Category Archives: Psalms

Psalm 119: 41- 48 ו Waw – Hook, Nail, Peg

Posted on December 16, 2020 | Leave a comment

Psalm 119:41-48 ו Waw – Hook, Nail, Peg
41 May your UNFAILING LOVE come to me, Lord, your salvation, according to your promise;”
42 then I can answer anyone who taunts me, for I TRUST in your word.
43 Never take your word of truth from my mouth, for I have put my HOPE in your laws.
44 I will always OBEY your law, for ever and ever.
45 I will walk about in freedom, for I have SOUGHT out your precepts.
46 I will SPEAK of your statutes before kings and will not be put to shame,
47 for I delight in your commands because I LOVE them.
48 I reach out for your commands, which I love, that I may MEDITATE on your decrees. [NIV]

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The mysterious Hebrew headings of Psalm 119 have been like directions from the plans of an Architect for a structure being built.  They each tell a backstory of the words that follow them.  Reading verses 41-48 right to left seems to personalize how these special “nails” secure the previous walls, doors and windows of the promised, personal shelter being built for God’s people…their salvation.

41 Your salvation Lord is according to your promise of UNFAILING LOVE to me
42 I TRUST in your word, I can answer anyone who taunts me
43 I HOPE in your laws, you never take your word of truth from my mouth
44 Forever and ever I will OBEY your law always
45 I have SOUGHT out your precepts, I will walk about in freedom
46 I will not be put to shame when I SPEAK of your statutes before kings
47 Your commands are my delight because I LOVE them
48 I MEDITATE on your decrees, I will reach out with love for your commands

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Psalm 119:33-40 ה He – Window

Posted on December 9, 2020 | Leave a comment

Reading these verses forwards, and then backwards and pondering their meaning continues.  It seems like all of Psalm 119 has been about the building of the temple within the people of God; you and I.  Today seems a perfect time for to punch a hole in the walls that we depend on for protection to let in a little more light using the Hebrew “ה He.”  I haven’t missed the “coincidence” that God has used winter darkness, a raging pandemic and the period of Advent to do just that.

ה He – Window, Lattice
Psalm 119: 33-40 ESV
33 Teach me, O Lord, the way of your statutes; and I will keep it to the end.
34 Give me understanding, that I may keep your law and observe it with my whole heart.
35 Lead me in the path of your commandment for I delight in it.
36 Incline my heart to your testimonies, and not to selfish gain!
37 Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things; and give me life in your ways.
38 Confirm to your servant your promise, that you may be feared.
39 Turn away the reproach that I dread, for your rules are good.
40 Behold, I long for your precepts; in your righteousness give me life!

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33 I will keep the way of your statures to the end, O Lord; teach me
34 I keep your law and observe it with my whole heart because you give me understanding
35 I delight in the path of your commandment, lead me to it
36 Your testimonies, not Selfish gain, inclines my heart
37 Give me life in your ways and turn my eyes from looking at worthless things
38 Your promise confirms that you may be feared to your servant
39 Your rules are good for they turn away the reproach that I dread
40 Your righteousness gives me life! Behold I long for your precepts

Click here to read a previous post about the meaning of ה He – Window

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Psalm 119:25-32 – ד Daleth – Door

Posted on December 2, 2020 | Leave a comment

Psalm 119:25-32
25 My soul clings to the dust; give me life according to your word!
26 When I told of my ways, you answered me; teach me your statutes!
27 Make me understand the way of your precepts, and I will meditate on your wondrous works.
28 My soul melts away for sorrow; strengthen me according to your word!
29 Put false ways far from me and graciously teach me your law!
30 I have chosen the way of faithfulness; I set your rules before me.
31 I cling to your testimonies, O Lord; let me not be put to shame!
32 I will run in the way of your commandments when you enlarge my heart!

>§§§>

God’s Word has survived all these centuries because it’s more than information. Psalm 119, Daleth – Door is truth beyond time, translation, and even survives reading these eight verses right to left.  My hope is that after you’ve read the eight verses above as copied from the English Standard Version you’ll read my right to left versions with the “Door”  in mind.  Daleth is the Old Testament Word of God that opens the “Door” to our communication with Him through our relationship to Jesus.  “Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.”  

