Pr. 12: Proverbs for Living

Proverbs 12:15 "The way of a fool seems right to him, but a wise man listens to advice."

First time I've seen "stupid" in the Bible. I think. (v. 1) So that must be saved for special moments, like those who hate correction.

Craftiness earns no favor from God.

A woman of noble character is paramount to a man. Not a fine piece of tail or a nice rack.

Be true to yourself. (v. 9)

A righteous man cares for the needs of his animal. Not only is this instruction against cruelty, but it elevates man above animals. (v. 10)

If you play the lottery, is that chasing a fantasy? (v. 11)

Fools think that what they are doing, their way, is right. Refusing to accept correction or discipline. (v. 15)

A prudent man has a thick skin...overlooking insult. I'll try to remember that in traffic next time. (v. 16)

No harm befalls the righteous? (v. 21) What exactly does that mean? That the righteous will be preserved? But the wicked have their fill of trouble. So what kind of trouble? I know righteous people that have dealt with some horrible stuff. But is it because God protects them and carries them through trauma that it means "no harm?" I wonder about that.

Diligent hands will rule...the hands that are prepared, keep watch, aware of their situation...laziness leads to slavery. Once a person can be controlled, they can be enslaved. Happening now? (v. 24)

Don't hold on to kind words, go cheer somebody up. Whether they need it or not. (v. 25)

Pr. 11: Proverbs for Living

Proverbs 11:21 "Be sure of this: The wicked will not go unpunished, but those who are righteous will go free."

As I read through the 11th chapter of Proverbs, I was wondering what, if anything, ties this list of sayings together. And there really isn't a common thread. What does seem to bind them together as a whole is that there are clearly consequences for evil, and conversely, consequences for righteousness.

Descriptors of what happens to evil folk is that they are brought down by their own wickedness. God abhors them. They are deceptive and unfair, "earning" dishonest wages. Their hope ends in wrath. Just, you get the point. There is no hope in living among and like the wicked. They will not go unpunished.

Theres also quite a bit about generosity. In giving, the righteous man invites riches, while the stingy, greedy types have only their money and perish.

Pr. 10: Proverbs for Living

Proverbs 10:13 "Wisdom is found on the lips of the discerning, but a rod is for the back of him who lacks judgment."

This is a new way of presenting proverbs. Solomon has combined a list of couplets here, seeming non-sequiturs. Each couplet demonstrates what happens to a wise person, or what that wise person does, while including a second line about what happens to a fool, or what the fool does. Very simple stuff. None of these couplets require a lot of expository commentary by the author. Rather, as mentioned in an earlier chapter, these proverbs will make you think. These are the father's instructions.

I simply read through the list, and its a rather quick read, if you don't sit and dwell on them. It's a lot of stuff that seemingly would be common sense, but are also truths from God. Laziness makes you poor? True. A man has to work to get paid and to get fed.

Verse 15 gave me pause.

"The wealth of the rich is their fortified city, but poverty is the ruin of the poor. "

Does this mean that the fortified city comes from wisdom? Or is it simpler than that. Maybe the rich "only" have their fortified city, unconcerned with true riches from God. And perhaps God is the salvation of the poor.

Verse 19. You have nothing to say? That's ok. When you run your mouth, the greater the chance to sin against somebody.

The wicked really have a pretty disheartening existence here in chapter 10. Their hopes come to nothing, they are swept away in the storm, they will be overtaken by what they dread, they will not remain in the land. But these are the people who reject God and reject wisdom. Conversely, consider what is a part of following God. A prospect of joy, standing firm in the storm, not being uprooted. Its all good.

Pr. 9: Rebuke the Wise

Proverbs 9:10 "Do not rebuke a mocker or he will hate you; rebuke a wise man and he will love you."

Like a dinner party host, wisdom in her perfection invites all to come; the simple, those who lack judgment. They are invited to partake of wisdom's food: life and understanding.

She seeks to instruct the wise, those who would listen. To correct mockers, people with no interest in wisdom invites insult. Mockers are people who have it all figured out in their own mind. They have no need for instruction, and will fall victim to folly, suffering and death. I hope I am not a mocker. I hope I have the sense to realize I need instruction (this blog being surface evidence). I want to be wiser still (v. 9). That comes through fear of God at the beginning.

