praised Him as such.

Also, it's important to note that King here is capitalized.  This isn't referring to the king of Israel or Judah, but to God.  This is a recognition of Israel's ultimately being a theocracy.  I wonder if this psalm was written before the time of Saul?  However, I doubt it, since it refers to the sons of Zion, and Mt. Zion (Jerusalem) wasn't taken by Israel until David's time.

Psalm 148

Psalm 148:6

He has also established them forever and ever;
He has made a decree which will not pass away.

He's just finished listing off all the things that should be praising God:  the heavens, angels, sun, moon, stars, etc.  Now he's saying they've been established forever, and that they will not pass away.  Is this real or poetical?

If it's real, then it means that somehow the universe will still exist, even after the New Jerusalem.  But that would mean that our interpretation of Revelation is wrong.  If it's poetical, then I have to wonder if he's putting words in God's mouth?  Or was that end occurrence just not something he could comprehend?

Psalm 147

Psalm 147:1

Praise the LORD!
For it is good to sing praises to our God;
For it is pleasant and praise is becoming.

This feels a little like a parent's answers to a small kid, who keeps asking "why?"  First come the command.  We are to praise God.  Why should we praise God?  Because it's a good thing to praise God.

Why is it good?  Two reasons.  First, because it's pleasant.  Who doesn't like to sing?  I know many people who are virtually tone deaf and still like to sing.  Second, because it's becoming.  We are the created, He is the Creator.  We are therefore supposed to give Him praise; that's the proper thing to do.

Psalm 146

Psalm 146:3

Do not trust in princes,
In mortal man, in whom there is no salvation.

How many of us do this?  I know I've put my trust in teachers, leaders, even preachers.  They all have shown me new facets of truth, which I'd previously not seen.  Sometimes they were life-changing.  Sometimes I later realized they were kind of ridiculous.

However, none of them had salvation.  They may have had new ways for me to look at salvation, but that didn't mean they were the source.  I think for a few of them, I tried to make them the source, until something changed.  But God never changes, and He is the true source of salvation.

Psalm 145

Psalm 145:18

The LORD is near to all who call upon Him,
To all who call upon Him in truth.

It's an interesting distinction here, between the two lines.  It's not just enough to call upon God.  You have to call upon Him in truth.  What does that phrase mean, "in truth?"  Is it that you truly have to be calling upon Him?  Or is it that you have to be calling upon Him truthfully, not just for show?  Or something else?

Whichever it is, the promise is a powerful one.  We (including me) often think of God as out there, somewhere.  He knows what's happening, but I'm not important enough for Him to bother with.  But this says that's a lie, that He does care, and He will be there with us when we need Him.

Psalm 144

Psalm 144:4

Man is like a mere breath;
His days are like a passing shadow.

This once again ties nicely into our lesson in Sunday School today.  We're still in Ecclesiastes, and today we were talking about what we should do.  The previous chapters have kind of pounded home the idea that, like in this verse, your life is relatively short, and you can't take anything from here with you.

So, what are you supposed to do?  The chapter we were looking at today essentially says you should do what's right, because what you do will be what's left behind.  The legacy you leave will be how you're remembered, and you should leave one that you can be proud of in eternity, as well as here on earth.

Psalm 143

Psalm 143:10

Teach me to do Your will,
For You are my God;
Let Your good Spirit lead me on level ground.

I think most true Christians want to do God's will.  This may well be the thing that separates those who say they believe, and maybe said some words once, from those who actually do believe, and trust in Christ.

Having said that, why do we need the Spirit to lead us on level ground?  Don't we need Him more when the ground is rough, and uneven, and you can't see where you're going?  Or is that really easier once we look past the distractions, and we need Him when everything is smooth, and without trouble, and we don't really have any markers to guide us in which way we should go?

Psalm 142

Psalm 142:5

I cried out to You, O LORD;
I said, "You are my refuge,
My portion in the land of the living.

David is in bad straights here.  He's hiding in a cave, with Saul hot on his tracks.  He fears for his life, and feels there is no one to assist.  However, he still proclaims that he trusts God, and considers Him the place of safety he's needing.

This takes the feel of being a plea to God.  He's not just proclaiming that God's his refuge, he's asking God to be his refuge.  He's turned to God, because he has nowhere else left to go.  This may not be rock bottom for David, but it's close, and he's pointed the right direction:  towards God.

Psalm 141

Psalm 141:4

Do not incline my heart to any evil thing,
To practice deeds of wickedness
With men who do iniquity;
And do not let me eat of their delicacies.

I spent most of the night lying awake, fighting with my own wicked thoughts.  It's the first time in years that I've had a struggle so bad, and I can't say that I fared as well in the end as I should have.  In some ways, it was the culmination of the issues I've been fighting all week.

I wish I had seen this verse yesterday.  Already before reading it today, I was starting to struggle in the same direction.  Now, while I can't say those struggles have gone away, they have diminished for the moment.  I hope to keep this verse in mind, to fight more.

Psalm 140

Psalm 140:4

Keep me, O LORD, from the hands of the wicked;
Preserve me from violent men
Who have purposed to trip up my feet.

