Monthly Archives: May 2011

My friend Fred says, “Once more, with feeling,” when something is repeated.  Psalm 43 is a continuation of Psalm 42.  The passage,”Why, my soul, are you downcast?/ Why so disturbed within me?/Put your hope in God, /  for I will yet praise … Continue reading →

When I read Psalm 42 I have a deeper sense of how the psalmist feels because of being to Israel.  Between Jerusalem and the Dead Sea is the wilderness and it is dry and hot.  I have never been without … Continue reading →

I am surprised that I am being used by God at all. Why?  Because I would count myself among the weak.  I am not emotionally a giant.  I know enough to know that I don’t know much.  I fight for … Continue reading →

The psalmist paints a strong picture of a person who is helpless at the bottom of a cistern or well.  There is no escape from this prison.  Only God has the ability to reach into the mire and pull the … Continue reading →

For the psalmist there is no clear understanding of an afterlife.  We read that into the text after we are have read the New Testament.  For the psalmist, the presence of God is searing in its justice and righteousness.  He … Continue reading →

In Psalm 38 the psalmist is complaining of having to endure sickness that results from his own choices.  He knows that he has sinned and that the result of the sin is pain and suffering.  However, where do you run?  … Continue reading →

People who read, “Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart” (Psalm 37:4) often focus on getting what they desire.  If a person has read the psalm they will see that for emphasis … Continue reading →

The fact that the wicked prosper and the righteous suffer continues to bother us much as the psalmist.  We long for a world of true retribution, where what one sows is what one reaps.  At least we think we do.  … Continue reading →

God has no opposite.  God has no-one similar.  Who else is three-in-one like the Trinity?  Who else created the world?  Who else is infinite?  Who else knows it all?  Many times in the Psalms the psalmist marvels at God and … Continue reading →