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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 been a while since we had an All Psalms day. Today we launched out with Psalm 134, which is the last of the Psalms of Ascent. It's super short. This psalm always gets me excited, though, because it's the one we read when we arrive in Jerusalem on our trips to Israel. As we stand and look out over the city, I can literally say the last words of that chapter from the same place. God's people have been saying those words for 3,000 years. May the Lord bless you from Zion, he who made heaven and earth. In Psalm 146, the Psalmist reminds us not to put our trust in people. This isn't a call to be cynical or suspicious of everyone. It's more along the lines of not expecting people to rescue us or fulfill us. When we place on a human the kind of workload only God can carry, it crushes them and it disappoints us. Verse 5 says, Blessed is he whose hope is in the Lord. This person who puts their confidence in God, not in what he can do for you or how he can make all your dreams come true, but in God Himself. Period, will be blessed. This isn't saying if you hope in God that you'll get all those material blessings you're tempted to try to claim. The word blessed here is often translated happy. So it boils down to this. When we trust God in all things, it brings a freedom that doesn't exist elsewhere. Because of his sovereignty over all things, I don't have to panic when I'm delayed in traffic or when I don't get the job I think I'm perfect for. Because I can trust Him, I can open my hand, loosen my grip, and because I know he's doing good things, somehow I can actually still live in that blessing, despite it all. That's the blessing. Then in Psalm 147, we see that God is attentive to the heartbroken and to a whole list of other things as well, even down to the blades of grass under your feet. But of all his creation, the thing he delights in most is humanity, and specifically the humans who know and trust him. Verse 11 says it like this. The Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope, in his steadfast love. He loves to be delighted in and trusted. Don't we all? Probably the two worst things you could say to someone are I don't like you and I don't trust you. But to love God and to trust God invites His pleasure. If you struggle with either of those things, loving him or trusting him, ask him for help. I know you're probably not inclined to ask the person you don't trust to help you like them, but what have you got to lose? Next we moved on to Psalm 148, which commands basically everything to praise God. In verse 14 it says, he has raised up a horn for his people. And I immediately had the visual image of God lifting up a shofar, the ram's horn that serves as a trumpet, because that has both meanings of horn, right? But that's not exactly what's happening here. We touched on this on day 130, but it's worth repeating. In Scripture. The horn represents strength and victory and salvation, and God has certainly raised that up for his people. I prefer that to a shofar any day. Psalm 149 opens with dancing and delight, but then it takes a turn in the middle of verse six where it says, let the high praises of God be in their throats, and two edged swords in their hands to execute vengeance and justice on the nations, and punishment on the peoples. We went from praise to killing really quickly there. This passage reminds me of Judges 3, where Ehud killed King Eglon with a two edged sword. The mention of vengeance here can be easy to misunderstand. This likely refers to God's vengeance, not Israel's vengeance. Remember how when God promised them the land, he told them that he wasn't giving it to them because of their righteousness, but because of the unrighteousness of the Canaanites who presently live there. And he told Israel he would use them as a tool to execute his justice. The end of this psalm seems to be recounting that idea. We end the day with the very short Psalm 150, with all the instruments and everything that breathes, praising God for who he is and what he does. What did you see about God today in our reading? My God shot came from Psalm 146:7, 9. It says, God is the one who executes justice for the oppressed, who gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets the prisoners free. The Lord opens the eyes of the blind. The Lord lifts up those who are bowed. The Lord loves the righteous. The Lord watches over the sojourners, he upholds the widow and the fatherless, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin. As I read over that list of 10 kinds of people, almost every phrase immediately brings to mind someone Jesus had a relationship with in Scripture, the oppressed, the hungry, the imprisoned, the blind, the sorrowful, the righteous, the displaced, the widowed, the orphaned, and even the wicked. Where do you find yourself in that list? How has he shown his love to you in that place? If you want to be more godly, demonstrating these characteristics of Jesus is one way to do that. I'll end today from Zion with the verse that ends that psalm. The Lord will reign forever, your God, O Zion, to all generations. Praise the Lord. He's where the joy is. Have you tried watching the Bible recap on YouTube yet? It's the same great content you get here, but you can see my face. Whether that's a pro or a con is up to you to decide, but either way, it's a great way to freshen up your routine if you need it. And while you're there, we would love for you to subscribe to our channel. Subscribe. So check out the Show Notes for a direct link to TBR on YouTube. I'll see you there.