The Bible Recap - Day 128 (Psalm 25, 29, 33, 36, 39) - Year 5

Episode Date: May 8, 2023

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Hey Bible readers, I'm Tara Lee Cobble and I'm your host for the Bible recap. We had another Psalm round up today and all but one were written by David. It's really remarkable how well he covers a wide variety of emotions in such detail. Psalm 25 is a lament that opens with praise and closes with a request. There were a few verses I love that I just want to highlight. Verse 8 says, "...good and upright is the Lord. Therefore he instructs sinners in the way."

Jesus said a similar thing in Luke 5. He said, "...it is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. I love that his goodness and uprightness doesn't keep him from sinners, but draws him to sinners. Centres are the ones who need him. That's me. That's all of us, by the way.

In verse 11, David admits his guilt, which positions him among the humble people he references elsewhere in this chapter. He says, for your name's sake, O Lord, pardon my guilt, for it is great. I find it interesting that he appeals for pardon for God's sake, not his own. Surely it's for his sake too, but this shows us that when Godardons sinners, it displays his character as one who is loving, forgiving, patient, merciful. By pardoning sinners, the sinner is blessed, and God's character is exalted.

You'll notice this phrase for your name's sake attached to a lot of prayers in Scripture. It's an appeal to God to show the world who he is. And I just can't skip over verse 14. It's been one of my favorite verses for many years. It says, The friendship of the Lord is for those who fear him. Other translations of this verse say, The secret of the Lord is for those who fear him.

What? I don't care which translation is more accurate. I want both. I want the friendship. I want the secrets. Dear the Lord, please give me all of it. In Psalm 29, David portrays God as a thunderstorm moving across the land, leaving nothing untouched by his presence and glory and power. And then in the midst of his booming thunderous voice and lightning bolts and flooding waters, God gives his people strength and peace. He can be both powerful and peaceful, all at once.

Psalm 33 opens by saying that praising God fits the righteous. It's not just good, it's right. So when I'm failing to praise him, I'm acting against my created purpose. Wow. And near the end of the Psalm, it says God's eye is on those who fear Him. For anyone who is afraid of God, that probably sounds like a threat,

but for those who rightly fear Him, who delight in Him and are in all of Him. This is a comfort. Psalm 36 is another lament, and it starts out by saying, Transgression speaks to the wicked deep in his heart. Then it goes on to define whatgression speaks to the wicked deep in his heart. Then it goes on to define what it means by the wicked. We could probably all find ourselves in this list at some point in our lives. Have you ever thought too highly of yourself?

Have you ever thought you could get away with something? Ever lied? Ever planned to sin? Does that mean this song is calling us all wicked? What this song seems to be marking out is that the person who follows a pattern of these kinds of things, unrepentant, is the person described as wicked here. Here, the word wicked seems to refer to those

who have given themselves over to sin. And on the other hand, Christ followers are people who are four God, but who do still sin. Even though we do wicked deeds, we're not defined by that term. We're often called the righteous in Scripture, because Christ's righteousness has been transferred to us despite our sin. In Psalm 39, David has sinned in some way and he admits his guilt. He talks about the pain it has brought him, and he even asks God to bring an end to his discipline. Not because he doesn't deserve the discipline, but because God's rebukes heavy, and David

feels like he's learned his lesson already. Haven't we all felt like this? Like, okay, God, I get it. You can let up now, promise. David is also careful about how and when he talks about his struggles, because he doesn't want it to leave a bad impression about God on people who don't know God. I love that. So instead of complaining in public, he complains in private to God, which is totally fitting

and right. He takes his complaints to the only one who can solve them. This reminds me of something else we've covered. Do you remember how the Israelites grumbled about God in the desert and God rebuked and punished them? Then Moses came along with the same complaints and it was no big deal. Why? Because when Moses had complaints, he took them to God, whereas the people just gossiped and complained to everyone around them. What we say matters, but who we say it to, also matters. What we say matters, but who we say it to also matters. David paints a really clear picture of God's loving discipline in verse 11.

He says, When you discipline a man with rebukes for sin, you consume like a moth. What is dear to him? God loves us too much to let us continue in idolatry. So sometimes he takes away our idols. We knit cashmere scarves for all our idols, and he sends his little love moths to eat them to pieces. He does it all out of love. What was your God shot today? Mine was in Psalm 3321. It says, our heart is glad in him because we trusted in his holy name. If you've ever delighted in him, that almost certainly means you trust him to some degree, probably even more than you realize.

It's very difficult, maybe even impossible, to delight in someone you don't trust. Think about the people you don't trust. Aren't you always on your guard, trying to read their motives and self-protect? But if you've trusted God enough to let your guard down, there's a good chance you've had an opportunity to delight in him. It feels good, doesn't it?

If you're not there yet, I pray he keeps revealing his character to you and building up your trust in him over time. I hope soon you'll be able to confidently say he's where the joy is. Have you heard about my devotional called the God Shot, 100 Snapshot of God's Character in Scripture? In this little devotional, I take you through a passage from each book of the New Testament, and I highlight a name or attribute of God from that passage. These snapshots are dense with theological truth,

but they're a quick read, which makes them the perfect way to start your morning, or under lunch break, or to read before you go to sleep. There's also a great on-ramp for anyone you've invited to do TBR with us, but who feels a bit overwhelmed by the idea of reading the whole Bible. The God-Shot Devotional is only about 90 seconds of reading per day. So grab a copy for yourself and a friend in our store at thebiboewreekap.com, or word slash store, or click the link in the show notes.