Archive for July 2022

2 Chronicles 34-36, Psalm 150, Luke 12:49-59, 2 Thessalonians 3:14-18 Psalm 150: A psalm of voluminous, exuberant praise! Where praise God? Everywhere! Praise God in “his sanctuary” and praise him “in his mighty heavens.” There is nowhere in the universe—mighty heavens meaning the whole universe—where God is not to be praised! How praise God? With everything! Trumpet, harp, “lyre,” tambourine,…

2 Chronicles 30-33, Psalm 149, Luke 12:38-48, 2 Thessalonians 3:6-13 Psalm 149: There is yet more reason for praise, and fuel for praise in this psalm! Here we are given reason for why to sing to the Lord a “new” song. Part of the indicator of healthy Christian spirituality is the writing of new songs. When God’s…

2 Chronicles 28-29, Psalm 148, Luke 12:22-34, 2 Thessalonians 3:1-5 Psalm 148: When we think of “praise,” we typically think of “praise songs” or music sung in Christian meetings, particularly on a Sunday. We don’t tend to think of some of the categories that are introduced by this psalm. According to this psalm, the sky, sun, moon, stars,…

2 Chronicles 25-27, Psalm 147, Luke 12:13-21, 2 Thessalonians 2:13-17  Psalm 147: Another psalm of exuberant praise. Why? Because it is “good,” “pleasant” and “fitting” to praise God (147:1). It is good to praise God (147:2-9) because God is a good God. He gathers the exiles (147:3). His goodness is not weakness, but capable to achieve its ends (147:3-5). He…

2 Chronicles 22-24, Psalm 146, Luke 12:1-12, 2 Thessalonians 2:6-12 Psalm 146: “Praise” seems a foreign concept to many of us today. It seems something distinctly religious, and perhaps even somewhat divorced from “real life.” Added to this is a common question: Why does God want us to praise him? Is he so insecure that he needs us…

2 Chronicles 20-21, Psalm 145, Luke 11:37-54, 2 Thessalonians 2:1-5 Psalm 145: What kind of legacy would you like to leave behind you? David here tells how “one generation commends your works to another” (145:4). There is an inevitable overflow of commendation about God to those who are coming behind you when you know God. What is is…

2 Chronicles 17-19, Psalm 144, Luke 11:29-36, 2 Thessalonians 1 Psalm 144: Life can sometimes feel like a battle. Endless demands. You get up early and work hard. Then there are the children. The bills. The taxes. On and on it goes: you fight for health, you fight to be heard, you fight to get good grades, you…

2 Chronicles 13-16, Psalm 143, Luke 11:14-28, 1 Thessalonians 5:12-28 Psalm 143: One of the sad realities of life is that we can have enemies. In fact, unless we are so weak-willed that we never stand up for anything right at all, we are almost bound to have enemies at some point in our lives. When you have…

2 Chronicles 10-12, Psalm 142, Luke 11:1-13, 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 Psalm 142: David lived a life of great trial before he came to inherit the throne that had been given to him by God. Part of that trial was living a life on the run from Saul. This psalm is written “when he was in the cave”—that is…

2 Chronicles 8-9, Psalm 141, Luke 10:38-42, 1 Thessalonians 4:11-18  Psalm 141: When we think of “evil” (141:4), we often think of other people—“evildoers” (141:4, 9). There certainly are “other people” in this world who do evil. And we certainly do need to be protected against the doers of evil. It would be naïve in the extreme not…