Podcasts about Psalter

David reflects upon his own sinfulness and the LORD's grace. He considers how the LORD shapes the lives of His people whom He has made His own by grace and faithfulness. Those who belong to the LORD walk according to the Word He has given, which influences the words of their mouths and the deeds of their hands. Those who belong to the LORD love those who share the true faith but ignore those whose way is wicked. The one who lives thus in the LORD is immovable, for he is founded upon Jesus, the One who has done these things perfectly.   Rev. Sam Beltz, pastor at St. John Lutheran Church in Oskaloosa, IA, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Psalm 15.  To learn more about St. John Lutheran, visit www.stjohnosky.org. Join Sharper Iron this summer to study selected Psalms. In the Psalter, God speaks His Word to us and teaches us how to speak back to Him in prayer. Even in the great variety of the Psalms, each one points us to our Savior, Jesus Christ.  Sharper Iron, hosted by Rev. Timothy Appel, looks at the text of Holy Scripture both in its broad context and its narrow detail, all for the sake of proclaiming Christ crucified and risen for sinners. Two pastors engage with God's Word to sharpen not only their own faith and knowledge, but the faith and knowledge of all who listen. Submit comments or questions to: listener@kfuo.org

As David faces a threat that will shake the very foundation of life, he knows that the LORD is his only refuge, even as others claim that a fearful flight is the only option. David takes comfort in knowing that God makes Himself present among His people according to His promise, even as He reigns over all the earth from heaven. As He sees all things, He knows the faithfulness of His people and promises that judgment will come upon the wicked. Knowing that the LORD is the Righteous One, we look forward to that Day when we will see Him face to face.   Rev. Jacob Heine, pastor at Faith Lutheran Church in Topeka, KS, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Psalm 11.  To learn more about Faith Lutheran, visit faithlutherantopeka.com. Join Sharper Iron this summer to study selected Psalms. In the Psalter, God speaks His Word to us and teaches us how to speak back to Him in prayer. Even in the great variety of the Psalms, each one points us to our Savior, Jesus Christ.  Sharper Iron, hosted by Rev. Timothy Appel, looks at the text of Holy Scripture both in its broad context and its narrow detail, all for the sake of proclaiming Christ crucified and risen for sinners. Two pastors engage with God's Word to sharpen not only their own faith and knowledge, but the faith and knowledge of all who listen. Submit comments or questions to: listener@kfuo.org

David cries out for the LORD to answer him, as the LORD has done in the past. David asserts that God has set apart His people for Himself so that those who love vain words will ultimately fall. Anger and vengeance are not a refuge; the LORD is the stronghold of His people. When He turns the light of His face upon us, we have true joy beyond anything this world can offer. This gives us the ability to sleep in peace, knowing that God is our safety.   Rev. Jacob Dandy, pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church and School in Atchison, KS, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Psalm 4.  To learn more about Trinity, visit trinityatchison.org. Join Sharper Iron this summer to study selected Psalms. In the Psalter, God speaks His Word to us and teaches us how to speak back to Him in prayer. Even in the great variety of the Psalms, each one points us to our Savior, Jesus Christ.  Sharper Iron, hosted by Rev. Timothy Appel, looks at the text of Holy Scripture both in its broad context and its narrow detail, all for the sake of proclaiming Christ crucified and risen for sinners. Two pastors engage with God's Word to sharpen not only their own faith and knowledge, but the faith and knowledge of all who listen. Submit comments or questions to: listener@kfuo.org

Join Sharper Iron this summer to study selected Psalms. In the Psalter, God speaks His Word to us and teaches us how to speak back to Him in prayer. Even in the great variety of the Psalms, each one points us to our Savior, Jesus Christ.  Sharper Iron, hosted by Rev. Timothy Appel, looks at the text of Holy Scripture both in its broad context and its narrow detail, all for the sake of proclaiming Christ crucified and risen for sinners. Two pastors engage with God's Word to sharpen not only their own faith and knowledge, but the faith and knowledge of all who listen. Submit comments or questions to: listener@kfuo.org

David cries out to the LORD for deliverance from his foes as he flees from Absalom. These foes argue theologically against David—how can God be David's Savior if David is having to run away? David takes refuge in the LORD, who is present on His holy hill. The LORD's presence gives protection to David and all the LORD's people. Because salvation is the LORD's, His people are assured of His blessing.  Rev. John Bussman, pastor at St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Cullman, AL, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Psalm 3.  To learn more about St. Paul's, visit stpaulscullman.com. Join Sharper Iron this summer to study selected Psalms. In the Psalter, God speaks His Word to us and teaches us how to speak back to Him in prayer. Even in the great variety of the Psalms, each one points us to our Savior, Jesus Christ.  Sharper Iron, hosted by Rev. Timothy Appel, looks at the text of Holy Scripture both in its broad context and its narrow detail, all for the sake of proclaiming Christ crucified and risen for sinners. Two pastors engage with God's Word to sharpen not only their own faith and knowledge, but the faith and knowledge of all who listen. Submit comments or questions to: listener@kfuo.org

