Tag: Psalms

Scripture Focus: Psalm 115:1-3
1 Not to us, Lord, not to us 
but to your name be the glory, 
because of your love and faithfulness. 
2 Why do the nations say, 
“Where is their God?” 
3 Our God is in heaven; 
he does whatever pleases him.

Student Writers Month is here: The student writers featured from July 15 to August 9 have received free coaching, ministry training, and seminars by special guests in addition to this publishing opportunity, the ability to re-publish their work elsewhere, and a stipend/scholarship for their work. A portion of all donations during these dates will be applied to the students’ stipends/scholarships. Find out more about the students at this link or give a one-time or recurring gift at this link.

Reflection: Not To Us
By Julia Bitler

Psalm 115 reminds us that life is not about us. Simply put, we are nothing without the divine work and grace of the Lord invading our lives. This passage makes it clear that the God of Israel is the one true God. Only he holds all power and authority. He can do whatever he chooses, and we can trust in him.

The Israelites were surrounded by idol-worshiping nations. They believed that their false gods would provide for their needs and protect them. I imagine it would be hard to have faith in gods that never came through or did what they were supposed to do.

An example is the contest between Elijah and the prophets of Baal in 2 Kings 18. The worshippers of Baal believed their god could and would rain down fire from heaven. So they cried out to him in faith, but he did not deliver. On the other hand, after saturating the altar in water, Elijah cried out to the Lord, and the one true God rained down fire to consume both the altar and sacrifice.

Elijah was confident in the Lord to be faithful to his promises and who he is. We too can be confident that our God holds all power and authority. 

The psalmist reminds us that we serve the same God Elijah and the Israelites served. The same God that delivered them can deliver us. The same God that provided for them provides for us. The same God that did miracles then, does miracles in our midst today. 

Psalm 115:1 reminds us that because of our confidence in God’s trustworthiness and his omnipotence, our response ought to be worship, adoration, thanksgiving, and praise. We worship God because of his power. We adore him because of his great love. We thank him for his provision. We praise him for his mercy.  

How are you responding to God? Are you humbled? Do you fall to your knees in worship? Are you poor? Do you recognize your desperate need for him? Are you surrendered? Do you desire to obey and serve him? Are you grateful? Does the knowledge of his loving kindness overwhelm you? Are you trusting? Do you have confidence in his character? Are you amazed? Is your heart consumed by how personal and intentional he is?

Divine Hours Prayer: The Request for Presence
You are my helper and my deliverer; O Lord, do not tarry. — Psalm 70.6

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summertime by Phyllis Tickle.

​Today’s Readings
Isaiah 46 (Listen 2:12)
Psalms 114-115 (Listen 2:18)

Read more about Supporting Our Work
A portion of every donation during Student Writers Month goes to stipends/scholarships for these students. Donate today.

Supporting our Work

Read more about The Blood That Speaks
What did the blood of Jesus speak from the ground as it poured from his hands, his head, and his side? You are loved.

The Blood That Speaks

Scripture Focus: Psalm 113
1 Praise the Lord.  
Praise the Lord, you his servants; 
praise the name of the Lord. 
2 Let the name of the Lord be praised, 
both now and forevermore. 
3 From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets, 
the name of the Lord is to be praised. 
4 The Lord is exalted over all the nations, 
his glory above the heavens. 
5 Who is like the Lord our God, 
the One who sits enthroned on high, 
6 who stoops down to look 
on the heavens and the earth? 
7 He raises the poor from the dust 
and lifts the needy from the ash heap; 
8 he seats them with princes, 
with the princes of his people. 
9 He settles the childless woman in her home 
as a happy mother of children. 
Praise the Lord. 

Student Writers Month is here: The student writers featured from July 15 to August 9 have received free coaching, ministry training, and seminars by special guests in addition to this publishing opportunity, the ability to re-publish their work elsewhere, and a stipend/scholarship for their work. A portion of all donations during these dates will be applied to the students’ stipends/scholarships. Find out more about the students at this link or give a one-time or recurring gift at this link.

Reflection: Biblical Worship Reflects God 
By Jacque Jordan

There is beauty in structured biblical worship. A psalm with cadence, rhythm, syllabic mirroring, and rich theology not only helps the orator remember the song of praise, but it allows us to be present while remembering who God is, what He does, and who we are in relationship to Him.