The woman Folly is the opposite, undisciplined, unknowing. She invites people to drink stolen water, and eat food in secret. But inside her house is not the lavish banquet and riches. Rather, death.

Pr. 8: Wisdom is Eternal

Proverbs 8:34 "Blessed is the man who listens to me, watching daily at my doors, waiting at my doorway. "

Where the detrimental ways of the prostitute and adultery were enumerated previously, wisdom's call and benefits are chronicled here in the 8th chapter. Wisdom, too, calls out in the streets, for anyone, everyone to hear. She (hmm, wisdom denoted with the female gender...) calls out to men, suggesting that wisdom is perfect fit for people. As man is with woman, wisdom is for all people. It was meant to be that way.

Rather than riches, it is suggested that man choose wisdom's instruction. What good are riches if you are a fool? But how much more valuable is discernment and prudence?

I discovered something new about wisdom here. It was by God's wisdom (wisdom the "craftsman" v. 30) that He was able to create. It was wise for God to create what He did, the way He did. Not only that, wisdom was brought forth as the "first" of His works. I'm not sure if that was the first thing God did, as that suggests a timeline for a God who transcends time. Maybe in this case it is the most important of his works? It does say, "Before" these various items were created, Wisdom was given birth. Which suggests that wisdom is alive. A living being.

Like a teacher to a fidgety pupil, "Listen to my instruction" and "Listen to me" are written again, like in every previous chapter. This is important.

Pr. 7: More Whores

Proverbs 7:22 "All at once he followed her like an ox going to the slaughter, like a deer stepping into a noose..."

Who is this seductress? The narrative in Proverbs 7 demonstrates the kind of smooth talking sexy walking woman that a man lacking wisdom, lacking judgement may encounter. You know, young guys just walking around at night, looking for something to catch them, to ensnare them. She makes a compelling case to this total stranger, saying that she was out looking for him. For him! It sounds special, doesn't it? This particular woman was brazen, just up and kissing his face. Hello!

Verse 14. She has her fellowship offerings at home. She has fulfilled her vows? Is this like the sinner who goes to church in the morning, drops a c-note in the offering plate, and considers his sins undone?

So that is convincing. Also her will-decorated bed and sweet-smelling women smelly things that they use like lotion and cinnamon and stuff. It will be a total sensory delight.

Drink of love till morning, huh? That's the distortion in sex. Whore sex isn't love. Like that movie Yours, Mine and Hours, where Frank Beardsley describes to his stepdaughter what love is.

"Life isn't a love in, it's the dishes and the orthodontist and the shoe repairman and... ground round instead of roast beef. And I'll tell you something else: it isn't going to a bed with a man that proves you're in love with him; it's getting up in the morning and facing the drab, miserable, wonderful everyday world with him that counts."

Something tells me that's not what she intended to drink of all night. Well, maybe for one night, but certainly not the everyday world.

But her husband's gone and everything, so it seems like all signs point to this kid spending the night with the prostitute. Its a highway to the grave though, its destruction, bodily and reputationally.

Pr. 6: Practical Warnings

Proverbs 6:5 "Free yourself, like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter, like a bird from the snare of the fowler."

Here is some more practical advice. The first section is a caution against debt. Being in debt itself doesn't appear to be a sin, but if a person is so deep into hock that it is detrimental and dangerous to himself, the command is given to free oneself. And not tomorrow, now! (Allow no sleep to your eyes, v. 4) Being in bad debt is being in a trap, and you must escape. Not by just bagging it and abandoning everything, which would become theft, but to plead your case to the person you owe.

Laziness takes a hit here too, as the writer considers the ant, who works all day without an overseer, without a slavedriver. Driven by nothing more than the will to survive, ensuring it's own survival, not counting on the ant next to him to share with him. Sure, we'll encounter charity, and possibly be on the receiving end of it, but it shouldn't be for lack of effort. Slothfulness begets poverty and scarcity.

Plotting evil in secret leads to disaster. Secret signals and unspoken cues are necessary when you are planning to waylay some poor soul. You can't just plot evil out in the open...the wise will be onto you.

God hates six things...no wait, seven things.

