Psalm 21

[on the enemies of God]

verses 11 and 12:

Though they plan evil against you,

though they devise mischief, they will not succeed.

For you will put them to flight;

you will aim at their faces with your bows.

wow, let's inahle and exhale deeply - that is ridiculously intense.

you will aim at their face with your bows?

over the summer, I began to see and experience God as Fierce Judge. Think of God as revealed in the Old Testament. and I don't totally understand him and his decisions. head-knowledge, yes. soul knowledge, yes. heart knowledge? not yet. and maybe not in this lifetime. i am learning that is ok. He is God. I am me.

what has been life and faith changing is that because of Jesus' sacrifice, I am able to stand totally clean and blameless before this Fierce Judge. I am able to be guided, doted upon, and loved by a God who aims at the faces of his enemies with his bows completely unafraid, but rather, protected.

I stand in the eye of a hurricane because of Jesus Christ.

Because of him, his former enemies are made dearly loved children, siblings, co-heirs, workers, and servants of Christ. I pray that we would continue to let the truth that we receive mercy, even grace, instead of wrath steep deeply in out lives.

Psalm 20

verse 7:

Some trust in chariots and some in horses,

but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.

Some trust in GPAs and GRE scores,

but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.

Some trust in internships and high salaries,

but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.

Some trust in power and the stock market,

but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.

Some trust in titles and graduate schools,

but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.

Some trust in choosing the right job and spouse,

but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.

Some trust in being good parents and moving into the right neighborhoods,

but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.

Some trust in successful ministry and fellowship attendance,

but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.

Some trust in conversion numbers and membership growth,

but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.

Some trust in self-preservation and self-righteousness,

but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.

Psalm 19

verses 13 and 14:

Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins;

let them not have dominion over me!

Then I shall be blameless,

and innocent of great transgression.

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart

be acceptable in your sight,

O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.

For those of us living in a post-Resurrection world, Jesus has completed this sinless life for us because we couldn't and didn't want to and honestly, didn't even know where to begin. It is such a tricky thing, desiring blamelessness before God because we aren't trying to earn his favor, but rather, this is how we can express it! I pray that we wouldn't pursue righteousness for our own holiness-levels, but so that we may point others to God's Holiness and Goodness through our lives.

Psalm 18

verse 1:

I love you, LORD, my strength.

What are we doing that requires strength?

What are we failing to do because it requires strength?

verse 2:

The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;

my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge,

my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

I love this because the author presents us with seemingly contradicting pictures of God.

We have security we are defended by: a rock, a fortress, a stronghold.

And yet we also have these wildly offensive depictions as well: a deliverer, a shield, a horn.

It is good having a God who we can both seek safety in and who will go out to battle for us.

Psalm 17

verse 15:

As for me, I will be vindicated and will see your face; when I awake, I will be satisfied with seeing your likeness.

I will be satisfied with seeing your likeness.

Colossians 1:15 [Christ] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.

In the gospels, we have stories of Christ.

Him healing mother-in-laws and asking brutal rhetorical questions and giving himself away as a ransom for ignorant and hostile hostages.

We get to see him live.

We get to see his likeness.

If we will be satisfied with seeing his likeness, how much more satisfying can it be to live in and with his likeness?

Psalm 16

This psalm has one of my favorite truths:

verse 2: I say to the LORD, "You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing."

Even the best things I have in this life right now, healthy and growing relationships, good health, and (ridiculous amounts of) privilege, pale in comparison to the goodness of God. Not just His goodness though.

How sad would it be if like relationships, health, and privilege, the goodness of God were limited to the earth, limited to a time and place.

Temporal.

But it's not.

Our Lord is not only good, but He is faithful and constant and steadfast.

I pray for the clarity and humility in knowing that apart from Him, I have no good thing. I want to love the Giver, not the gifts.

Psalm 15

This psalm asks "LORD, who may dwell in your sacred tent?" and proceeds to list out all the requirements to live on God's holy mountain. The one in particular that stands out to me is "who speaks the truth from their heart."

This tells me two things:

1) This person has truth in their heart and

2) He or she has the love and boldness to speak it.

I am neither, but I thank God that because of Jesus, I can dwell with Him in His Sacred Tent, His Holy Mountain. And by being there, God will plant Truth in my heart and give me the boldness to speak it.