Recently, I've felt that I've been under particular attack spiritually.  I'm not sure what brought about this attack, but it hit me in a place I'm particularly vulnerable.  It's as if some mental snares were set all around me, and I stepped right into them.

Now that I realize how big a mistake I made, and am trying to get back on the right path, prayer to God is particularly important.  I need to be not just asking, but begging for his protection and guidance, if I'm to avoid similar mistakes in the future.

Psalm 139

Psalm 139:24

And see if there be any hurtful way in me,
And lead me in the everlasting way.

Unfortunately, I easily know the answer to the first part of this.  There are definitely hurtful ways in me.  Being ADD, I know all too well what kind of thoughts go through my head, and what could happen if I acted upon them.

However, I also know that there is a better path, and that I do have a guide to walking upon that path.  Like in Pilgrim's Progress, all I really have to do is stick to that path and not deviate or stop, and I will be going toward that eternal home.  Now if only I would stick to the path properly...

Psalm 138

Psalm 138:8

The LORD will accomplish what concerns me;
Your lovingkindness, O LORD, is everlasting;
Do not forsake the works of Your hands.

I'll admit that I have trouble believing that God will accomplish what concerns me.  For the past several months, I've started having significant doubts about the path my church is going down, structurally.  Some information and events of the past couple weeks have brought those concerns back to mind, and I'm uncertain what to do.

However, I do have faith that God will work all things out according to His plan, and that I don't know the details of what that plan is.  For the moment, I need to have faith that He will guide the church in that plan, and look to what I should be doing to fulfill His plan for me.

Psalm 137

Psalm 137:4

How can we sing the LORD's song
In a foreign land?

It appears this psalm was written during the Diaspora, after Israel and Judah had been conquered and their people carried off.  This was the lowest point for Jewish hope in the Old Testament, possibly the lowest ever, except for the Holocaust.

In a time when Jews had to worship at a specific location (the Temple in Jerusalem), how can they worship elsewhere?  Personally, I see this as another indicator that the Jews didn't have their doctrine quite right, given that God had now placed them in an impossible position.  Today as Christians, we don't have that problem, as we can worship wherever and whenever we choose.

Psalm 136

Psalm 136:3

Who remembered us in our low estate,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting,

This psalm is all about praising God, because of what He's done for us.  In this verse, they're praising Him for remembering them.  But it's the last word of that line that caught my attention.  It's not "state," as in status, it's "estate."

Now, I only know this word in terms of someone's possessions or property, but that didn't sound right.  So I looked it up, and found that one of the things it can mean is "period or condition of life."  So they're not praising Him for remembering them on a bad day, they're praising Him for remembering Him through long periods of life.

Psalm 135

Psalm 135:14

For the LORD will judge His people
And will have compassion on His servants.

The sequence here is important.  First, God will judge.  Even those who are His people, still have to be judged.  Like everyone else, they have sinned, and those sins have to be known.  If judgment were skipped, then what comes after would be less impactful.

After judgment, God has compassion.  For those who are His, there is a payment for those sins already made.  The payment is so high that no person could pay it Himself.  Instead, we have to rely on Jesus' taking the punishment himself.  Since we have accepted that payment, then God can be compassionate towards us.

Psalm 134

Psalm 134:1

Behold, bless the LORD, all servants of the LORD,
Who serve by night in the house of the LORD!

Is this the ode to the night shift?  I don't know how much activity there was in an average ancient city at night, but I can't imagine it was much.  You had watchmen keeping a lookout for attacking armies, and whoever else wasn't able to sleep.

So, what were the priests doing at night in the Temple?  Were there preparations that had to be done at night, and they had a group to take care of those types of things?  Was it a group just to keep the candles in the stands lit, per God's instruction?  Or did they perhaps have a 24-hour prayer rotation, so some priests were always praying to God?

Psalm 133

Psalm 133:3

It is like the dew of Hermon
Coming down upon the mountains of Zion;
For there the LORD commanded the blessing--life forever.

I guess this take some cultural context to understand properly.  My best guess at this is that being in unity is refreshing like the morning dew, which appears every morning to wipe away yesterday's damage.

I'm not sure what the bit in the last line is about.  God game many blessings from the Temple, but I am uncertain which one this is referring to.  Is having unity what results in life forever, or just that unity will mean the people as a nation endure?

Psalm 132

Psalm 132:11

The LORD has sword to David
A truth from which He will not turn back:
"Of the fruit of your body I will set upon your throne.

Is saying that God has sworn something, and that He won't turn back form it, being redundant?  God is the definition of truth, so if He says something, it's automatically true.  Therefore, if He swears something, it's going to happen.

I guess the one reason that you would say all this, and it's somewhat covered in the next verse, is that there are often conditions involved.  We have to do our parts, or it doesn't count.  Also, God does sometimes test us by saying one thing, then allowing us to "persuade" Him to do something different.

Psalm 131

Psalm 131:2

Surely I have composed and quieted my soul;
Like a weaned child rests against his mother,
My soul is like a weaned child within me.