• haughty eyes
• a lying tongue
• hands that shed innocent blood
• a heart that devises wicked schemes
• feet that are quick to rush into evil
• a false witness who pours out lies
• a man who stirs up dissension among brothers.

That is a list that seems ok by me. I'll hate it too. And I pray I'm never a part of those things. Peronsally, I think I have the most trouble with devising wicked schemes. My neighbor's dog barks a lot. I have plotted many a wicked scheme, most of which involved separating the dog from it's life. Never followed through on them. I just think my neighbor is old and frail and can't hear or doesn't realize her dog is barking. Like the rest of the neighborhood does. That's not to make excuses, I shouldn't plot like that.

Apparently chapter 5 wasn't enough of a warning against adultery, so it's ill effects are compunded here in the 6th chapter. Adultery leads to destruction. A prostitute reduces you to a loaf of bread. You are her food, her sustenance. Nothing more. Its not a relationship, its subhuman. There are consequences to adultery, and I love the coals-in-the-lap thing, kind of like an STD? Also, when you lust after the neighbor's wife, watch out for the jealous husband, he will get his measure of revenge on you. Someone bedding your wife is just about the most serious thing that can happen to a man, at least here in Proverbs. All you want is vengeance, and no bribe or compensation will allay that rage.

Pr. 5: Adultery is Childish

Proverbs 5:18 "May your fountain be blessed, and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth."

Here is a warning against the hollow spirit of adultery. Yes, it is a commandment. But here we get a little deeper into the more practical side of sticking with a commitment, keeping a promise. There appears to be no deeper human relationship than that of a man and his wife.

This isn't to discount or ignore the initial draw of adultery. Her lips drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil. Who wouldn't be taken in by that? Some wandering heart, who doesn't think he hears his wife say "I love you" in the things that she does and the way that she lives? It sounds nice, enticing. But the end is bitter as gall. Piss. Death. Unfulfilling. Anyone who has used pornography and regretted it knows the empty feeling and the guilt from giving into that printed or electronic temptation. The Proverbs say that the adulteress isn't into giving life. Only death and destruction. Robbing a man of his spirit, his "essence."

What a man has with his wife isn't meant to be shared, as that relationship grows deeper and more intimate. Drink water from your own cistern, it says. That is the only water that quenches thirst. How much greater it is to enjoy your life with your one-and-only, the "wife of your youth" as the Proverb says. That serious depth of intimacy will always be more fulfilling and real than useless flings with the adulteress.

Pr. 4: Wisdom over Evil

Proverbs 4:19 "But the way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know what makes them stumble."

Listen and pay attention. Those seem to be the repeated commands throughout Proverbs 4. It is a command to listen to sound teaching. Teaching that has been proven time and again, and now disseminated in order to keep the offspring or the reader from making similar mistakes, and to instruct them in the right way to go.

Avoiding the path of evil serves to keep one from doing evil. It sounds a bit redundant, but if you avoid the road to evil altogether...in other words, avoid situations that could bring one into contact with temptation, you will be less prone to walk with the wicked, to cave into temptation.

I just think verse 18 and 19 are so great. The path to righteousness shines. You can always see where you are going. There is a sense of enlightenment and knowledge not found in the paths of darkness. "They do not know what makes them stumble." Isn't that the truth. This is what the wicked do and they don't know why. You've stumbled around in a dark room. You never know when you are going to crush your toe against an ottoman or something. You can't see.

Turn on the light.

Pr. 3: Wisdom is Good.

Proverbs 3:5-6 "Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight."

We have here more benefits to wisdom. Long life and prosperity chief among them. Who wouldn't want that? How do you get wisdom? Before, we read that it was the fear of the LORD. In a more practical sense, it is by listening and following the teaching of the writer, which I assume is Solomon. He's been around the block a time or two, and was given the gift of wisdom directly from God, and, as you'll recall, as a necessity in order to run his kingdom.

A result of acquiring wisdom and making wise decisions is actual, physical prosperity. Not just the wealth of having a close relationship with God, which I just can't reconcile, at least not the way David did. David craved God 24/7. A person also receives good health and overflowing barns. That's a pretty sweet deal.

Discipline is required for wisdom. Not just working at it everyday, but God's discipline to man. Unwise decisions will be made. God corrects, and it says he corrects those he loves. So discipline is a love language.

