A Psalm a Day

      My Bible reading project this summer has been to study a Psalm a day using the three question method. First, and by far the easiest, Who wrote it? Most psalms list that in the heading. Although I am not sure if Korah and Asaph mean those individuals or one of their descendants since David appointed musicians by family. Second question--What is it about? That is where I list verses by groups with a short phrase describing content. Number 3--Why? Is where I sum up what I think the author is trying to express. Then I hammer the meaning home by considering the Aim--what God would have me learn from the psalm. And, most importantly, Apply it to some area of my life. Before I understood this part, Bible study was more of an intellectual exercise than a life changer.

     Because God seems to think I need the repetition, there is usually an underlying theme to whatever I am studying. What I am learning from Psalms is, modern conspiracies do not hold a candle to those of David's time. Those conspirators were not just trying to overthrow or undermine David's rule, they were trying to kill him. Not in the social media, cancel culture sense, but the old fashioned dead-and-buried way. The social media of David's time consisted of gossip and rumors spread person to person and there was no Snopes.com to fact check them.

     What they did not have in David's time was 24 hour news channels to broadcast those rumors. Which is good, because the penalty for revealing conspiracies back then was death. That is why I cannot take seriously radio/TV personalities who, using their actual names, make regularly scheduled broadcasts or public appearances exposing "conspiracies". Those are agendas. They are not even secret agendas because most groups, publicize their beliefs to get more followers and funds. People who reveal actual conspiracies have to do so much like a missionary reporting from a closed country--using aliases, initials or code words for the individuals and locations involved. If the conspirators do not have the power to silence/kill people who reveal their secrets, their plot, however well organized, is only an agenda.

    The other really convicting truth came from my study of Psalm 82. It includes the confusing verse Jesus quoted to the Jewish leadership, "Are you not all gods?" The Amplified version of Ps. 82 explains that the magistrates or judges, because they had God's word, acted on God's behalf. That delegated responsibility obligated them to uphold the weak, needy and oppressed as God would. But they did not, and no earthly position would spare them from judgement by their just Judge. The Bible says judgement belongs to the Lord, so when I make judging others a regular pastime, especially in a culture that says it is okay to disrespect those who disagree with you, I am putting myself in God's place and that, frankly, scares me. I will have to find a less harmful hobby, but that will require a lot of conscious mental discipline. And the temptation to add my own clever comments when my fellow Christians attack causes, groups and individuals with whom we differ, is almost irresistible. Even when I manage to suppress my judgement verbally or online, those retorts rocket around my brain for hours. 

     There are, of course, many more praises, prayers, prophecies and teachings in the Psalms, but the above areas are what the Holy Spirit seems to think I need to work on now. If an apple a day keeps the doctor away, a Psalm a day keeps the Spirit nearby. And He assures me, no matter how much my world has changed, there is nothing new under the Son.