In this episode of Welcome to Cloudlandia, we explore the shifting landscape of expertise in the digital age. Our discussion starts by examining the sheer volume of digital content and how it challenges traditional learning and expertise. With AI playing a significant role, we consider how this technology might disrupt long-established institutions like universities, allowing individuals to gain expertise in new ways. We then take a historical journey back to the invention of the printing press, drawing parallels between past and present innovations. Using AI tools like ChatGPT, we uncover details about Gutenberg's early legal challenges, showcasing how AI can offer new insights into historical events. This approach highlights how asking the right questions can transform previously unknown areas into fields of expertise. Next, we discuss the changing role of creativity in an AI-driven world. AI democratizes access to information, enabling more people to create and innovate without needing institutional support. We emphasize that while AI makes information readily available, the challenge of capturing attention remains. By using AI creatively, we can enhance our understanding and potentially redefine what it means to be an expert. Finally, we consider the impact of rapid technological advancements on daily life. With AI making expertise more accessible, we reflect on its implications for traditional expert roles. From home renovation advice to navigating tech mishaps, AI is reshaping how we approach problems and solutions. Through these discussions, we gain a fresh perspective on the evolving landscape of expertise and innovation. SHOW HIGHLIGHTS We discuss the overwhelming volume of digital content and how it challenges the utility and comprehension of information in the modern age. Dean talks about the potential impact of artificial intelligence on traditional educational institutions, like Harvard, and how AI might reshape our understanding of expertise. Dan describes the intersection of historical innovation and modern technology, using the invention of the printing press and its early legal battles as a case study. We explore how AI democratizes access to information, enabling individuals to quickly gather and utilize knowledge, potentially reducing the role of traditional experts. Dean shares humorous thought experiments about technological advancements, such as the fictional disruption of electric cars by the combustion engine, highlighting the societal impacts of innovation. Dan critically examines energy policies, specifically in New York, and reflects on creative problem-solving strategies used by figures like Donald Trump and Elon Musk. We reflect on the evolving landscape of expertise, noting how AI can enhance creativity and transform previously unexplored historical events into newfound knowledge. Links: WelcomeToCloudlandia.com StrategicCoach.com DeanJackson.com ListingAgentLifestyle.com TRANSCRIPT (AI transcript provided as supporting material and may contain errors) Dean: Mr Sullivan. Dan: But who's going to listen to all the transcriptions? That's what I want to know. Who's going to read them yeah, but what are they going to do with them? I don't know, I think it's going to confuse them actually. Dean: They're on to us. They're on to us. They're on to us and we're on to them. Dan: Yeah but it's a problem. You know, after a while, when you've overheard or listened to 3 million different podcasts, what are you doing with it? I know, is it going anywhere? Is it producing any results? You know, I just don't know that's really. Dean: It's funny that you say that right. Like there's, I and you have thousands of hours of recorded content in all of the podcasts. Like between you know, podcasting is your love language. How many five or seven podcasts going on at all time. And I've got quite a few myself. Dan: I have eight series. Dean: You've got eight series going on regularly 160 a year times, probably 13 years. Yeah, exactly. Dan: Let's say but there's 1,600. Let's say there's 1,600 and it adds up. Dean: Let's call that. We each have thousands of hours of on the record, on the record, on your permanent record in there. Yeah, because so many people have said uh you know, you think about how much people uh talk, you think about how much people talk without there being any record of it. So that body of work. I've really been trying to come to terms with this mountain of content that's being added to every day. Like it was really kind of startling and I think I mentioned it a few episodes ago that the right now, even just on YouTube, 500 hours a minute uploaded to YouTube into piling onto a mountain of over a billion available hours. Dan: It's more than you can. It's really more than you can get to. Dean: And that's when you put it in the context of you know, a billion. I heard somebody talk about. The difference between a million and a billion is that if you had,1 a second each second, for if you ran out, if you're spending that $1 a second, you would run out if you had a million dollars in 11 and a half days, or something like that and if you had a? billion dollars, it would be 30 be 11 000, 32 years, and so you think about if you've got a million hours of content it would take you know it's so long to consume it. Dan: You know it's funny. I was thinking about that because you know there's a conflict between the US government and Harvard University. I don't know if you follow this at all. No, government and Harvard University. I don't know if you follow this at all. Because no? Yeah, because they get about. You know they get I don't know the exact number, but it's in the billions of dollars every year from the US government, harvard does you know? Harvard does you? know, and and. But they, you know they've got some political, the DEI diversity, and the US basically is saying if you're, if you have a DEI program which favors one race over another, we're not going to give. We're not going to give you any more money, we're just not going to give you any more money. I mean unless it's if you favor one racial group over another, you don't get the. You don't get US tax money. So they were saying that Harvard has $53 billion endowment. And people say, well, they can live off their endowment, but actually, when you look more closely at it, they can't, because that endowment is gifts from individuals, but it's got a specific purpose for every. It's not a general fund, it's not like you know. We're giving you a billion dollars and you can spend it any way you want Actually it's very highly specified so they can't actually run their annual costs by taking, you know, taking a percentage, I think their annual cost is seven or eight billion dollars to run the whole place billion to run the whole place. So if the US government were to take away all their funding in eight, years they would go bankrupt. The college would go, the university would just go bankrupt, and my sense is that Trump is up to that. The president who took down Harvard. The president who took down Harvard. It wouldn't get you on Mount Rushmore, but there's probably as many people for it as there are against it. Dean: Well, you never know, by the end it might be Mount Trump. We've already got the gulf of america who named it? Dan: anyway, yeah it's so, it's, yeah, it's so funny because, um you know, this was a religious college at one time. You know, harvard, harvard college was once you know, I I'm not sure entirely which religion it was, but it was a college. But it's really interesting, these institutions who become. You say, well, you know they're just permanent, you know there will never be. But you know, if a college like a university, which probably, if you took all the universities in the world and said which is the most famous, which is the most prominent, harvard would you know, along with Cambridge and Oxford, would probably be probably be up and you know what's going to take it down. It is not a president of the United States, but I think AI might take down these universities. I'm thinking more and more, and it has to do with being an expert. You know, like Harvard probably has a reputation because it has over, you know, 100 years, anyway has hundreds of experts, and my sense is that anybody with an AI program that goes deep with a subject and keeps using AI starts acquiring a kind of an expertise which is kind of remarkable, kind of an expertise which is kind of remarkable. You know, like I'm, I'm beginning that expert expertise as we've known it before november of 2022 is probably an ancient artifact, and I think that that being an expert like that is going to be known as an expert, is probably going to disappear within the next 20 years. I would say 20 years from now 2045,. The whole notion of expert is going to disappear. Dean: What do you? Think I mean you think, I think yeah, I have been thinking about this a lot. Dan: You'll always be the expert. You'll always be the expert of the nine-word email. That's true, forever, I mean on the. Mount Rushmore of great marketing breakthroughs. Your visage will be featured prominently. That's great. I've cemented my place in this prominently. Dean: That's great. I've cemented my place. Yeah, that's right. Part of that is, I think, dan, that what I am concerned about. Dan: That would be the highest mountain in Florida, that's right, oh, that's right. Oh, that's funny, you'd have to look at it from above. Dean: That's right. The thing that I see, though, is exactly that that nobody is doing the work. I think that everybody is kind of now assuming and riding on the iterations of what's already been known, because that's what that's really what AI is now the large? Language. That's exactly it's taking everything we know so far, and it's almost like the intellectual equivalent of the guy who famously said at the patent office that everything that can be invented has been invented. Right, that's kind of that's what it feels like. Is that? Yeah, uh, that the people are not doing original work? I think it's going to become more and more rare that people are doing original thinking, because it's all iterative. It's so funny. We talk often, dan, about the difference between what I call books authorship that there's a difference between a book report and a field report is going to be perfect for creating and compiling and researching and creating work, organizing all the known knowledge into a narrative kind of thing. You can create a unique narrative out of what's already known, but the body of creating field reports where people are forging new ground or breaking new territory, that's I think it's going to be out of. Dan: I think we're moving out of that, I'm going to give you a project. Okay, I'm going to give you a project to see if you still think this is true, and you're going to use Charlotte as a project manager. You're going to use Charlotte your. Ai project manager and you ask it a question tell me ten things about a subject, okay, and that's your, that's your baseline. It could be anything you want and then ask it ten consecutive questions that occur to you as it, and I had that by the 10th, 10th question. Dean: You've created something brand new hmm, and Then so ask so if I say Tell me, charlie, tell me 10 things about this particular topic. Okay, let's do it, let's, let's create this life. So okay, if I say, charlotte, tell me 10 things about the 25 years after Gutenberg released the press, what were the top 10 things that you can tell me about that period of time? Dan: Yeah. Okay, and then Charlotte gets back to you and gives you a thing, and then it occurs to you. Now here's where it gets unpredictable, because I don't know what your first question is going to be when that comes back. Dean: Yeah, so what would the Okay? Dan: and then Charlotte goes out and answers, charlotte gets the answer to that question and then you have another question, but I can't predict. So you're going to have 10 unpredictable questions in a row and you can't predict what those 10 questions are because you don't even know what the first one is until Charlotte gets back with information and I'm saying, by the time you've asked, you've gotten your answer to the 10th question. You've created an entirely new body of knowledge that nobody in history has ever created. Dean: That's interesting, right? Yeah, you know. That's so funny that you know there was a comedian, george Carlin, in the 70s and 80s, I know George. George Carlin had a very famous bit where he was talking about words and how we all use the same words and you would think that everything that people say, well, everything has already been said. But, ladies and and gentlemen, you're going to hear things tonight that have never been spoken in the history of the world. We're breaking, we're making history tonight. He said, for instance, nobody has ever said hey, mary, as soon as I finish shoving this hot poker in my eye, I'm gonna go grill up some steaks. He said you just witnessed history tonight, right here. Dan: Yeah yeah, that's funny, right yeah yeah, yeah and uh, you have the explanation for a lot of foolish things that people do. Dean: Exactly. Dan: And I think that's that all the things have been created in the history of the world are a very, very small percentage of what is going to be created. Dean: This is interesting. So while we were talking I just typed into chat GPT. We're going to create history right here on the podcast. Dan:So I just said. Dean: What are 10 things that happened in the first 25 years after Gutenberg released the printing press and she typed back. Here are 10 key things that happened in the first 25 years, roughly 1450 to 1475. Number one the Gutenberg Bible was printed and she describes that the 42-line Bible became the first major book printed using movable type. Two, printing spread to other cities. Within a decade. Printing presses began appearing outside mains, starting with Strasbourg, cologne and Venice. By 1475, over a dozen European cities had active presses. Then, number three Johann First sues Gutenberg. First, who had financially backed Gutenberg sued him and won control of his equipment. Fust and Gutenberg's assistant went on to become successful printers in Mainz, the first printed Psalter, whatever, p-s-a-l-t-e-r in Latin, the first book to bear a printed date and a printer's mark. That's interesting. So the property, the first kind of copyright, I guess right. Or the first printer's mark and the first color initials. Emergence of the print Trade was another one Printed Law and Medical Texts, latin Grammar by Donatus D-O-N-A-T-U-S. Mass produced in the 1460s. The first printed Greek and Hebrew. First books using Greek were typed print in 1476. Printing in Italy begins and the rise of the Incanobula era, the Enoch group was well underway. Dan: Yeah, Now ask a question about that number 10. Dean: Yeah, so that's interesting. So if I said what happened with the lawsuit, yeah, what happened with the Fust lawsuit? Dan: Yeah, now here's the thing Now, here's the thing that until you got the answers back from the first prompt from the first query. You had no idea what your next question was going to be. Right, because I didn't know, and so this is almost like a didn't know, and so this is almost like a uh and what I'm saying. If you tracked, if you were to do this, you know, after our, maybe during, maybe during our podcast, but uh, certainly after you know, let's say, by five o'clock this afternoon you would, you would ask 10 questions that's an original, that's an original body of knowledge. That no one else previous to you has put together. Dean: Wow, so the lawsuit? So Gutenberg? It went in detail about Gutenberg's partnership with John. Dan: Tell me 10 things about the lawsuit. Dean: Yeah, well, that's what essentially she's done here. Yeah, the lawsuit was filed five years later, 1450. Gutenberg needed funding to develop his movable pipe. He borrowed 1,600 guilders a significant sum a wealthy financier. The loan was formalized as a business agreement Fust would invest and Gutenberg would develop the technology and handle production. Lawsuit filed in 1455. 1455, after several years, fust sued Gutenberg, claiming misuse of funds and lack of returns. The outcome the court ruled in favor of Fust. Gutenberg lost control of his printing equipment. First, fust partnered with Gutenberg's former assistant, peter Schofer, and the two continued printing successfully. Fust and Schofer became one of the first successful commercial printing firms in Europe. Gutenberg, though innovator and inventor, died in relative obscurity and financial hardship in 1468. The lawsuit reflects the tension between innovation and commercialization. Gutenberg had the vision, but Fust had the capital and, eventually, the press. Let me know if you want a dramatized version of the court case. It's got all the ingredients money betrayal and world changing technology oh my goodness yeah yeah, yeah, and you know, and, and so what I'm thinking here? Dan: is that by the end of the five o'clock this afternoon, let's say you follow through on this. You're a great. You're a greater expert on this particular subject than has ever lived. Dean: Yeah, Dan, you just that. It's almost like doing a triple play. I mean, yeah, it's three layers deep or whatever. Right, or yeah, or whatever you know, but just the layers. Dan: But it's all original because no one could possibly duplicate separate from you. Like today somebody's out there and they're duplicating, and they're duplicating the first 10 answers, the second 10 answers, the third 10 answers. Nobody could possibly duplicate that, you know. Dean: Because, it's up to me what the follow-up questions are. Dan: Yeah, and it doesn't occur to you until you're presented with the say oh that's a really interesting thing, but nobody else could. Possibly. They might follow you on one thing, but they wouldn't follow you on two things. And each further step towards 10 questions, it's just impossible to know what someone else would do, and my statement is that that represents complete originality and it also, by the end of it, it represents complete um expertise that was done in a period. That was done in a period of about five or six hours yeah I mean, that's what we were doing it. Dean: I said, yes, that would be fun. Please do that. She created this, dramatized the People vs Johannes Gutenberg, and it was called the. Trial of the Century Act. Dan:One the Pack. Dean: A candlelit workshop in Maine. The smell of ink and ambition fills the air I mean this is ridiculous. And then at the end, so outline the thing. And then it says, uh, would you like this adapted into a short stage play script or animated storyboard? Next I said, let's. So I think this would be funny to do it. Please do a stage play in Shakespearean pentameter or whatever. What do you call it? Dan: What's that? Dean: What's the style of Shakespeare in Shakespearean? How do you call that? Well, it's a play, yeah, yeah, but I mean, what's the phrasing called in Shakespearean? Dan: Oh, you mean the language. Dean: Yeah, yeah, yeah, the language structure. Dan: Yeah, yeah, iambic pentameter In Shakespearean. Dean: I'm going to say Shakespearean pentameter yeah. Dan: Pentameter is 10 syllables Da-da, da-da, da-da, da-da, da-da. That's the Shakespearean. He didn't create it. It was just a style of the day, but he got good at it. Dean: Damn, I am big, oh man so the opening scene is, to wit, a man of trade, johan by name, doth bring forth charge against one, johannes G, that he, with borrowed coin, did break his bond and spend the gold on ventures not agreed I mean yes, there you go completely, completely original, completely original. Oh, dan you, just now. This is the amazing thing is that we could take this script and create a video like using Shakespearean you know, costumed actors with British accents? Dan: Oh they'd have to be British, they'd have to be. British. Dean: Oh man, this is amazing. I think you're on to something here. Dan: My feeling is that what we've known as expertise up until now will just fade away, that anybody who's interested in anything will be an original expert. Yeah, and that this whole topic came about because that's been the preserve of higher education, and my sense is that higher education as we've known it in 20 years will disappear. Sense is that higher education as we've known it in 20 years will disappear yeah, what we're going to have is deeper education, and it'll just be. Individuals with a relationship with ai will go deeper and deeper and deeper, and they can go endlessly deep because of the large language models. Dean: Oh, this is I mean, yeah, this is amazing, dan, it's really so. I look at it that where I've really been thinking a lot about this distinction that I mentioned a few episodes ago about capability and ability, episodes ago about capability and ability, that, mm-hmm, you know this is that AI is a capability that everybody has equal access to. The capability of AI yep, but it's the ability of what to how to direct that that is going to. Dan: That's where the origins, because in the us, uh, at least over the last 40 or 50 years, higher education has been associated with the um, the political left. Uh, the um um, you know, it's the left left of the democratic party, basically in can Canada it's basically the Liberals and the NDP. And the interesting thing is that the political left, because they're not very good at earning a living in a normal way, have earned a living by taking over institutions like the university, communications media, government bureaucracies, government bureaucracies corporate bureaucracies, culture you know culture, theater, you know literature, movies they've taken over all that you know, literature, movies, they've taken over all that, but it's been based on a notion of expertise. It's um that these are the people who know things and uh and uh and, of course, um. But my feeling is that what's happening very quickly, and it's as big a revolution as gutenberg, and I mean you can say he lost the court, but we don't remember the people who beat him. We remember Gutenberg because he was the innovator. You know, I mean, did you know those names before? Dean: No I never heard of the two people and. I never heard of the lawsuit. You know it's interesting right, yeah, yeah. Dan: And it probably won't go between our country. It won't go further than our right right today, but gutenberg is well known because somebody had to be known for it and he, he ended up being the person. And my sense, my sense, is that you're having a lot of really weird things happening politically. Right now I'm just watching the states. For example, this guy, who's essentially a communist, won the Democratic primary to become mayor of New York. Dean: I saw that Ma'am Donnie. Dan: And he's a complete idiot. I mean, he's just a total wacko idiot. But he won and the reason is that that whole way of living, that whole expertise way of living, of knowing theories and everything, is disappearing. It's going to disappear in the next 20 years. There's just going to be new things you can do with ai. That's, that's all there's going to exist. 20 years from now and uh, and nobody can be the gatekeeper to this, nobody can say well you can't do that with ai. Anybody can do it with ai and um and you. There's going to be people who do something and it just becomes very popular. You know and there's no predicting beforehand who the someone or the something is going to be. That becomes really popular. But it's not going to be controlled by experts. Dean: Yeah. Dan: I think. Ai is the end of expertise as we've known it. Dean: Yeah, yeah, yeah, I think that's really I mean a little bit. I think that's been a big shift. I'd never thought about it like that. That that's where the if we just look at it as a capability, it's just an accelerator, in a way. Information prior to November 22, prior to chat, gpt all of this information was available in the world. You could have done deep dive research to find what they're accessing, to uncover the lawsuit and the. You know all of that, that stuff. But it would require very specialized knowledge of how to mine the internet for all of this stuff where to find it how to summarize it. 0:32:24 - Dan: Well, not only that, but the funding of it would have been really hard you know you'd have to fund somebody's time, somebody who would give you know their total commitment to they, would give their total attention to a subject for 10 years you know, and they'd probably have to be in some sort of institution that would have to be funded to do this and you know it would require an enormous amount of connection, patronage and everything to get somebody to do this. And now somebody with AI can do it really really cheaply. I mean, you know, really really quickly, really cheaply. I mean you know really really quickly, really cheaply and wouldn't have to suck up. Dean: Yeah. I mean this is wild, this is just crazy. Dan: Yeah, that sounds like a yeah, you should take that at a level higher. That sounds like an interesting play. Dean: I mean, it's really, it is. I've just, my eyes have been opened in a way. Dan: Now, now. Now have somebody you know. Just ask them to do it in a Shakespearean British accent, right. Just ask someone to do it. I bet. Dean: Yeah. Dan: I bet it'll be really interesting. Like that's what I think now is there would be. Dean: the thing is you could literally go to Eleven Labs and have the voice having a, you know, having British Shakespearean dramatic actors. Yeah, read, create a radio play of this. Dan: Yeah, so I go back to my little quarterly book, the Geometry of Staying Cool and Calm, which was about a year and a half ago. And I said there's three rules Number one everything's made up. Does this check? Does that check? Everything's made up, yeah. Dean: Did we just make that up this? Dan: morning. Dean: Yep. Dan: Nobody's in charge. Dean: Right. Dan: Is anybody in charge? Dean: Do we have to ask? Dan: permission. Dean: Yep, okay, and life's in charge. Right, is anybody in charge? Do we have to ask permission? Yep, okay. Dan: And life's not fair. Dean: Life's not fair. Dan: Life's not fair, that's right. Why do we get to be able to do this and nobody else gets to be man? Life's not fair. Dean: Uh-huh. Dan: Wow. Dean: It's a pretty big body of work available. I mean, that's now that you think about it. I was kind of looking at it as saying you know, I was worried that the creativity, or, you know, base creativity, is not going to be there, but this brings certainly the creativity into it. I think you're absolutely right, I've been swayed here today. Your Honor, yeah. Dan: But you're still confronted with the basic constraint that attention is limited. We can do this, but it's enjoyable in its own. Whether anybody else thinks this is interesting or not doesn't really matter. We found it interesting yeah, yeah, in background. Dean: Uh, you know, charlotte created a, uh, a playbill for this as well. She just kept asking follow-up would you like me to create a playbill I said. I said, can you design a cover of the play Bill? And it's like you know yeah, what's it called Well the Mainzer Stad Theater proudly presents. The Press Betrayed A Tragic History in One Act, being a True and Faithful Account of the Lawsuit that Shook the world. Yeah, that's great I mean it's so amazing, right, that's like, that's just. Yeah, you're absolutely right, it's the creativity, I guess it's like if you think about it as a capability. It's like having a piano that's got 88 keys and your ability to tickle the ivories in a unique, unique way. Yeah, it's infinite, yeah, it's infinite yeah. And you're right that, nobody that that okay, I'm completely, I'm completely on board. That's a different perspective. Dan: Yeah, and the. The interesting thing is the. I've just taken a look at the odds here, so you have, you start with 10 and if you did you continue down with 10, that makes it 100, that makes it a thousand, you know, it makes it 10, 000, 100, 000, a million. Uh, you know. And then it you start. And the interesting thing, those are the odds. At a certain point it's one in ten billion that anyone else could follow the trail that you just did. You know, yeah, which makes it makes everything very unpredictable you know, it's just completely unpredictable, because yeah and original. Unpredictable and original yeah. And I think that this becomes a huge force in the world that what are the structures that can tolerate or respond well to this level of unpredictability? I think it's. And then there's different economic systems. Some economic systems are better, some political systems are better, some cultural systems are better, and I've been thinking a lot about that. There was a big event that happened two days ago, and that is the US signed their first new trade agreement under Trump's. That is, the US signed their first new trade agreement under Trump's trade rules with Vietnam, which is really interesting, that Vietnam should be the first, and Vietnam is going to pay 20 percent tariff on everything that ships in. Everything that is shipped produced by Vietnam into the United States has a 20% tariff on it. And they signed it two days ago. Okay. Dean: Wow. Dan: However, if China ships it because China maybe has a much bigger tariff than Vietnam does, but the Chinese have been sending their products to Vietnam where they're said made in Vietnam and they're shipped to the United States the US will be able to tell that in fact it's going to be 40% for Vietnam if they're shipping Chinese products through. Dean: And this can all be tracked by AI. Dan: Right, this can all be tracked by AI. The reason why Trump's thing with tariffs this year is radically different from anything that happened previously in history is that with AI you can track everything. Dean: Yeah. Dan: And it happens automatically. I mean, it's not a stack of paper on an accountant's desk, it's just electronic signals. Oh, no, no that came from the Chinese 40% Please, please, please, send us a check for 40%, right, right, right, right, 40%. And my sense is that this is the first instance where a new set of rules have been created for the whole world. I mean, trump went to Europe two weeks ago and the Europeans have been complaining about the fact that their contribution to NATO has to be 2% of GDP, and that's been contentious. I mean, canada is doing like 1% or something like that, and they're complaining. And he came away with an agreement where they're all going to increase their contribution to NATO to 5% of NDP, and part of the reason is they had just seen what his B-2 bombers did to Iran. The week before and I said, hey, it's up to you. I mean you can do it or not do it, but there's a reward for doing it and there's a penalty for not doing it, and we can track all this electronically. I mean we can tell what you're doing. I mean you can say one thing but, the electronics say something else. So I think we're into a new world. Dean: I really feel like that yeah, yeah, wow. Dan: But it's expertise in terms of an individual being an expert. There's expertise available anytime you want to do it, but an individual who's an expert, probably that individual is going to disappear. Dean: Yeah, I agree, yeah, I can't. Yeah, I mean this is, yeah, it's pretty amazing. It's just all moving so fast, right, that we just and I don't think people really understand what, what we have. Yeah, I think there's so many people I wonder what, the, what the you know percentage or numbers of people who've never ever interacted with chat GPT. Dan: Me, I've never. Dean: Well, exactly, but I mean, but perplexity, I have perplexity. Dan:Yeah, exactly. Dean: Yeah, yeah, that's interesting. Dan: Yeah, well, you know. I mean, there's people in the world who haven't interacted with electricity yet. Somewhere in the Amazon, you know, or somewhere, and you know I mean the whole point is life's not fair, you know, life's just not fair. Nobody's in charge and you know everything's made up but your little it was really you know extraordinary that you did it with Charlotte while we were talking, because yeah would you get two levels, two levels in or three levels in? Dean: I went three or four, like just that. So I said, yeah, I asked her about the top 10 things and I said, oh, tell me about the lawsuit. And she laid out the things and then she suggested would you like me dramatic? Uh yeah, and she did act one, act two, act three and then yeah doing it in, uh, in shakespearean, shakespearean. And she did that and then she created the playbill and I said, can you design a cover for the playbill? And there we are and that all happened happened while we're having the conversation. Dan: You know what's remarkable? This is about 150 years before Shakespeare. Dean: Yeah, exactly, it's wild, right. I mean I find I was looking at, I had someone, diane, one of the runs, our Go-Go Agent team. She was happened to be at my house yesterday and I was saying how I was looking, I'm going to redo my living room area. My living room area I was asking about, like, getting a hundred inch screen. And I would say asking Charlotte, like what's the optimum viewing distance for a hundred inch screen? And she's telling the whole, like you know, here's how you calculate it roughly. You know eight to 11 feet is the optimal. And I said, well, I've got a. You know I have a 20 by 25 room, so what would be the maximum? What about 150 inches? That would be a wonderful, immersive experience that you could have. You certainly got the room for it. It was just amazing how high should you mount? Dan: that yeah, but but can they get it in? Dean: that's the right, exactly. Dan: Yes, if you have to if you have, if you have to take out a wall to get it in, maybe, yeah, too expensive, yeah yeah, but anyway, that's just so. Dean: It's amazing right to just have all of that, that she knows all the calculations, all the things. Dan: Yeah, and I think the you know what you've just introduced is the whole thing is easy to know. Dean: The whole thing, is easy to know. Well, that's exactly it. Dan: This is easy to know. Whichever direction you want to go, anything you need will be easy to know. Dean: Yeah. Dan: And that's new in human affairs We've had to pay for expertise for that, yeah. Dean: You'd have to pay a researcher to look into all of this stuff right, yeah. And now we've got it on top. Dan: We were at the cottage last week and Babs has a little pouch it's sort of like a little thing that goes around her waist and it's got. You know she's got things in it, but she forgot that she put the Tesla. You know our keys for the Tesla in and she went swimming and then she came out. It doesn't work after you go swimming with the Tesla. Dean: I don't even have a key for my Tesla anymore. It's all on my phone. Yours is on your phone. Dan: Yeah, yeah well, maybe she. Well, that'll be an upgrade for her to do that. But anyway, she went on YouTube and she said how do you, if you go swimming with your Tesla, bob, and it doesn't work, can you repair it? And then she went on YouTube and it would be easier buying a new Tesla. Dean: That's funny yeah, first you do this, then you do this. And interesting, uh, there's a guy uh rory sutherland, who is the uh vice chairman of ogilvy, uh advertising oh yeah and wow, and yeah, he did he had a really interesting thought he said let's just propose that we're all using electric cars, that electric cars are the norm. And we're all charging them at home and we're all driving around and we're all. It's all. You know, everybody's doing that. And then somebody from Volkswagen comes up and says hey, I got another idea. What if, instead of this, electric engine? or electric power. What if we created a combustion engine that would take and create these mini explosions in the vehicle, and, of course, we'd have to have a transmission and we'd have to have all of these, uh, all these things, 250 components, and you know, and you'd be asking well, is it, is it, is it faster? Uh, no, is it, is it more convenient? No, is it, is it, you know, safer? you know none of those things. It would. There would be no way that we would make the leap from electric to gasoline if if it didn't already exist. That's an interesting thought. You and he said that kind of. he used this kind of thinking like rational thinking and he said that rational thinking often leads to the wrong conclusions. Like he said, if you had a beverage and your job was that you were trying to unseat Coca-Cola from the thing, if you're trying to be a competitor for Coca-Cola, rational thinking would say that you would want to have a beverage that tastes better than Coke, that is a little less expensive and comes in a bigger package. And he said that's what you would bigger container, that's what you would do to unseat them. But he said the reality is that the biggest disruptor to Coca-Cola is Red Bull, which is expensive in a small can and tastes terrible. It's like you would never come to the conclusion that that's what you're going to do. But that wasn't. It wasn't rational thinking that led to no no yeah, and the other. Dan: The other thing is that, um, you know, um, the infrastructure for the delivery of fossil fuel is a billion times greater than the infrastructure delivery system for electricity yes. And that's the big problem is that you know it's in the DNA of the entire system that we have this infrastructure and there's millions and millions and millions and millions of different things that already work. Dean: And you're trying to. Dan: But the other thing is just the key. There is energy density, it's called energy density. That if you light a match to gasoline, you just get enormous energy density. And this came up. I was listening to this great guy. I'll send you the link because he's really funny. He's got a blog called Manhattan Contrarian. Really really interesting. Okay, you know, really interesting. Dean: Okay. Dan: You know New York City. You know he's New York City. He's a New Yorker guy and he was just explaining the insanity of the thinking about energy in New York State and New York City and he said just how weird it is and one of the things is that they've banned fracking in New York. Dean: Oh, wow. Dan: They have a huge deposit of natural gas underneath New York State, but they've banned it. Okay, so that's one. They could very, very easily be one of the top energy-producing states, but rather they'd rather be one of the great energy. We have to import our energy from somewhere else, Because that puts us on the side of the angels rather than the side of the devils. You know. Dean: Oh right, yeah, Side of the angels rather than the side of the devils. Dan: You really want to be on the side of the angels, but he was talking that they're exploring with green hydrogen. Have you ever heard of green hydrogen? Dean: Never. Dan: Well, it's green because it's politically correct. It's green, and then it's hydrogen, it's green and then it's hydrogen, and so what they have is in one place it's on Lake Ontario, so across the lake from Toronto, and then it's also in the St Lawrence Seaway. They have two green energy sites. And they have one of them where it's really funny they're using natural gas to produce the electricity to power the plant that's converting hydrogen into energy. Dean: Okay. Dan: Why don't you just use the natural gas? Oh, no, no, no, no, no. We can't use natural gas. That's evil, that's the devil. And so it's costing them 10 times as much to produce hydrogen electricity out of hydrogen. Rather, they just use the natural gas in the beginning to use it. And if they just did fracking they'd get the natural gas to do it. But but that produces no bureaucratic jobs, and this other way produces 10 times more bureaucratic jobs. Dean: That's crazy, yeah, yeah. Dan: But he just takes the absurdity of it, of how they're trying to think well of themselves, how much it costs to think well of yourself, rather than if you just solved a problem, it would be much easier. Mm-hmm, yeah, yeah, amazing, yeah, marvelous thing. But I'm interested in how far you're going to go. I mean, you've already written yourself a great Shakespearean play, maybe you? don't have to go any further than that. Dean: I mean I think it's pretty fascinating, though, right Like, just to think that literally as an afterthought or a side quest, while we're, I would say as a whim. You know, that's really what we, this is what I think, that's really what I've been reframed today, that you could really chase whims with. Yeah, this you know that, that, that you can bring whatever creativity um you want to. It like to be able to say okay, she's suggesting a dramatic play, but the creativity would be what if we did it as a Shakespearean play? That would be. Dan: You know, I think Trump is tapping into this or something you know, because he had two weeks when it was just phenomenal. He just had win after win, after win after win, after, uh, after two weeks, I mean nothing, nothing didn't work for him. Supreme court, dropping bomb on iran, the passage of this great new tax bill, I mean just everything worked. And I said he's doing something different, but the one you know Elon Musk to do. We have to use this Doge campaign and we have to investigate all of Elon's government contracts. And he says that's what we have to do. Dean: We have to. Dan: Doge, Elon, and he says you know he'll lose everything. He'll lose Tesla. He'll lose SpaceX, everything He'll have Tesla. He'll lose SpaceX, everything. He'll have to go back to South Africa. Dean: I mean that's unbelievable. Dan: He's such a master like reframer. Dean: You know, I saw him turning the tables on Nancy Pelosi when she was questioning his intentions with the big beautiful bill Just tax breaks for your buddies. And he said oh, that's interesting, let's talk about the numbers. And he pulls out this thing. He says you know, you have been a public servant. Dan: You and your husband. Yeah, you and your husband, you've been a public servant, you've had a salary of $200,000 a year $280,000 and you're worth $430 million. How'd you do that? Dean: That's an interesting story. Dan: There's not a person on Wall Street who's done as well as you have. How did you do that? You know Exactly. Dean: I just think what a great reframe you know. Dan:Yeah. Dean: Yeah, he's a master at that. You know who I haven't heard from lately is Scott Adams. He's been off my radar. No, he's dying. He's been off my radar. Dan: He's dying, he's dying and he's in his last month or two. He's got severe pancreatic cancer. Dean: Oh, no, really. Dan: And you know how you do that, how you do that. You know I'm convinced you know, I mentioned it that you die from not getting tested. I'm sure the guy hasn't gotten tested in the last you know 10 years. You know because everything else you know you got to get tested. You know that stuff is like pancreatic is the worst because it goes the fastest. It goes the fastest Steve Jobs. And even Steve Jobs didn't have the worst kind, he just fooled around with all sorts of Trying to get natural like yours, yeah. Yeah, sort of sketchy sketchy. You know possibilities. There was no reason for him to die when he did. He could have, he could have been, you know, could have bypassed it. But two things you didn't get tested or you got tested too late. Dean: So that's my Well, you said something one time. People say I don't want to know. He said well, you're going to find out. I said don't you? Dan: worry, don't worry, you'll find out. When do you want to find out? Dean: Right Exactly Good, right Exactly Good question yeah. Dan: What do you want to do with the information Right, exactly, all right. Well, this was a different kind of podcast. Dean: Absolutely. We created history right here, right, creativity. This is a turning point. For me, personally, this is a turning point for me personally. Dan: I was a witness yeah fascinating okay, dan, I'll be in Chicago next week. I'll talk to you next week, okay, awesome bye, okay, bye.