Wisdom is also akin to finding a good woman. Beauty and wealth and protection belong to her.

Pr. 2: Wisdom is Life

Proverbs 2:12 "Wisdom will save you from the ways of wicked men, from men whose words are perverse..."

This second chapter of Proverbs makes me think that Psalms and Proverbs are very tightly connected. In Psalms, David solely relied on God to preserve his life. In Proverbs, it appears that wisdom, resulting in the choices a man makes will preserve his life. Through God. So it's all about life. Don't you get the sense in reading Psalms and Proverbs that God is a God who wants his beloved people to have life? And not just breath in their lungs, and blood in their veins, but true, safe, abundant, blessed life?

The language in the second chapter of Proverbs is all about protection. A shield, a victory, guarding, protecting. But wisdom is a conscious pursuit. It doesn't appear that God just tosses wisdom on a person, and suddenly that person is giftedly wise. In just the first two chapters, God makes it clear that a man's own discernment is critical for acquiring and properly using wisdom.

The world wants to seduce men, and the world makes a lot of things that are in truth dark seem wholly "ok" to pursue. I think that's why the object lesson of adultery is so powerful here in verses 16-19. On the surface, it seems victimless. Even approved. But who is man "cheating on" in sin? Not the one whose paths lead to destruction. God is the one who is disregarded and rejected when unwise choices are made. Wise people see through these "options," they are the ones who manage to avoid the net spread in full view of them (Pr. 1:17).

Pr. 1: Introducing Wisdom

Proverbs 1:7 "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline."

Proverbs. The first chapter is divided into three sections and they include:

1. The purpose of Proverbs. What's the point?

2. Warning against Enticement. Don't go with...them.

3. Warning against Rejecting Wisdom. Wisdom is good.

Wisdom. Discernment. Knowing right from wrong. Common sense. Fear of God. These are the things that came with wisdom when Solomon asked for it at the beginning of his reign in 1 Kings 3. So what's the point? Israel was given the ten commandments. They were also charged with keeping their end of a pretty serious covenant. They were also given numerous regulations and guidelines for living in Leviticus. While a lot of it was practical, there wasn't much that included visual aids...object lessons.

Proverbs are sayings that don't directly issue commands. These are things that will require some thought, some discernment. Verse 5 says "Let the wise listen," which seems that there are people who perceive themselves wise, that they have it all figured out. But they lack understanding. So here are the proverbs to provide that understanding.

Here is a warning to listen to the instruction of those who have gone before. To listen to expert instruction. To listen to experienced teaching. Does that not make sense? This section tells a person not to throw their lot in with people who seek to harm others. The promise is for good things, valuable things, but they are their own victims.

If a person rejects true wisdom, they do unwise things, right? Foolish things. The result is calamity and God's judgment. Not just because of the rejection of wisdom, but rejecting wisdom is the gateway to doing stupid things that lead to rejecting God.

Ps. 150: Praise Him

Psalm 150:6 "Let everything that has breath praise the LORD."

Who? Where? When? Why? How?

All those questions about praising God are wrapped up in this, the 150th Psalm, the final chapter in the longest book in the Bible.

Wherever you are, whoever you are, praise the Lord. That includes in the heavens, so angels and the heavenly beings, and presumably the sun, moon, stars and other awesome created stuff.

Make noise when you do it! Don't keep it inside. The method is loud! Trumpet! Clashing and resounding cymbals. (To drummers like me, that means the crash and the ride.) Everything that hath breath, praise the LORD.

Ps. 149: Praise as a Weapon?

Psalm 149:6 "May the praise of God be in their mouths and a double-edged sword in their hands."

So, another commandment to praise God. We've covered numerous times how wonderful it is and appropriate it is to praise God. David and the psalmists have issued several lists and given lots of reasons why God is due the praise of His saints.

The 149th Psalm takes a bit of a departure. This is the first time I can recall, or at least that I noticed that the praise of God could be a weapon. A double-edged sword. Created to cut down enemies. The praise of God accomplishes a few things here before unwritten.

