The End of This Blog

I originally started this blog to answer biblical and theological questions friends and church members were asking me. Instead it became a way to force my self to attempt to do a daily bible study by having to post every day, and the answers to questions became less and less. Since using this as a tool for personal bible study obviously has not worked, I am ending this blog and have started a new one that goes back to my original intent, thatcrazybaptist@blogspot.com this one will stay up while I transfer the stuff I intend to keep to the new blog or other places, but I will not be posting anything else here, so go and read the new one!

Bible Reading: Psalms 18

I'm sorry its been such a long time since our last study, both my wife and I have been having problems with our computers which has severely limited my internet access. I hope to be able to come back to this on the daily/semi-daily basis as before, but life keeps interfering. Anyway, back to the bible study.

 Psalms 18 HCSB

Praise for Deliverance

For the choir director. Of the servant of the Lord David, who spoke the words of this song to the Lord on the day the Lord rescued him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. He said:

1 I love You, Lord, my strength.

2 The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer,my God, 

my mountain where I seek refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.  

3 I called to the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and I was saved from my enemies.

4 The ropes of death were wrapped around me; the torrents of destruction terrified me. 

5 The ropes of Sheol entangled me; the snares of death confronted me.

6 I called to the Lord in my distress, and I cried to my God for help.

From His temple He heard my voice, and my cry to Him reached His ears.

7 Then the earth shook and quaked; the foundations of the mountains trembled; 

they shook because He burned with anger.  

8 Smoke rose from His nostrils, and consuming fire [came] from His mouth;
coals were set ablaze by it. 

9 He parted the heavens and came down, a dark cloud beneath His feet. 

10 He rode on a cherub and flew, soaring on the wings of the wind.  

11 He made darkness His hiding place, dark storm clouds His canopy around Him.  

12 From the radiance of His presence, His clouds swept onward with hail and blazing coals.  

13 The Lord thundered from heaven; the Most High projected His voice. 

14 He shot His arrows and scattered them; He hurled lightning bolts and routed them.  

15 The depths of the sea became visible, the foundations of the world were exposed, 

at Your rebuke, Lord, at the blast of the breath of Your nostrils. 

16 He reached down from on high and took hold of me; He pulled me out of deep waters.  

17 He rescued me from my powerful enemy and from those who hated me, 

for they were too strong for me.  

18 They confronted me in the day of my distress, but the Lord was my support.  

19 He brought me out to a wide-open place; He rescued me because He delighted in me.  

20 The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness;

He repaid me according to the cleanness of my hands. 

21 For I have kept the ways of the Lord and have not turned from my God to wickedness. 

22 Indeed, I have kept all His ordinances in mind and have not disregarded His statutes. 

23 I was blameless toward Him and kept myself from sinning.  

24 So the Lord repaid me according to my righteousness, 

according to the cleanness of my hands in His sight.  

25 With the faithful You prove Yourself faithful; 
with the blameless man You prove Yourself blameless; 

26 with the pure You prove Yourself pure, but with the crooked You prove Yourself shrewd.  

27 For You rescue an afflicted people, but You humble those with haughty eyes.  

28 Lord, You light my lamp; my God illuminates my darkness.

29 With You I can attack a barrier, and with my God I can leap over a wall.  

30 God-His way is perfect; the word of the Lord is pure. 
He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.  

31 For who is God besides the Lord? And who is a rock? Only our God. 

 32 God-He clothes me with strength and makes my way perfect.

33 He makes my feet like the feet of a deer and sets me securely on the heights.  

34 He trains my hands for war; my arms can bend a bow of bronze.  

35 You have given me the shield of Your salvation; 

Your right hand upholds me, and Your humility exalts me.  

36 You widen [a place] beneath me for my steps, and my ankles do not give way.

37 I pursue my enemies and overtake them; I do not turn back until they are wiped out. 

38 I crush them, and they cannot get up; they fall beneath my feet. 

39 You have clothed me with strength for battle; You subdue my adversaries beneath me. 

40 You have made my enemies retreat before me; I annihilate those who hate me.

41 They cry for help, but there is no one to save [them]- 

[they cry]to the Lord, but He does not answer them.  

42 I pulverize them like dust before the wind; I trample them like mud in the streets.

43 You have freed me from the feuds among the people; 

You have appointed me the head of nations; a people I had not known serve me. 

