Daily Devotion: Psalms 125 / Proverbs 1

Psalms 125:

Those who trust in the Lord Are as Mount Zion, which cannot be moved but abides forever.

As the mountains surround Jerusalem, So the LORD surrounds His people From this time forth and forever.

For the scepter of wickedness shall not rest upon the land of the righteous, so that the righteous will not put forth their hands to the wrong.

Do good, O LORD, to those who are good And to those who are upright in their hearts.

But as for those who turn aside to their crooked ways, The LORD will lead them away with the doers of iniquity.

Peace be upon Israel.

Thoughts    

       Now, I will not be doing this everyday, but I wish to do is doing once a week.

According to the verse, David asks Lord to do good to those who are good and upright. It is time to check whether I was able to do this. Throughout my week, I was discerning who is truly upright and good, and I have been refusing to admit that some people are not good and upright. The heart of empathy truly exists in my heart although it sometimes becomes barriers to make judgement or discernment to move forward; however, I still love the feeling of empathy for I was and am a sinner. It helps me to renew my faith and ask for God’s help and wisdom every day.

Now, what does it mean by a person who is not good or upright? According to the Merriam dictionary, the word upright leads to honesty. The word good stands as what is morally correct or proper. Both words are important for a person to become a human that God intended. The origin of the word good is obscured though it seems to be related to virtue and uncertainty leading to feelings. Also, the word good has the meaning of having high quality. I think all those meanings essentially make me to conclude that they are about human character. The life-long journey given to humanity (I think) is to become a human of high quality; that is, becoming a person who is able to discern what is good and bad and walks in the path of righteousness, and the question of why we need to pursue such way is almost cannot be answered because of uncertainty. Just as there are so many unquestionable questions left in science and people believe that some truth lies in science, I think there is some value of truth in becoming a human of high quality. It is especially important or draws my attention, because it involves emotion or feelings. We may try to divide what is good or bad into laws, which I think it is a good attempt though I believe that the ultimate judgement or discernment comes from our heart or conscience. Some people may want to reject the existence of something called soul or conscience, but I think there is some truth in it.

Otherwise, where did the concept of good or bad come from? It probably all started from the thinking of how to maintain relationship with others; therefore, the concept of good and bad is relative and may be biased. But I think when we start to treat others good in the way we treat ourselves, that will make the whole question of good and bad unessential. If a person lived in the world alone, there would have not been a necessity to develop the concept of good and evil except for doing good and evil in relationship with God.

Essentially what I want to write is that, soul or mind exists, and there are ton of better thinkers who acknowledge this thinking, so I am definitely not the best. What I tried to achieve in here is to just write my thoughts and clear my thinking after reading the chapter. May the Lord allow me to facilitate and grow my thinking so that I could walk closer to him.

           

Proverbs 1:

5. A wise man will hear and increase in learning, and a man of understanding will acquire wise counsel

7. The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction.

8. Hear, my son, your father’s instruction And do not forsake your mother’s teaching’ Indeed, they are a graceful wreath to your head and ornaments about your neck.

10. My son, if sinners entice you, Do not consent.

20. Wisdom shouts in the street, She lifts her voice in the square.

22. “How long, O naïve ones, will you lobe being simple-minded?” And scoffers delight themselves in scoffing and fools hate knowledge?

23. “Turn to my reproof, Behold, I will pour out my spirit on you; I will make my words known to you.

33: “But he who listens to me shall live securely And will be at east from the dread of evil.”

Words

Abide – to accept or bear (someone or something bad, unpleasant, etc.); to stay or live somewhere; to remain

Or continue.

Scepter – a long decorated stick that is carried by a king or queen; royal or imperial authority; a staff or baton borne by a sovereign as an emblem of authority.

Upright – positioned to be straight up; always behaving in an honest way; having high moral standards.

Aside – to or toward the side

Crooked – not straight; having bends and curves; not set or placed straight; not honest

Doer – a person who actively does things instead of just thinking or talking about them.

Iniquity – the quality of being unfair or evil’ something that is unfair or evil.

Acquire – to get (something); to come to own (something); to come to have (something); to gain (a new skill, ability, etc.) usually by your own effort.

Forsake – to give up or leave (someone or something) entirely

Wreath – an arrangement of leaves or flowers in the shape of a circle that is worn or placed as a sign of honor or victory; an arrangement of leaves, flowers, fruits, etc., in the shape of a circle that is used for decoration; something that is shaped like a circle.

Naïve – having or showing a lack of experience or knowledge; innocent or simple

Delight – a strong feeling of happiness; great pleasure or satisfaction.

Scoff – an expression of scorn, derision, or contempt, an object of scorn, mockery, or derision

Scorn – a feeling that someone or something is not worthy of any respect or approval; harsh criticism that shows a lack of respect or approval for someone or something.

Derision – the feeling that people express when they criticize and laugh at someone or something in an insulting way.

Mockery – behavior or speech that makes fun of someone or something in a hurtful way; mocking behavior or speech; a bad or useless copy of something.

Knowledge – information, understanding, or skill that you get from experience or education; awareness of something; the state of being aware of something.

Reproof – criticism or blame for a fault.

Good – correct or proper; of high quality; morally good forces or influences; something that is right or good

Hashtag: #thisconsumesomuchtime #can I do this? #Lordhelpme #iamhungry #whydoIhavetodothis?