Daily Bread Pastor Mike Anderson

Psalm 75 For the director of music. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” A psalm of Asaph. A song. 1  We praise you, God,     we praise you, for your Name is near;     people tell of your wonderful deeds. 2  You say, “I choose the appointed time;     it is I who judge with equity. 3  When the earth and all its people quake,     it is I who hold its pillars firm. 4  To the arrogant I say, ‘Boast no more,’     and to the wicked, ‘Do not lift up your horns. 5  Do not lift your horns against heaven;     do not speak so defiantly.’” "What's in a name? That which we call a rose, by any other name would smell as sweet." – Shakespeare in Romeo and Juliet There is a lot to say about having a “good name”. Having a good name is synonymous with having a good reputation.  Sometimes people try to tarnish someone’s reputation by, “Dragging someone’s name in the mud!”   When you were young, you may remember your parents chastising you by saying, “You are not acting li

Psalm 74:1-3 1  O God, why have you rejected us forever?     Why does your anger smolder against the sheep of your pasture? 2  Remember the nation you purchased long ago,     the people of your inheritance, whom you redeemed—     Mount Zion, where you dwelt. 3  Turn your steps toward these everlasting ruins,     all this destruction the enemy has brought on the sanctuary. This Psalm is written in response to Israel’s being destroyed by one of its enemies, most likely the Assyrians, or Babylonians.  They had ransacked the temple and destroyed all the holy things of God.  The psalmist cries out to God and asks him to remember His people.  Though the people might have deserved for God to withhold his hand of protection, the psalmist wanted God to remember the promises he had made to His people and his covenant love.  Then he appeals to an interesting argument.  He says, “ We are given no signs from God; no prophets are left, and none of us knows how long this will be. Ho

Psalm 73:21-26 21  When my heart was grieved     and my spirit embittered, 22  I was senseless and ignorant;     I was a brute beast before you. 23  Yet I am always with you;     you hold me by my right hand. 24  You guide me with your counsel,     and afterward you will take me into glory. 25  Whom have I in heaven but you?     And earth has nothing I desire besides you. 26  My flesh and my heart may fail,     but God is the strength of my heart     and my portion forever. The context of this psalm is that the psalmist sees those who are prosperous, despite their arrogance and wickedness.  He doesn’t understand why he has to suffer for doing good, while these men live in pleasure though they do bad.  These men even mock God saying, “ How can God know? Does he have knowledge?” The psalmist complains, “Surely I have kept my heart pure and kept hands washed of sin in vain.”  But then he comes to his senses and says, “I was senseless and ignorant, I was like a bru

Psalm 72:12-17 12  For he will deliver the needy who cry out,     the afflicted who have no one to help. 13  He will take pity on the weak and the needy     and save the needy from death. 14  He will rescue them from oppression and violence,     for precious is their blood in his sight. 15  Long may he live!     May gold from Sheba be given him.\ May people ever pray for him     and bless him all day long. 16  May grain abound throughout the land;     on the tops of the hills may it sway. May the crops flourish like Lebanon     and thrive like the grass of the field. 17  May his name endure forever;     may it continue as long as the sun. Then all nations will be blessed through him,     and they will call him blessed. This is a psalm about the king of Israel, notably King Solomon, King David’s son.  Israel considered its king as divinely appointed by God.  As God’s representative, the king ruled justly and rightly, which led to Israel’s prosperity.  And thro

Psalm 71:5-12 5  For you have been my hope, Sovereign Lord,     my confidence since my youth. 6  From birth I have relied on you;     you brought me forth from my mother’s womb.     I will ever praise you. 7  I have become a sign to many;     you are my strong refuge. 8  My mouth is filled with your praise,     declaring your splendor all day long. 9  Do not cast me away when I am old;     do not forsake me when my strength is gone. 10  For my enemies speak against me;     those who wait to kill me conspire together. 11  They say, “God has forsaken him;     pursue him and seize him,     for no one will rescue him.” 12  Do not be far from me, my God;     come quickly, God, to help  me. Today the psalmist recounts how he has put his trust in God all throughout his life. He even acknowledges that his birth is from God and started his reliance on God.  Think of infant baptism in a similar way, as God chooses us in our baptism. We can see him working in us before we