• Inflicts vengeance
• Punishes the people
• Binds kings with fetters
• Binds nobles with shackles
• Carries out the sentence against them

Pretty interesting. Of course it couldn't be the actual praise of God that does all these things. Right? Could this be a case of morale? Even though Israel may be scuffling, struggling, they still cry out to God in worship. Would that serve to dishearten their captors or oppressors? Or is it a case of fulfillment of the covenant. Praising God reflects a close relationship between Israelite and God, resulting in or as a result of Israel keeping their end of the bargain. When this happened, God saw fit to crush Israel's oppressors...you know, inflicting vengeance, throwing off kings and serving as God's hand of punishment against those who did not follow God's law.

Praise the Lord and grab your sword!

Ps. 148: Everybody Praise!

Psalm 148:3 "Praise him, sun and moon, praise him, all you shining stars."

As crazy a thought as it may be to picture "inanimate" objects like the sun, moon and stars praising God, it is precisely what is happening. All these things listed in the 148th Psalm are commanded to praise God for his power. God hung them there in space, set them spinning, and for that reason, and that power, these things praise God. Creation, dragons of the deep, weather phenomena...when they do what they are intended and created to do, that is their act of worship. Let's not forget the first time we had this image of the sun, moon, and stars paying homage...Joseph's dream back in Genesis 37. (note)

I am reminded again of the concept of "to obey is better than sacrifice." God deserves their obedience for his great power and love. These things, the sun, moon, stars, the rain, mountains, the trees...their "walk" as it were, is only pure. They have no need to sacrifice. Yet they were brought under the curse back in Genesis, at the fall of man. But their constant obedience leads to their blamelessness. Yeah, a lot like David.

This Psalm ends with another mention of the concept of raising up a "horn." I suppose this means a king, a monument, an example, whereby God establishes himself among his people, and his people see this horn, and know that God is the LORD.

Ps. 147: Just Worship

Psalm 147:1 "Praise the LORD. How good it is to sing praises to our God, how pleasant and fitting to praise him!"

"Pleasant" and "fitting" are the words used to describe worship of God. It's the right thing to do for people who believe in him and trust in him. With all the things listed that are praiseworthy, it makes sense. If a person believes in God, and trusts in him wholeheartedly, it would stand to reason that the things taught to that person are true. If that person believes these praiseworthy things are true, how could that person not lift up songs of worship to God? From this Psalm, it is pretty clear that God isn't owed worship. God doesn't need worship, he is due worship.

Consider verse 10. God's pleasure is not in the strength of a horse, or in the legs of a man, his delight is in those who fear him, and put their hope in his unfailing love. I believe this speaks to the efforts that a person makes. While sacrifices and the like were intended to restore a person's relationship with God, God still makes it very clear that "to obey is better than sacrifice (1 Sam 15)." God is, and always has been, after a man's heart. He takes great pleasure in a person simply trusting in him and his love to save.

If anyone is wondering if God had this type of revelation and commands for any other nation, its pretty clear in the final verse that the Israelites are God's people. So, if God doesn't reveal his laws to these other nations, how do they know they are breaking God's laws? Does it matter? Does Israel reveal God's laws to these other nations?

Ps. 146: Who to Trust

Psalm 146:5 "Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God,"

Some more praise to God from David. He first sets an example himself, mentioning that he will offer praise to God with all he is. What kind of person would he be if he claimed to have this awesome relationship with God, but then failed to live that out in real life? Not much, I would suggest. And that's not to suggest David always led a sinless life. We know he didn't. He did however, as I've mentioned, live a blameless life, constantly in conversation and back-and-forth with God.

He goes on to instruct his readers to put their trust only in God. A nation of polytheists, humanists, and generally those who ignored God in spite of belief that he is real and all-powerful, Israel apparently was putting their trust either in their kings (Presumably Saul at this time...unfortunately) or in their idols and their respective priests. This is why he differentiates, saying "the God of Jacob."

Why is this all-powerful God praiseworthy? David makes another list.

