Psalm 146

This Psalm was interesting to me because of the amount of praise that is in this Psalm. The Psalm literally starts off with a call to praise. The Psalmist wants to praise God with his whole life and and give his whole life to praising him. This Psalm gives a lot of warnings and promises. Mostly we are told not to depend on the things of this world, ultimately they amount to nothing and only hurt people. Also we are told that God helps. God alleviates physical illnesses, he loves people, he protects us, all from his eternal rule. I like this Psalm because it give me the promise of peace, and a response to it. God loves me and protects me, therefore I should praise him. It answers many questions such as the origins of the world and how long has God existed. He made the world and he is eternal. This Psalm just reminds me to keep what is Godly and eternal close and to keep away the things that are temporal and of the world. 

Psalm 121

I chose this Psalm for two reasons. One, because this Psalm reminded me of the song Praise You in This Storm by Casting Crowns, secondly because it has an interesting focus on God and what he does. Through this Psalm I feel like we learn a lot about God and the nature of him. Because God is our protector we can tell that he loves us. From God protecting us from harm you can tell that he has a life that he wants us to live for him. Also because he protects us in what we do we can see that we have a purpose in life. This Psalm though does raise some questions. The phrase of God protecting us from all harm. People could look at this Psalm and say that this Psalm is nothing but a lie, bad things happen to God's people all the time. I would like to think that that question would be reserved to Non-Christians but Christians are very capable of asking the same question. This Psalm gives me a lot of peace. Knowing that my help comes from God is provision in all situations. No matter what is going on God is there and for me. This definitely gives me encouragement and strength in hard times. I would like to use this congregationaly, but I would like to use it in another method than call and response or simply reading it. The only creative thing I can think of would be to split it up into four two verse chunks, reciting the verse and singing a song that is in line with the verse and using it as the framework for the worship service. 

Psalm 111

I chose to reflect on this Psalm because I noticed the way the Psalm went about giving praise to all the things that God has done. The part that stuck out to me was that the Psalmist will give praise in the congregation. Often times I forget that the Jews often gathered together and read scripture and sang hymns and praises to God. Since I have never heard them I tend to forget that there was worship to God before Christianity. I also enjoy the second person language of He. To me it keeps the central focus on where it should be, God. The Psalm raises the question of does God always give food to his faithful followers. People who are Christians starve to death all the time. So does that mean he takes care of them in a spiritual sense? The Psalm puts a lot of stock on the fact that God is just always. It is very careful to note that when God does or says something it is the best decision. I need to remember that God is just and not to question him or his decisions, or even try to understand them for that matter. I need to remember God's name is holy AND awesome. A secular person would hear this Psalm with a lot of skepticism. They would throw a lot of this out because so much of it hinges on God being perfect, just, and reliable. They would hear this and scoff because in their mind God is not good. But it could also give them a reason to think and reevaluate their thoughts on God. 

Psalm 100

This Psalm stuck out to me for several reasons. First was because of it's length. Upon first looking at it I did not think that there would be any sort of point to such a short Psalm but I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of acknowledgment of God in the Psalm. Secondly what stuck out to me was the worshipful nature of the Psalm. This Psalm was nothing but praises to God. This Psalm struck me and so I used it this morning as a call and response reading to begin our worship time. To me it just sums up worship. God made us and we belong to him therefor we need to praise him. He is good so tell him so. It just sets up the feeling and mood for a worship service and really calls for a life of worship. This Psalm may be one I need to read in preparing for a worship service every week, or because of it's length keep in my office. Either way this Psalm exalts praise and my life needs to be a better reflection of this Psalm. The language of joy was probably the most striking to me. Besides the fact of the only reason for worship is God being God and us belonging to him was the only reasoning for worship in this psalm. It raises the question for us as followers of Christ should that be enough to worship? And not just with our words but with our lives. If we truly believe that Jesus did what he said he did that should be enough and our lives should be a reflection of that. 

