DAY 053: JOURNEY THROUGH THE BIBLE IN A YEAR – PSALMS 21-23

February 21, 2024

PSALMS 21-23
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DAY 053: JOURNEY THROUGH THE BIBLE IN A YEAR

It is once again time to journey through the book of Psalms, containing many praises to the Lord. The book also contains many prayers to the Lord, both prayers of desperation and prayers of joy. We experience all three in today’s reading!

Take a moment to pray, asking God to reveal His true meaning of Psalms 21-23 to you. Take whatever else may be on your mind to Him while you are in prayer. Now take a moment to read Psalms 21-23, and our journey for today begins!

In this, the first book of Psalms, the majority of the psalms are written by King David. Throughout the book of Psalms, nearly every psalm can be classified as a psalm of Lament or a psalm of praise. A lament is a cry to the Lord, asking Him to do something, most often when we are in pain, confused, or angry. A psalm of praise is a prayer of joy and celebration, thanking the Lord for His work.

Psalms 21-23: In our first psalm, David sings praises to the Lord for providing him with victory over the Lord’s enemies. To David, the Lord’s enemies are David’s enemies. David seeks unity with the Lord’s will and thoughts. David is rewarded by the Lord for his relentless pursuit to perfect his relationship with the Lord. In our second psalm, David cries out in distress over, what he perceives to be, the Lord forsaking him. David, like Job, cries out to the Lord, telling God that he, David, has been loyal to the Lord since the moment of his birth. David never entertains forsaking the Lord and David reminds God of this. Psalm 23 may be the most well-known Psalm. Simply stated it speaks of total security in the Lord. The Lord’s followers will have no reason to fear because they are in His (the Lord’s) presence. David speaks of the Lord’s correction (rod and staff) as a blessing. The Lord cares for our physical needs. David acknowledges eternal life. (Psalm 21:1-23:6)

Read chapters 21 through 23, and ask yourself these questions: Are these psalms of lament or praise? How do you know? What deeper understanding of David is provided through these psalms? Take a moment and offer at least one praise and one lament from your own life.

Godspeace!