I can imagine it can be a thankless task – Being a defence lawyer when the person being defended is definitely guilty. That cannot be a job you can do and sleep that well at night unless you have set up some strong coping mechanisms. Ones like saying you are performing an important part of […]
Read More Appreciating Other Perspectives and the IndefensibleHere’s a good Psalm to pay attention to carefully. Reasons to praise God? Sure, they are there and offer strong encouragement for the readers to remember how great God is and what He does for His people. It’s all going well and then … “Two-edged swords … execute vengeance … punishments … bind with fetters […]
Read More Psalm 149 – Call To Praise … And …Conversing with God brings with it certain appeals that can be made to His character. The Psalmist can make a request that some might be uncomfortable with in regards to his enemies. He can make this request not based on his own merits, but because of who God is. No, not a bloodthirsty violent sort […]
Read More Psalm 140 – What Justice DemandsThe Psalmist sees something. He sees someone. Someone he knows his audience needs. Not just a swashbuckling hero, not a muscle bound strongman. It requires a ruler who will exercise righteousness and justice. It requires a priest to meditate the peace. It requires a judge to dispel the wickedness and apply the cause for the […]
Read More Psalm 110 – We Need A…It should be apparent by this stage in the collection that the Psalms covers a wide range of human experience and emotion. It is not there to just be pretty in praising and saying how beautiful God is. Sometimes it’s raw and brutal. This Psalm is one of them. From the start we are aware […]
Read More Psalm 109 – Sort Them Out, GodThis Psalm is not backward in coming forward. Sure, there are times to sing of beauty, wonder and grace. There is a time to sing of peace, sweetness and all things pleasant. That’s all good. That has its place. There is also evidently a time for us to sing about the things that matter to […]
Read More Psalm 101: Singing Out For JusticeJudgment. It’s not always people’s favourite subject to talk about. Usually because of our inclination to go down some conversational roads that are not too pleasant to consider. As with most conversations, it is something to be considered carefully. That means it has to be considered and this Psalm goes some way to considering it. […]
Read More Psalm 75 – God’s Got It In HandThe first part of this Psalm is something that a lot of people can relate to. It appears as though the rich are getting richer on the back of the poor who are getting poorer. The disparity between the two appears all the more stark and the degree of the unfairness of it all leaves […]
Read More Psalm 73 – Turning PointPsalm 58 ain’t easy reading. It’s gritty reading. It’s not one of those we see rushed off to become a Hillsong classic. I can’t imagine Darlene Zschech rushing to sing … Let them be like the snail that dissolves into slime, like the stillborn child who never sees the sun. (Psalms 58:8 ESV) I don’t […]
Read More Psalm 58 – O God, Deal With The WickedThey look to be prospering. They get high positions and wield the power like they are to rule forever. The poor and needy look to be the first to suffer. It’s unfair. It’s not right. It’s upsetting. It’s aggravating. No wonder we are prone to fret, get anxious, worry and that leads to taking matters […]
Read More Psalm 37 – Don’t Worry About A Thing
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