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Tara Leigh Cobble
Hey, Bible readers, I'm Tara Leigh Cobble, and I'm your host for the Bible Recap. It's a psalm day, and we got three in a row this time. No flipping around. We opened with Psalm 102. It's a personal lament, but the psalmist also applies his prayers and concerns to Israel at large. Whoever wrote this feels certain God will hear him, and even ask God to respond quick, quickly. He feels utterly alone, and his body is breaking under the stress and sadness. We don't know the reason for his distress, but it seems like he doesn't either. And in that way, this psalm is probably a comfort to you if you're in a spot where you can't make sense of why things are happening to you the way they are. In verses 9 through 10, the Psalmist attributes his pain to God's anger. Maybe he's wrong and God's not angry, and this is just some emotion the psalmist is feeling. But if he's right and God's angry, then since God only ever gets angry at sin, we can assume his circumstances are the result of his sin and he's being disciplined into repentance. In verse 9, he also mentions ashes, which is another confusing reference that leaves us uncertain about what's happening. Ashes are common signs of both mourning and repentance. So when he says he eats ashes, maybe he's mourning, but maybe he's repenting. Then he juxtaposes his temporary affliction with God's eternal reign. I think it's a wonderful transition, but it's also probably comforting to him. By remembering the relationship God has with his people, he reminds himself that God will rescue him somehow someday. He knows that Yahweh will help Israel, and as a result other nations will be brought into Zion as well. He ultimately trusts God's goodness in the midst of his tragic circumstances. I wish we knew who wrote this psalm because I love it. While Psalm 102 looked ahead hopefully, Psalm 103 spends a lot of time looking back and praising God for his goodness to his people through the years. David wrote this psalm, and the fact that he's praising God for things he didn't personally experience, but that he benefits from it shows that he truly understands the metanarrative here, the overarching storyline of God and his people. David starts out by commanding himself how to think, feel, and act, and he does it by remembering who God is and all the ways God has been good to him. In verses 8 through 13, he gives tribute to Exodus 34, 67 where God tells Moses his name. This is the second time we've seen themes from this passage show up in a psalm. The other time was in Psalm 85, which was written by the sons of Korah. So it's not like this is just a personal favorite passage of David. It seems like the Israelites as a people took that passage seriously. And it's one of my favorite passages, too. I think about it almost every day. It's one of the first passages I memorized as an adult because it's such a dense, rich display of God's character. He's merciful, gracious, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love. He doesn't repay us according to what we deserve. He's compassionate toward us, like a father. All of those ideas are copied and pasted from Exodus 34 into this Psalm. David closes by pointing out that life is short and you'll be forgotten, but God and his reign will continue on forever. Psalm 104 is another anonymous psalm of worship, specifically praising God for being the creator of the earth. And we see a lot of creation themes repeated here. So it's possible that this psalm is loosely based on Genesis 1:3. God didn't just create everything. He also set systems in place for the survival of everything on earth, and he also plans for their Deaths. In verses 14 and 23, we're reminded that man was created to work hard. Work isn't a product of the Fall. It preceded the Fall. God had a plan for us to work. And in verse 15, we see that God doesn't just give humanity the basics. He gives us blessings above and beyond what we need. Wine and facial oil are luxuries, not necessities. And along those same lines, God also made some creatures on earth just for his own enjoyment. Some of these creatures humans will never encounter or appreciate. This makes me think of all the sea creatures that have lived on the ocean floor since creation that no one has ever seen. But God made them, and he knows they're there, and he delights in them. Personally, I don't need to see those guys. I'm happy for them to stay down there. And I don't know if Leviathan was a mythical sea monster or a real one, or just an antique crocodile. But I don't want to meet it. Regardless, the psalmist portrays it like a puppy. He says God made it to play in the water, but that's the difference between me and God. Leviathan can't kill him. The psalmist segues from showing God's sovereignty and might over all creation into asking God to use his power to wipe out the wicked. While this may sound harsh, we can probably view it less as some kind of personal vendetta and more as a desire for God's glory to be magnified. Where was God's glory magnified to you today? What was your God shot? Mine was in Psalm 104:20 where it says, you make darkness. I can't even wrap my mind around that statement. I'm no scientist, but darkness itself seems to be the absence of something, not the presence of something. How can God create an absence? Maybe it's just poetic language to show that God created everything. But whether it's a great truth or just a great lyric, I still like to think about it. And I love that the psalmist attributed it to God. It's easy to think of God as light and darkness as the absence of God. But Psalm 18 says he makes darkness his covering, and Psalm 97 says thick clouds and darkness surround him. And even if we step out of the poetry of the Psalms 1 Kings 8 says, the Lord has said that he would dwell in a dark cloud. It seems nothing escapes Him. He's everywhere. And even in my weird wonderings and unanswered questions and unscientific brain, he's where the joy is. Flowers blooming, warm sun, deep cleaning, outdoor parties, extra allergy medication. That's what Spring means to me. And Spring is also when we drop new TBR merch for you, we have a brand new read Understand Love, Tote, a He does the doing mug, a leather he's where the joy Is keychain and a magnet that says what he initiates, he will sustain and he will fulfill. Spring merch is filled with reminders of God's character. Check it all out at thebiblerecap.com store or click the link in the show notes.