Welcome to the first of our five a day series: Psalms 1-5
INTRODUCING THIS MONTH
Hey, it’s March 1st! That took me by surprise. February was a whirlwind of a month with epic highs and epic lows. I was away from home every single Sunday – that’s never happened before. I was desperate for adventure, but not this level of adventure and certainly not some of the painful territory I have been forced to venture into. And on top of that, I was looking into the hardest book of our journey so far – the Book of Job. All 42 chapters of it. A book crammed with suffering and doubts and questions that I was living as I was writing about it. And so February is over. I have survived. I have been changed. I am glad to be alive.
INTRODUCING THIS BOOK
Welcome to the Book of Psalms. One of the better known books of the Bible. This book is a collection of 150 Psalms. A hymn book. A folder of worship songs. An anthology of poetry. Call it what you will. Many of the Psalms are attributed to David. The King David that we met in 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings and 1 and 2 Chronicles. He was good with words. A musician too. The original worship leader. So it’s a very different book to those we have looked at before. There is no story. No narrative. Each Psalm stands alone.
INTRODUCING THIS THEME
150 Psalms. 30 days (I give myself a day’s breathing space to help the maths!). That’s 5 Psalms a day. How about you join me in reading 5 Psalms a day? Set it as a challenge maybe for the month of March. Not me reading them for you. You reading them for yourselves. Reading them aloud would be even better (although I’m sat on a train at the moment so reading them aloud is not a viable option). So I am going to read 5 Psalms a day. I’ll give each one a title and pick a favourite verse from each one and write one comment on each one. And that’s it.
Oh, and in the spirit of five a day, I intend to eat my five a day (which isn’t going well so far) and jot down five great things from the day before. Simple pleasures. You could join me in that part of the challenge too if you fancied. Let’s give it a go!
FIVE SIMPLE PLEASURES
A full night’s sleep with no coughing fit- Satsuma hand cream
- Being offered an exciting new work opportunity
- A huge hazelnut croissant that reminded me of my year in France
- Heading home
PSALM 1: THE BEST WAY
That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither—
whatever they do prospers. v3
A tree. Deeply rooted. Nourished. Being fruitful. Life-giving.
How can we be that person? Be rooted in God, nourished by Him, inspired by Him.
PSALM 2: UNDER ATTACK
Blessed are all who take refuge in him. v12
God is bigger and stronger and wiser than anyone who stands against Him. I want to be on His side.
PSALM 3: HELP!
But you, Lord, are a shield around me,
my glory, the One who lifts my head high. v3
Whatever or whoever is surrounding us on all sides, we are protected by the presence of God like a shield around us.
PSALM 4: LONGING FOR A GOOD NIGHT’S SLEEP
In peace I will lie down and sleep,
for you alone, Lord,
make me dwell in safety. v8
The anxieties crowd in in the night. Trust that God hears when we call.
PSALM 5: LIES, ALL LIES
In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice;
in the morning I lay my requests before you
and wait expectantly. v3
The liars seem to get away with it sometimes – how frustrating is that!?! But God hears. He knows our hearts. We can wait expectantly for His response.
