Seeing Jesus in the Psalms

  Psalm 137 Wept, captors, tormentors, “Destroy it!”, “Level it to the ground!” pays you back,  takes your babies and smashes them against the rocks! I pulled out some of the emotionally charged and deeply disturbing words from Psalm 137. Somehow the slaughtering of evil kings is easier to handle than the expression of pain, remorse and justice-seeking from today’s Psalm 137. The Bible is good because it is real, gritty, true to life, holds nothing back, honest about emotions and actions. When we look at the Bible, we are looking in the mirror, we are looking at ourselves, we are looking at our society. Jesus is no stranger to being the victim of children smashed on the rocks. Crucified! The son of God was crucified and Jesus’ own people yelled “Crucify him”. And Jesus too was in exile (in Egypt) because of a baby-smashing, slashing killing spree of a Jewish king’s cruel, fear-driven power: 16 Herod was furious when he realized that the wise men had outwitted him. He sent sold...

  Psalm 129 A song for pilgrims ascending to Jerusalem. 1 From my earliest youth my enemies have persecuted me. Let all Israel repeat this:  2 From my earliest youth my enemies have persecuted me, but they have never defeated me.  3 My back is covered with cuts, as if a farmer had plowed long furrows.  4 But the Lord is good; he has cut me free from the ropes of the ungodly.  5 May all who hate Jerusalem be turned back in shameful defeat.  6 May they be as useless as grass on a rooftop, turning yellow when only half grown, 7 ignored by the harvester, despised by the binder.  8 And may those who pass by refuse to give them this blessing: “The Lord bless you; we bless you in the Lord’s name.” Psalm 129 Every day I wonder what idea, verse or theme in this Psalm will stand out to me as pointing to Jesus. I hope you are not reading my comments here without having taken the time to read Psalm 129 a few times. Since my first reading early this morning until n...

  Psalm 125 A song for pilgrims ascending to Jerusalem. 1 Those who trust in the Lord are as secure as Mount Zion; they will not be defeated but will endure forever. 2 Just as the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds his people, both now and forever. 3 The wicked will not rule the land of the godly, for then the godly might be tempted to do wrong. 4 O Lord, do good to those who are good, whose hearts are in tune with you. 5 But banish those who turn to crooked ways, O Lord. Take them away with those who do evil. May Israel have peace! Psalm 125:1-5 S ecures v1 S urrounds v2 S overeigns v3 S anctifies v4 S eparates v5 MAIN POINT: Our S overeign King the Lord Jesus Christ s aves His people who s erve Him. If you haven’t noticed, I decided to try and alliterate for today’s Psalm. And I’ll try to show why I choose these words and how I see Jesus in Psalm 125. It is no leap of logic to look and learn; language lovers listen to the lilt of lines in lyric. So I saw a c...