Psalm 67

One of the things that immediately drew my attention to this Psalm was the repetition of the Psalm. The fact that the Psalm takes the time to repeat both that thanking and the blessing makes me think that I need to take more time to thank God for all that he has done for me. I chose to reflect on this Psalm because the structure of it seemed interesting to me. I noticed how several phrases started with a repetition of the line before. The Psalm raises the question of why the foreigners would rejoice and celebrate over justice being executed before the nations. I would think that if justice was being upheld through the nations that those nations should be in fear of the judgement that was getting ready to happen to them. The Psalm almost seems selfish with its conclusion of asking God to bless them and then the ends of the earth will give him the honor he deserves. Maybe it is because God's blessing are so wonderful and fantastic that if they were to all come out at once then there would be no choice but to give God the proper honor that he deserves. To me this Psalm tells me that I need to rejoice in God more and I need to be grateful for the many blessings that he gives me every day. If I took time to reflect on the goodness of God I would be able to see it more evidently in my life and in turn be a stronger servant for God.

Psalm 27

This Psalm stuck out to me first because of the confidence in which David is writing the psalm. The sheer faith and trust that echos through the psalm is staggering! The Psalm gave me insight onto the way the Israelites viewed God and the afterlife. They did not know exactly what would happen or where they were going but they knew that God would provide for them just as he always had. This is shown in part in the Psalm as well. The best part about this song is the amazing repetition of God's constant deliverance. To me it speaks so highly of Jesus. Now that we are in Jesus we are free. No matter what happens, what goes on, whatever life throws at us we have an answer, and that answer is Jesus. I think corporately that this psalm would be great to be read in a call and response type of setting. This would also be good to start a worship service that focuses on the goodness and steadfastness of God. A secular person would probably receive this Psalm with a lot of skepticism. The cross is foolishness to those who are perishing and this Psalm is probably foolish to them as well. This Psalm has made me want to have a complete love and trust for God. To be able to look at any situation and challenge and have confidence, to have no fear, because I know who God is and what he has promised me. 

Psalm 16

I chose to reflect on this Psalm because the imagery of God being a shelter always jumps out and grabs me. To have one of the most essential parts of life promised by God is overwhelming, also implying that within him I will be safe. I long for that, outside of Ozark I do not always feel like I have a place to go that is safe, that I can take refuge in. I also love the imagery of God giving me stability. This Psalm raises the question of being prosperous. Is that not a direct contradiction to Christianity and denying our selves and giving our possessions? I do not interpret this as a health and wealth gospel, but instead as the hope of heaven because of the talk of the future. I know because of my hope in Jesus my future is secure. Speaking of that Jesus may have been thinking that as well. He longed to be back with the father, to be back in his perfect love, but also Jesus probably realized he was the fulfillment of this for everyone. Personally I need to take more time to reflect and learn, I spend to much time trying to hustle through life, to accomplish tasks, when instead I need to take my time and learn with the Lord. From that I will not only learn, but find joy and life. In that being joy, not just temporal happiness, but an everlasting joy that cannot be shaken.

Psalm 11

I chose this Psalm because the imagery stuck out to me. First the Psalm says take refuge in the Lord and uses the imagery of a bird fleeing to his mountain. What struck me the hardest was how the enemy is waiting in the shadows, with arrows drawn ready to strike at me. The Psalm asks what can the righteous do? Well that very question is answered in the Psalm. The answer strikingly is the Lord. God will sort through the wicked and the righteous, the Lord is in control of all. Much like Jesus we need not to fear the world for God has overcome the world, and as long as he is on the throne the righteous will be revered by God. A secular person would view this Psalm and think that God is judgmental because it is mentioned that the wicked will have coals and sulfur rained down upon them. But as always God is just and fair. This Psalm moves from despair into hope, which is also helps show the redemption that we see in Jesus. Without him we have no place to take refuge, but because of his sacrifice we can be sure even when this world is unstable that we will see the face of God. This Psalm requires me to not take justice into my own hands but instead leave it up to the ultimate judge and ruler of all. This Psalm helps me see that there are things that will try to bring me down, but when trials come before me I nee not to fear, but instead realize who God is and know what that means for me.