Psalms 1-4

Today’s reading is from Psalms 1-4. The first Psalm is something that I’d almost expect to find in the book of Proverbs. I love how it contrasts two different ways to live. It speaks of what leads to blessings in your life and what leads to misery. The person who leads a blessed life doesn’t take advice from people who don’t follow God and doesn’t act like them either. It is like we were talking about in Sunday School today, you need to not allow those people doing the wrong things to have influence on you. Instead, the person who follows a blessed life enjoys following God’s ways and studies them a lot. That is what we are doing with our read through the Bible project. Someone who does those things will flourish and grow and bear fruit! Then there’s the other side to the coin. Those who are ungodly are not stable. They go back and forth on things, and they will not be counted among the children of God at the Judgment. God knows who his children are and those that don’t follow his ways will perish. Ouch!
Psalm 2 is about how man plots and plans but God always wins. It starts out asking why people and nations plot against God’s chosen people wanting to destroy them. God does not take them seriously according to the Psalmist. God will give everything to his chosen, especially victory. Those who plot against God will be the ones destroyed. Therefore, the psalmist suggests, leaders and judges should fear and follow God. They should live in submission to God or they will perish in their rebellion.
Psalm 3 is interesting. It is like the psalmist is working through his trials with this song through prayer. He feels despair and that his enemies keep multiplying past being able to deal with them. Yet, God is his shield, the one who makes him feel better, and fills him with hope. The psalmist laid down and slept and awoke because God helped him. His fear is gone even if there are insane odds against him. Then he calls to God to save him from those that don’t follow God like he has before. Salvation ONLY comes through God is the most amazing thing this psalmist says.
Psalm 4 is about being content to live God’s way. Sometimes it’s hard to always choose the right things when the wrong things look better, and to trust that God is blessing you through the bad things that happen. We need to be content even when we feel God is “allowing” bad things to happen to us. When we feel like people are making fun of us for our beliefs or treating us poorly because of the things we won’t do. The psalmist asks man in general how long they will ignore God and shame him, promote worthless things, and be false. God sets apart the people who follow him and listens when they call. You can be angry, just don’t sin. We talked about that in Sunday School as well. It isn’t the emotions that are bad, but the actions that we allow the emotions to lead us to. We need to meditate on God and be still to do that. Trust God and offer him the things he wants, which is you following his ways. The psalmist thanks God for giving him even more Joy than when he’s prosperous and acknowledges that God alone keeps him safe.
I like that Sunday has a shorter reading. I was a little worried about fitting a blog in. But I actually got to blog on the whole reading today and it didn’t take as long. I’d love to hear your takes on the psalms we read today. Tomorrow’s reading is Genesis 6:1-9:17 and Matthew 3.