June 27th, 2025 - We welcome back Dr. Anthony Stine of Return to Tradition to discuss requesting that Pope Leo free the TLM. Then we're joined by Dr. Betty Bosarge to talk Fr. Robert Bradley's book "Our Lady's Psalter - Reflections on the Mysteries of the Traditional Rosary". Includes the full Aftershow conversation. TheStationOfTheCross.com/ACT  

Psalm 72 is a powerful description of the anointed king God promised who would come into the world through David's line. It is one of the most important royal psalms in the Psalter.----------------------------Please follow us on these platforms:Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@JointhesearchPodcast: https://thesearch.buzzsprout.com/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jointhesearchInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/jointhesearchtodayFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/jointhesearchtoday

Those who lived under a monarchy knew what it was to show reverence to their beloved king. Psalm 2 is a call for us to recover that lost culture of reverence for our King of kings.  This is the first message in our new summer series looking at the royal psalms scattered throughout the Psalter.  Check out the video version of this sermon.  Follow along with our look at all of the royal psalms by clicking here. ►► Would you please prayerfully consider supporting this ministry? My Patreon supporters get behind-the-scenes access to exclusive materials. ◀︎◀︎

Psalm 145A Psalm of Praise, of David- This is the only Psalm designated as a psalm of praise. “Here begins the grand doxology of the entire collection., for praise plays a greater part in Psalms 145-150 than in most of the others. The word ‘praise' occurs 46 times in these six psalms” BK, 895.“The Hebrew tehilah yields in rabbinic Hebrew the plural tehilim, which is set title in Hebrew for the Book of Psalms. Although psalms of supplication are actually more numerous in the canonical collection, the assumption of post-biblical Jewish was that purpose par excellence of the poetry of psalms was to praise God. This assumption accords with the view of the ancient editors, for the last six psalms, beginning with this one, are all psalms of praise” Alter, 500.This is “the last psalm of David in the Psalter and the last of the eight acrostics found there, of which no less than five bear his name” Kidner, 480. It is the fourth acrostic in Book Five. Three other acrostics appear in Book 1 (Pss. 25 34, 37)- NICOT, 990. All ( כל) is used in Psalm 145 in vss. 2, 9, 9, 10, 13, 13, 14, 14, 15, 16, 17, 17, 18, 18, 20, 20, 21. This expresses an exuberant ring- Laymen's , 699.The psalm “alternates between ‘you' sections, addressing Yahweh directly, and ‘He' sections, referring to Him in the third person” Broyles, 504. You is found in vss. 1-2, 4-7, 10-12 and He in vss. 3, 8-9, 13b, 14, 17-18, 19-20)The Talmud stresses the value of repeating this prayer, the Tehillah of David- Berekot, 4b. “In Jewish practice this psalm was recited twice in the morning and once in the evening service. The Talmud commends all who repeat it three times a day as having a share in the world to come” VanGemeren, 860. “Psalm 145 appears in the Jewish prayer book more than any other psalm in the Psalter. The Dead Sea Psalm scroll in 11QPs contains a version of Psalm 145 in which the refrain, ‘Blessed is the LORD and blessed is His name forever and ever,' is included after each verse, suggesting some sort of liturgical use. All indications are that the words of this psalm were and are a vital part of the faith of the Jewish people” NICOT, 990. 145:8 The LORD is gracious and merciful- Ex. 34:6-7; Num. 14:18; II Chron. 30:9; Neh. 9:17; Pss. 86:15; 103:8; 111:4; 112:4; Joel 2:13; Jonah 4:2” Miller, 441. “When Jonah quoted it back to God with disapproval, he received a reply which confirmed not only this but the truth of our verse 9 by revealing God's pity for the very cattle of Nineveh (Jonah 4:2, 11)” Kidner, 481. For more notes check with me. 

We're live with Betty Bosarge, Editor of the book, "Our Lady's Psalter: Reflection on the Mysteries of the Traditional Rosary", David Dawson Jr., Catholic husband and father talks about proper discernment of extracurricular activities and Anthony DeStefano, Catholic author of the book, "The Miracle Book: A Simple Guide to Asking for the Impossible".

“How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever?     How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I wrestle with my thoughts     and day after day have sorrow in my heart?     How long will my enemy triumph over me? Look on me and answer, Lord my God.     Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death, and my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,”     and my foes will rejoice when I fall. But I trust in your unfailing love;     my heart rejoices in your salvation. I will sing the Lord's praise,     for he has been good to me” (Psalm 13). Continuing to work through themes related to suffering and healing in connection with New Hope and hearing stories about our siblings in Christ in the global church, today we are going to talk about lament. In the fifth week of the New Hope program, participants engage with the story of Jesus' crucifixion, and they hear the words of Christ's own lament on the cross, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Jesus is quoting the beginning of Psalm 22, a lament which would have been well-known by the Jewish onlookers and similar to Psalm 13, our text for today. Lament psalms like these are prevalent in Scripture, particularly in the Psalter. In fact, individual psalms of lament are the most common type of psalm in the Psalter. As we've just noted, Jesus himself, in his death on the cross, affirms the centrality of lament to the Christian experience of suffering. And yet, even as the importance of lament is being recovered in some church contexts, we are still often uncomfortable with this practice. John Calvin loved the psalms and wrote a commentary on them, describing the Psalter as an “anatomy of all parts of the soul.” Yet, many churches today continue to be ill-equipped with liturgical resources for the practice of lament. Perhaps this is because lament disrupts the status quo evident in popular modern cultural scripts related to suffering such as “pull yourself up by your bootstraps” or “mind over matter.” In answer, lament psalms give scriptural testimony to the importance of allowing space for deep grief, fear, betrayal, and anger, and inviting God to meet us there.  On another note, the language that these lament psalms use, addressing God directly and inviting him into suffering or questioning his role in it, challenge another impulse common in our context–that suffering can only be effectively dealt with through medical or psychological interventions, and that spiritual and religious traditions are only for the seasons that things are going well or for the private lives of individuals, not to be engaged in the public sphere (something the church regrettably and often unintentionally confirms when we fail to engage in lament in corporate worship and allow it to translate into public action for justice).  In one New Hope group I led, a training for ministry leaders from around the world who were learning the program so as to be able to pass it along to their own ministry teams, one of the leaders confessed in frustrated tears to the group that they could not engage in the activity for this fifth week of the program. The activity involved writing a lament using four simple prompts: First, “Jesus, these things happened to me…” Second, “Jesus, I am/I feel…” Third, “Jesus, the worst part of this was…”  The fourth prompt was the most challenging for the leader because it then makes the same movement that Psalm 13 does in the last couple of verses when it says, “But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. I will sing the Lord's praise,  for he has been good to me.” The fourth prompt asks participants to finish this statement: “But I believe (or want to believe because I've heard this about you) that you are…” This prompt indicates that lament is not an expression of the worshipper's own experience or personal desires exclusively, but always grounded in God's character and faithfulness. It's often the greatest challenge because, in the midst of deep suffering, it is only natural to wonder about who God is and what he is up to. What we came to together as a group of ministry leaders when we discussed our members' challenge with writing this part of the lament is that this final phrase is not simply tritely hopeful or falsely optimistic. Rather, it is an acknowledgment that the source of our complaint or our pain is something which not only offends and causes us pain, but it is actually an offense to God himself. The Bible's testimony is that the sin and evil which causes harm to God's beloved creation, including each of us, is even more painful to God. Thus, lament faithfully insists that God be who God has revealed himself to be.  If you'd like to try writing a lament of your own today, I'll include the prompts in the notes of the podcast. God is not threatened by your complete honesty about your pain. He chose to make known his character and promises to his people. So you can freely answer: How are you hurting today? What do you believe, or want to believe, about who God is? As you journey on, go with the blessing of God: May the peace of the Lord Christ go with you: wherever he may send you. May he guide you through the wilderness: protect you through the storm. May he bring you home rejoicing; at the wonders he has shown you. May he bring you home rejoicing once again into our doors. Lament Prompts Jesus, these things happened to me: ____________________________ Jesus, I am/I feel ____________________________ (suffering, hurting, in pain, discouraged, desperate) Jesus, the worst part of this was ____________________________ But I believe (or want to believe because I've heard this about you) that you are ____________________________  

Psalm 88,O Lord, God of my salvation, I cry out day and night before you.2 Let my prayer come before you; incline your ear to my cry!3 For my soul is full of troubles, and my life draws near to Sheol.4 I am counted among those who go down to the pit; I am a man who has no strength,5 like one set loose among the dead, like the slain that lie in the grave,like those whom you remember no more, for they are cut off from your hand.6 You have put me in the depths of the pit, in the regions dark and deep.7 Your wrath lies heavy upon me, and you overwhelm me with all your waves. Selah8 You have caused my companions to shun me; you have made me a horror to them.I am shut in so that I cannot escape;9 my eye grows dim through sorrow.Every day I call upon you, O Lord; I spread out my hands to you.10 Do you work wonders for the dead? Do the departed rise up to praise you? Selah11 Is your steadfast love declared in the grave, or your faithfulness in Abaddon?12 Are your wonders known in the darkness, or your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?13 But I, O Lord, cry to you; in the morning my prayer comes before you.14 O Lord, why do you cast my soul away? Why do you hide your face from me?15 Afflicted and close to death from my youth up, I suffer your terrors; I am helpless.16 Your wrath has swept over me; your dreadful assaults destroy me.17 They surround me like a flood all day long; they close in on me together.18 You have caused my beloved and my friend to shun me; my companions have become darkness.Psalm 88 is similar to many other psalms in that first, it's a prayer, and second, it's a lament — the psalmist is struggling. We see this often in the psalms. But Psalm 88 is dissimilar to other psalms — or really, it's unlike any other psalm in that it has no resolution. Other psalms will feature moments of disorientation and darkness, but by the last verse, they spring forward, they bounce back, they recite hope. But that's not the case in Psalm 88. The very last verse, where we're expecting the light to break through, says, verse 18:“You have caused my beloved and my friend to shun me; my companions have become darkness.” We can see it there on the page in verse 18. Darkness literally gets the last word in Psalm 88, which is why this psalm has been called “the saddest psalm of the Psalter.”It's uncomfortable to read; it's uncomfortable to preach; it's uncomfortable to listen to, but here we are this morning, and I want to know: Why does God give us Psalm 88?Now, we know the answer to that question is because somehow it's good for us. By God's grace, he loves us and he's committed to our everlasting good in Christ — we know that's true and that's where we should start any time we ask “why” about anything: God is good. He loves you. And he's sovereign. So a better question might be: Why is Psalm 88 good for us? In God's wisdom and love, why do we need Psalm 88?I think there are three reasons. We're going to look at each one, but first let's pray again and ask God for help.Father in heaven, by your grace we are here with your Word open before us, and we ask for your help. We reject any assumptions that there's nothing here for us, and we reject any pretense that thinks we can gain anything from you in our own strength. Our souls are needy and you must feed us. Do that, please, in Jesus's name, amen. The first reason we need Psalm 88 …1. Soul trouble is a real experience in Christian life.We don't know the historical details behind this psalm. The superscript tells us that it's from a son of Korah named Heman the Ezrahite — and there are a couple different “Hemans” in the Old Testament; we're not 100% sure which one this is, but he's not to be confused with He-Man, the cartoon from the 1980s. This is Heman the psalmist, but beyond that, we don't know much about what's going on. We don't know of a certain event he's responding to. And that's on purpose.It's important for us to see that the trouble in Psalm 88 is not an external physical enemy, but it's personal and spiritual … and the thing with personal, spiritual trouble is that it can happen anywhere at any time — in the Middle East in 600BC or here, today — and it can happen for all kinds of reasons, some that make sense and others that make no sense.In Need of a CategoryThe fact is it's trouble. The psalmist says in verse 3,“My soul is full of troubles.”And we can understand that … he has a troubled soul. Soul trouble. And this a category we need. There is such a thing as a condition of soul that's like being on the edge of the grave, he says in verse 3. He uses lots metaphors to describe the experience …Verse 4:“I am counted among those who go down to the pit, I am a man who has no strength.”To paraphrase him, he's saying, I've been betted against and drained of life, verse 4. I'm like a zombie and useless — discarded with the dead, verse 5. I'm forgotten and forsaken by God, verse 6.And this is the psalm. You heard it read. It's this kind of talking pretty much the whole way through, and it just goes from bad to worse, to finally darkness. This is soul trouble — it's a condition.Or, it's what some have called “spiritual depression.” That's the title that Martyn Lloyd-Jones gave it back in the 1960s (the word “depression” was not used back then like it is today). But he explained it as an experience in the Christian life when you're in a prolonged state of spiritual discouragement, heaviness, or lack of joy — and not because of some sin, but it just is. This experience has also been called “the dark night of the soul.” Or also “divine absence.”They're all talking about the same thing. It's an experience of intense spiritual dryness, disorientation, and darkness — it's when God has permitted himself to seem far from you.We need a category for this. So call it what you want — “spiritual depression” or “dark night of the soul” or “divine absence” — I'm calling it soul trouble (to use the words of verse 3). But the main thing is that you know it's a thing. It's a real experience in the Christian life, and some of you know about it all too well because you've been there … or you are there now. And we don't like to be there. We don't want to be here. But we can't just make it stop. Others Have Been There, TooWell, first thing we all should know about this experience is that when you find yourself there, you're not alone and it's not uncommon. Historically, we have lots of examples of past saints who've been there.Charles Spurgeon spoke openly of his own soul trouble. In 1858, he preached a sermon to his church titled, “The Christian's Heaviness and Rejoicing,” and in that sermon he said, I was lying upon my couch during this last week, and my spirits were sunken so low that I could weep by the hour like a child, and yet I knew not what I wept for …He battled this all throughout his ministry. Spurgeon can help us. But personally, I've been most helped by John Bunyan, another Baptist ancestor and pastor. Bunyan lived in the 1600s but we can read him today, and he talks about his struggles openly in his autobiography. He called his experience “many turnings and goings” upon his heart. That's another way to say Ups and downs. Back and forth. I want to read to you an extended quote from Bunyan, and it's in Old English, so hang with me (it's printed in the handout if you want to follow). He writes this: I have wondered much at this one thing, that though God doth visit my soul with never so blessed a discovery of himself, yet I have found again, that such hours have attended me afterwards, that I have been in my spirit so filled with darkness, that I could not so much as once conceive what that God and that comfort was with which I have been refreshed.I have sometimes seen more in a line of the Bible than I could well tell how to stand under, and yet at another time the whole Bible hath been to me as dry as a stick; or rather, my heart hath been so dead and dry unto it, that I could not conceive the least dram of refreshment, though I have looked it all over.Do you hear him? His Christian life is like a roller coaster. He sees and then he can't see. He has affections and then no affections. Rivers of refreshment; dry as a desert. And it doesn't make sense. You ever been there before?Brothers and sisters, you're not alone. As the Word of God!We can read about the experiences of past saints, but even better than that, God gave us Psalm 88. We can read the experience here as the word of God. We can walk with this psalmist as he's in the darkest part of the valley. Verse 7:“Your wrath lies heavy upon me, and you overwhelm me with all your waves.”You've isolated me, verse 8. I'm shunned.I pray to you every day but you don't listen. Why do you reject me? Why are you hiding from me?I'm overwhelmed. I'm exhausted. I'm being destroyed and I can't get a break. I'm in the dark.Soul trouble. That's what this is. And we need Psalm 88 because soul trouble is a real experience in the Christian life. God gave us this psalm so that we know what to do with it.That's the second reason we need Psalm 88.2. We learn to take our soul trouble to God. Okay, so Psalm 88 is bleak and despairing at face-value, but when we look closer, we can see that it's not without hope, and that's because of the most obvious fact of this psalm: it is a prayer. Which means, everything that is said here is said to God. Look at this with me, verse 1: “O Yahweh, God of my salvation, I cry out day and night before you. Let my prayer come before you; incline your ear to my cry!”Verse 9: “Every day I call upon you, O Yahweh; I spread out my hands to you.”Verse 13:“But I, O Yahweh, cry to you; in the morning my prayer comes before you.”Do see that? You, you, you! The psalmist is bringing his soul trouble to God even as he knows that God is the one in control of it. The God We Can TrustThat's the amazing thing of the very first line in verse 1. He starts this whole psalm with, “O Yahweh, God of my salvation.”Now why is that important? It's that he addresses God by his covenant name, Yahweh. The name “Yahweh” is the name that God revealed to Moses (and the people of Israel) as the grounds by which he can be trusted. This revelation is one of the highest moments in all the Bible. It is Exodus 34, on Mount Sinai: God passed before Moses and proclaimed his name:“Yahweh, Yahweh, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness…”God proclaimed himself to be the God who is there, and who is there to save. He is the present, saving God — Yahweh. That's his name! That's who he is! He is the present, saving God even when we can't see, even when we may not feel it. The psalmist acknowledges this reality right from the start. He's in the dark, but even in the dark he comes to the God of promise, the God of covenant faithfulness, the God of his salvation. That's what it means to call God by his name, “Yahweh” — which he does in verse 1, verse 9, and verse 13.The psalmist feels forgotten, but he has not forgotten who to tell it to. Verses 1, 9, and 13 frame this psalm. He's saying, Yahweh, I'm a mess, look at me. This is where I am. I'm a mess, but I'm your mess … And I'm coming to you. We are taught here to do the same thing. Three Possible ScenariosThere are really three possible scenarios we could be in. Track with me here:1. The best scenario — this is not to have soul trouble — this is when God is close and clear. It's what John Bunyan was talking about when he said “God doth visit my soul with blessed discoveries of himself.” We read the Bible and we can see! And we're mainly thankful! Don't you want that? It is “heaven on earth” (that's what the Puritan Thomas Brooks called it). It's the best scenario.2. The worst scenario — this is to have soul trouble, to feel all the things Psalm 88 feels, but it's to run away from God. It's to abandon God, reject God, refuse to pray. That is “hell on earth.” God, keep us from that. It's the worst scenario.So there's the best scenario and the worst scenario, and Psalm 88 is neither of those. So what is it?3. It's the second-best scenario. It's to have the soul trouble, but to bring the soul trouble to the God who ‘feels' far away. It's to call him by his name, Yahweh, the God of my salvation. It's to say, I'm a mess, but I'm your mess. It's not the best place to be, but it's the second-best place to be, and sometimes God calls us to second best.Part of Our Vocab?And again, in terms of a category, this is one that I want us to have in our church. I think it's a big problem in the local church when everyone pretends like they're in the best scenario when they're not. Everybody we see, we say, “Hey, how are you?” And it's constantly, “Great! Great! Great!” I want us all to know: we don't have to say “great” if it's not great. But then what do we say? If it's not great and somebody asks you, “Hey, how are you?” You can say, “I'm doing second-best.”Could we make that part of our vocabulary?If we're doing second-best, let's tell one another, and help one another. God loves you right there, in that valley, in second-best. He loves you. He is the God of your salvation. Take your soul trouble to him. Psalm 88 shows us how to do that.Third reason God gives us this psalm …3. Jesus has endured the darkness for us.The Book of Psalms overall is meant to be a guide for our worship. The psalms model for us how to live the life of real faith with all its ups and downs, turnings and goings. And it's amazing how we can identify with such an ancient text. We forget sometimes that this was written thousands of years ago. And yet, we can read it and we get where the writers are coming from. That's astounding. We have an ancient faith, and the psalms are for our faith. But the psalms are not about us and our faith. The psalms are mainly about the Messiah. Some psalms are more overt here than others, but every psalm, taken in context, is meant to point us to Jesus. The same goes for Psalm 88.And I think that becomes clearer the more we slow down and hear what the psalmist is saying. As dark as our own situation might be, there are parts of Psalm 88 that stretch beyond our experience. Wait, It's Not That DarkAs it turns out, I ran into my own soul trouble this past week. True story. I didn't cry for an hour like a child, like Spurgeon did, but I hit a snag, I was spinning my wheels for a bit, and providentially, I'm in Psalm 88. But the more I meditated on it, I was like, Yeah, I'm not there. It's not that dark. And I think we all have to say that by the time we get to verse 7. This is one we need to see together. Can everybody find verse 7? If you don't have a Bible, we'd love to give you one, but for now look on with a neighbor if you need to. We all need to see verse 7,“Your wrath lies heavy upon me, and you overwhelm me with all your waves. Selah”Now notice he doesn't say, “It feels like your wrath is upon me.” No, he says, “Your wrath” — ḥēmāh, your fury, your rage — “your wrath lies heavy upon me.” And I read that this week and said, I've never been there. Some of us in this room have been in some really dark places, but none of us have ever been there. When you get to Psalm 88, verse 7 — the wrath of God heavy upon me — you read that and realize: there's only one person who's ever been there and lived to talk to about it. His name is Jesus. And look, he went there for you. We can say, he went there for me.He Went There For YouHe went there, to that ultimate place of darkness, and he suffered that wrath, so that we don't have to. Which means: as dark as it might get for you, you can remember that Jesus has already gone there and beyond there — on the darkest of days, from a hill called the Skull, after he cried forsaken, after he said It was finished, after they sealed the tomb with a stone, he went there, to the grave where his companions became darkness … but then he looked Death in the face and he said You're done. … And he left. He got up.He was raised in death-defeating, indestructible life which he has right now, for you, where you are. You might feel alone, but you are not alone. He will never leave you. He will never forsake you. Jesus is not afraid of the dark, and because of him we don't have to be either. Praise him! Praise him! What a Savior!Jesus, thank you for your great love for us. And thank you that the proof of your love is in your wounds. We know that you've not abandoned us. You've not forgotten us. But you're here with us always and you hold us even when we hurt. And we can't see. You've got us. We praise you, Jesus. We praise you.

Psalm 108 is the first of three David psalms that kick off Book Five of the Psalter. These David psalms show that while Israel had little hope of having a son of David on their earthly throne, they continued to trust in the Lord's promise for the coming of a greater anointed leader to deliver them, the Messiah, the Christ.

It's getting warmer outside.The flowers are bursting forth and filling our city with wonderful colours.We hear the old familiar sound of lawn mowers on Saturday mornings.And we have busy schedules around ballfields.Which means … Summer has arrived … well, almost, we are in Canada, after all

Psalm 131 - Speaker: Jon Kopp - The book of Psalms is a beautifully diverse book. Some Psalms give voice to our trouble like the one we heard last week. Others are packed with adoration and thanksgiving and invite us to join in. There are Psalms that exalt the rule of our king and proclaim what loyalty to Him looks like. Then, there are even Psalms that are so filled with emotion at injustice–even anger and frustration–that they overflow to the only One who can do anything about it. Psalm 131 is in a different vein from all those. Most of it is what one author called “holy eavesdropping.” Reading this Psalm is like listening to the experiences of a person who has discovered something incredibly profound about being with the Lord, and as he does, he just can't keep it to himself. In a world that rarely stops to catch its breath, Psalm 131 whispers an invitation to our restless hearts. Charles Spurgeon said of Psalm 131 that it is “one of the shortest psalms in the Psalter, but one of the longest to learn.” In this brief Psalm we a find profound message for the hurried, noisy age we live in. In the striving and distraction and restlessness of our world and our hearts, this psalm lifts up quiet humility and calm surrender in the care of the Lord. It confronts us and it comforts us. It calls us out, and it invites us in to find our rest and peace in the care of our faithful God.

"Blessed is the man . . . who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers.  But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on His law he meditates day and night.  He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither.  Whatever he does prospers." The Psalmist begins the Psalter by describing the man whom God calls "blessed." Not one whom the world admires for riches, fame, or power--but one separated from evil and saturated with Scripture. The righteous man "does not walk in the counsel of the wicked"--he does not adopt their philosophies. He does not "stand in the way of sinners"--he does not linger with their practices. He does not "sit in the seat of mockers"--he refuses the settled scorn of those who defy God. The progression is deliberate: walking, then standing, then sitting. Sin gains strength by degrees. But the righteous man turns aside from that path entirely. He chooses the narrow road that leads to life (Matthew 7:14). The foundation of his godliness is inward delight: "his delight is in the law of the Lord." He does not merely read the Word out of duty--he treasures it as his joy. It is his rule and compass, his comfort and guide. He feeds upon it as his daily bread. "On His law he meditates day and night." Scripture is not a garnish on the side of his life--it is the main course. He turns it over in his heart continually. This is no superficial engagement. Like Mary, he "treasures up all these things and ponders them" (Luke 2:19). And what is the result? "He is like a tree planted by streams of water." His stabil

Psalm 139 reads like a diary entry of David with its emotional and personal context, yet it is introduced as a hymn for the choirmaster to be sung in public worship. Its inclusion in the Psalter calls the believing singer/reader to identify with David's heartfelt relationship to His omniscient and loving Creator. The psalm calls us to assume its 1" person perspective as we confess with David the limitless knowledge, love, and power of Christ toward us, His beloved bride, who He died to redeem. This song is one of confession and submission to the sovereign knowledge of God. It is the opposite of Adam and Eve's impulse on their day of reckoning. Rather than hiding from God and scrambling to disguise his-guilt and shame, David submits-whole heartedly to the Lord, asking for God to audit his heart and life.

142:1 I cry aloud with my voice to the LORD-  “The synonymous parallelism repeats the phrase ‘with my voice' to emphasize that he cries aloud” Miller, 435. “In Psalm 142:1 is za'aq,  conveys the idea of crying out in acute distress and seeking deliverance. The verbal root occurs only five times in the Psalter, twice in Psalm 142” NICOT, 978. “Although the Hebrew root translated ‘cry' in vv. 1, 5 does not occur often in the psalms (see Pss. 22:5; 107:13, 19), it is an important theological word. For instance, it recalls the exodus (see Exod. 2:23); it is a crucial part of the pattern in the book of Judges (see Judg. 3:9, 15; 6:6-7); indeed, it became understood as a typical element in God's dealing with God's people (see Neh. 9:28)” McCann, 1247. “To make supplication is to appeal to kindness (so the Hebrew word suggests)” Kidner, 473. 142:2 I pour out my complaint before Him- The six Hebrew words that make up this verse are a chiasm. pour out is used in 42:4; 62:8. The word before Him twice in vs. 2. The word complaint is used in Pss. 55:2; 64:1; 102:1 (heading); 104:34.I declare my trouble before Him- Trouble is used in parallelism with complaint. This word appears in 77:2; 86:7.142:3 When my spirit was overwhelmed within me- Faint or overwhelmed is used in Ps. 61:2; 77:3; 143:4; Jonah 2:7. The word is used twice in Gen. 30:42 for the feeble among the flocks becoming Laban's. “He is at his wit's end and does not know how to pray adequately” Miller, 435. “He describes his emotional state as his spirit growing faint, probably referring to deep disappointment or depression” Longman, 461. You knew my path- The you is emphatic. Knew in Ps. 1:6; 139:1-4. He finds comfort that God understands. “His only help in this time of distress is God, who watches over his life” Longman, 461. They have hidden a trap for me- Trap lead for him in 140:5; 141:9-10.142:4 Look to the right and see- “To the right suggests the place where a helper would stand (cf. 16:8; 109:31; 110:5; 121:5)” Miller, 435.  “The right was the place where the witness for the defense stood (109:31)” Allen, 276. No one cares for my soul- “David was completely helpless before his enemies and no one seemed to care for his life” BK, 894. II Tim. 4:17 “He stands alone” Laymen's, 697. “On the horizontal plane he stands alone” Allen, 279. “God hears persons whom nobody else bothers to hear, and that God cares for those whom nobody else appears to care for (v. 4d)” McCann, 1248.142:5 I cried to You, O LORD- 140:6 I said, ‘You are my refuge- Ps. 14:6; 46:1; 61:3; 62:7, 8; 71:7; 73:28; 91:2, 9; 94:22; 104:18; 142:5; Isa. 4:6; 25:4.My portion in the land of the living'- “Claiming Yahweh as my portion in the land of the living is particularly associated with the Levites (Num. 18:20; Deut. 10:9)” Broyles, 495. “The land of the living is opposite of Sheol, the place of the dead (cff. Pss. 27:13; 52:5; 116:9)” Miller, 435. 142:6 For I am brought very low- brought low in Judges 6:6; Ps. 79:8; 116:6. For they are too strong for me- Ps. 79:8 God is big enough to defeat every foe. 142:7 Bring my soul out of prison- Isa. 42:7; Ps. 102:20; 107:10. God can deliver us from every bondage. “He pleads his weakness and implicitly confesses God's sovereign power” Laymen's 697. So that I may give thanks to Your name- 18:49; 20:1; 140:13 “The psalm-singer

Join Rob Patterson as he shares today's Devotionable on Psalm 55. Devotionables #784 - Psalm 55 Psalm 55 The PsalmsDevotionables is a ministry of The Ninth & O Baptist Church in Louisville, KY.  naobc.org

The Psalms are a collection of 150 Songs carefully placed inside 5 books of Psalms:  Book 1:1-41, Book 2:42-72, Book: 3:73-89, Book 4:90-106, Book 5:107-150.  The first three books are primarily lament Psalms.  Sadness, anger, and bewilderment are prayed out.  The final two books include two very angry Psalms, 109 and 137, but these books are dominated by Praise.  The final six Psalms thunder with the praise of the "I Am "God. The five books of Psalms are clearly intended as responsive speech to the five books of the Pentateuch, Genesis - Deuteronomy.  The Pentateuch is the story of "I am" calling Israel to be His crisis relief for the entire creation. The Psalms are prayed from the time of David, 1000 B.C., from inside the story the Hebrew scripture tells.  The Psalter was not collected into its current form until the 4th century B.C.  By then Israel had been in exile for two hundred years.  Yet the Israel of the 2nd Temple, 530 B.C. to 70, AD., is singing her faith in the rebuilt temple and those living outside Judea are singing inside synagogues throughout the Roman empire.  The Psalms were Jesus' prayer book and were prayed by the early church.  (Matt. 27:46, Col. 3:16, Eph. 5:19) We will pray and praise a representative collection of the Great Psalms of the Psalter -Psalms 1, 2, 3, 8, 16, 19, 22, 23, 42, 51, 73-74, 88-89, 90, 104-106, 109, 110, and 139.  We will pray out to the Lord God our emotions and struggles, but we will continue praying through from confusion, doubt, and anger to more clarity, trust, and peace.  We will be encouraged, rebuked, and discipled by the ancient Songs of Israel, Jesus, and our Church Fathers and Mothers. The "I Am," the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, will bless us as we draw near to God together.  Come join us on the Way.

Pastor Taylor BradburyThe psalms are the words of Christ that He sings, and the psalms are our words that we sing in Him.1. The truth of resurrection is foretold via the Son's words in the Psalter.2. The inauguration of resurrection is found in Christ's empty tomb.3. The fruit of resurrection is underway in all peoples coming to Christ

The German Reformer, Martin Luther wrote these words concerning Psalm 118: “This is my own beloved psalm. Although the entire Psalter and all of Holy Scripture are dear to me as my only comfort and source of life, I fell in love with this psalm especially. Therefore I call it my own. When emperors and kings, the wise and the learned, and even saints, could not aid me, this psalm proved a friend and helped me out of many great troubles... Would to God that all the world would claim this psalm for its own, as I do!' In this message, Pastor Rick Anderson first breaks the psalm into digestible sections, then briefly explains each of these sections with the eye of showing how this psalm looked forward to Christ and how it applies to us today. It is our prayer that this psalm become your loving friend and aid as well!

The Lord reigns! He is exalted all over the earth, victorious, and people worldwide will sing and shout! Devotionables #776 - The Conquering Hero Psalm 47 The PsalmsDevotionables is a ministry of The Ninth & O Baptist Church in Louisville, KY.  naobc.org

The Psalms are a collection of 150 Songs carefully placed inside 5 books of Psalms:  Book 1:1-41, Book 2:42-72, Book: 3:73-89, Book 4:90-106, Book 5:107-150.  The first three books are primarily lament Psalms.  Sadness, anger, and bewilderment are prayed out.  The final two books include two very angry Psalms, 109 and 137, but these books are dominated by Praise.  The final six Psalms thunder with the praise of the "I Am "God. The five books of Psalms are clearly intended as responsive speech to the five books of the Pentateuch, Genesis - Deuteronomy.  The Pentateuch is the story of "I am" calling Israel to be His crisis relief for the entire creation. The Psalms are prayed from the time of David, 1000 B.C., from inside the story the Hebrew scripture tells.  The Psalter was not collected into its current form until the 4th century B.C.  By then Israel had been in exile for two hundred years.  Yet the Israel of the 2nd Temple, 530 B.C. to 70, AD., is singing her faith in the rebuilt temple and those living outside Judea are singing inside synagogues throughout the Roman empire.  The Psalms were Jesus' prayer book and were prayed by the early church.  (Matt. 27:46, Col. 3:16, Eph. 5:19) We will pray and praise a representative collection of the Great Psalms of the Psalter -Psalms 1, 2, 3, 8, 16, 19, 22, 23, 42, 51, 73-74, 88-89, 90, 104-106, 109, 110, and 139.  We will pray out to the Lord God our emotions and struggles, but we will continue praying through from confusion, doubt, and anger to more clarity, trust, and peace.  We will be encouraged, rebuked, and discipled by the ancient Songs of Israel, Jesus, and our Church Fathers and Mothers. The "I Am," the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, will bless us as we draw near to God together.  Come join us on the Way.

Bill Simmons is President and CEO of American Leprosy Missions (soon to be Hope Rises International), part of his two-decade journey leading national and international organizations. Bill brings deep insight to the intersection of organizational leadership and spiritual formation, and is currently pursuing post-graduate studies in spiritual formation at Gordon Conwell Seminary. Bill holds a BA from the University of Tennessee. Bill and his wife Cindi live in Greenville, SC.BOOK The Way of Interruption: Spiritual Practice for Organizational Life WHY NOW AND WHAT'S THE GOAL? IF YOU WERE A CRITIC: WHAT COULD BE A MISCONCEPTION OF THE BOOK? WHAT MIGHT BE A COMMON CONCERN ABOUT THE PSALTER GUIDE? MAIN CONCEPT? FAIR ASSESSMENT? ORGANIZATIONS MAKE ROOM FOR GOD: INTENTIONAL STRUCTURED TIMES OF MARGIN THROUGHOUT THE DAY TO CORPORATELY INVITE GOD INTO THE SPACE. WHAT WOULD YOU ADD? WHAT VALUE HAVE YOU SEEN?3 PRACTICES FROM BOOK1. Pause: Remove distractions. Breathe—deeply, slowly, and silently (for 30 seconds to 3 minutes). While you pause and breathe, take every thought captive. While you pause and breathe, recollect yourself.2. Psalms: Turn to the Psalm selected for the day in this book's included Psalter guide. Read the Psalm together as a prayer.3. Pray: If you feel led to pray in your own words, choose a word, image, or phrase from the day's Psalm; build your prayer around it, letting it nest in your heart and spill out into your work. Ask God to shape your work and pray for that work that it might be a part of God's Kingdom come.LITURGIES DEFINE EXPLAIN BENEFITS EXPLAIN APPLICATION CHALLENGES FOR IMPLEMENTING THIS MODEL IN AN ORGANIZATION? CATEGORICAL TARGETED PRAYER THAT DIRECTLY ALIGNS WITH A PASSAGE OF SCRIPTURE LITERAL PLUG N PLAY OF BIBLE INTO REAL LIFE SCENARIOS WHAT DOES A WIN LOOK LIKE FOR THIS BOOK?

Psalm 88 WorksheetOne of the most interesting things about this Psalm and the next is that they are written by 2 men named Heman the Ezrahite and Ethan the Ezrahite. Heman, Asaph, and Ethan were each descendants of Levi's sons Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. Asaph was from Gershon; Heman from the line of Kohath; Ethan from Merari (1 Chr. 6:31-48). Heman has the added distinction of being the grandson of _______________________ (1 Chr. 6:33).Asaph wrote 12 Psalms, 11 here in book 3 of the Psalms; Heman wrote Psalm 88 and Ethan wrote Psalm 89. So 13 of the 17 Psalms of Book 3 are attributed to David's key music leaders from the tribe of Levi. The tone of Psalm 88 is very much one of _____________________________. It appears the Psalmist is facing suffering and death is very discouraged. It is not regarded as a Messianic Psalm, but several verses remind me of the suffering Jesus endured. As I read Psalm 88, look for the different ways death is referred to. Also look for the 3 times he speaks of calling out or crying out to the LORD. A man _______________________ death cries out to the LORD V. 1-9This man is despondent, but at least he is __________________________. Be honest with God in your prayers like in Psalm 88, and then go on to the kind of perspective that Psalm ____________ gives! The first reference to death is in verse 3, the word grave or Sheol. Sheol occurs 64 times in the Old Testament. The second reference to death is in verse 4, the word pit or bor. Bor occurs 61 times in the Old Testament. The third reference to death is in verse 5, “adrift among the dead.” The word for dead is mut, which occurs 693 times in the Old Testament. The sixth and seventh references to death are the words darkness and depths in verse 6.The word “wrath” in verse 7 reminds me of when Jesus was bearing our sin on the cross and cried out, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me” (2 Cor. 5:21; John 3:36). Verse 8 reminds me of Jesus “shut up” on the cross, with so many of His followers not there to support Him. Jesus can identify with the Psalmist and any of us who feels neglected or forsaken by _____________. Verses 1 and 9 begin and end the first section by crying out to the LORD in the midst of this man facing death. A man ______________________ death cries out to the LORD V. 11-18Verses 10-12 feature 6 questions that it appears the Psalmist fears the answer is no but Christians now know the answer is ________________ in Christ!Let's not forget our count of references to death – verses 10-12 have the eighth through ________________ references to death! Verse 13 gives the one note of hope that after death, the “___________________________” will come. We borrow that hope from this being near to Psalm 86 by David.“I will praise you, O Lord my God, with all my heart, and I will glorify Your name forevermore. For great is Your mercy toward me, and You have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol.” -Psalm 86:11-12Back in Psalm 88, the Psalmist wants to know, he wants to feel what David feels and __________________ in Psalm 86, but he is on the struggle bus. Verses 15 to the end make that struggle clear.Verse 15 gives us at least the 14th reference to death. With other references to being “cut off”, “wrath” and “terrors,” we may get all the way to ________________ references to death. Why is this discouraging Psalm in the Psalter, meant to be sung by the people? Sometimes getting the way we feel out there begins the ___________________________. Psalm 88 is like parts of the book of Ecclesiastes, that really describe the emptiness in life without God. Ecclesiastes brings to despair to then drive to faith in God (Ecc. 12:13-14). Psalm 89 does that for book 3 of of the Psalms. After the discouraging note of Psalm 88, Psalm 89 includes this thought to God's people when they feel discouraged:Nevertheless My lovingkindness I will not utterly take from him, nor allow My faithfulness to fail. -Psalm 89:33

Psalm 138 is the first of 8 songs written by David which appear as a set in the closing chapters of the Psalter. These Davidic psalms are followed by the final collection of S songs which all begin and end with the refrain: "Praise the lord!". These closing medleys swerve to reprise two central themes of the entire book - prayer, and praise. David's songs are structured according to the former followed by the crescendo psalms emphasizing the latter. It seems appropriate that this greatest of song books would culminate with a universal call to worship and 8 songs penned as examples by Israel's greatest king.

​This podcast presents the full Psalter in the 20 sections (kathismata) as read in the course of one week during daily Matins and Vespers in Orthodox Christian monasteries and in personal daily prayer by those who would pray the Psalter in this way.​Holy Cross Monastery Online Store: https://holycross.org/collections ​Holy Cross Monastery Live Broadcast: https://youtube.com/channel/UCQ-sqeQbmgzrL0t8uFJm4Ew ​Paypal Donation Link: https://paypal.com/us/fundraiser/charity/1336755​HOLY CROSS MONASTERY is an English-speaking Orthodox Christian monastic brotherhood within the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia in the Diocese of Eastern America & New York. Learn more about the life and ministry of the monastery at https:= holycross.org. ​​Used with permission.

Psalm 140 For the choir director, A Psalm of David“Psalm 140 is clearly an individual lament, with its appeals to God to listen and rescue (vv. 1, 4, 8), its complaints concerning the wicked who intend to harm the psalmist (vv. 2-3, 5), its imprecation (vv. 9-11) and its note of confidence (vv. 6-7, 12-13)” Longman, 455. “In the present literary setting, the petitions in Psalm 140 can be understood as an elaboration of Ps. 139:19-22…Psalm 140 also anticipates Psalms 141-143” McCann, 1240. Psalms 141-143 are also individual laments. “Psalm 140 is another prayer psalm about personal enemies. They are described in the familiar categories of ‘the righteous; (vs.13) and ‘the wicked' (vv. 4, 8). These ‘men of violence' (vv. 1, and so they ‘devise evil') and ‘proud' (v. 5) and by a variety of images. They are warlike (vv. 2, 7) and are compared to hunter (v. 5) and ‘their tongues; to ‘a serpent's' (v. 3)…The righteous are further described by the moral term ‘the upright' and be economic terms, ‘the poor' and ‘needy'” Broyles, 489. “The psalm consists of two prayers (1-5, 8-11) each followed by an affirmation (6-7, 12-13)” Motyer, 579. “The first affirmation acknowledges the God of salvation in personal, protective care, the second affirms the God of righteousness in public oversight of society” Motyer, 579.“The occurrences of Selah after vv. 3, 5, and 8 suggest a fourfold division of the psalm” McCann, 1239.  The divine name appears in the first colon of vs. 1, 4, 6, 12.140:1-3 Rescue me from violent men140:4-5 Keep me from the wicked 140:6-8 A plea for God to provide protection 140:9-11 A prayer for judgment upon the wicked 140:12-13 God will maintain the cause of his peopleJesus and Psalm 140140:3 is quoted to describe the sinfulness of man in Rom. 3:13. Sin from which only Jesus can provide salvation. “The New Testament treats the Psalter as a major witness to human depravity (most of Rom. 3:10-18 is from the Psalms), largely because it exposes this element in us of sheer malice, a poison which can be secreted and employed not only without provocation (69:4) but even in face of generosity and love (cf. especially 35:12-16; 55:12-14)” Kidner, 468. “Paul is not referring to or condemning the malicious and violent enemies of the faith, but all humanity, both Jews and Greeks (Rom. 3:9). We are all capable of plotting maliciousness and engaging in violent ways” NICOT, 971. “From this perspective, Psalm 140 becomes a prayer requesting that we be delivered from ourselves!” McCann, 1241. “Jesus Himself was the subject of false accusations that led to his crucifixion (see John 18:19-19:37). One can imagine Jesus praying this prayer. However, rather than uttering imprecation against his attackers, He prayed, ‘Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing' (Luke 23:34). Like the psalmist, Jesus expressed His utter confidence in God, even in the face of death” Longman, 457. 140:13 Jesus gives a whole deeper meaning to the upright dwelling in Your presence. “His last word matched the climax to which the whole of Scriptures moves: ‘His servants shall serve him: and they shall see His face' (Rev. 22:3f., AV)” Kidner, 469. For further notes, private message me on the facebook page

The Psalms are a collection of 150 Songs carefully placed inside 5 books of Psalms:  Book 1:1-41, Book 2:42-72, Book: 3:73-89, Book 4:90-106, Book 5:107-150.  The first three books are primarily lament Psalms.  Sadness, anger, and bewilderment are prayed out.  The final two books include two very angry Psalms, 109 and 137, but these books are dominated by Praise.  The final six Psalms thunder with the praise of the "I Am "God. The five books of Psalms are clearly intended as responsive speech to the five books of the Pentateuch, Genesis - Deuteronomy.  The Pentateuch is the story of "I am" calling Israel to be His crisis relief for the entire creation. The Psalms are prayed from the time of David, 1000 B.C., from inside the story the Hebrew scripture tells.  The Psalter was not collected into its current form until the 4th century B.C.  By then Israel had been in exile for two hundred years.  Yet the Israel of the 2nd Temple, 530 B.C. to 70, AD., is singing her faith in the rebuilt temple and those living outside Judea are singing inside synagogues throughout the Roman empire.  The Psalms were Jesus' prayer book and were prayed by the early church.  (Matt. 27:46, Col. 3:16, Eph. 5:19) We will pray and praise a representative collection of the Great Psalms of the Psalter -Psalms 1, 2, 3, 8, 16, 19, 22, 23, 42, 51, 73-74, 88-89, 90, 104-106, 109, 110, and 139.  We will pray out to the Lord God our emotions and struggles, but we will continue praying through from confusion, doubt, and anger to more clarity, trust, and peace.  We will be encouraged, rebuked, and discipled by the ancient Songs of Israel, Jesus, and our Church Fathers and Mothers. The "I Am," the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, will bless us as we draw near to God together.  Come join us on the Way.

Class 4 from this series was used in GCT Episode 342.

This week we have a special guest host, Bro. Mike Livermore. Together we are listening to the a class by Bro. Roger Lewis from his series on "The Crisis of Hezekiah" that he gave at Midwest Bible Schools in 2024 This is the 4 class from that series titled "The Writing and The Psalter" . Be sure to subscribe to the GCT Extended podcast to hear the other 5 classes in this series!We hope this strengthens your Faith and brightens your day!Thank you for listening, God bless, and talk to you next week.Send talk suggestions or comments to: ⁠⁠⁠GoodChristadelphianTalks@gmail.com⁠⁠⁠For Show Notes, visit our website: ⁠⁠⁠GoodChristadelphianTalks.com⁠⁠⁠Social Media: ⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠Instagram

If you're ready to dive deeper, become part of the Better Readers Academy!https://www.betterbiblereading.com/academyThe Psalms give us a little Bible, says Luther. In these 150 chapters, we find a range of themes and doctrines laid out for us. More than that, these are specifically written for occasions of singing and worship. But how should we understand these 150 chapters, divided into five books? Here's a thematic approach to understanding each of the five books of the Psalter. I hope it's helpful and gives you the tools to better understand this unique book of Scripture.Support the showIf you're ready to dive deep with me, consider joining my all-new membership site Better Readers Academy.

The Psalms are a collection of 150 Songs carefully placed inside 5 books of Psalms:  Book 1:1-41, Book 2:42-72, Book: 3:73-89, Book 4:90-106, Book 5:107-150.  The first three books are primarily lament Psalms.  Sadness, anger, and bewilderment are prayed out.  The final two books include two very angry Psalms, 109 and 137, but these books are dominated by Praise.  The final six Psalms thunder with the praise of the "I Am "God. The five books of Psalms are clearly intended as responsive speech to the five books of the Pentateuch, Genesis - Deuteronomy.  The Pentateuch is the story of "I am" calling Israel to be His crisis relief for the entire creation. The Psalms are prayed from the time of David, 1000 B.C., from inside the story the Hebrew scripture tells.  The Psalter was not collected into its current form until the 4th century B.C.  By then Israel had been in exile for two hundred years.  Yet the Israel of the 2nd Temple, 530 B.C. to 70, AD., is singing her faith in the rebuilt temple and those living outside Judea are singing inside synagogues throughout the Roman empire.  The Psalms were Jesus' prayer book and were prayed by the early church.  (Matt. 27:46, Col. 3:16, Eph. 5:19) We will pray and praise a representative collection of the Great Psalms of the Psalter -Psalms 1, 2, 3, 8, 16, 19, 22, 23, 42, 51, 73-74, 88-89, 90, 104-106, 109, 110, and 139.  We will pray out to the Lord God our emotions and struggles, but we will continue praying through from confusion, doubt, and anger to more clarity, trust, and peace.  We will be encouraged, rebuked, and discipled by the ancient Songs of Israel, Jesus, and our Church Fathers and Mothers. The "I Am," the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, will bless us as we draw near to God together.  Come join us on the Way.

What happens if the priest or pastor doesn't say the exact words during a baptism? Does it still count? We explore the Church's teaching on valid baptism, plus questions on receiving Communion before convalidation, judgment after death, and depictions of Jesus in iconography. Join The CA Live Club Newsletter: Click Here Questions Covered: 06:19 – I'm having my marriage convalidated in a couple of weeks. I will go to confession the day before. The next day I will go to Mass at 9am and the convalidation ceremony is at 1pm. Can I receive Eucharist at Mass or do I have to wait until after the convalidation? 09:08 – Is my baptism valid? The pastor changed the words. 17:33 – When do the general judgment (Mt. 25-31) and individual judgment (Hebrews 9:27) take place? 22:21 – If Mary had said no, would that have been her exercising her free will and not committing sin? 32:01 – As Catholics how should we practically approach suffering and should we pray to have it removed? 38:12 – Why do Catholics believe they can get messages from guardian angels, specifically regarding Archangel Gabriel on this solemnity of the Annunciation? 48:43 – Where to start with learning to sing the Psalter? What radio? 52:23 – In iconography, why is Jesus usually painted white when he was probably darker skinned?

The Third Sunday in Lent ORISON: My eyes are ever looking to the Lord – Plainsong, Mode VII; adapt. Bruce E. Ford (1947-2025) PSALM 63:1-8 – Plainsong, Tone II.1 HYMN: Lord Jesus, think on me (Tune: SOUTHWELL) – from Daman's Psalter, 1579; adapt. Hymnal 1940; fauxbourdon harm. by Peter R. Hallock (1924-2014) NUNC DIMITTIS – […]

The Psalms are a collection of 150 Songs carefully placed inside 5 books of Psalms:  Book 1:1-41, Book 2:42-72, Book: 3:73-89, Book 4:90-106, Book 5:107-150.  The first three books are primarily lament Psalms.  Sadness, anger, and bewilderment are prayed out.  The final two books include two very angry Psalms, 109 and 137, but these books are dominated by Praise.  The final six Psalms thunder with the praise of the "I Am "God. The five books of Psalms are clearly intended as responsive speech to the five books of the Pentateuch, Genesis - Deuteronomy.  The Pentateuch is the story of "I am" calling Israel to be His crisis relief for the entire creation. The Psalms are prayed from the time of David, 1000 B.C., from inside the story the Hebrew scripture tells.  The Psalter was not collected into its current form until the 4th century B.C.  By then Israel had been in exile for two hundred years.  Yet the Israel of the 2nd Temple, 530 B.C. to 70, AD., is singing her faith in the rebuilt temple and those living outside Judea are singing inside synagogues throughout the Roman empire.  The Psalms were Jesus' prayer book and were prayed by the early church.  (Matt. 27:46, Col. 3:16, Eph. 5:19) We will pray and praise a representative collection of the Great Psalms of the Psalter -Psalms 1, 2, 3, 8, 16, 19, 22, 23, 42, 51, 73-74, 88-89, 90, 104-106, 109, 110, and 139.  We will pray out to the Lord God our emotions and struggles, but we will continue praying through from confusion, doubt, and anger to more clarity, trust, and peace.  We will be encouraged, rebuked, and discipled by the ancient Songs of Israel, Jesus, and our Church Fathers and Mothers. The "I Am," the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, will bless us as we draw near to God together.  Come join us on the Way.

The Psalms are a collection of 150 Songs carefully placed inside 5 books of Psalms:  Book 1:1-41, Book 2:42-72, Book: 3:73-89, Book 4:90-106, Book 5:107-150.  The first three books are primarily lament Psalms.  Sadness, anger, and bewilderment are prayed out.  The final two books include two very angry Psalms, 109 and 137, but these books are dominated by Praise.  The final six Psalms thunder with the praise of the "I Am "God. The five books of Psalms are clearly intended as responsive speech to the five books of the Pentateuch, Genesis - Deuteronomy.  The Pentateuch is the story of "I am" calling Israel to be His crisis relief for the entire creation. The Psalms are prayed from the time of David, 1000 B.C., from inside the story the Hebrew scripture tells.  The Psalter was not collected into its current form until the 4th century B.C.  By then Israel had been in exile for two hundred years.  Yet the Israel of the 2nd Temple, 530 B.C. to 70, AD., is singing her faith in the rebuilt temple and those living outside Judea are singing inside synagogues throughout the Roman empire.  The Psalms were Jesus' prayer book and were prayed by the early church.  (Matt. 27:46, Col. 3:16, Eph. 5:19) We will pray and praise a representative collection of the Great Psalms of the Psalter -Psalms 1, 2, 3, 8, 16, 19, 22, 23, 42, 51, 73-74, 88-89, 90, 104-106, 109, 110, and 139.  We will pray out to the Lord God our emotions and struggles, but we will continue praying through from confusion, doubt, and anger to more clarity, trust, and peace.  We will be encouraged, rebuked, and discipled by the ancient Songs of Israel, Jesus, and our Church Fathers and Mothers. The "I Am," the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, will bless us as we draw near to God together.  Come join us on the Way.

Psalm 137The LXX has a heading τω Δανιδ the Lucian text add (δια) ‘Ιεριμιομ ‘through Jeremiah' Allen, 235. This is a community lament written in the time of Babylonian captivity. They are in Babylon (1-3) and Jerusalem has been destroyed (7). “Note the first person plural ‘we,' ‘us,' ‘our,' etc., in vs. 1, 2, 3, 4, 8.” Willis, vol. 3, 4-5. “The scene has the vividness of first-hand experience” Kidner, 459.This psalm is a first-person account of the sadness of the captives. It seems that the experience of exile “is fresh and acutely painful” Alter, 473. Most psalms “are historically vague in order to be applied again and again to new situations” Longman, 448, but the historical context for this psalm is much easier to identify. It may have been written by Levitical musicians who ‘bemoan their separation from the temple” Longman, 448. “Every line of it is alive with pain, whose intensity grows with each strophe to the appalling climax” Kidner, 459. “The placement of Psalm 137 in Book Five of the Psalter is somewhat curious. According to the story of the Psalter, Book Five celebrates the return of the Babylonian exiles to Jerusalem, the rebuilding of the temple, and the continued existence of the Israelites as the people of God…It seems that for the Israelites, even in the midst of present rejoicing, the past pain must always be remembered” NICOT, 953. 137:1-4 Lament 137:1 By the rivers of Babylon- Ezek. 1:3. Jer. 51:13 describes Babylon a “you who dwell by many waters.” Alter, 473, argues for the translation streams here instead of rivers. Babylon is also mentioned in vs.8. There we sat down and wept- Neh. 1:4; Lam. 1:2, 16. There is used in vs. 1 and v. 3 This word expresses “the alienation of the collective speakers from the place they find themselves, which, logically should be ‘here' rather than ‘there'” Alter, 473. Some take it as an indication that the psalm was written after return from captivity- Motyer, 577. The people had lost their home country and had been taken into slavery. They lost their king and palace and they lost the temple where their God dwelt. “There is a proper time for weeping. Life is not ceaseless joy” Motyer, 577. There is repetition of the first plural pronoun suffix nu nine times in vv. 1-3. Isa. 53:4-6 is similar. When we remembered Zion- The word remember is used in vs. 1, 6, 7 and the word forget was used twice in vs. 5.  Zion is used in this psalm in vs. 1, 3. The word Jerusalem is used in vs. 5, 6, 7. “Their grief was no mere homesickness” Laymen, 694. They longed for the temple, the festivals, the fellowship with God. Interestingly, in Lam. 1:7 Jerusalem is doing the remembering. This is not to say that life for all was horrific in Babylon. “The prophet Jeremiah encouraged them to make a living, to increase in number, and to seek the peace and prosperity of the land (Jer. 29:4-9)” VanGemeren, 827. 137:2 Upon the willows in the midst of it- The NIV has poplars instead of willows. “The populus euphratica is in view; it looks more like a willow than a true poplar” K. Wilson, quoted in Allen, 236. We hung our harps- “Lyres are smaller than ‘harps' (KJV, NASB, NEB), and would much more likely be carried into exile” Miller, 422. “A relief from Sennacherib's palace at Nineveh, in the neighboring land of Assyria, portrays a situation not unlike this, with three prisoners of war play lyres as they march along by an armed soldier” Kidner, 459; also Alter, 474. For more notes send me a private message via facebook. 

The Psalms are a collection of 150 Songs carefully placed inside 5 books of Psalms:  Book 1:1-41, Book 2:42-72, Book: 3:73-89, Book 4:90-106, Book 5:107-150.  The first three books are primarily lament Psalms.  Sadness, anger, and bewilderment are prayed out.  The final two books include two very angry Psalms, 109 and 137, but these books are dominated by Praise.  The final six Psalms thunder with the praise of the "I Am "God. The five books of Psalms are clearly intended as responsive speech to the five books of the Pentateuch, Genesis - Deuteronomy.  The Pentateuch is the story of "I am" calling Israel to be His crisis relief for the entire creation. The Psalms are prayed from the time of David, 1000 B.C., from inside the story the Hebrew scripture tells.  The Psalter was not collected into its current form until the 4th century B.C.  By then Israel had been in exile for two hundred years.  Yet the Israel of the 2nd Temple, 530 B.C. to 70, AD., is singing her faith in the rebuilt temple and those living outside Judea are singing inside synagogues throughout the Roman empire.  The Psalms were Jesus' prayer book and were prayed by the early church.  (Matt. 27:46, Col. 3:16, Eph. 5:19) We will pray and praise a representative collection of the Great Psalms of the Psalter -Psalms 1, 2, 3, 8, 16, 19, 22, 23, 42, 51, 73-74, 88-89, 90, 104-106, 109, 110, and 139.  We will pray out to the Lord God our emotions and struggles, but we will continue praying through from confusion, doubt, and anger to more clarity, trust, and peace.  We will be encouraged, rebuked, and discipled by the ancient Songs of Israel, Jesus, and our Church Fathers and Mothers. The "I Am," the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, will bless us as we draw near to God together.  Come join us on the Way.