What is it like to have that level of rest?  Being ADD, even imagining this is very hard for me.  My brain never shuts off.  I can't recall how many nights I've been unable to sleep for hours, because my brain just keeps going down some strange avenue.  I can't even begin to imagine what it would be like to have my brain just rest, and not think about anything.

If it's that hard to quiet my brain, how do I quiet my soul?  What does that look like?  The closest I can come in my imaginings is that it's when I don't think about the things that are troubling me, and simply let myself trust that God has control, and whatever happens He will use for His benefit, if I let Him.

Psalm 130

Psalm 130:5

I wait for the LORD, my soul does wait,
And in His word do I hope.

What does it mean for one's soul to wait?  Does it mean your soul is just quietly sitting there, letting time drift by?  Is it letting any old random stuff occur, just to move things along, until the clock finally runs down and whatever it's waiting for arrives?

Or are the two verbs here connected?  Is waiting a type of hoping?  Is it looking forward to the event in question?  Searching, yearning even, for it to come, and it gets increasingly impatient as the time comes, making the event itself all the more memorable?

Psalm 129

Psalm 129:4

The LORD is righteous;
He has cut in two the cords of the wicked.

Obviously, God is righteous.  So how does that figure into the second line?  Is it saying that because He is righteous, he will not allow the wicked person's bindings to hold?  Is it a sign of vengeance against His people?

Or is it the other way around?  Is it saying that He breaks the bindings, therefore showing that He is not wicked?  If He's not wicked, that would mean He's righteous.  But doesn't being righteous mean more than opposing the wicked?  Doesn't it also mean doing what is good, not just going against the bad?

Psalm 128

Psalm 128:2

When you shall eat of the fruit of your hands,
You will be happy and it will be well with you.

This ties in fairly well with the video in my Sunday School class today.  We're going through Ecclesiastes (not as dry as you'd think), and today was partly talking about how we should enjoy life, because there's so much that we can't control, and worrying about it won't help any.

However, in order to have something to enjoy, we have to work.  If we don't work, we're going to be in need, rather than having what we need.  We might not have a lot, but we should be grateful for what we do have, and we should enjoy it while we can.

Psalm 127

Psalm 127:2

It is vain for you to rise up early,
To retire late,
To eat the bread of painful labors;
For He gives to His beloved even in his sleep.

Wow, a couple different ways this could be taken out of context, or outright abused.  First off, it could easily be considered an excuse for lazy people.  Being someone who has to fight against laziness, I can completely understand that mindset.  Who doesn't want to be told to take it easy?

At the same time, I'm curious about those three italicized words in the last line.  I waffle back and forth on whether to bring up stuff in italics, which means that it isn't in the original text, but the translator thinks it was relevant.  Here it could change the meaning a lot.  Is he giving someone what they need, even when they sleep instead of work?  Or is it saying that sleep/rest is as much a gift from God as work/success is?

Psalm 126

Psalm 126:4

Restore our captivity, O LORD,
As the streams in the South.

I'll admit, I chose this verse because I have no clue what it's there for.  I guess I'm missing some cultural context or something, because it makes no sense.  The rest of the psalm is talking about how God will restore or lift up those who are hurting or sorrowful.  So what's this got to do with that?

First, it asks God to restore their captivity.  Why does it need to be restored?  Is captivity a good thing?  If so, what are you captive to?  Or is it asking to restore from captivity, somehow?  Second, what does this have to do with a stream in the south?  Is there something special about those streams?

Psalm 125

Psalm 125:3

For the scepter of wickedness shall not rest upon the land of the righteous,
So that the righteous will not put forth their hands to do wrong.

I'm not sure how literally to take this.  There's obviously a poetic element to it, but is that all?  The poetic is pretty clear.  They are asking for protection against evil, both as individuals and as a nation.  The scepter image suggests that the bad guy is powerful.

However, is there a literal component?  They're asking the wicked scepter doesn't come to their land, so that the people do not do evil.  Does this mean that when a land is evil, the people become evil?  Or is it perhaps vice versa, that wicked people's evil acts spread to others, and infect a whole land?  Or am I just reading more into this than there is?

Psalm 124

Psalm 124:8

Our help is in the name of the LORD,
Who made heaven and earth.

This verse was a song, fairly popular when I was growing, so I've heard it for who-knows-how-many years.  However, I don't think the words (as few as they are) ever really got into my head like they did reading them here.

It doesn't say that our hope is in God.  It says our hope is in His name.  Could the very name of God be enough to "scare off" the forces of Satan?  We know that God's name, when spoken properly, can have significant power.  But is His name alone enough for us to hope in, or must we know Him for the name to have power?

Psalm 123

Psalm 123:3

Be gracious to us, O LORD, be gracious to us,
For we are greatly filled with contempt.

Interesting how the author asks for grace, rather than mercy.  The difference between the two is notable, especially in this circumstance.  Mercy is when you ask not to be punished for something you've done, whereas grace is asking for something when you haven't done anything.

So, when we're filled with contempt, why ask for grace, rather than mercy?  That would imply that the contempt is undeserved.  Most things I can think of that would result in contempt, would be well-deserved, so what has happened where it isn't?  Is this the contempt of the surrounding nations towards those silly God-worshipers?