O Lord,
25 Give me life according to your word, dust clings to my soul
26 You answered me with your statutes to teach me your ways when I told of my ways
27 I will meditate on your wondrous works to make me understand the way of your precepts
28 Your word strengthens me when my soul melts away for sorrow
29 Graciously teach me your law and put false ways far away from from me
30 Your rules set before me are the way of faithfulness I have chosen
|31 Let me not be put to shame O Lord, I cling to your testimonies
32 Enlarge my heart so I will run in the way of your commandments

Click here to read a previous post about ד Daleth – Door

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Psalm 119:17-24 – ג Gimel – Soul

Posted on November 25, 2020 | Leave a comment

Psalm 119:17-24 All 8 verses of each of the 22 sections of this Psalm begin with the next sequential letter of the Hebrew alphabet.  It wasn’t until I decided to visually verify that for myself that I realized Hebrew is read from right to left.  It’s become an interesting truth-finding exercise for me to explore the impact of reading the verses forward and then backward.  The bold verses are directly copied from the ESV version.  Read them as a unit.  Then read and consider the same verses composed by reading them right to left.  God’s Word has endured all these centuries because it’s truth is more than information.  The Word still uses time, translation, and even reading words and phrases right to left, to refresh timeless truth from information into enduring application for followers of Jesus Christ.

Gimel
17 Deal bountifully with your servant, that I may live and keep your word.
18 Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law.
19 I am a sojourner on the earth; hide not your commandments from me!
20 My soul is consumed with longing for your rules at all times.
21 You rebuke the insolent, accursed ones, who wander from your commandments.
22 Take away from me scorn and contempt, for I have kept your testimonies.
23 Even though princes sit plotting against me, your servant will meditate on your statutes.
24 Your testimonies are my delight; they are my counselors.

>§§§>

17 I live and keep your word because you deal bountifully with your servant
18 Out of your law my eyes may behold wondrous things
19 Do not hide your commandments from me while I am a sojourner on the earth
20 Longing for your rules at all times consumes my soul
21 Your commandments rebuke those insolent, accursed ones who wander from  them
22 I have kept your testimonies, take scorn and contempt away from me
23 Your servant will meditate on your statutes even though princes sit plotting against me.
24 My counselors are my delight in your testimonies

This link is to a previous post about Psalm 119:17-24 written from the perspective of the meaning of Gimel – Soul

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Psalm 119:9-16 – ב Beth – House, Tent

Posted on November 22, 2020 | Leave a comment

Each of the 8 verses in all 22 sections of Psalm 119 [I used the ESV version] begins with the next sequential letter of the Hebrew alphabet.  It wasn’t until I decided to visually verify that for myself that I realized Hebrew is read from right to left.  God’s truth is worth thinking about and His Word is more than historical documentation.  The Word has survived all these centuries because it’s proved to be application beyond time for followers of Jesus Christ. 

>§§§>

Beth
9 How can a young man keep his way pure?  By guarding it according to your word.
9 You word is the guard that can keep a young man’s way pure
10 With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments!
10 Your commandments keep me from wandering so with my whole heart I will seek you
11 I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you
11 My heart might not sin against you because your word is stored there.
12 Blessed are you, O Lord; teach me your statutes!
12 Your statues teach me how blessed you are, O Lord
13 With my lips I declare all the rules of your mouth.
13 The rules of your mouth are all l will with declare with my lips
14 In the way of your testimonies I delight as much as in all riches.
14 I delight as much as in all riches in the way of your testimonies
15 I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways.
15 Fix my eyes on your ways so I will meditate on your precepts
16 I will delight in your statutes; I will not forget your word
16 I will not forget your word and I will delight in your statutes!

This link is to a previous devotional post using the Hebrew meaning of Beth

 

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Psalm 119:1-8 – א Aleph – ox head, yoke, learn

Posted on November 18, 2020 | Leave a comment

Each of the twenty-two sections of Psalm 119 follows the letters of the Hebrew alphabet. What’s unique is each verse in each section begins with the same Hebrew letter.  It wasn’t until I decided to verify that for myself and found this image that I realized Hebrew is read from right to left. I wondered if the verses from the ESV version might be read as normal and then read again from right to left [sort of] as a way to ponder the fullness of truth works both ways. You decide.

