August 17, 2026

With the Psalms being poems designed to express deep spiritual feelings and doctrine, the thoughts I share will be slightly different than I have shared regarding the historical accounts of the Old Testament. But at the same time, they will also be similar because the lessons, truths, and testimony found in either is the same. I love that the Lord provides multiple ways for us to learn. He truly is a master teacher, for we truly learn by varied repetition.

Psalms 1:

As the very first Psalm in the collection, perhaps there is something the organizer felt vital all to understand. What instruction do I find here that is so important that it opens the book of Psalms?

"Blessed is the man [whose]... delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night... he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper."

Do we delight in the scriptures, commandments, and doctrine of the gospel of Jesus Christ? Do we think on these day and night? Is it constantly a part of us? Does it shape all that we do, say, and think? Is the gospel just a part of our life, or is it our life?

Whoever wrote this Psalm, and whoever put it in first place, realized the eternal importance of hungering and thirsting after the words of Christ, of feasting upon them to grow like a tree by the riverside. I have learned to love the scriptures and can testify of the positive impact they have had in my life. My Savior is the river, the well of living water and everlasting life, and as I delight in His law, I draw closer to Him, becoming a tree planted by the river.

Psalms 2:

The first Psalm points out that we must feast on the words of Christ. The second teaches the next step, that we must trust them - we must trust Him, as the last line says

Why do we trust Him? Among other reasons, this Psalm points out that our Father has given us (the heathen, the fallen) to His Son, our Savior, for an inheritance. Jesus Christ, through His obedience and atoning sacrifice, earned the right to be our mediator. With his blood we are purchased. And He will break us with His iron rod, with the scriptures, His word.

The question then becomes, do we allow Him to build us up again, to remake and reshape us? Do we trust Him?

Psalms 8:

Verses 3 through 5 stood out to me.

3 When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;

4 What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?

5 For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.

David points out how grand God's other creations and works are - the cosmic wonders that He formed - yet He pays such caring attention to mankind. Because of modern revelation restoring ancient truths we know that God's ultimate work and glory is to bring to pass our immortality and eternal life because we are His literal children.

Consider the lilies of the field, consider the multitudes of the universe, and yet our Father focuses on us.

The footnotes in verse 5 on "lower" and "angels" say "less than the gods" and "Man, Potential to Become like Heavenly Father; worth of souls" respectively. Interestingly enough, the Hebrew word in this verse that means the gods is "Elohim". We are our Father's children and He loves us, pays attention to us, and has a plan for us to become like Him and have everlasting joy.

"You cannot really teach something important, especially the gospel of Jesus Christ, you can only love and appreciate it in front of someone and hope they pick up on it" -Steven Sharp Nelson (the cello guy in the Piano Guys)