44 Foreigners submit to me grudgingly; as soon as they hear, they obey me.  

45 Foreigners lose heart and come trembling from their fortifications.  

46 The Lord lives-may my rock be praised! The God of my salvation is exalted. 

47 God-He gives me vengeance and subdues peoples under me. 

48 He frees me from my enemies. You exalt me above my adversaries; 

You rescue me from violent men.  

49 Therefore I will praise You, Lord, among the nations; I will sing about Your name.

50 He gives great victories to His king; He shows loyalty to His anointed,

to David and his descendants forever. 

      This Psalm appears twice in the bible, it is also recorded in 2 Samuel chapter 22. David wrote this psalm after the death of Saul and David defeating the philistines during the beginning of his reign. The psalm breaks into 6 parts reflecting Davids life and walk with God to this point. Part 1(verses 1-3) David praises God and relies on him. Part 2(verses 4-6) David asks God for help in his troubles. Part 3(verses 7-19) is Gods response and delivery of David from his enemies. Part 4(verses 20-27)David praises the lord for his deliverance. Part 5(verses 28-42) David recounts how God has blessed him. Part 6(verses 43-50) God makes David King. David went through some very dark times at this point in his life, as he was on the run and constantly under threat of death from the king. The Philistines had a personal hatred for David after his defeat of Goliath, and did their best to use the time of transition from Saul to David to destroy Israel and David Himself. 2 Samuel chapter 21 recounts several extremely difficult battles, some with giants even more powerful than Goliath that David and his warriors encountered at this time. Now that David has come through this dark and difficult journey to victory he can look back and see how the Lord protected him, provided for him, and kept his promises through it all.

Bible Reading: Psalms 17

Psalms 17 HCSB

A Prayer for Protection

A Davidic prayer.

1 Lord, hear a just cause; pay attention to my cry;
listen to my prayer- from lips free of deceit. 
2 Let my vindication come from You,
[for] You see what is right.  
3 You have tested my heart; You have visited by night; 
You have tried me and found nothing [evil]; 
I have determined that my mouth will not sin.  
4 Concerning what people do:
by the word of Your lips I have avoided the ways of the violent.
5 My steps are on Your paths; my feet have not slipped.  
6 I call on You, God, because You will answer me;
listen closely to me; hear what I say. 
7 Display the wonders of Your faithful love,
Savior of all who seek refuge 
from those who rebel against Your right hand.  
8 Guard me as the apple of Your eye; 
hide me in the shadow of Your wings 
9 from the wicked who treat me violently,
my deadly enemies who surround me.  
10 They have become hardened; their mouths speak arrogantly.  
11 They advance against me; now they surround me. 
They are determined to throw [me] to the ground.  
12 They are like a lion eager to tear,
like a young lion lurking in ambush. 
13 Rise up, Lord! Confront him; bring him down.
With Your sword, save me from the wicked.  
14 With Your hand, Lord, [save me] from men, 
from men of the world, whose portion is in this life:
You fill their bellies with what You have in store,
their sons are satisfied, and they leave their surplus to their children.  
15 But I will see Your face in righteousness; 
when I awake, I will be satisfied with Your presence.

    
      This psalm is traditionally believed to have been written by David while he was on the run from Saul before he became king, most likely at the time of 1Samuel 23:25-26. That time was very difficult in Davids life, as he was constantly fleeing from Saul's army and did not know that he would live to see another day other than the fact that God had promised him thing would get better. Sometimes in our own daily lives it can be difficult to see the hand of Gods protection and guidance even though we know the promises that he has made, and that he works on our behalf. It is usually only after the storm has passed that we can see how He guided us through it.

Bible Reading: Psalms 16

Psalms 16 HCSB

Confidence in the Lord

A Davidic Miktam.

1 Protect me, God, for I take refuge in You.

2 I said to the Lord, "You are my Lord; I have no good besides You."  

3 As for the holy people who are in the land, 

they are the noble ones in whom is all my delight.

4 The sorrows of those who take another [god] for themselves multiply; 

I will not pour out their drink offerings of blood, 

and I will not speak their names with my lips. 

5 Lord, You are my portion and my cup [of blessing]; You hold my future.  

6 The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; 

indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.

7 I will praise the Lord who counsels me- even at night my conscience instructs me.  

8 I keep the Lord in mind always. 

Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.  