Psalm 70 For the director of music. Of David. A petition. 1  Hasten, O God, to save me;     come quickly, Lord, to help me. 2  May those who want to take my life     be put to shame and confusion; may all who desire my ruin     be turned back in disgrace. 3  May those who say to me, “Aha! Aha!”     turn back because of their shame. 4  But may all who seek you     rejoice and be glad in you; may those who long for your saving help always say,   “The Lord is great!” 5  But as for me, I am poor and needy;     come quickly to me, O God. You are my help and my deliverer;     Lord, do not delay. We live in a world of instant gratification.  We want things and we want them now.  If we have to wait at “fast food” drive-through, we get quickly miffed at how long it is taking.  With cell phones we can text, tweet and post and get replies in moments.  But when we pray to God, it doesn’t work that way.  God does not act on our whims or “text” prayers.  God listens for sur

Psalm 69 For the director of music. To the tune of “Lilies.” Of David. 1  Save me, O God,     for the waters have come up to my neck. 2  I sink in the miry depths,     where there is no foothold. I have come into the deep waters;     the floods engulf me. 3  I am worn out calling for help;     my throat is parched. My eyes fail,     looking for my God. 4  Those who hate me without reason     outnumber the hairs of my head; many are my enemies without cause,     those who seek to destroy me. I am forced to restore     what I did not steal. There are many times David felt extreme sorrow, and felt abandoned by everyone including his friends.  Even when he did something he felt was for God, he was unjustly treated and unfairly persecuted.  David compares the despair he felt to slow rising of the waters up to his neck.  And like sinking into mud like quicksand, with no firm footing.  And finally, the sudden flood which comes suddenly and creates instant fear and leav

Psalm 68 4Sing to God, sing in praise of his name,     extol him who rides on the clouds;     rejoice before him—his name is the Lord. 5 A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows,     is God in his holy dwelling. 6 God sets the lonely in families,     he leads out the prisoners with singing;     but the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land. 7 When you, God, went out before your people,     when you marched through the wilderness, 8 the earth shook, the heavens poured down rain,     before God, the One of Sinai,     before God, the God of Israel. 9 You gave abundant showers, O God;     you refreshed your weary inheritance. 10 Your people settled in it,     and from your bounty, God, you provided for the poor. The context of this psalm most commentators agree is the procession of the ark of the covenant to the temple in Jerusalem.  The ark represented God’s image and invisible presence.  He also celebrates the victories God gave to Israel

Psalm 67:1-5 May God be gracious to us and bless us     and make his face shine on us— 2 so that your ways may be known on earth,     your salvation among all nations. 3 May the peoples praise you, God;     may all the peoples praise you. 4 May the nations be glad and sing for joy,     for you rule the peoples with equity     and guide the nations of the earth. 5 May the peoples praise you, God;     may all the peoples praise you. Psalm 67 contains part of the blessing God commanded Aaron gave to the people of Israel.  This comes from Numbers 6:24-26, “ The LORD bless you and keep you: The LORD make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you: The LORD lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace.”  It is called the “Aaronic blessing”, and in many Protestant and Catholic churches it is said at the end of the worship service/mass.  It is usually called the “Benediction”, which means “good word!”. The idea is when the Pastor raises his hands and

Psalm 66:5-7 5 Come and see what God has done,     his awesome deeds for mankind! 6 He turned the sea into dry land,     they passed through the waters on foot—     come, let us rejoice in him. 7 He rules forever by his power,     his eyes watch the nations—     let not the rebellious rise up against him. This psalm is all about giving God worship for all He has done, all of who He is, and His control of the future.  As we reflect on God’s faithfulness, we are led to trust in him whatever the future brings. This is especially true when we go through trials and testing.  Here is what one person has said regarding God’s work in history, “ God’s work is never antiquated. It is all a revelation of eternal activities. What He has been, He is. What He did, He does. Therefore, faith may feed on all the records of old time, and expect the repetition of all that they contain.” (Maclaren)” One of the purposes of the Sacrament of Holy Communion during our worship se

