Psalm – Psalm 24-26

Today is the start of the 3rd month of 2009. We finished the 3rd book yesterday and today continue on our journey through the Psalms.

If you are just joining us for the first time, there is no need to feel shy.  Join the reading and give us your feedback, questions or comments.  Yesterday, Pr Aun Quek had encouraged us to read the Bible as indeed, in it are the Words of Eternal Life.  For me personally, this Bible Reading Blog has also been a great learning journey as I read the Scriptures together with you all with a new heart and perspective.

Some of you have read the Bible through many times before.  Some are trying to read through it for the first time.  I spoke to a truthseeking friend yesterday who has been following this Bible Reading plan regularly.  And I am truly thankful to God because even for someone who has not yet been baptised – because she was zealous to really read the Scriptures, she could share insights with me that I have never thought of.

This is why it is called the Living Word of God – it really speaks to us even today! So what does God say to us today?

Bible Passage:  Psalm 24-26

In Psalm 24:7-10, the Psalmist rhetorically asked, “Who is the King of Glory?” (Ps 24:8).

In the Old Testament, we know Him as LORD.  In the New Testament, we know Him as Jesus, the Christ, the Son of the living God (John 1:14; 1 Cor 2:8; Phil 2:9-11).

One of the ways we can learn and remember more about God is when we read the Scriptures, we can use different colour markers or draw a symbol (for example a cross) on passages that we feel tells us more of who this God we believe in is.  You may find it most rewarding at the end of your Bible readingjourney as you flip through your Bible and recall all the wonderful things you learned about God.

For example, for the books that we have been reading….

• In Genesis, we learn that Jesus is the seed of the woman who would bruise the serpent’s head while the serpent bruised His heel (Gen 3:15)
• In Joshua, the Lord reveals Himself as the Commander of the Lord’s army to Joshua (Joshua 5:14)
• When we come to Job 19:25, we see Jesus, the Lord as the Redeemer of Job.
• In Isaiah…

Why not you try it for yourself and discover more about God?

Psalm 25 & 26

The next 2 Psalms are interesting in a couple of ways.  I learned this a few years back when I was studying Psalms in preparation of the Hymn service.

Psalm 25 is an acrostic in that, beginning with verse 2, the verses are arranged alphebetically in Hebrew (with a couple of exceptions).  And David was singing about the major concerns that move people to call out to God – fear of enemies, the need for guidance, feeling guilty and shameful and in trouble and suffering.

Psalm 26 is a prayer for protection.  But it is not the usual protection from the usual dangers.

When I read this Psalm, I am reminded of the movie, the Untouchables.

In that movie, Elliot Ness, the Federal Agent decided to make a stand against the king of evil at that time – Al Capone.  He chose to stand on the side of good rather than evil.  But what can he expect if he did this?  The bad guys would come after him and his family.  They will come after his friends and try to destroy him.

It is the same of us today as it was for David.  When he made a conscious decision to obey God and keep God’s Words – i.e. stand on God’s side – he knew surely that the forces of evil would try and cripple him and make him fall.

That was why he prayed this Psalm – a prayer for God to preserve and protect him as he kept his integrity and lived in a way that is counter to the prevailing moral standards.

How do we know what is God’s standards and not the world’s standards?

Read the Scriptures of course.  Daily.  As often as possible.  For in it, you will find the Words of Eternal Life.  I promise.

Better yet… Jesus Himself guarantees it.

And what is the Psalm without some actual singing?

Psalm 24

Psalm 25