June 12 Friday

Psalm 04

4 Tremble and do not sin;

    when you are on your beds,
    search your hearts and be silent.
5 Offer the sacrifices of the righteous
    and trust in the Lord.

a. Be angry, and do not sin: With the ungodliness around him, David had reason to be angry but he had
no reason to sin. He reminds himself not to sin in his anger, and to find peace in meditation before the
LORD.

b. Meditate within your heart: David speaks of the Christian practice where we fill our hearts and minds
with God's word. When we are in deep trouble, we should seek God for he is our manual.

c. Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and put your trust in the Lord: yes, we are indeed to do religious
practices that draw us near to God. But if we don’t have the right heart in doing these, instead of
becoming closer of God, we might become farther to him. So then, be sure to offer your praises to God
with a sense of self-sacrifice – hating evil and detesting sin – and a heart of trust to the Lord, trust that
gives us joy. Joy because God is with us in times of trouble and joy because God is with us in times of
happiness.

June 13

Psalm 05

For you bless the godly, O LORD;

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    you surround them with your shield of love.

In history, God’s love has been reckless. It was so reckless that he did not
care how much it cost him just for us to be his. He gave Jesus and endured
the pain of leaving his son. His love for us was indeed reckless but he
himself is not reckless. He still cares about justice and protects and loves his
people. Because of that, if we remain evil despite knowing what God has
done, God won’t be able to protect us. And since he intends to protect the
Godly with his shield of love, he will punish the evil in order to protect what
is his. And only the godly is his. Therefore, let us live a godly life, be his and
be protected by his love.