A devotion on Psalm 84 1 How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord Almighty! What a bright opening to this most delightful poem! Spurgeon calls it the “Pearl of Psalms.” It is as though you have just passed the threshold of a dear friend’s new home and you gush about their abode. How fortunate we …
A devotion on Psalm 82 1 God presides in the great assembly; he renders judgment among the “gods”: The great assembly is one of appointed leaders of great authority. Is God revisiting their lifelong work and judging their judgements? Commentator Guzik suggests various entities as these gods (Elohim): Yahweh of Israel. Elohim can mean many …
A devotion on Psalm 81 1 Sing aloud unto God our strength: make a joyful noise unto the God of Jacob. The Hebrew says Elohim uzeinu for God our strength and Elohei Ya’akov for the God of Jacob. This grand invocation is for us to burst out enthusiastically – a welcome relief from the grave …
For the director of music. To the tune of “The Lilies of the Covenant.” Of Asaph. A psalm. 1 Hear us, Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock. Did you know that in the psalms God is referred to as the shepherd only twice? Seems surprising, doesn’t it? The first time is …
A devotion on Psalm 79 Psalm 79 reads like a dismal modern-day news cast. While it is tempting for our attention to glaze over and get the 13 verses over with, let us take pause and immerse ourselves, albeit from a distance, into the pain and despondence recorded there. So many in the world today …
A devotion on PSALM 78:49-72 I posit that God gives us experiences to develop skills that we will need in heaven. Heaven will not be a place of dull, endless lounging. There will be industry, science, technology, the arts and so much more that will occupy us. It will be Eden redeemed. So, while here …
A devotion on 77:25-47 Many claim that Christianity is for the unthinking. I think that our devotions this week have proved just the opposite. Repeatedly, scripture has stressed the need to constantly engage multiple brain processes such as alertness, focus, contemplation, memory, consideration, analysis, judgement, etc. We thus understand God’s mandate to us to love …
A devotion on PSALM 78:1-24 A maskil of Asaph. A Maskiyl is a poem or song of contemplation. It comes from the root word sakal which has to do with prudence, understanding, wisdom, and spiritual prosperity. Think immediately of executive brain functions and the concept of intelligence: alertness, focus, attention, consideration, comprehension, and insight leading …
A (ZAHAR 2021 on Facebook) devotion on Psalm 77 This is a fantastic chapter on the relationship between your spirit, soul/heart/mind, and your body, as we have been studying. Your spirit is your breath of life – ruach. Your soul, nephesh is your will, your intellect, your desires, and your emotions. Remember it by the …