Worship is a response to our overwhelming belief in God and it takes many forms. For example, in the Gospels, some kneel before Jesus in worship. In Chronicles, David lies prostrate and dances glorifying the Lord. However, worship does not start with a song or end when you sit down—worship is a heart posture we carry with us.

Psalm 113 walks us through how to biblically worship the Lord beginning with a call for all to praise the Lord forevermore. Verses 4-6 tell us why the Lord is worthy to be praised. He is exalted over all the nations, glorious, eternal, unmatched, and devoted in the pursuit of His creation. Through God’s character and love for us, He restores our identity by raising up the poor, lifting the needy, and giving barren women children.

This Psalm parallels Revelation 4 and 5, where John is lifted up in the Spirit and witnesses heavenly worship. John sees everything and everyone around the throne worshiping the Lord, praising His character. John, suddenly overcome with sorrow, realizes no one is worthy to open the scroll and take on the sins of the world. But then the Lamb that was slain appears and ransoms the world. Every tribe, nation, and tongue proceeds to worship Jesus and God for who they are, what they’ve done, and their relationship to creation.

The Lord is searching for worshipers. God does not need our worship but asks for it. God instills a desire in our hearts to worship Him, knowing that there, at his feet, we will find rest. May we write these truths from Psalm 113 on our hearts and speak them over ourselves during the day. When we are at work, waiting, or in the woes of suffering, we can lean on the words we’ve been given in the Psalms. When our heart’s disposition is to worship the Lord, it gives meaning to all that we do.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Greeting
My mouth shall recount your mighty acts and saving deeds all day long; though I cannot know the number of them. — Psalm 71.15

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summertime by Phyllis Tickle.

​Today’s Readings
Isaiah 45 (Listen 4:39)
Psalms 112-113 (Listen 1:49)

Read more about Supporting Our Work
Donations during Student Writers Month support our ministry and these students. A portion of every donation goes to stipends/scholarships for these students.

Supporting our Work

Read more about In The Face of Wonder
Mary’s powerful confession, prayer, and prophecy, shows her familiarity with the scriptures and an intimate connection with God

In The Face of Wonder :: A Guided Prayer

Scripture Focus: Psalm 111:1-10
1 Praise the Lord.
I will extol the Lord with all my heart
    in the council of the upright and in the assembly.
2 Great are the works of the Lord;
    they are pondered by all who delight in them.
3 Glorious and majestic are his deeds,
    and his righteousness endures forever.
4 He has caused his wonders to be remembered;
    the Lord is gracious and compassionate.
5 He provides food for those who fear him;
    he remembers his covenant forever.
6 He has shown his people the power of his works,
    giving them the lands of other nations.
7 The works of his hands are faithful and just;
    all his precepts are trustworthy.
8 They are established for ever and ever,
    enacted in faithfulness and uprightness.
9 He provided redemption for his people;
    he ordained his covenant forever—
    holy and awesome is his name.
10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;
    all who follow his precepts have good understanding.
    To him belongs eternal praise.

Student Writers Month is here: The student writers featured from July 15 to August 9 have received free coaching, ministry training, and seminars by special guests in addition to this publishing opportunity, the ability to re-publish their work elsewhere, and a stipend/scholarship for their work. A portion of all donations during these dates will be applied to the students’ stipends/scholarships. Find out more about the students at this link or give a one-time or recurring gift at this link.

Reflection: A Psalm for the Stuck
By Liz Daye

Lately, I’ve been in a funky season of “stuckness.” My prayerful attempts at thankfulness have felt like a half-hearted lie. It’s like a weird ongoing wrestling match with a constant inquiry: What is God like? More importantly, what is God like for those feeling secretly and utterly stuck? Thankfully, the psalmist’s words in chapter 111 do something interesting. They reveal practical language that aids us in loosening that sticky grip. 

God reveals his message through his methods. So, it matters that God often uses story and poetry to reveal what he’s like. Why? Because God isn’t more interested in providing answers than offering us himself. 

Psalm 111’s poetic passage is a psalm of thankfulness. The Hebrew acrostic form of the poem serves as a memory tool. By remembering the story of the exodus, the psalmist contextualizes what God is like, while also referencing covenants of old and pondering promises. Remembrance intertwines with worship giving a gentle invitation towards thankfulness. 

