Day 39: Blessed is the one

Cover to Cover: Job 40:19-Psalm 22:27

Key Passage: Psalm 1

Verse of the Day: Psalm 1:1-2

Key events in today’s reading:

Job’s Response to God (Job 42:1-6)
Epilogue of Job (Job 42:7-17)
Blessed is the Person (Psalm 1)
Why do the nations rage? (Psalm 2)
What is man? (Psalm 8)
Who may stand? (Psalm 15)
Why have you forsaken me? (Psalm 22)

Verse that stood out: Blessed is the one…whose delight is in the law of the LORD, and who meditates on his law day and night (Psalm 1:3).

The Psalms are different from many other parts of the Bible. For the most part, they don’t tell stories. They certainly don’t convey a lot of doctrine. They don’t give us commands to obey. These are songs of worship. They invite us to “Taste and see that the LORD is good” (Psalm 34:8) and give us new ways to “Delight in” and “meditate” upon the Law of the Lord (remember that in the OT, the Law represents the entire story of God’s redeeming work, not simply the commandments).

The Psalms, then, invite us to experience God’s presence in our own lives by moving from the study of God’s word to the worship of the God we discover there. This move from reading about what God has done to seeking his presence in worship is the move we make from knowing the recipe for apple pie and actually eating the delicious dessert. It’s the difference between knowing about someone and actually knowing them.

If you’ve been reading through the Bible with us, maybe use these days in the Psalms to try something a little different. After you’ve read through the day’s readings go back and pick out a Psalm that stood out to you. Reread it. Let it sink even more deeply into your soul. Then offer it back to God as your prayer. Make up a tune for it if you are so inclined. Make the move from reading about God to seeking his presence in your life.

There was a point in the church’s life, where they only sang the Psalms. That’s what church music was. There is a renaissance of sorts in putting the Psalms to music. One of my favorites is Sandra McCracken’s album Psalms. There’s also a group, Poor Bishop Hooper, who have started on a three year project to record a song a week based upon each Psalm. You can find their work at EverPsalm.com. You can listen to Psalm 1 below.

For tomorrow: