For a full description of the (Y3) reading plan, see the “About” page.
- What attributes of God’s character does this passage reveal?
- How does the passage point to Jesus?
- How should the truth of this passage change me?
- How do the events of today’s reading help you better understand the grand narrative of Scripture?
Ps. 143
Wow – this is actually a really cool Psalm! In the beginning David prays that God would not bring him into judgment, saying, “…in Your righteousness answer me.” (Ps. 143:1b). Again at the end he prays, “In Your righteousness deliver me from trouble” (Ps. 143:11b). In between, David acknowledges his own unrighteousness. He knows he is as the dead, crushed in the grip of the enemy. Then he asks for God’s love, direction, rescue, and protection. He asks not because he deserves these things, but because he surrendered himself to God’s grace. So, as it turns out, Psalm 143 is a beautiful Psalm of our salvation. God did not hide His face from us. Instead, He provided a way – Jesus – so that we could be treated according to His righteousness rather than being judged by our own lack of it.
Ps. 144
I love the contrast in the early verses of this Psalm. David first paints a picture of the insignificance of man. He then follows that with a picture of God’s ferocious might. It just highlights to me how awesome it is that this mighty God went to such great lengths to be with little ol’ me.
Ps. 145
“The LORD is good to everyone; His compassion rests on all He has made.” (Ps. 145:9). That is quite the truth. God offers His goodness and compassion even to those who reject it; even to those who hate Him. Many go through life thinking that whatever good they have comes from their own hand, or from whatever other ‘god’ they give their allegiance to. Still others go through life griping and complaining about everything they see as not good. Some even get mad at God for such things, somehow thinking a good God would never allow anything bad.
The truth is, though, that without God we are all walking dead. Those bad things we see? That’s our environment. That’s where we dwell. It is darkness, death, and destruction; devoid of anything good at all. And those glimpses of good we see and experience? Yeah, whether we choose to believe it or not, that’s God, injecting Himself into our darkness out of His great compassion for us. So instead of crying, “why?” whenever bad things come, we should really be crying, “why?” whenever good things come. Instead of taking those things for granted or, worse yet, patting ourselves on the back for them, we should respond to them with praise. “My mouth will declare the LORD’s praise; let every living thing bless His holy name forever and ever.” (Ps. 145:21).