From the pen of Dr. Sam Jones

The Bible reading for today is Psalms 131, 138-139, and 143-145. Allow me to share a summary thought from each of these beautiful and comforting psalms.

Psalm 131 – It’s believed that this psalm was written by David and later sung as the Jews made their journeys to Jerusalem to observe the feasts of the Lord. The psalm teaches 3 keys to contentment in life. The first key is to praise and serve God from a heart of humility (v. 1). The next key is to trust God completely, and those who are to do so will find calmness in their share of life’s storms (v. 2). The finally key is to live in hope – the expectation of God’s daily blessings (v. 3). As we gather to worship God each Lord’s Day, let us serve Him from a heart of contentment knowing He is able to manage all our trials. This should bring us peace – perfect peace.

Psalm 138 – This psalm opens with a clear declaration from David, “I will praise You” (v. 1)! He affirms that he will praise God and then he states at least four ways this will be done. First, he is going to praise God with all of his heart (vv. 1-2). Second, he’s going to praise God by telling others about Him (vv. 3-5). Third, he is going to praise God from a servant heart – remembering He is my Lord (v. 6). Finally, he is going to praise God in times of trouble, because He is able to strengthen and deliver him (vv. 7-8).

Psalm 139 – David, in this psalm, declares the following truth about the great God we serve; He knows each of us completely and intimately. He has a perfect knowledge of every person living or deceased. David pleads for God to “search” or examine his thoughts and delete all sins from his life that he might be eligible to enter into everlasting life.

Psalm 143 – Have you ever felt alone? David in this psalm expresses a longing in his life. He longs to feel the presence of God. This man of God feels a huge void in his life. In the previous psalm, he expressed this feeling, “No one cares for my soul” (Psa. 142: 4). Loneliness can cause a person to think that no one cares for him/her. Thus, David cries for God to do the following: (1) listen to his prayers (v. 1); (2) deliver him from all his enemies (v. 9); (3) help him to know what He wants him to do (v. 10); and (4) restore joy, peace and happiness in his life (v. 11).

Psalm 144 – Twice in the last verse of this psalm, David acknowledges who is blessed or happy. The person who puts his/her trust in God will find complete peace. It took David a long time to learn how to manage the stresses in his life. Have you? Turn them over to the Lord, for He is able to manage them (Eph. 3:20).

Psalm 145 – In this psalm, David declares numerous ways we can exalt God and praise Him daily. One of those ways is by obligating ourselves to tell the next generation about God’s mercy and goodness (v. 4). God help us to tell others of your goodness. The God we serve is amazing; let us tell someone what He has done for us!