9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my spirit rejoices; 

my body also rests securely.  

10 For You will not abandon me to Sheol; 

You will not allow Your Faithful One to see the Pit.  

11 You reveal the path of life to me;

in Your presence is abundant joy;

in Your right hand are eternal pleasures.

      

     "Miktam" Means "a writing", and so was probably meant as a spoken psalm as opposed to a song put to music. Both Peter ( Acts 2:25) and Paul  (Actsr13:35) refer to this psalm as being representative of Christ and a prophecy about the Messiah, as this Psalm being Christ's viewpoint on his life and Mission of Salvation.
Peter refers to it as a Psalm by David about Christ, and Paul argues that the passage could not be about David himself because of verse 10,  See the pit, can also be translated as see decay or see corruption. Which is how Paul translates the passage in Acts. David did die, and his body did decay, so the passage is then referring to Jesus, who did not decay.

will post again soon

Its been a rough couple of weeks, with my son being born and then being in the hospital in ICU for a few days, He is home and well now, as is my wife, I will post again when things get settled down.

Bible Reading: Psalms 15

As the due date for our son gets closer it becomes more difficult to do this on a consistent basis, and truthfully consistency has never been my strong suite, however I promise to try to do better in the future.

Psalms 15 HCSB

A Description of the Godly

A Davidic psalm.

1 Lord, who can dwell in Your tent?
Who can live on Your holy mountain?
2 The one who lives honestly, practices righteousness, 
and acknowledges the truth in his heart-  
3 who does not slander with his tongue,
who does not harm his friend or discredit his neighbor, 
4 who despises the one rejected by the Lord, 
but honors those who fear the Lord, 
who keeps his word whatever the cost, 
5 who does not lend his money at interest 
or take a bribe against the innocent- 
the one who does these things will never be moved. 




     The place of worship in Jerusalem was a tent in which The Ark of the Covenant was housed, as it had been since Moses and Joshua first brought the people into the land. Mount Sinai, where God gave the Ten commandments to Moses was believed by many to be the place where God dwelled, and he was commonly worshiped there as well. The places were known for there holiness and purity, people who were not pure had actually been struck dead by the presence of God at the Ark, and Moses face shown so bright people could not look at him after he met with God on the mountaintop.  This is a psalm of instruction of how to live rightly before the Lord.

Bible Reading : Psalms 13 and 14

Psalms 13

A Plea for Deliverance

For the choir director. A Davidic psalm.

1 Lord, how long will You continually forget me?

How long will You hide Your face from me?  

2 How long will I store up anxious concerns within me, 

agony in my mind every day? How long will my enemy dominate me?  

3 Consider me and answer, Lord, my God.

Restore brightness to my eyes; otherwise, 

I will sleep in death,

4 my enemy will say, "I have triumphed over him,"

and my foes will rejoice because I am shaken.  

5 But I have trusted in Your faithful love; 

my heart will rejoice in Your deliverance. 

6 I will sing to the Lord because He has treated me generously.

    

     David Most likely wrote this Psalm Right after Saul first attempted to kill him and he was forced to flee for his life.  I love that David sings God's praises at the end not because God has answered his prayers, but because David believes that God will answer his prayers.

Psalms 14

A Portrait of Sinners

For the choir director. Davidic.

1 The fool says in his heart, "God does not exist." 

They are corrupt; their actions are revolting. 

There is no one who does good.  

2 The Lord looks down from heaven on the human race to see if there is one who is wise, 

one who seeks God.  

3 All have turned away; all alike have become corrupt.

There is no one who does good, not even one. 

4 Will evildoers never understand? 

They consume my people as they consume bread;

they do not call on the Lord. 

5 Then they will be filled with terror,

for God is with those who are righteous.  

6 You [sinners] frustrate the plans of the afflicted,

but the Lord is his refuge.  

7 Oh, that Israel's deliverance would come from Zion!

When the Lord restores His captive people, Jacob will rejoice; Israel will be glad.

     David wrote this Psalm after hearing of the death of Nabal in 1 Samuel 25. Nabal was a foolish man who treated David badly after David and his men had shown his servants aid and kindness. It was only the Quick actions of Nabals wife Abigail that prevented David from Killing Nabal and all his men in response. David was so impressed with her that after Nabal's death he asked her to be his wife.