Psalm 122

Psalm 122:1

I was glad when they said to me,
"Let us go to the house of the LORD."

These people were eager to go to the Temple.  They looked forward to it.  For most of them, it only happened a few times a year, at most.  It was a special occasion, and an important one.  They were going to worship, in the specific way they'd been commanded.

Do we view going to church the same way?  For most of us today, it's not much of a journey.  You go, you do the church thing for a couple hours, then go home again.  Rinse and repeat next week.  It may be what we do; we might even see the value in it.  But are we eager for it, or glad when Sunday comes around?

Psalm 121

Psalm 121:5

The LORD is your keeper;
The LORD is your shade on your right hand.

Most of the psalm talks about how God will not let harm come to you.  I never agreed with that mentality.  I can understand why the ancient Jews held to it, because back then keeping His people safe was one of the ways that God proved He existed, and had power over other gods.

However, now we do not live under that physical protection.  Today, Christians are to expect persecution and harm.  We may or may not receive it, but we are to understand that when it comes, God will protect our souls from corruption, but not necessarily our bodies from suffering or death.

Psalm 120

Psalm 120:2

Deliver my soul, O LORD, from lying lips,
From a deceitful tongue.

I'm sure the original intent of this verse was to ask for protection against those who lie and deceive against the author.  It's easy to see this, from the rest of the psalm.  He's finding adversaries everywhere, even when asking for peace.

However, when I read this, I thought in terms of all-self.  How often do I ask God to save me from my own lies, the things I deceive others about?  How much do those things harm me, and endanger my witness in the long run?

Psalm 119

Psalm 119:34

Give me understanding, that I may observe Your law
And keep it with all my heart.

Going into this chapter, I thought this would be a very hard one to choose a verse from. Turns out, it was rather simple.  Today in my Sunday School class, we were looking at Ecclesiastes 2.  One of the questions in our discussion guide was about why people seek fulfillment through temporal things.  My answer was that we are wired to see the short-term benefit, not the long-term uncertainty.

If we truly understood the consequences of our actions, how would we act differently?  I know we talk about knowing how bad choices make bad consequences, but that's an abstract we're not really equipped to truly comprehend.  If we really did understand what obeying God would give us, how much less would we disobey?

Psalm 118

Psalm 118:9

It is better to take refuge in the LORD
Than to trust in princes.

So much energy goes in to politics.  From campaigns to legislation, political discussions are always in the news.  Then there's regulation, scandals, and failures that are discussed endlessly.  For how much we discuss politics (me included), you'd think it was the defining factor of our lives.

However, there is something more important.  God has said that He has put authorities over us, by His will.  In America, we are blessed to have some say in what those authorities decide.  However, in the end it still all comes down to God's accepting us because of our faith in Christ, and no leader can make that decision for us.

Psalm 117

Psalm 117: 2

For His lovingkindness is great toward us,
And the truth of the LORD is everlasting.
Praise the LORD!

God's loving kindness is very much great towards us.  We deserve nothing except death and eternal torture.  We don't deserve to ever have been created, because everyone who came before us should never have lived either.  The human race should by rights have ended with Adam and Eve.

But God decided otherwise.  He loved us so much that He withheld His judgment.  However, that doesn't mean that we have the right to do whatever we want.  God's rules are still binding, and always will be.  No amount of change of standards in man's eyes can change God's truth.

Psalm 116

Psalm 116:7

Return to your rest, O my soul,
For the LORD has dealt bountifully with you.

Like most people, I get worked up over what turn out to be little things.  I'm about to make at least one major life change, and I'm both excited and worried.  I get worked up over relatively little things all the time.

However, we don't need to worry.  God has control over everything, and He will do what needs to be done for you.  The only real question is what you will do with what God has guided you to.  Will you follow His instructions and use it to glorify Him, or will you squander the opportunities?

Psalm 115

Psalm 115:8

Those who make them will become like them,
Everyone who trusts in them.

The previous verses have just described how useless idols are.  Even though they have the appearance of a person, they have no ability to do anything.  They can't speak, can't hear, can't see, can't smell, can't move.

Now, I'm not sure what the meaning is that those who make idols, or believe in them, will become like them.  Is this referring to death, when one will have a body, but it will be inert?  Or is it talking about some type of curse?  Or maybe it's on a spiritual level, where the person is ignorant of what's really happening, and where the power is?

Psalm 114

Psalm 114:7

Tremble, O earth, before the Lord,
Before the God of Jacob,

The rest of the psalm is describing the physical miracles that God did for the Israelites, in bringing them to the Promised Land.  It said, in rather poetic language, how the Red Sea and Jordan River were parted for them to cross.

The earth did tremble before God on those days.  But should it tremble more often?  I realize the earth isn't alive, so it can't recognize God's power.  But how much do we read into events that God is doing something, when natural processes are at work?  Or how about the reverse?  Might God be acting, and we're writing it off as another natural occurrence, because it's something that can be explained by our understanding of science, unlike those two amazing events?

