Read Psalms 147-150

These four Psalms and 146 immediately before them all begin with the refrain, “Praise the Lord!” In these songs of praise to the Lord, the psalmist exhorts us to give God praise, and gives us many reasons to do so. It is good to sing God’s praise; everyone should do it: angels, sea monsters, stars, trees, animals, people young and old, rich and poor. God is good to us, God is mighty, God built the world around us, God protects us and nourishes us, and God loves us.

    We all have battles we fight, and burdens we carry. In such times one thing we can do is revisit the joyful energy in these Psalms, hear the words again and feel the loving presence of a God who is good to us, is mighty, built the world for us, protects us and nourishes us, and loves us steadfastly.

    Psalm 150 reminds me of an anthem I sang with the choir at First Baptist Church up the road, years ago. The words remind me of the feeling of being a part of the choir, being appreciated and beloved. It’s been a long time since I sang that song but the sure knowledge that I am a beloved child of God remains.

    Praise the Lord!        

— Greg Gillooly

Read Psalms 143-146

Dear God – please help me know and do your will today, in collaboration with others.  Be with us.  This is always part of my prayers, which is perhaps revealing. If I could have coffee with the writer(s) of Psalms 143-146, we would have plenty of common ground. We both see proof of God in the splendor of the earth. We both marvel at an all-powerful God who cares about mere humans. We agree that we need to align ourselves with a higher purpose. We invite God in. I would have to ask though, what is really meant by “cut off my enemies, and destroy all my adversaries for I am your servant” (Psalm 143:12)? Would God really be with some people and against others per our prayers? This does not sound like heaven on earth or something our Father would do. If evil is an absence of good and God, the solution is not for God to favor any of us, but for all of us to invite God in. Why not pray for that? Understanding what to do with the words of the Bible can be difficult. Please God, be with ALL of us as we try.

— Jackie Acho LeMay

Read Psalms 139-142

Psalms 139-142 are profound examples of how awesome it is to ask God to examine us completely, inside and out.

What God revealed to me through these passages:

Psalm 139                           

He knows me

He understands me

He guides me

I am fearfully and wonderfully made

He is always with me

He helps me to be steadfast in my faith

He searches my heart        

Psalm 140

He rescues me

He protects me

He is sovereign

He upholds the cause of the needy

Psalm 141

He hears my voice

He guards my mouth and lips to speak the truth

He will not let my heart be drawn to evil

He will help keep my eyes fixed on Him

He will keep me safe from danger

Psalm 142

I can tell my troubles to Him

When I am overwhelmed, He will lift me up

He is my refuge

In desperation, I need His help

He will give me confidence

— Jo Walter

Read Psalms 135-138

There’s a verse in these Psalms that appeals to me. It tells of the psalmist calling to God, and God answering, and strengthening him. It’s about their relationship:

   On the day I called, you answered me,               

   You increased my strength of soul. (Psalm 138, verse 3)

    The relationship with God celebrated by the psalmist calls forth another, probably known by him, in the ancient covenant, where God chose Abraham, and Abraham, very smartly, chose God right back. It is, I think, the wonder of God’s graciousness that the psalmist is celebrating in his own verse: an incomprehensibly loving God, choosing each of us as God’s own, in the absence of any worthiness on our part. And it is that same wonder of undeserved divine love that the psalmist bids us remember and hold fast. When we remember, we live lives that will follow that remembrance, lives befitting to recipients of that untellable love, lives in relation to God, in God’s presence, calling to God, and our souls will be strengthened.

— John Scott

Read Psalms 130-134

In a recent, extended hospital stay, I was reminded how easy it is to be stripped of all sense of security, control and even hope. In such moments of isolation and desperation, the Psalms can still reach us. Psalm 130 begins with a powerful lamentation:

                Out of the depths I cry to you,

                       O lord.

                Lord, hear my voice!

    This is a cry of both hope and despair coming from a remote and frightening place.

    The tone of the Psalm then changes to a more positive note, acknowledging God’s forgiveness in the face of human iniquity. Combining waiting and hoping, the psalmist writes:

                my soul waits for the Lord                                                                         

                more than those who watch for the morning….

    The psalmist concludes by asking us to hope in a God who provides “steadfast love” and “great power to redeem.”  The love and redemption expressed in the Psalms have the power to break through personal isolation and desperation.

— Bruce Jones

Read Psalms 125-129

The Wisdom Psalms (125-129) recalled for me the prayers of my childhood which were conducted kneeling beside my bed and with my parents in attendance.  It began with the classic 18th century children’s prayer “Now I lay me down to sleep…” followed by a litany of names that included every member of my family and friends that went on and on until I nodded off.

As a child, I attended Trinity Cathedral that provided a special building where Sunday school classes were held.  There was an altar upon which stood a painting illustrating the words from Matthew 19:14: “Jesus said, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not stop them, for it is to such as these that the kingdom of heaven belongs.’”       

    Reminiscence from The First Letter of Paul to the Corinthians 13:11-13:
“When I was a child, I spoke like a child; I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became an adult I put an end to childish ways. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known.  And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.”

— Gladys Haddad

Read Psalms 120-124

I recently returned from service as a military chaplain in Afghanistan, and Psalm 120 is the prayer of a “return from exile.” For me, it was a return from a place of violence, suffering, and deprivation back to a place of comfort, plenty, and indifference. As the psalmist says, “Woe is me, that I am an alien in Meschech (Afghanistan)….Too long have I had my dwelling among those who hate peace (terrorists). I am for peace; but when I speak, they are for war.” Why do they maim and harm the peacemaker, the innocent farmer, the child? Where is my hope to be found in all this madness? Only if “I lift up my eyes to the hills.” This is where my help will come.

    But what kind of a peacemaker am I really? It’s not just a trust in the Lord that is going to solve this question. We can’t release our responsibility for justice, peace and healing simply by handing solutions back to the Lord, at least not in situations where we can do something about them. It’s comfortable playing the noble “peacemaker” as a full time job in war, but in what ways do I make peace with the people in the “everyday world?” How have I reached out to make peace with my neighbor, my spouse, my co-worker, the person who was rude and abrupt at the checkout line? We are cooperative partners with the Lord in our world. Keeping the vision before us of a Lord who seeks to deliver his people is central as we address the problems we are faced with in the world and in our community.

— Dan Knaup