Walking Together Through the Old Testament - Week 33
Introduction
Most people have a favourite Psalm! These poetic expressions of worship seem to speak to us across the centuries and seem to be so often exactly relevant to our lives today. Again this week we will look at five of the more popular Psalms.
Day 1 – Read: Psalm 15 This short Psalm starts with two questions about who can dwell in the sanctuary or God’s holy hill, or put another way, who can realistically go to the temple of God on Mount Zion? What is required? A sacrifice and a priest may be good answers but this Psalm gives a different answer, for God looks at the heart, and without a right heart the sacrifices mean nothing. God values the man who is honest, righteous and fair - character traits that are sadly missing our own culture and society. The righteous person’s strength comes from these things and in our own culture this means daring to be different.
Read Ephesians 2:8,9. Remember that the only way to be holy and blameless is to have our sins forgiven. Living a holy life flows out from this, and is the evidence of acceptance with God, not the basis of it.
Thank the Lord Jesus for the salvation available as a result of his death and resurrection.
Day 2 – Read: Psalm 23 This Psalm is arguably the most famous because it portrays David’s relationship with God in such a beautiful and poetic way. As David understood shepherding (1 Samuel 16:11) he could relate his own experience of sheep to his relationship with God. David knew what sheep needed; still water was required because near fast water they were vulnerable to drowning. They were also prone to getting lost and they needed an authority figure with a staff. It’s no coincidence that Jesus described himself as the Good Shepherd (John 10:11-16) for we’re lost without Jesus, who knows what we need. At the end of this Psalm God is portrayed as extravagant - such is His great love.
Reflect: For David the still waters were the place that God used to restore His soul (vv 2,3). What does God generally use to restore your soul, when you need it?
Day 3 – Read: Psalm 24 Psalms 22, 23 and 24 are sometimes referred to as the Psalms of the Cross, the Crook and the Crown, respectively. David starts this Psalm with a right understanding of who actually owns the world, its contents and inhabitants, and points back to Genesis 1 as to why. He goes on to portray God as the King going up to the temple and comments that his authority is such that he even commands the lifeless gates to open so he can take his rightful place.
Consider: What can you learn about God’s Kingship in this Psalm that you can respond to in your daily life?
Day 4 – Read: Psalm 32 David describes the true blessing of having his sins forgiven and the sense of relief that it brings. He goes on to look back at how weighty and depressing the burden of sin was until he confessed it to God. In verse 6 there is a sense of urgency and the need to seek God while the opportunity is there, like being on a sinking ship and grabbing the safety winch dangling from a rescue helicopter. David knew from personal experience what it meant to be in real danger and that God is the ultimate place of safety.
Think: In what ways is your view of sin and its effects different or similar to David’s views expressed in this Psalm?
Day 5 – Read: Psalm 51 This Psalm was written when Nathan confronted David about his adultery (see 2 Samuel 12:1-10). David comes to terms with his own sense of moral bankruptcy and realises that no matter how faithfully he’d followed God in the past, that didn’t make him immune from sin in his present. However, rather than get defensive and try to justify his sin, he owns up and seeks restoration. It seems almost hypocritical for David the adulterer to be wanting to teach sinners God’s ways (v.13), however, having learned from bitter experience what misery sin causes, in some ways he’s well placed to teach and encourage righteousness.
Review your past sins and failures. In what ways has God’s grace been demonstrated in your life? How has covering up sin affected your life? Thank God that forgiveness is always available because of Jesus!
Review the week’s readings
Try using one of this week’s readings as a blueprint for you to write a Psalm to God, and use it as an act of worship.