Psalm 113

Psalm 113:3

From the rising of the sun to its setting
The name of the LORD is to be praised.

Ooh, ooh, I see a loophole!  I only have to praise God when the sun's up!  When it's dark, I can do whatever I want, and forget about God!

This is an easy trap to fall into, isn't it?  We match our piety to certain circumstances.  Right now it's Lent, so a lot of people are doing things they wouldn't think of doing other times of the year.  Even I make some minor changes to my routine during this time.

How often do we go through the motions because it's expected.  But, when no one is looking, we feel we don't need to do the same stuff?  I know I'm plenty guilty of this, even on this day.  If we always lived like we're commanded to, how would things be different?  What steps can we take to get closer to that point?

Psalm 112

Psalm 112:7

He will not fear evil tidings;
His heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD.

When I read this, my first thought was the recent hit song "Happy."  Its second verse talks about how bad news won't bother him, because he's so happy.  This is the kind of attitude that we are supposed to have, though maybe not for the same reason.

We're not to be disturbed by bad news, because we trust in God.  That trust is so deep, the very foundation that we build our lives on, that nothing can affect it.  We have no reason to fear anything, because God has control.

Psalm 111

Psa.lm 111:7

The works of His hands are truth and justice;
All His precepts are sure.

This could be in Proverbs, rather than Psalms.  God creates truth and justice.  He is the source of what is true, and what is just.  As the source, He defines what is right and wrong, and what the punishment is for it.  And because He makes these, his rules are absolute.

No matter what we may think, or want, we can't change what is true.  Just because we don't like a rule, doesn't mean we have the ability to make the truth something different.  We may not like the punishment, but we're not the ones who decide.  So if we want to be on the right side of truth and justice, we have to conform to God.

Psalm 110

Psalm 110:5

The Lord is at Your right hand;
He will shatter kings in the day of His wrath.

Thanks to Acts, we actually understand what this entire Psalm is talking about.  The "Lord" here is not God the Father, but Jesus.  He has been placed at God's right hand, until the day he comes back to Earth, to rule here.

When that happens, it will not be good for those who have opposed God and His work.  This is the event we know as Armageddon, when all the enemies of God will be crushed.  It won't matter whether your a king or a beggar on that day, Jesus will avenge his people upon you.

Psalm 109

Psalm 109:4

In return for my love they act as my accusers;
But I am in prayer.

In my Sunday School class, I've just finished co-teaching on 1 Peter.  One of the recurring things in that book is suffering, and how to deal with it.  It's somewhat of a foreign concept to most American Christians, since we don't really experience much in the way of suffering.

However, it will probably come, sooner or later, to some extent or another.  When that happens, this verse is a good reminder of what to do.  We should be giving love, regardless of the circumstance.  We should also be praying, because communicating with God is never a bad thing.

Psalm 108

Psalm 108:6

That Your beloved may be delivered,
Save with Your right hand, and answer me!

David has just finished proclaiming how wonderful God is.  But now we find out why he's praising God.  He's asking for protection of some sort.  From the rest of the psalm, it sounds like it might be from a military invasion.

I'll be honest, I don't like prayers like this, for two reasons.  First, it sounds like he's trying to butter God up, to get what he wants.  Whether that was the intention, we can't be sure, though it's doubtful.  But it still sounds self-serving.  Second, there isn't any provision in here for whether or not it's God's will that this attack occur.  I'll admit that one of my pet peeves is when people pray for something, and don't leave any provision for if God's will is not that thing.

Psalm 107

Psalm 107:34

A fruitful land into a salt waste,
Because of the wickedness of those who dwell in it.

What level of wickedness is necessary for God to exact this punishment on a people?  If there is a certain threshold, how close are we to it?  We see famines in various parts of the world frequently, so are those direct punishments from God, or just the natural result of our Fall?

I guess this verse caught my eye because of all the talk about how global warming is in the process of severely damaging our planet, and its ability to sustain us.  Is this overall God's punishment on us, for the multitude of sins we have committed?

Psalm 106

Psalm 106:43

Many times He would deliver them;
They, however, were rebellious in their counsel,
And so sank down in their iniquity.

How often do we just start to coast, get a little complacent, and then find ourselves having messed up?  I know it happens to me.  Even today, I found myself being tempted in something that hasn't been an issue for a couple weeks.

So, how do we combat these temptations?  I think the verse tells the opposite of what we should do.  It says we get rebellious, and trust bad counsel.  So, if we're going to do right, we have to look to God, and his instruction for our guidance.

Psalm 105

Psalm 105:22

To imprison his princes at will,
That he might teach his elders wisdom.

This verse is part of a summary of Israel's history.  Specifically, it is talking about when Joseph was elevated to leadership in Egypt.  We know he was put in charge of the land, to prepare it for the coming famine.

However, we don't think much about how he had the power of justice.  It appears that he made examples of some leaders who were doing wrong, to better train them in what they should be doing instead.  He provided object lessons, to guide those under him in proper behavior.  Doesn't God do the same with us, at times?  Punish one, so that others can learn from the example?

