Month: February 2017

Written by Jackson Ferrell

Psalm 130 – The Choir in the Courtroom (feat. Twenty One Pilots)

Today’s Chocolate: Theo Organic 70% Dark Chocolate w/ Coconut Today’s Passage: Psalm 130 I just chucked an intro. I’d originally typed up a thing about Bo Burnham’s song “Repeat Stuff,” which satirizes the pop music industry’s aggressive commercialization of love songs. According to Burnham, mainstream love songs are written as vaguely as possible, in order to maximize […]

Written by Jackson Ferrell

Psalm 128 – Most People Are in China

This is a psalm about how good things come to everyone who fears the Lord. When you follow his will, you enjoy the delicious fruit of obedience. Your wife and kids will also prosper, all you people who fear the Lord. Moreover, the psalmist hopes that the prosperity of Jerusalem will be your constant companion from cradle to grave, and that you will even live to see your grandkids. Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine, everyone! Even the ladies!

Written by Jackson Ferrell

Psalm 127 – God and the Heavy Lifting

King David, the shepherd-poet-king, is practically synonymous with the Psalms, but apparently his son Solomon penned a few lyrics himself. Two of the psalms are attributed to him, Psalms 72 and 127. Psalm 72 discusses the responsibilities of kings to judge fairly and care for the needs of the poor, but Psalm 127 concerns subject matter that we non-kings may find a bit more relatable. Specifically, it’s about relying on God and having children.

Written by Jackson Ferrell

Psalm 126 – The Joy Harvest

I remember one occasion when I was six or seven that my family went to visit my grandmother in Georgia. We arrived fairly late at night, and as sometimes happens to tired six-year-olds, I had become inexplicably sad. The whole world just seemed to have a blue shade drawn over it. And when we arrived at my grandmother’s house, I told her, “I’m feeling down tonight. I don’t really feel like having fun.” But grandmothers are magical, and within fifteen minutes she had me laughing and carrying on with her and my brother. She’d lifted my blues.

Written by Jackson Ferrell

Psalm 124 – Kept From the Jaws

King David led a very different life from mine. He shepherded sheep, killed a nine-foot-tall warrior using just a sling, spent years on the run from the current King of Israel, ascended the throne himself when King Saul died, faced a rebellion by his son Absalom, and somehow in the midst of all that found time to compose a bunch of songs. Me? Well, my biggest worry right now is getting this blog post done. In Psalm 124, David wrote about facing hostile adversaries, but I don’t have any hostile adversaries, so I have to write about David writing about facing hostile adversaries.

Written by Jackson Ferrell

Psalm 123 – Duck’s Instep

Are you familiar with the expression “lower than a duck’s instep?” Given how many of you are my relatives, you probably are. But in case you need an explanation, it means “super-low”–because a duck, with its flat feet, has the lowest instep you can imagine. It’s basically the opposite of being “fine as frog’s hair.” And today’s psalm is for people in a situation that is lower than a duck’s instep.

Written by Jackson Ferrell

Psalm 122 – The Peace of the City of Peace

Like yesterday’s psalm, the first verse of this psalm has inspired a contemporary English worship song. I will not, however, be linking to a recording of it, because here are the lyrics: “I was glad when they said unto me, I was glad when they said unto me, I was glad when they said unto me, ‘Let us go into the house of the Lord.’ So glad (so glad), so glad (so glad), so glad (so glad), so glad (so glad).” (repeat until dead)