• Maker of heaven and earth
• Remains forever faithful
• Upholds the cause of the oppressed
• Feeds the hungry
• Sets prisoners free
• Gives sight to the blind
• Lifts up those who are bowed down
• Loves the righteous
• Watches over the alien
• Sustains the fatherless and the widow
• Frustrates the ways of the wicked

All pretty wonderful things. The mention of the "alien" is interesting. While they were not allowed in the temple, they were not to be mistreated by Israel. Both Exodus and Leviticus make mention of how Israel were aliens in the land of Egypt, and mistreated there. This principle of be bigger than your tormenter (or mocker) is one I've always found useful. Of course this list is probably physically carried out (when possible) by those who claim to love God and follow his covenant and precepts. Things like giving sight and watching over and sustaining the fatherless...those types of things only God can really do. But the rest of that list is a challenge to those claiming to be God-followers.

Ps. 145: Acrostic Praise

Psalm 145:21 "My mouth will speak in praise of the LORD. Let every creature praise his holy name for ever and ever."

Here's another acrostic, the last one (that I know of) being the 119th Psalm. I don't know Hebrew, but apparently, each refrain translated back would begin with a letter of the Hebrew alphabet. So we have 21 verses here, and it's really just a bunch of sayings of praise, exaltations to God. This Psalm is full of promise, ostensibly describing who God is to believers, and the praiseworthy things God did, is doing, and will do for the people that love him.

When I read something like "All you have made will praise you," it still gives me pause. That includes rocks, trees, animals, etc. And that includes the unbelieving. I could understand the bit about creation, because of what I read at the end of Job, and throughout the scriptures up to this point that I have read, considering the anthropomorphization of "the land." What is created simply does what it is created to do. Unbelievers are not doing what they are created to do. Perhaps at some point, these people will be called upon to recognize who God is, and then to give God his due.

Ps. 144: God Cares for Man

Psalm 144:15 "Blessed are the people of whom this is true; blessed are the people whose God is the LORD."

In the 144th Psalm, David asks a deeply theological question..."What is man that you should care for him? The son of man that you should think of him?" He recognizes his place in this world. In all the immortality and omnipotence he ascribes to God, David applies the inverse to himself. Why would God care for man, who lives for but an instant? I don't believe that David was asking for an answer to this question. He isn't really trying to understand why God is this way. He just revels in the fact that it is true. And this attitude is evidenced by the rest of the chapter.

David asks that God pour out the greatest of his blessings...of protection, of providence, of mercy. Look at all the things that God will do when his people trust him.

• Deliverence from foreigners
• Well-nurtured sons
• Beautiful daughters
• Barns full of provision
• Increase in sheep in the fields (so a place for those sheep to graze)
• Oxen drawing heavy loads (so...large harvest?)
• Unbreached walls
• Freedom
• No oppression.

It's a pretty good life, and it comes for the people who trust in the LORD.

Ps. 143: Prayer for Mercy

Psalm 143:10 "Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good Spirit lead me on level ground."

As usual, the 143rd Psalm describes David in a tight spot. But he doesn't lose hope in God, his only hope. He remembers the great things the LORD has done for him and for his nation. When David spreads his hands out to God, I wonder what that gesture symbolizes. "I am ready to receive what you have for me?" That is my guess. All God is is all David has. This doesn't take away the fear necessarily. It's a time of stress, for sure. If we didn't or couldn't fear anything, what good would trusting God be?

Ps. 142: Protect Me

Psalm 142:5 "I cry to you, O LORD; I say, 'You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.'"

Again, David is in the cave, fleeing his enemies. What I take most from the 142nd Psalm is just how alone David is. Verse 4 is really pretty heartbreaking. Sure, he is lonely. But when I see "no one is at my right," I get to thinking about how important it is to have that right-hand man. Someone to trust, someone to back you up. That person, for David does not exist. He is totally, and completely alone, save for God, who will never desert David.

In his loneliness, David cries out to God, throwing himself completely on God's deliverance. David's deliverance serves as an example to others for God's deliverence.

Ps. 141: Keep Me from Temptation

Psalm 141:9 "Keep me from the snares they have laid for me, from the traps set by evildoers."

To stay close to God, David understands the importance of avoiding temptation, which, like God, can also seem like it's everywhere. Temptation isn't just a spur-of-the-moment snare which catches oblivious passers-by. It is a matter of the heart. While a person may not be looking for temptation, that person's heart may be susceptable to it, and overtly looking for it (v. 4). David doesn't want to order off that menu.

So important is this avoiding of temptation, that David suggests that he is willing to be rebuked by a righteous man. To almost literally get slapped upside the head (v. 5).

