Day 127

Psalms 12-17; 19-21.  “Joy of the Messiah”

When I was in seminary, one of my professors challenged us with this question: how can the ancient prayers written in the psalms to God, be God’s Word to us today?  The answer, I propose to you, is that the psalms are prophetically the prayers of Jesus, the Messiah Himself.  I know this may be a different way of understanding the psalms for you, but I believe that there is sufficient biblical evidence to support this.  
         So, as you read through the psalms this week, I hope you enjoy some insights into the life of the Messiah by reading through the prayers of the Messiah.

Psalm 16 is a fitting start to our study in the Psalms this week.  If you read Peter’s sermon on the day of Pentecost, you will discover that Peter quotes verse 8-11 of this psalm in Acts 2:25-28.  Peter then goes on to declare that David was not writing of himself, but rather of the coming Messiah.  However, we recognize that the whole psalm is in the first person, so logically we conclude all of it to prophetically be the words of the Messiah Himself.
As I read through the rest of this psalm, I am encouraged by verse three, “The godly people in the land are my true heroes!  I take pleasure in them!”  Have you ever considered that living a godly life is a source of joy for Jesus?
Not that living a godly life is possible on our own, but rather because of Jesus’ death and resurrection we are then able to live godly lives.  No wonder it brings Him joy to see us living a godly life.  It is one of the reasons He died.  His joy is in seeing our lives reflect the benefit of His sacrifice.  May you bring joy to God by living a godly life through the power of Christ who is in you.

General Questions for each day:
Summarize the day’s Bible passage in your own words.
What thoughts, actions, attitudes or beliefs are addressed in the passage?
How is the Holy Spirit leading you to apply this passage to your life today?