Read the Bible in 2023 ◊ Week 17: Wednesday

Wednesday’s Bible reading is Psalms 48–50.

Remember to pray before you read, because God alone gives us understanding of His Word. He is always there to teach you and help you from His Word.

We have thought on your lovingkindness, O God, In the midst of Your temple. What a wonderful verse. It stops me short and to reorient my mind and heart to God, and to think about His lovingkindness.

Have you thought on God’s lovingkindness lately? How can we learn to do that? Scripture teaches us who God is. It teaches us to know Him and trust Him in all the circumstances of our lives.

Reading the Bible daily is not an in-depth Bible study, but neither is it a matter of hoping some­thing in the text will immediately apply to your circumstances and then being disappointed when if does not. I want to look at how the Bible helps us to think on God’s lovingkindness. First, be assured that you will be helped by God through His Word.

Geoffrey Thomas writes:

“The briefest regular perusal of Scripture has deep and largely unconscious effects upon us. So even if your achievements on certain days fall short of your desires, do not be discouraged, for ‘in due season we shall reap if we faint not’ [Galatians 6.9].

“…meditating on the portion read is a vital but neglected means of grace. Better indeed to meditate upon one verse than to hurriedly read a chapter, but there need be no dichotomy between reading three chapters and thinking over one verse. Select a verse, perhaps writing it down on a card to help you memorize and ponder over it; that can be good for that day.”¹

Second, it’s important to remember what Thomas says about not simply reading quickly through a passage, but thinking over what it says. Don’t look into the mirror of God’s word, then go away and forget what you’ve read.

If you’re overwhelmed by reading more than one chapter at a time, use a plan that works for you. Pray, read, and choose a verse to think over during the day. As you think it over, ask God to teach you and help you to understand it.

Notice what Psalm 49 says:

The word meditation that’s used here is from the same word used in Psalm 1:3, And in His law he meditates day and night. The Hebrew word means to “consider, think (mull) over; ponder.” Its “root means “think through something, with personal interest in actual life-application.”² Think over what you read.

Biblical meditation is not the mindless meditation of Eastern religions. It is not zoning out or trying to work ourselves up into an experience by repetition of a mantra or any other practice. Wisdom and discernment does not come from emptying our minds. Ponder what you’ve read. Ask yourself what am I learning from God’s Word that is a light to my feet and a lamp to my path. What does it say about God? About other people? About you? About the world in which we live? And about how I am to live? Ask God for His help: to give you understanding, to write His Word on your mind and heart so you won’t forget it, and ask Him to enable you to love Him, to follow Him, to do as He commands.

Thomas encourages us with these words.

“Let the Word break over your heart and mind again and again as the years go by, and imperceptibly there will come great changes in your attitude and outlook and conduct. You will probably be the last to recognize these.”³

When I started to work on this post, as I was thinking and not sure what to write, I noticed some repeated words. I also realized I needed to look at what these Psalms say about God Himself. I printed out the three Psalms from the Legacy Standard Bible site. Bible Gateway is the site I use for the NASB 1995 translation. I like to mark the text for my own personal Bible study, and at times I’ve given examples here of how I do it, and how helpful I’ve found it to be.

If you have a Bible you’re comfortable marking in, use that. I try to use the same color (or use the same shape) throughout my readings for the same word.⁴ If there’s something you read that gives you new insight, understanding or encouragement, note that in the margin or on another piece of paper or in a notebook. Over the years I’ve found it very helpful to do consistent marking of the text so that I can go back and easily find key words to summarize what is taught.

Now let’s look at how the Bible helps us think on God’s lovingkindness.

In the photo you can see where I started marking the text. I would have worked at this longer and in much more detail if it was a Bible study. Even spending a short time marking the text will help you think through what is being said and give you verses to think about during the day.