Psalm 104

Psalm 104:31

Let the glory of the LORD endure forever;
Let the LORD be glad in His works;

The first half of this verse is of no doubt.  God is infinite, and unchanging.  His glory can't fade.  But the second part makes me wonder:  is there something that could happen that might make God not be glad about His works?

I can think of two possibilities that would make that the case.  The first is that we truly ruin the world, as the eco-nuts scream we are.  I don't buy into everything they say, but that doesn't mean we aren't doing more harm than good.  The second idea is that we personally would turn away from God so far, that He again becomes grieved that He made us.  I pray Christ returns before that day can occur.

Psalm 103

Psalm 103:15

As for man, his days are like grass;
As a flower of the field, so he flourishes.

Man is a fragile thing, so easy to destroy.  It takes such small things to bring us low, like viruses small enough to get into a single cell.  Man is a small thing, so tiny in perspective.  When you look at the universe, man is completely swallowed up and virtually unfindable.

However, while these things are true, it's also true that we continue on anyway.  The flower may die, but it will have pollinated others, which grow in its place.  God made sure that we would not be wiped out, because we are His special creation.

Psalm 102

Psalm 102:18

This will be written for the generation to come,
That a people yet to be created may praise the LORD.

Interesting that this is a prayer of the Afflicted, using a proper title.  I'm assuming the Afflicted are a specific group, not just those who in general are having issues.  If that's the case, what people are they, that haven't yet come into being?

My assumption from this is that it could be referring to believers during the Tribulation.  There are references later that sound like this is a generation that will not die, and will look to Jerusalem.  So I think it's the people who are persecuted during the Tribulation, and see Christ's return to reign.

Psalm 101

Psalm 101:6

My eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me;
He who walks in a blameless way is the one who will minister to me.

This is a Psalm about David describing what he will do in order to maintain his holiness, and his connection to God.  One of the key points he makes is that he will only associate with those who are also holy.

However, today we can't keep this attitude.  We can't isolate ourselves from non-believers.  We aren't a chosen bloodline, like the Israelites were.  Any are welcome, should they believe.  And the only way they will believe is if we tell them.

Psalm 100

Psalm 100:2

Serve the LORD with gladness;
Come before Him with joyful singing.

I understand service.  It's practically in my blood.  My dad has been running sound boards for churches since before I was born.  As far back as I can remember, I was carrying microphones and cables for set-up and tear-down.  As I got older, that turned into setting up chairs and running slides for worship.  Service is part of who I am.

However, I've also for a long time had a problem with gladness.  As part of suppressing the outward signs of my ADD & ADHD, I shut down a lot of my emotions.  With that, gladness and joy are a very rare occurrence for me.  I don't know what joy there is for me in service; it's just doing what needs to be done.

Psalm 99

Psalm 99:6

Moses and Aaron were among His priests,
And Samuel was among those who called on His name;
They called upon the LORD and He answered them.

Moses isn't usually considered a priest as such; that went to his brother Aaron.  Moses was a leader, and definitely communicated with God, but normally he isn't thought of as a priest.  Also, it's odd that Samuel isn't identified specifically as a prophet.  Most of Israel could be considered to call on God's name, so why use that general a term?

Regardless of some unusual titles, it's definitely true that all of them called upon God, and that they had the rare distinction of Him answering them.  I often wonder if what I hear when I'm praying is my own head answering me back, or if it's the Spirit.  They never had that concern; God answered them directly, and there could be no doubt.

Psalm 98

Psalm 98:4

Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth;
Break forth and sing for joy and sing praises.

So, here we have a series of instructions.  First, we're to shout joyfully.  Shouting is not something I do naturally, so this is difficult for me to get my head around.  I guess the best I can do to relate is like at a rally, where everyone is calling out their responses in support of the speaker's message.

Then we're told to sing for joy.  This I can understand.  I don't know how much singing I do for joy, but I expect there's at least some.  Finally, we're told to sing praises.  I usually have some song or another going through my ADD head, and I try to make it a praise song whenever I can.

Psalm 97

Psalm 97:6

The heavens declare His righteousness,
And all the peoples have seen His glory.

I can understand that the people have all seen God's glory.  This is another proclamation of what we educated types call general revelation.  The very existence of the universe, much less our existence in it, points to God as the Creator.

However, it's odd to say that the heavens declare God's righteousness.  His power, sure.  His wisdom, absolutely.  But how does the universe show His righteousness?  Before the Fall, I could see that, since there was no decay.  But I'll admit, I'm not clear on the evidence now, unless it's the fact that due to our sin there is now deterioration, because God can't accept eternal corruption.

Psalm 96

Psalm 96:2

Sing to the LORD, bless His name;
Proclaim good tidings of His salvation from day to day.

The second line is what caught my attention today.  We are told all over the place that we are to tell of God's salvation through Christ.  It's one of the few things that we're specifically commanded to do.  And yet, it's probably the one thing I talk myself out of the most.

Why is it that I'm afraid to talk about salvation?  I'm not embarrassed by it, certainly.  I realize I'm not all that chatty under the best of circumstances, but this is something I'm supposed to do, and don't.  Why not?!  Why don't I care about others enough to want them to be saved?