Eudocia was from Heliopolis of Phoenicia (now Baalbek in Lebanon). A surpassingly beautiful pagan, she led a licentious life and became wealthy from the gifts of her many lovers. One day an elderly monk, Germanus, came to Heliopolis and stayed with a Christian whose house adjoined Eudocia's. At night, he began to read aloud from the Psalter and a book on the Last Judgment. From next-door, Eudocia heard him. Her heart was reached, and she stood attentively all night, listening to every word in fear and contrition. The next day she begged Germanus to visit her, and he explained the saving Christian faith to her. Finally, Eudocia asked the local bishop to baptise her. She freed her servants, gave all her wealth to the poor, and entered a monastery.   "Her former lovers, enraged at her conversion, her refusal to return to her old ways, and the withering away of her beauty through the severe mortifications she practiced, betrayed her as a Christian to Vincent the Governor, and she was beheaded"(Great Horologion). According to some,this was under Trajan (98-117); according to others, under Hadrian (117-138).   The Prologue gives a somewhat different account: that after entering the monastery, Eudocia was permitted to pursue the monastic life in peace — with such devotion that, thirteen months after she entered the monastery, she was chosen as abbess. She lived for fifty-six years in the monastery, and was granted the gift of raising the dead. In her old age, a persecution of Christians arose, and Eudocia was beheaded along with many others. "Here is a wonderful example of how a vessel of uncleanness can be purified, sanctified and filled with a precious, heavenly fragrance by the grace of the Holy Spirit" (Prologue).

The Psalms are a collection of 150 Songs carefully placed inside 5 books of Psalms:  Book 1:1-41, Book 2:42-72, Book: 3:73-89, Book 4:90-106, Book 5:107-150.  The first three books are primarily lament Psalms.  Sadness, anger, and bewilderment are prayed out.  The final two books include two very angry Psalms, 109 and 137, but these books are dominated by Praise.  The final six Psalms thunder with the praise of the "I Am "God. The five books of Psalms are clearly intended as responsive speech to the five books of the Pentateuch, Genesis - Deuteronomy.  The Pentateuch is the story of "I am" calling Israel to be His crisis relief for the entire creation. The Psalms are prayed from the time of David, 1000 B.C., from inside the story the Hebrew scripture tells.  The Psalter was not collected into its current form until the 4th century B.C.  By then Israel had been in exile for two hundred years.  Yet the Israel of the 2nd Temple, 530 B.C. to 70, AD., is singing her faith in the rebuilt temple and those living outside Judea are singing inside synagogues throughout the Roman empire.  The Psalms were Jesus' prayer book and were prayed by the early church.  (Matt. 27:46, Col. 3:16, Eph. 5:19) We will pray and praise a representative collection of the Great Psalms of the Psalter -Psalms 1, 2, 3, 8, 16, 19, 22, 23, 42, 51, 73-74, 88-89, 90, 104-106, 109, 110, and 139.  We will pray out to the Lord God our emotions and struggles, but we will continue praying through from confusion, doubt, and anger to more clarity, trust, and peace.  We will be encouraged, rebuked, and discipled by the ancient Songs of Israel, Jesus, and our Church Fathers and Mothers. The "I Am," the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, will bless us as we draw near to God together.  Come join us on the Way.    

He was born sometime in the mid-fourth century on an island in the Aegean. For a time he lived successfully in the world, receiving a good education in Constantinople, then serving for a time for the Prefect of the Praetorium. But, becoming aware of the vanity of worldly things, he answered Christ's call, gave away all his goods to the poor and entered a monastery in Syria. After four years in obedience, he came to feel that the security of monastic life was inconsistent with the Gospel command to take no thought for the morrow; so he withdrew to the desert, taking with him only his garment and the Book of the Gospel. There he lived alone for seven years.   At the end of this period he set out on an apostolic mission to Mesopotamia, where he brought many to Christ: the city prefect Rabbula was converted after Alexander brought down fire from heaven, and a band of brigands who accosted the Saint on the road were transformed into a monastic community. He finally fled the city when the Christians there rose up demanding that he be made bishop. He once again took up a solitary life in the desert beyond the Euphrates, spending the day in prayer and part of the night sheltered in a barrel. There he remained for forty years. His holiness gradually attracted more than four hundred disciples, whom Alexander organized into a monastic community. Each disciple owned only one tunic, and was required to give away anything that they did not need for that day. Despite this threadbare life, the monastery was able to set up and run a hospice for the poor!   Alexander was perplexed as to how the admonition Pray without ceasing (1 Thess. 5:17) could be fulfilled by frail human flesh, but after three years of fasting and prayer, God showed him a method. He organized his monks into four groups according to whether their native language was Greek, Latin, Syriac or Coptic, and the groups prayed in shifts throughout the day and night. Twenty-four divine services were appointed each day, and the monks would chant from the Psalter between services. The community henceforth came to be known as the Akoimetoi, the Unsleeping Ones. (Similar communities later sprang up in the West, practicing what was there called Laus Perennis; St Columban founded many of these.)   Always desiring to spread the holy Gospel, Saint Alexander sent companies of missionaries to the pagans of southern Egypt. He and a company of 150 disciples set out as a kind of traveling monastery, living entirely on the charity of the villages they visited. Eventually they settled in some abandoned baths in Antioch, setting up a there a monastery dedicated to the unceasing praise of God; but a jealous bishop drove them from the city. Making his way to Constantinople, he settled there with four monks. In a few days, more than four hundred monks had left their monasteries to join his community. The Saint organized them into three companies — Greeks, Latins and Syrians — and restored the program of unsleeping prayer that his community had practiced in Mesopotamia. Not surprisingly, his success aroused the envy and anger of the abbots whose monasteries had been nearly emptied; they managed to have him condemned as a Messalian at a council held in 426. (The Messalians were an over-spiritualizing sect who believed that the Christian life consisted exclusively of prayer.) Alexander was sent back to Syria, and most of his monks were imprisoned; but as soon as they were released, most fled the city to join him again. The Saint spent his last years traveling from place to place, founding monasteries, often persecuted, until he reposed in 430, 'to join the Angelic choirs which he had so well imitated on earth.' (Synaxarion)   The practice of unceasing praise, established by St Alexander, spread throughout the Empire. The Monastery of the Akoimetoi, founded by a St Marcellus, a successor of Alexander, was established in Constantinople and became a beacon to the Christian world. 'Even though it has not been retained in today's practice, the unceasing praise established by Saint Alexander was influential in the formation of the daily cycle of liturgical offices in the East and even more so in the West.' (Synaxarion)

Psalm 135“Some Jewish authorities include Psalms 135 and 136 as part of the collection of Psalms 120-136, whereas others limit the Great Hallel psalms to 135-136, or even Psalm 136 alone”  135:1 Praise the LORD!- 113:1 The word praise is used as an imperative three times in the verse. “The phrase Praise the LORD (and variations of the phrase) occurs seventy-five times in the Psalter, with no less that fifty-four occurrences in Book Five” NICOT, 944. Praise Him, O servants of the LORD- The first two lines speak of the LORD as the object of praise and the last line mentioned the servants as the ones who give praise. 135:2 You who stand in the house of the LORDIn the courts of the house of our God!- Ps. 92:13; 116:19 “The priests and Levites were charged (v. 19-20) with the worship of the Lord ‘in the house of the LORD'” VanGemeren, 819.135:3 Praise the LORD, for the LORD is good- I Chron. 16:34; II Chron. 5:13; 7:3; Ezra 3:11; Ps. 23:6; 100:5; 106:1; 107:1; 110:5; 118:1, 29; 119:68; 118:1, 29. “The Lord's name is good (52:9), that He Himself is good (135:3) and that praising Him is good (147:1)” Kidner, 455.Sing praises to His name- Ps. 68:4for it lovely- The word lovely is a rare word in the OT used only 13 times. In the Psalms it is used in Psalm 16:6, 11; 81:2; 133:1; 147:1 besides here. Good and pleasant (or lovely) appear together in 133:1 and 147:1.135:4 For the LORD has chosen Jacob for Himself- Ex. 19:5-6; Deut. 7:6; 10:15; 14:2; Ps. 105:6. The goodness of God is manifested in the choice of Israel. “If the first ground of praise is the Lord's character (3), the next is His love for us. The word Jacob is emphatic: ‘For it was Jacob that the Lord chose…'” Kidner, 455.Israel for His own possession- His own possession or special treasure is one word used 8 times in the OT- Ex. 19:6; Deut. 7:6; 14:2; 25:18; I Chron. 29:3; Eccl. 2:8; Malachi 3:16.135:5 For I know that the LORD is great-Ps. 48:1; 95:3; 145:3 I is emphatic. And that our Lord is above all gods- Ex. 18:11; Ps. 95:3; 96:4-5; 97:7-9.135:6 Whatever the LORD pleases, He does- 115:3. The Hebrew word translated does in vs. 6 is translated makes in vs. 7 and make in vs. 18. In vs. 15 the noun form is used and it is translated work.  In heaven and in earth- Jer. 10:13in the seas and in all deeps- The LORD “is not limited to a particular sphere assigned to Him by His creatures, as is the case with pagan deities. The Lord is God over all realms by virtue of being the Creator. VanGemeren, 820.135:7 He causes the vapors to ascend for the ends of the earth- Jer. 10:13; 51:16 “The rainy season with its storms and wind is under His providential control-not, it is implied, that of Canaanite Baal, as his devotees claimed” Laymen's, 646. Since the weather is attributed to the LORD and not Baal, “it is another way of affirming that ‘our Lord is above all gods' (v. 5)” McCann, 1220.Who makes lightning for the rain- Job 38:22; Ps 77:17-18; 104:3-4 “His greatness even extends to the elements and powers of nature and wind (cf. Jer. 10:13; 51:16). The Canaanites believed that these powers belonged to Baal, but the psalmist confesses rightly that only Yahweh has power to ‘the ends of the earth'” VanGemeren, 820-821.Who brings forth wind from His treasuries135:8 He smote the firstborn of Egypt- 136:10; 78:51; 105:36; Ex. 12:29 Verses 5-7 stress the LORD's power in nature while vs. 8-14

The Psalms are a collection of 150 Songs carefully placed inside 5 books of Psalms:  Book 1:1-41, Book 2:42-72, Book: 3:73-89, Book 4:90-106, Book 5:107-150.  The first three books are primarily lament Psalms.  Sadness, anger, and bewilderment are prayed out.  The final two books include two very angry Psalms, 109 and 137, but these books are dominated by Praise.  The final six Psalms thunder with the praise of the "I Am "God. The five books of Psalms are clearly intended as responsive speech to the five books of the Pentateuch, Genesis - Deuteronomy.  The Pentateuch is the story of "I am" calling Israel to be His crisis relief for the entire creation. The Psalms are prayed from the time of David, 1000 B.C., from inside the story the Hebrew scripture tells.  The Psalter was not collected into its current form until the 4th century B.C.  By then Israel had been in exile for two hundred years.  Yet the Israel of the 2nd Temple, 530 B.C. to 70, AD., is singing her faith in the rebuilt temple and those living outside Judea are singing inside synagogues throughout the Roman empire.  The Psalms were Jesus' prayer book and were prayed by the early church.  (Matt. 27:46, Col. 3:16, Eph. 5:19) We will pray and praise a representative collection of the Great Psalms of the Psalter -Psalms 1, 2, 3, 8, 16, 19, 22, 23, 42, 51, 73-74, 88-89, 90, 104-106, 109, 110, and 139.  We will pray out to the Lord God our emotions and struggles, but we will continue praying through from confusion, doubt, and anger to more clarity, trust, and peace.  We will be encouraged, rebuked, and discipled by the ancient Songs of Israel, Jesus, and our Church Fathers and Mothers. The "I Am," the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, will bless us as we draw near to God together.  Come join us on the Way.

She was born in 347 to a noble family in Rome, and at age sixteen married Toxotius, a prominent nobleman. Though her husband was a pagan, he was devoted to her and gave her freedom to keep a Christian home and rear her children as Christians. They were blessed with five children. When she was thirty-two her husband died suddenly, and Paula resolved to turn her large house in Rome into a monastery. Later she traveled to the Holy Land with her spiritual father St Jerome (June 15). In Bethlehem she established two monasteries, one for women (where she dwelt) and one for St Jerome and his companions. Every day the nuns chanted the entire Psalter, which they were required to learn by heart. Paula was exceptionally austere in her fasting and lavish in her almsgiving, often giving away to the poor even the goods needed by her community for subsistence. She aided her spiritual father and brother Jerome in his controversies with Origen's followers: St Jerome himself was hot-tempered, and St Paula often exhorted him to confront his enemies with patience and humility.   When she was fifty-six years old, she felt her death approaching, and heard Christ say to her 'Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away; for lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone' (Song of Songs 2:10-11). To this she replied 'The time of harvest has come. I shall truly see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living,' and gave up her soul joyfully. Her funeral was attended by throngs of monks, nuns and poor people, all of whom revered her as their mother and benefactress.

What do you do with your tears? This is a psalm about weeping, about suffering, about grief. If you were to break the 150 psalms into categories, one of the categories will will be lamentations: psalms of tears, psalms of weeping and grieving. There are many other kinds of psalms, but I'll tell you, every commentator says there are more lamentations than any other kind. This is the biggest piece of the Psalter. Tears.  What do we learn here what to do with our tears? We're told three things: 1) expect tears, 2) invest tears, and 3) pray your tears. This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on February 27, 2000. Series: Psalms – The Songs of Jesus. Scripture: Psalm 39:12-13; 126:1-6. Today's podcast is brought to you by Gospel in Life, the site for all sermons, books, study guides and resources from Timothy Keller and Redeemer Presbyterian Church. If you've enjoyed listening to this podcast and would like to support the ongoing efforts of this ministry, you can do so by visiting https://gospelinlife.com/give and making a one-time or recurring donation.

The Catechism discusses the significance of prayer beginning with the prophets and their observations about the Temple and ritualism. It is noteworthy that while we must worship the Lord externally, this must be in tandem with prayer and cannot remain external. With Fr. Mike's insight, we see that our thinking affects how we act, and our behaviors can influence beliefs. Taking this to heart, if we ever feel that we are just “going through the motions”, we should persist and continue praying. Today's readings are Catechism paragraphs 2581-2589. This episode has been found to be in conformity with the Catechism by the Institute on the Catechism, under the Subcommittee on the Catechism, USCCB. For the complete reading plan, visit ascensionpress.com/ciy Please note: The Catechism of the Catholic Church contains adult themes that may not be suitable for children - parental discretion is advised.