Psalm 65:5-8 “You answer us with awesome and righteous deeds, God our Savior, the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas, who formed the mountains by your power, having armed yourself with strength, who stilled the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, and the turmoil of the nations. The whole earth is filled with awe at your wonders; where morning dawns, where evening fades, you call forth songs of joy.” How can you prove the existence of God?  Some people say it is not possible.  In a literal sense this is probably true.  But there are very few things we can prove without some degree of uncertainty, however small that is.  For instance in a court of law, while someone might get convicted of a crime, there is always some small degree to which the conviction could be wrong.  An eyewitness who lied. A DNA sample that was tainted. A case of mistaken identity.    While at the end of the day although you cannot literally see God, you have to ma

Psalm 64:2-6 Hide me from the conspiracy of the wicked,     from the plots of evildoers. 3 They sharpen their tongues like swords     and aim cruel words like deadly arrows. 4 They shoot from ambush at the innocent;     they shoot suddenly, without fear. 5 They encourage each other in evil plans,     they talk about hiding their snares;     they say, “Who will see it?” 6 They plot injustice and say,     “We have devised a perfect plan!” Surely the human mind and heart are cunning. We often here the words, "watch your back!".  The idea is that one needs to be always looking in the rear view mirror to protect themselves.  If one can see their enemy they can protect themselves and even fight back, but when you get ambushed without warning you are in trouble. The people David was fighting were constantly plotting their plans for his destruction.  He could really never be at peace, not knowing what was waiting around every corner and every turn.  W

1  Psalm 63:1 "You, God, are my God,      earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you,      my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land      where there is no water 2  I have seen you in the sanctuary      and beheld your power and your glory. 3  Because your love is better than life,      my lips will glorify you. 4  I will praise you as long as I live,      and in your name I will lift up my hands. 5  I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods;  with singing lips my mouth will praise There are two things that are a constant on any given day.  You will be hungry, and you will be thirsty.  These are natural desires we need to be satisfied in a regular way to be sustained. On top of just providing what we need for our bodies to survive, both activities bring a lot of pleasure.  There is nothing like a cold cup of water or lemonade on a hot summer day when you are parched. Or that first bite into your steak after preparing it perfectly on your gril

Psalm 62 1  Truly my soul finds rest  in God;      my salvation comes from him. 2  Truly he is my rock  and my salvation;      he is my fortress,  I will never be shaken. Doctors and other sleep specialists tell us that most people need 7-8 hours of quality sleep.  Some others need only 5-6 hours.  But the truth is everyone needs good sleep to stay healthy and function at their highest level.  There is another kind of sleep that David talks about today. We might call is "soul sleep", or as he says, " Truly my soul finds rest in God. "  The word "truly" is often translated "alone", or, "only" in the Hebrew.  Though David's physical body may have been tired from being on the run and fighting for his life, he looks to God alone for his soul to find rest. Though he sometimes can't control how much physical rest he is getting, by trusting in God alone he can find rest for his soul.  There is a similar sense when Jesus s

Psalm 61 1  Hear my cry, O God;      listen to my prayer. 2  From the ends of the earth I call to you,      I call as my heart grows faint;      lead me to the rock  that is higher than I. One of the most popular songs in the early 70's was sung by James Taylor.  It was called, " You've Got a Friend" .  The lyrics go like this, "You just call out my name, and you know where ever I am  I'll come running to see you again. Winter, spring, summer, or fall, all you have to do is call and I'll be there, yeah, yeah,  you've got a friend." The presupposition in this song is that a true friend will come when you call on their name. In today's psalm, King David talks about calling out to someone he considers a true friend ... God!  In the first verse he says, ," Hear my cry, O God; listen to my prayer."   A natural question resulting from this verse is, doesn't God always hear my cry?  Did David worry that God might n