Soulfood

The Psalms of the Day for the sixteenth day of the month are 16, 46, 76, 106, and 136.

Psalm 16 is a psalm for giving thanks and praise to our God and Lord who preserves our lives and makes known to us the path of life. We pray in this Psalm for the Spirit to shape the desires of our hearts such that we seek no good apart from God, that we are content with the good gifts He gives, and have fullness of joy in His presence.

Psalm 46 is the inspiration for the famous hymn “A Mighty Fortress is Our God” by Martin Luther. By it we pray for faith to remember God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. We pray for the day when we will dwell in the city where God is in the midst of us, and when the rage of the nations will be stilled as all will know that YHWH is God. 

 

Psalm 76 is a psalm of praise and thanksgiving to the God Who defends His people against His and their enemies. We give thanks that in Christ Jesus, we are no longer enemies of God, subject to the wrath and curse our sins deserve! We pray against our enemies while remembering that we were once such as them, and that all would come to fear YHWH and praise Him. 

 

Psalm 106 is a psalm of remembrance of YHWH’s acts of power in history. Through Psalm 106 we are encouraged to recall to our minds God’s goodness to us in the past and give thanks, asking forgiveness for all the times we have forgotten Him and rebelled in our unbelief. We pray that God by His Spirit will turn us from our idols and bring us to repentance, that the Lord will remember His covenant with us in Jesus even when we forget, and that He will save us and gather us from the nations that we may give thanks to YHWH’s holy name.

 

Psalm 136 helps us to remember that the steadfast love (chesed) of the Lord endures forever! With it we praise our unchangeable, faithful, triune God who created the universe and all that is in it and brought us from our low estate into His glorious abundance!