Psalm 95

Psalm 95:10

"For forty years I loathes that generation,
And said they are a people who err in their heart,
And they do not know My ways.

This is obviously talking about the people of Moses' day.  They were instructed to send scouts into the land, and those scouts said it couldn't be taken.  They believed the scouts, rather than God's promises that they would win.  As a result, they were not allowed to go into the land, and instead had to stay in the wilderness to the east until they all had died 40 years later.

It's odd to see God talking about loathing.  Today, we all hear about how God loves all, and is pained that they do not accept Christ to be with Him.  But either God doesn't always love all that way, or else love and loathing can coexist.

Psalm 94

Psalm 94:12

Blessed is the man whom You chasten, O LORD,
And whom You teach out of Your law;

I forget where the passage in the Epistles is that says that those who God loves, He chastens.  But the idea in both passages is the same.  God cares for those who want to follow Him.  But to follow Him, you have to know what you should be doing.

As humans, we aren't very good at following God automatically.  Thanks to the Fall, obeying God isn't our default setting.  So we have to be taught.  Even when we know the rules, we don't always follow them.  So in order to encourage us to follow them, God disciplines us when we mess up.  By doing this, we (hopefully) will pay better attention, and get it right when life's tests come along.

Psalm 93

Psalm 93:2

Your throne is established from of old;
You are from everlasting.

God is the supreme ruler of everything.  He created it, after all.  Unlike us, He can't lose control of His creation.  He alone decides what happens.  While oftentimes He may simply allow events to play out, they occur even then according to the rules He established.

Having created everything, this means He also created time.  Before He created the universe, time did not exist.  He is not controlled by time, and not bound by it, though He does have to use it to interact with us.  However, He comes from before time began, and will continue when He destroys it, which truly makes Him everlasting.

Psalm 92

Psalm 92:1

It is good to give thanks to the LORD
And to sing praises to Your name, O Most High;

The heading of the Psalm says it's a song for the sabbath, so it's interesting timing that I come to this on a Sunday, having worshiped at church earlier today.  It is definitely good to give thanks to God.  It reminds us that we are not in control, that we are the servants, not the masters.

I also enjoy singing, and so can agree that it's good to sing praises to Him.  My only wish is that I could focus better when singing; I tend to go into autopilot, and let my ears and mouth do the work while my brain is elsewhere.  But still, praising God is very important.

Psalm 91

Psalm 91:1

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
Will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.

I guess there are two ways to look at this verse.  The first would be fairly literally, which certainly appeals to my engineering mindset.  If you're going to dwell in the shelter of God, that means you are spending a lot of time there.  It therefore makes sense that therefore you would be near God, since it's His place.  That means you will be in His shadow, since He is obviously greater than you.

In a metaphorical sense, this would say those who come to God for refuge, or strength, or help, do not get to just come whenever they want.  They have to accept the results of coming to God.  He will be near them, but that means they also have to accept that He is the Almighty, the one who has ultimate authority.  It gives protection, but also responsibility.

Psalm 90

Psalm 90:8

You have placed our iniquities before You,
Our secret sins in the light of Your presence.

We like to hide things.  We don't trust others with our deepest secrets; that's why they're secrets in the first place.  We bottle them up, and do our best to not even hint that they exist.  If someone suspects they exist, they might pry, and then all our ickiness would be revealed.

But God doesn't pry.  He doesn't have to.  He already knows, and like everything else about us, they're laid out before Him.  Every last ugly detail that we don't want anyone else to know, He can see just as clearly as all the good stuff we want people to see.  And even with all that, He doesn't turn away from us; all we have to do is accept the offer He's made us.

Psalm 89

Psalm 89:29

"So I will establish his descendants forever
And his throne as the days of heaven.

God had made a covenant with David, to keep his line unbroken as the rulers of Israel forever.  As it happened, his grandson split the nation in two, and his descendants ruled only a part of it for the next several centuries.  Then the nation fell, and it seemed David's line with it.

However, a new king would emerge, Jesus.  He would not take the throne at the time.  Instead, He would die as required to save the nation, and then would ascend to heaven.  He now is in heaven, at the throne of God.  One day He will return to earth, and take the throne here for Himself.

Psalm 88

Psalm 88:12

Will Your wonders be made known in the darkness?
And Your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?

How can there be darkness, when God is light?  Nothing He makes can ever truly be hidden.  We may not have noticed it yet.  We might have decided He didn't do it.  We could have even hid it, and rejected His work in it.  But it's there, and so is the truth.

We are, however, a very forgetful people.  We forget things all the time.  Sometimes they're small things, that are inconsequential.  But we forget so often how gracious God has been to us.  We forget that He sets the rules, and we must live by those rules.  Even if we forget them, or reject them, they are still the rules, and He will judge us according to them.

Psalm 87

Psalm 87:2

The LORD loves the gates of Zion
More than all the other dwelling places of Jacob.

God always had high value for Jerusalem.  There's been a lot of speculation on why this is. It's not the highest mountain in the area.  It's not the biggest.  It's somewhat centrally-located, but not exactly so.  So why is this place special to God?