And in wondering about the relationship between God’s majesty and glory, and his grace and compassion, it matters that there is no separation between these various qualities. His grace is glorious. His compassion is majestic. And all of these attributes are characterized by faithfulness and justice. (111:7). Faithfulness and justice for whom? For the ones who were wild enough to let God “unstick” them from the pharaoh’s grasp, thanking God all the way out into the wilderness. 

Too often our individualistic conceptualizations of thankfulness aren’t merely incomplete, they leave us stuck. Yet this psalm shows us that thankfulness moves God’s people towards a God who moves toward his people. Direction and purpose are inherent to thankfulness. Thankfulness to God in the psalm isn’t abstract. It’s particular- personal. The interplay of these relational qualities reveals the triune God through the thankfulness of his people. What is God like? God is the deliverer of the “stuck.” Majestic and glorious. Gracious and compassionate. 

Israel’s thankfulness is rooted in the story of their belonging. The psalm is how they remember. How do you remember what God is like? This psalm is a communal reminder to look backward together, so that we can look ahead together. Thankfulness isn’t our arrival point, nor is it a means to an end. Thankfulness frees us so we can move again, together. It’s the beginning, middle, and there is no end. “To Him belongs eternal praise” (111:10)

Divine Hours Prayer: The Request for Presence
Let them know that this is your hand, that you, O Lord, have done it. — Psalm 109.26

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summertime by Phyllis Tickle.

​Today’s Readings
Isaiah 44 (Listen 5:12)
Psalms 110-111 (Listen 1:57)

Read more about Forward-Looking Remembering
Remembering is not “living in the past”… instead it informs our hope for a future that God has for us.

Forward-Looking Remembering

Read more about Supporting Our Work
A portion of every donation during Student Writers Month goes toward stipends/scholarships for these students. Donate today.

Supporting our Work

Scripture Focus: Psalm 109.6-8
6 Appoint someone evil to oppose my enemy; let an accuser stand at his right hand. 
7 When he is tried, let him be found guilty, and may his prayers condemn him. 
8 May his days be few; may another take his place of leadership.

Reflection: Shocking Prayers and Promises
By John Tillman

You’ll probably never hear Psalm 109 or other imprecatory psalms read in church. The condemnations are harsh. The cries for violent retribution are unsettling. Is this praying or cursing?

When the suffering cry out, they don’t consider the feelings of those listening. They chuck civility and cordiality out the window. They employ emotional language and evocative metaphors. They abandon the vocabulary of propriety and politeness. They may even go beyond cursing to “cussing.”

Imagine yourself standing in front of someone shouting out the curses and demands of this psalm…

If you are like me, you probably picture yourself giving one of two responses: disengagement or discouragement. You want to get away from them or tell them to calm down.

“Be respectful.” “Ask nicely and I’ll listen.” “I can’t be around you when you are like this.”

God responds differently. God turns his ear to them. God leans closer. God joins them in their suffering. God’s face looks on them with compassion. God’s hands lift them up and punish their oppressors.

We are not God. We are incapable of his level of listening, patience, empathy, and compassion.

When people protest loudly, we say, “Be quiet.” When they protest at inconvenient times, we say, “Not now.” When they protest in our faces, we say, “Back off.” When they protest in our spaces, we say, “Get out.”

We are also powerless to enact the fullness of God’s justice and righteousness.

There are problems we cannot comprehend. There are oppressors we cannot correct. There are powers we cannot oppose. There are wrongs we cannot make right.

We can, however, lean on the listening, patient, empathetic, compassionate heart of God revealed in scripture. We can work for the problem-solving, corrective, overcoming, good-creating justice and righteousness revealed in scripture. That is what the psalmist is doing.

The psalmist’s cry, “May his children be fatherless and his wife a widow,” (Psalm 109.9) echoes a promise of God from Exodus 22.24 and Jeremiah 18.21. It is God who promised to punish those who harm the vulnerable. We can pray shocking prayers.

Are you hesitant to hear out the hurting?
When the suffering won’t be silent, do you shut your ears?
When the abused are red-faced with anger and shame, do you turn your face away?
When the oppressed open their mouths with curses, do you open the door and leave?

Divine Hours Prayer: The Refrain for the Morning Lessons
Mercy and truth have met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other. — Psalm 85.10

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summertime by Phyllis Tickle.