In Psalm 48 I noticed that God has made Him­self known as a stronghold, (48:3) and His right hand is full of righteousness (48:10). That is who God is: a fortress and a righteous God. As I’ve mentioned, the psalm also says, We have thought on your loving­kindness, O God, (48:9), and speaks in verses 12–13 of walking around Zion and considering it that you may recount it to the next generation. It closes by saying,

This is who God is. This is His character. What does this psalm teach about God that gives you new insight into who He is? What does this psalm say about God that is a reminder you need to hear today? What does this psalm teach about God that enables you to trust Him? To love Him? To obey Him? Notice the we of verse 9, and where the psalmist is. What part do other Christians have in your thinking about God? After thinking about God’s lovingkindness, what effect does it have on the lives of God’s people in verses 10–14?

Psalm 49 calls everyone to hear, no matter our circumstances, and tells us the psalmist is going to speak wisdom (verse 3–4). Get ready to learn! There is a lot in this psalm about riches, and I did circle those references. Fear and being afraid is also mentioned and I marked that. Let’s look at this for a minute.

Why might we be afraid? This is not about a good man who becomes rich, but the psalm tells us he’s speaking of those who trust in their wealth, and boast about how much they have. Rich people have a lot of power and influence. We need to see their lives from God’s perspective. Read the psalm carefully to see why we don’t need to be afraid.

Everyone is going to die, and wealth won’t do any good in keeping us from death. Not only that, but you literally can’t take it with you (verse 17).

Only God can redeem someone, and the psalmist says,

Psalm 50 says the God is judge (verse 6) and that the world is His (10–12). There is more about the wicked here, and some sober warnings. There are also commands. I mark commands with a large “C” around the first letter (I also marked these in Psalms 48 and 49). I noticed that sacrifice of thanksgiving is mentioned twice.

I work to be careful about the context of the verses and not presumptuous about jumping to conclusions about what I’m reading. Don’t be dismayed at the detail. It took far longer for me to write this than it did to do this!

Looking back at everything you’ve read today. Think about God being a fortress. Think about Him being a righteous God. Think on His lovingkindness. Think about the fact He will always guide you. Remember why you don’t need to be afraid. Consider the warnings given in these psalms and what you read about the arrogant and ask God to keep you from those sins. Ask Him to help you order your way according to His Word. Remember to call on Him when you’re in distress. These are things to dwell on. Thank Him for being so wonderful and good.

There is such a wealth in Scripture. If I read something I’ve studied many times, there is always something new for me to learn. John Owen wrote,

“The Holy Spirit hath so disposed of the Scripture that the mind of God in all things concerning our faith and obedience…is clearly revealed therein.

“…In those very fords and appearing shallows of this river of God where the lamb may wade, the elephant may swim. Every thing in the Scripture is so plain that the meanest [lowest] believer may understand all that belongs unto his duty or is necessary unto his happiness; yet is nothing so plain but that the wisest of them all have reason to adore the depths and stores of divine wisdom in it.”⁵

Ask God to help you remember what you’ve read during your day and use it to change you. You don’t have to know everything or understand everything. God will powerfully use His Word in your life. Think on His lovingkindness. He will help us. Let us honor Him with our praise.

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For a brief overview of the structure and poetry of Psalms see my post, The Five Books of Psalms.
Silvesterzug Laterne: Bk muc. (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Lamb: FreeFoto.com Site has now been deleted.
^1,3Geoffrey Thomas, Reading the Bible (The Banner of Truth Trust, Carlisle PA: 1980) 19, 22.
²hāgâ, Psalm 1:2, HELPS Lexicon, The Discovery Bible. Retrieved 04 January 2023.
⁴Years ago when I first started marking a Bible passage this way, I knew it as manuscript Bible study. Since then I’ve been in numerous Bible studies of Precept Ministries, and marking key words is a hallmark of their studies.
⁵John Owen, The Works of John Owen, edited by Rev. William H. Goold, Vol. IV (Banner of Truth Trust, Carlisle PA: 1967) 192.

I’m using Michael Coley’s Bible reading plan (one page PDF to print) to read through the Bible in 2023. Each day my posts are on different books because he divides Bible readings into seven categories, one for each day of the week: Epistles, The Law, History, Psalms, Poetry, Prophecy and Gospels. There’s more information on his plan and other ones at Read the Bible in 2023.

Copyright ©2011–2023 Iwana Carpenter