Some think it's because this is where David chose to make his capitol, after he conquered it.  Some say that it's the site of the city that Melchizedek came from, when Abram offered him a tithe of the spoils from rescuing Lot.  Whatever the reason for its significance, it obviously was important to God, and should therefore be valued by us.

Psalm 86

Psalm 86:11

Teach me Your way, O LORD;
I will walk in Your truth;
Unite my heart to fear Your name.

The goal of all believers is to be more like Christ, to represent Him better in this world, that others might follow Him as well.  In order to know how we should act, we need to be taught.  Without a teacher, we're only guessing at what we should do.

Once we are taught, though, we still have a choice.  We can either choose to put into practice what we're taught, or we can turn away from it.  We can know things without applying them; I can be rather good at that.  But if we don't apply the teachings, they are useless to us, and it shows we don't truly fear God.

Psalm 85

Psalm 85:9

Surely His salvation is near to those who fear Him,
That glory may dwell in our land.

Fear is an important thing.  We should fear God.  To use an old saying, He made us, and He can take us out whenever he wants.  While He doesn't usually go around striking people dead, His ability to do so should always be tickling the back of our minds.

When we die, He will judge us, and we should also fear that.  Without that fear, we don't have much reason to want His salvation. If we don't fear Him, we don't respect Him.  Without that respect, we have no reason to think we need salvation.  But without salvation, our current fears will be nothing compared to what really happens.

Psalm 84

Psalm 84:8

O LORD God of hosts, hear my prayer;
Give ear, O God of Jacob!      Selah

I feel like I need to say something like this every time I pray.  There's a line in a song I hear on the radio, "sometimes my prayers feel like they're bouncing off the sky."  That sums up how my prayers feel pretty much all the time.

Intellectually, I know God hears them.  I know He responds, in one way or the other.  It just seems like 99% of the time, the answer is "wait," which tends to be delivered via dead silence.  Of the remainder, 0.9% is "no,"  which doesn't leave much "yes" left.  I don't know if it's that I'm asking for the wrong things, or there's something in my life that's keeping me out of sync with Him, but it has become quite discouraging.

Psalm 83

Psalm 83:18

That they may know that You alone, whose name is the LORD,
Are the Most high over all the earth.

You could call this a psalm of smiting.  Asaph has just been bemoaning how all the neighboring nations are against Israel, and he's asking for God to punish them appropriately.  In fact, the previous verse ended with him wishing that God would kill them all in dishonor.

I suppose this is the Old Testament equivalent of "kill them all, and let God sort them out."  It's hard for dead people to realize their faults and change, but they do know who is in control then.  As Christians, this is not something we should be wishing for; instead, we need to be trying to reach them now, before it's too late.

Psalm 82

Psalm 82:1

God takes His stand in His own congregation;
He judges in the midst of the rulers.

Those who rule have the highest authority.  They make the decisions that affect the rest of us.  Sometimes, those decisions are good; sometimes they aren't.  Sometimes those decisions have consequences long after what they expected.  But God has given them that right, and it is our call to obey.

However, they are not immune from consequences themselves.  God has authority over them, whether they recognize it or not.  He will decide their fates, both in this life and afterwards.  If they have not put their faith in Christ, those eternal fates will be decided very simply.

Psalm 81

Psalm 81:12

"So I gave them over to the stubbornness of their heart,
To walk in their own devices.

When we rebel from God, He doesn't usually need to send supernatural events down on us.  All He normally has to do is let go of us, and let us do what we want.  We are inherently sinful, and when we go away from Him, we're automatically sinning.

When we take actions, there are consequences.  When we take actions God wants, the consequences of those actions are beneficial.  When we take actions contrary to God, the results are harmful.  Sometimes the harm isn't immediate, or apparent, but in the end the results are always disastrous.

Psalm 80

Psalm 80:18

Then we shall not turn back from You;
Revive us, and we will call upon Your name.

Looks like Israel had gotten itself into trouble again.  Don't know what happened, but they thought God had turned away again, and they were back begging for help.  The sequence worries me, though.  They were making their return to God conditional upon His saving them.

Our call is to worship God regardless.  We don't get to pick and choose when we praise Him.  The circumstances don't matter, we are to praise Him regardless.  Fair-weather faith doesn't cut it.  If we don't praise Him in both the good times and the bad, we have no reason to expect His response.  Not that we should expect it anyways; that's up to His plans.

Psalm 79

Psalm 79:8

Do not remember the iniquities of our forefathers against us;
Let Your compassion come quickly to meet us,
For we are brought very low.

This psalm was written at a time when Israel's enemies had invaded, and may have fought there way to Jerusalem itself.  The enemies of God are laughing at His supposed power, since they've almost defeated His people entirely.  The Israelites are saying that this is because they've turned from God, and are now repenting.

In this verse, they're asking God to look at their present contrition, rather than the sins of their fathers.  While today the sins of the father don't directly condemn the child, that wasn't true at the time.  For certain sins, generations after of that family would be sentenced.  Here they are begging for that not to be the case, because they realize their fault.