Speaking the Truth in Love
Speaking the Truth in Love
Sermons on Psalms
Psalm 88 is the darkest corner in the book. It is a prayer of pain that expresses no hope. So why is it in the Bible?
In Psalm 8, David marvels at God’s majestic power displayed in creation. The vast heavens make him feel so insignificant. But is it true that men and women are too small to matter?
Psalms 95 Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. 2 Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song. 3 For the Lord is the great God, the great King above all gods. 4 In his hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to him. 5 The…
The first psalm describes the man blessed by God. He is like a tree planted by streams of water. But the wicked are like chaff blown away by the wind
David says that men and women are weak, sinful, and transient. Sounds sort of depressing. But David isn’t depressed. His reflections on human frailty lead him to exuberant praise (Ps. 103:1-22).
Asaph knew that God had done good things for his people. But he wrestled with the painful reality that the wicked often fared just as well or even better — until he saw things from God’s viewpoint (Ps. 73:17).
When people hear the word “meditation,” they think of yoga. Yogic meditation is an attempt to escape reality. Biblical meditation is the embrace of the ultimate reality (Ps. 19:1-14).
Human life is a shadow, a mere breath, a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes (Job 14:2; Ps. 39:5; Jas. 4:14). If this were my last day on earth, how would I live it?
The oldest psalm in the biblical collection is a prayer written by Moses (Ps. 90:1-17). He soberly considers the brevity of life and asks God for wisdom to live his few years well.