Psalms 105-108

Psalm 105 offers a review of Israel’s history from the Torah and God’s faithfulness to his people. It made me wonder: what would such a review of my own spiritual journey look like if I wrote it up in the form of a psalm? Would I see evidence of God’s faithfulness, goodness, and love at many points along the way?

Psalm 106 offers a similar review of Israelite history, but this time the psalmist focuses more on Israel’s unfaithfulness. The psalmist concludes with the thought that God showed compassion to Israel anyway. Based upon this review of Israel’s history, the psalmist makes bold to ask the Lord to gather his people from among the nations where they are scattered so that they may declare his praises. Obviously, this psalm was written from exile. It makes me wonder: what might we boldly ask the Lord to do in our lives today, based upon his faithfulness and compassion to us in the past?

With Psalm 107, we move into Book V of the Psalms. This is a psalm of thanksgiving, but it is also more than that. It is a recounting of Israelites facing various problems. In each case, the turning point comes when they cry out to the Lord for help. What might the Lord do in our lives today, if we remembered his steadfast love and cried out to him for help?

Psalm 108 is a psalm of David, a psalm of praise and prayer for victory. It is a psalm that has often been turned into song. I like the picture of the psalmist awaking the dawn with praise to the Lord and request for victory. What better way is there to begin the day? We need to wake up our souls with praise and a time of re-focusing on God every day.

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I will be taking a break from blogging until the end of the month as I go on vacation with my family. However, have no fear! We will still get through the Bible in a year. We are currently ahead of schedule.

In the meantime, I would encourage you to check out the following resource for prayer and Bible reading: http://sacredspace.ie.

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Will Vaus

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