Well aware of the fate of evildoers is David, and he mentions several in this chapter.

Ps. 140: Protect Me

Psalm 140:7-8 "O Sovereign LORD, my strong deliverer, who shields my head in the day of battle- do not grant the wicked their desires, O LORD; do not let their plans succeed, or they will become proud. Selah"

The 140th Psalm appears to complement the Psalms found earlier in the book. David is in trouble, his enemies, foreign and domestic, seek to do him harm. Really, to kill him. A mighty warrior with numerous military accomplishments and victories, and a man who held the hearts of those on his side still humbled himself. In spite of his own great power, David still depended completely on God for his own safety, preservation and providence. See any post tagged with "deliverance" to read more.

I believe this comes from his desperate relationship with God. He was one who was so completely given over to following God that it kept him up at night, and he agonized over ways to get closer to God, and mend that relationship when it was torn. He did not want the victory or the glory for himself. His desire was so great that God be the only recipient of laud.

That he be granted victory and safety was not simply to preserve his own life (although I am sure he appreciated that). Rather, and far greater was his desire that God be glorified. If David was beaten, then those who did not trust and follow God (slanderers, violent men) would get the glory deflected from God. Can you imagine how that would eat away at David? The thought of these people getting a foothold and in any way diminishing God must have horrified him and made him sick. It was just cosmically better for these unbelievers to be destroyed.

When David is given victory, it will reflect God's favor on the righteous.

Ps. 139: God Knows

Psalm 139:7 "Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?"

This 139th Psalm is a pretty incredible confession and a great revelation of who God is. It's been emphasized in previous readings and books that God knows everything and is all powerful. The macro view of God's power is fairly awe-inspiring, but here David makes it personal. God cares for creation and everything, which includes man. But God also cares about the individual man, and cares deeply. It doesn't matter where a person is, who they are, or how far from God they seem, God knows every thought, every emotion, every sense a person experiences. God also knows the future, being able to know every man's words before he speaks them. That is an incredible power, can you imagine that? It isn't enough to just know what a person is thinking. God takes it a step further and knows what a person will think. Before we think it. And that includes every single person. All at once. And it doesn't confuse him. In some ways that is chilling, but in other ways that's comforting. He understands a person.

There is no where to go to escape this omni-everything God. Even in darkness, which is just as light to God, He sees everything. As we walk through the daytime, it is just as God walks through the night, nothing is hidden.

I love the visual in verses 13-16. He created my inmost being, he knit me together in my mother's womb. "Fearfully and wonderfully made" the text says. Being "fearfully made" gives me pause, but I imagine that fear is another word for "awe." Every person is an awesome creation, wonderfully made, no matter who they become. I'm not sure what "woven together in the depths of the earth" means, but the idea that this may be a metaphor is not lost on me, after all, Job 1:21 offers a similar concept, comparing a mother's womb to the earth. All the days were ordained for a person, before that person lived one. This speaks to planning, for every single person. God knows exactly who a person will be. I don't think this means necessarily that God puts a person on a rail so to speak, and the person drifts into God's ordained destiny. I believe this speaks more to God knowing who a person will become.

And then there is more imprecation at the end of the Psalm, imploring God to crush those who oppose him. Which seems a bit of a weird juxtaposition in a Psalm that glories in God's creation and care in forming lives.

David ends by asking God to search him and to know his mind. David invites God in, as if to say, "Try me," and to keep drawing him to the everlasting if there is any wicked way in him. There's a great song by Christian music iconoclast Steve Taylor called "I Just Wanna Know" that really crystallizes that concept. Give it a listen. Don't worry about the RIAA, Taylor's made a lot of music freely available.

Ps. 138: The LORD Preserves

Psalm 138:8 "The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me; your love, O LORD, endures forever—do not abandon the works of your hands."

An attacking enemy can do a lot to take the wind out of the sails of a person, even one who considers himself to be pretty strong in his faith. That enemy can be a mocking person, a seemingly hopeless situation, or just circumstances that occur in one's everyday life. These are the times to call on God, who has not abandoned anyone. God's job is not to prevent real life from happening to people. God, however, is there when real life happens, and has proven it constantly to David.