​Today’s Readings
Isaiah 10.5-34 (Listen 5:14)
Psalm 106 (Listen 4:52)

​This Weekend’s Readings
Isaiah  11-12 (Listen 3:39), Acts 1 (Listen 3:5802)
Isaiah  13 (Listen 3:11), Acts 2 (Listen 6:35)

Read more about An Imprecatory Psalm for Mass Shootings
I went to church…As normal, I paused to think about what I should do in case of a shooting…This shouldn’t be normal.

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Read more about Wartime Prayers
Imprecatory prayers become expressions of trust in God our Father…not only powerful but…just and loving.

Wartime Prayers

Scripture Focus: Psalm 91
1 Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High 
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. 
2 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, 
my God, in whom I trust.” 
3 Surely he will save you 
from the fowler’s snare 
and from the deadly pestilence. 
4 He will cover you with his feathers, 
and under his wings you will find refuge; 
his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. 
5 You will not fear the terror of night, 
nor the arrow that flies by day, 
6 nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, 
nor the plague that destroys at midday. 
7 A thousand may fall at your side, 
ten thousand at your right hand, 
but it will not come near you. 
8 You will only observe with your eyes 
and see the punishment of the wicked. 
9 If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,” 
and you make the Most High your dwelling, 
10 no harm will overtake you, 
no disaster will come near your tent. 
11 For he will command his angels concerning you 
to guard you in all your ways; 
12 they will lift you up in their hands, 
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. 
13 You will tread on the lion and the cobra; 
you will trample the great lion and the serpent. 
14 “Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him; 
I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. 
15 He will call on me, and I will answer him; 
I will be with him in trouble, 
I will deliver him and honor him. 
16 With long life I will satisfy him 
and show him my salvation.” 

Reflection: God’s Feathers
By John Tillman

Even in our relatively comfortable lives today, we have parallels to the dangers the psalmist fears.

We fear snares, traps, scams, and conspiracies. We fear terrors of darkness and unknown enemies and dangers. We fear pestilences, plagues, and illnesses that can strike early or late in life. We know of weapons that fly overhead and are more deadly than arrows. We know of enemies and armies that can swarm around us to harass and attack us both online and in real life.

The psalmist portrays humans as fragile, vulnerable, and defenseless birds. We are easily ensnared by grift, infected by filth, or broken by force. 

Birds are dual symbols in scripture. Many times, they symbolize helplessness, struggle, and chaos. Fluttering flocks are metaphors of panic, terror, and fright in the face of danger. When sheltered in trees or craggy rocks, birds represent the poor and oppressed. Jesus described birds as relying on God and as being cared for despite their low monetary value.

Other times, birds symbolize power, freedom, and protection. God and the living creatures that surround his throne are associated with birds, feathers, and flight. God carries his people on eagle’s wings and empowers them to soar on wings of their own. (Exodus 19.4; Isaiah 40.31) In this psalm, God is a protective bird. We are covered in God’s feathers. God’s wings are our refuge.

In his commentary, Federico Villanueva says, “In Asia and Africa, Psalm 91 has been used as a kind of magic charm…on amulets and inscribed on buildings.” It’s not hard to see why. The psalm makes some of the most explicit claims of protection in the Bible. Who would not want to lay claim to such bold promises?

Scripture is not magic, and it is a snare to think that it is. Satan spoke of Psalm 91 as magical protection to tempt Jesus. But the psalm also promises that Satan, who is the snake, the fowler, and the roaring lion, will be trampled. 

Carving scripture onto an amulet or a building is educational but not protective. However, carving it into our hearts brings change. Through scripture, make God your shelter and dwelling. 

When we dwell in his shelter, fragile as we are, we are shielded in God’s feathers. Powerless as we are, we fly towards God’s purposes. Foolish as we are, God’s wisdom keeps us from the snares of the fowler.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Refrain for the Morning Lessons
Wake up, my spirit; awake, lute and harp: I myself will waken the dawn. — Psalm 108.2

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summertime by Phyllis Tickle.


​Today’s Readings
Malachi 3 (Listen 3:13)
Psalm 91 (Listen 1:39)

Read more about Quotations from the Desert
Satan quotes Ps 91…stops before the verse about him: “You will…trample the…serpent.” He is speaking to the one destined to do the trampling.

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Read more about Bearing Reproach
Mary was slandered as a prostitute. We must not be surprised at our mistreatment as the Lord’s messengers

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