1 Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord!
OR 1 The Lord is the law of the walk of those whose way is blameless and are blessed
2 Blessed are those who keep his testimonies, who seek him with their whole heart,
OR 2 Whole hearts who keep his testimonies and seek him are blessed
3 who also do no wrong, but walk in his ways!
OR 3 who walk in his ways and also do no wrong
4 You have commanded your precepts to be kept diligently.
OR 4 Diligently keeping your precepts is your command
5 Oh that my ways may be steadfast in keeping your statutes!
OR 5 Keeping your statutes keeps my ways steadfast
6 Then I shall not be put to shame, having my eyes fixed on all your commandments.
OR 6 You fix my eyes on your commandments so I shall not be shamed
7 I will praise you with an upright heart, when I learn your righteous rules
OR 7 Your righteous rules are how I learn to praise you with an upright heart
8 I will keep your statutes; do not utterly forsake me!
OR 8 Do not utterly forsake me, I WILL keep your or statutes.

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Remember?

Posted on April 15, 2020 | Leave a comment

This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. [Psalm 118:24 ESV]

Remember that chorus?  I needed to sing it out loud in my own living room this morning.  I needed it’s reminder!  I needed to re-read this quote from a sermon by C.S. Lewis in 1942 and be reminded that in Jesus own plan it’s more than OK to rejoice; it’s critical for “this” day.  I think you may need all those things too.

“If you asked twenty good men today what they thought the highest of the virtues, nineteen of them would reply, Unselfishness. But if you asked almost any of the great Christians of old he would have replied, Love. You see what has happened? A negative term has been substituted for a positive, and this is of more than philological importance. The negative ideal of Unselfishness carries with it the suggestion not primarily of securing good things for others, but of going without them ourselves, as if our abstinence and not their happiness was the important point. 

I do not think this is the Christian virtue of Love. The New Testament has lots to say about self-denial, but not about self-denial as an end in itself. We are told to deny ourselves and to take up our crosses in order that we may follow Christ; and nearly every description of what we shall ultimately find if we do so contains an appeal to desire. 

If there lurks in most modern minds the notion that to desire our own good and earnestly to hope for the enjoyment of it is a bad thing, I submit that this notion has crept in from Kant and the Stoics and is no part of the Christian faith. Indeed, if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak.  We are far too easily pleased.” [C.S. Lewis – Weight of Glory]

I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.  I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. John 10:9-11 [ESV]

THIS is the day….REMEMBER?

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Sunday Soul Sing Along – Psalm 86:5

Posted on February 2, 2020 | Leave a comment

Psalm 86:5 You, Lord, are forgiving and good, abounding in love to all who call to you. [NIV]

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Let this songa be a part of every heart in worship today.
I love you, Lord
And I lift my voice
To worship You
Oh, my soul, rejoice!

Take joy my King
In what You hear
Let it be a sweet, sweet sound
In Your ear

aLyrics to I Love You, Lord by Petra from Petra Praise 2

If you’re unfamiliar with this song.  There are many places on the internet you can listen to it and sing along.

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The Lord’s…

Posted on July 31, 2019 | Leave a comment

Psalm 19
7 The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul.
The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple.
8 The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart.
The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes.
9 The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever.
The decrees of the Lord are firm, and all of them are righteous.

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√ The Lord’s…Law is complete and able to reinvigorate his people.
The Lord’s…Statutes can be trusted to reveal deep and basic wisdom anyone can understand.

√ The Lord’s…Precepts regulate behavior and thought to bring pleasure to the heart.
The Lord’s…Commands illuminate and eliminate the confusion of what our eyes alone are able to see.

√ The Lord’s…Fear is knowing He watches all of us through the lens of His own unalterable purity and will always have the power to separate good from evil.
The Lord’s…Decrees are the building blocks of His strength that can become our unalterable purity.

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After Easter What’s Next?

Posted on April 24, 2019 | Leave a comment

Psalm 51:10 Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.  11 Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

The Firsts are done.  The Easter celebration is over.  What’s next?  Now comes the hard part; continuing the renewal we just celebrated.  Renewal will take you beyond what you already know to the recognition of all you still need to know to sustain you. This prayer is both our plea and our evidence of renewal happening in our life. “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me…Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.” 

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