This is why David is so bold and stouthearted (v. 3). In the depths of his own personal hell, circumstances he brought upon himself, or of those he was a victim, he still called on God, who reached down and delivered him. David didn't take on an attitude of "It's me against the world," which would have been useless false bravado. He humbled himself, and knew there was only one deliverer, and that was his God.

He knew God would do great things through him, relying on God's promise that he would. He is a work of God's hands, as we all are, and David trusts God not to abandon that work. After all, God's love endures forever.

Ps. 137: Remember Zion?

Psalm 137:6 "May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth if I do not remember you, if I do not consider Jerusalem my highest joy."

Israel was conquered by the Babylonians and carried into exile. Apparently, their captors forced them to sing the songs of the LORD, as they wanted not only to hear these songs, but bring shame on the people of Israel. These songs were probably some of the Psalms I've been reading for the last few months. What would be a more appropriate mockery than to sing songs of praise to a mighty deliverer while in captivity?

Some of the Psalms though could serve to rally the people. David, when he was fleeing Saul wrote so much about how he was down to his last breath and faced death constantly, yet he relied on God to deliver him, and God did!

Of course this is painful though, and Israel was probably not feeling like trusting God.

To make matters worse, Israel's enemy, Edom, was probably sitting there watching Babylon mow down Israel, and mocking them, as Babylon commited all kinds of horrible atrocities, and knocked down Jerusalem's walls.

Edom's uppance will come.

Ps. 136: His Love Endures Forever

Psalm 136:1 "Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good. His love endures forever."

This Psalm recounts all the amazing things God has done by his creation. Repeated in every single couplet in this chapter are the words "His love endures forever." That's 26 times. Emphasis. What I know from reading this chapter is that all these things God has done (the creation, his deliverance from enemies, his provision, his power), he does out of his love. His forever-enduring love. He doesn't do it as a vulgar display of power. He's not showing off. Each thing he does is borne out of his love for man.

There's a praise song that was set to this Psalm that used to be kind of annoying because of it's repetitiveness, but when I read the chapter, and see how this repitition is intended by the Psalmist, it gives me a new perspective, and now I want to go listen to it.

I think that's the most interesting point from this 136th Psalm.

Ps. 135: Praise the LORD

Psalm 135:21 "Praise be to the LORD from Zion, to him who dwells in Jerusalem. Praise the LORD."

I could see the 135th Psalm being a continuation of the challenge to the priests and temple "staff" to praise the LORD, and set an example to the congregation in doing so. But it also reviews, repeats, and re-emphasizes some of the material in previous Psalms. As I've seen before, there are brief touchpoints in Israelite history that always seem to merit repeat, and its the captivity in Egypt, and God's subsequent liberation of their nation. That point must be important, the freeing from captivity and oppression.

This Psalm also affirms God's place as head of all creation, and dengrates idols, as well as those who worship them as gods.

God's power and willingness to free Israel and give them land are praiseworthy.

Ps. 134: Ascent of Servanthood

Psalm 134:3 "May the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth, bless you from Zion."

This appears to be a reminder to the priests, and those who work in and around the sanctuary...whether that's the temple or the tabernacle to praise God. I wonder if they can get locked into some sort of monotony or autopilot on the "job," and forget why they are there, the reason for their servanthood. It's a reminder that God is real to them, and worthy of their praise as well. It's not just their responsibility to facilitate worship, but to participate in worship as well.

Ps. 133: Ascent of Unity

Psalm 133:1 "How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity!"

Unity is pleasant. Yes it is. How can anyone get anything done when there is not unity? Unity is described here as an anointing, like oil flowing down the head, the beard and then onto the collar. It is a spreading liquid, flowing through everything. Coating everyone in God's spirit.

Ps. 132: Ascent of Invitation

Psalm 132:13 "For the LORD has chosen Zion, he has desired it for his dwelling:"

David loved God. David wanted to create a temple, a dwelling place for God. Due to David's lot in life as a warrior, this task wasn't for him, as God wanted to separate that from his temple. So devoted to this ideal, David wouldn't even sleep until God had a place to be among the people of Israel.

The temple is a place where people come from all around to pay tribute and worship God, to meet him. Those who follow God will be blessed, and those who don't...well...humiliation.