Author: Norm

SCRIPTURE: Psalm 90 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: Yet you sweep people away in the sleep of death— they are like the new grass of the morning: In the morning it springs up new, but by evening it is dry and withered. [Psalm 90:5-6] God is eternal, enduring, everlasting, like the mountains. We are finite, short-lived, here today and gone tomorrow,…

SCRIPTURE: Psalm 89 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: You rule over the surging sea; when its waves mount up, you still them. [Psalm 89:9] The psalmist affirms God’s power over all creation, and also the power of the sea. He then describe how David’s heir (the messiah) will also have this power assigned to Him. I will set his hand over…

SCRIPTURE: Psalm 88 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: I am overwhelmed with troubles and my life draws near to death. [Psalm 88:3] This is the only psalm that I know of that ends in darkness. The writer is in despair, he has suffered most of his life and feels abandoned. He is despairing of life, he sees no hope, darkness is…

There are two readings for today. SCRIPTURE: Psalm 87 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: Glorious things are said of you, city of God: ‘I will record Rahab (Egypt) and Babylon among those who acknowledge me— Philistia too, and Tyre, along with Cush (Upper Nile region) — and will say, ‘This one was born in Zion.’ [Psalm 87:3-4] This is a remarkable…

There are two readings for today. SCRIPTURE: Psalm 86 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: Teach me your way, LORD, that I may rely on your faithfulness; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name. [Psalm 86:11] An undivided heart, a focus on, and love for, God. For me, a divided heart is when I am focused on things…

There are two readings for today. SCRIPTURE: Psalm 85 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: The LORD will indeed give what is good, and our land will yield its harvest. [Psalm 85:12] As the psalmist pleads with God for mercy and help, he reminds himself that God is good, and that He will in His time help His people. These words are…

There are two readings for today. SCRIPTURE: Psalm 84 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young— a place near your altar, LORD Almighty, my King and my God. [Psalm 84:3] How important is a bird? That depends on who you are asking –…

There are two readings for today. SCRIPTURE: Psalm 83 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: May they ever be ashamed and dismayed; may they perish in disgrace. Let them know that you, whose name is the LORD— that you alone are the Most High over all the earth. [Psalm 83:17-18] This is a prayer for revenge, a plea that God would make…

There are two readings for today. SCRIPTURE: Psalm 82 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: How long will you defend the unjust and show partiality to the wicked? Defend the weak and the fatherless; uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed. Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked. [Psalm 82:2-4] God reveals His…

There are two readings today. SCRIPTURE: Psalm 81 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: But my people would not listen to me; Israel would not submit to me. So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts to follow their own devices. [Psalm 81:11-12] This Psalm is a reading at the New Moon festival, a Hallel (or ‘praise’) read at the beginning…