Soulfood

The Psalms of the Day for the twenty-first day of each month are 21, 51, 81, 111, and 141.

Psalm 21 is a psalm of encouragement for the weary, helping us to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus (the King!) as we walk through the miseries of this life. We pray that we will remember Jesus is king – he is most blessed, glad, and joyful because the Father has given him victory over all his and our enemies. We pray for encouragement to trust in YHWH as Jesus trusted and trusts him, so that however we are struck by the hardships and disappointments of this life we will not despair and forget His steadfast love for us. We pray that all who come against us will be turned away by His hand and be consumed by His wrath for our deliverance. And we pray for the Spirit to fill our hearts and minds with praise for our powerful God, even YHWH!

Psalm 51 is the most famous penitential prayer. By it we cry for mercy to the Judge Who holds our lives in His hand and has every reason to destroy us wicked, rebellious, stubborn, willful, sinners. We pray first for ourselves that we would see our sin rightly and be given a heart of repentance, and then the same for one another. We pray for wisdom to know our hearts and courage to turn away from our uncleanness, hoping in the Spirit to grant us pure hearts and clean hands as He washes us in Christ’s righteousness! Oh, to be free from sin! And oh, what a mercy is the forgiveness of YHWH that sets us free and calls us to new obedience. Let us encourage one another to run to him with open, ready ears to hear Him say, “Your sins are forgiven. Go, and sin no more.”

By Psalm 81 we pray for one another to remember God’s promises and faithfully keep all that Jesus has commanded us. The psalm begins with a reminder of God’s praiseworthiness, His goodness to us, and the splendor of His acts of salvation in history. It then moves to lament that we, though blessed with the love of God and knowledge of His right, true, and just will, yet turn away from it continually to follow after our own selfish desires. By this psalm we pray for one another that we would not believe lies about God, each other, or ourselves, but would rejoice in the truth of God’s gracious and compassionate love for us, demonstrated in Christ Jesus. Amen!

Psalm 111 helps us to pray with praise and thanksgiving as we remember who we are and Whose we are. This prayer spurs us to give thanks for all the good gifts we have received and remember the Giver. As we pray this psalm we are encouraged to be thankful and fear YHWH in the middle of all our messes.

And Psalm 141 is a prayer for humility. Hear me out – we pray this psalm asking for help by the Spirit to have the humility of the psalmist. Whenever we ask God to set a guard on our mouths (v. 3), it is because we know we are prone to foolish and wicked talk such as that prayed against later in the psalm. Likewise, when we ask God to keep us from inclining our hearts to evil (v. 4), we do so as those who know that our hearts do incline to evil and so we need God’s mercy. If we pray this prayer presuming we are the hero, we are in danger of pride which leads to destruction. Rather, let us pray it with watchfulness over our own thoughts, motives, and desires, ever praying that we would be set free from evil to grow more and more in the likeness of Jesus, the one righteous man who can pray this prayer with a clear conscience. As we wait and hope for that day, let us encourage one another by prayer to set our eyes on YHWH and seek refuge in Him, Who is our only hope. YHWH be praised!