Day 44: Psalms 109:1-Psalms 134:3 - 90 Day Challenge

Through the Highs and Lows 

Halfway through the Bible--Checkpoint. 


Today's reading brought us through both the shortest and longest chapters in the Bible. (Psalms 117 and 119, respectively.)

We're halfway through the Bible, isn't that crazy?! 44 days of dedicating time to God's word, of taking the time to understand it's history. Beginning to end in today's reading, there's all sorts of verses we can learn from, but I'd really like to focus on Psalms 117-119, the middle of the Bible. 

Psalms 117 is a very short chapter, it's only two verses, but it's meaning is powerful: Praise the Lord. Because his love for us in incredible, and is forever. Some say the middle of the Bible is Psalm 117, others say it's Psalm 118:8 or Psalm 118:14. If Psalm 117 is the exact middle of the Bible though, what a wonderful sentiment to land on. Praise the Creator of everything--because He loves you above all things, and will continue to do so forever. 

Psalm 118:8: 
"It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man."--Ouch. True, but ouch. Of course it's better to seek the Lord's counsel, how often does man have ulterior motives? But still, that's quite the reality check. 

Psalm 118:14:
'The Lord is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation." If Psalm 118 is the middle of the Bible, then verse 14 would be the middle verse, and it's certainly the halfway point between the shortest and longest chapters of the Bible--the halfway point between the highs and lows. It doesn't matter where you're at in your life, because God can always be your strength, He can always be your salvation.



Psalms 119--The Longest Book. Psalm 119 is really interesting, it's actually a poem, broken down into stanzas each beginning with the same letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Obviously, that's not the case if you're reading an English version of the Bible (like myself, of course), but most English Bibles will have the letter in Hebrew at the beginning of the stanza, which I found really interesting. Psalm 119 also contains many verses that have been adapted into popular worship songs (Psalm 119:105--Thy Word - Amy Grant, Psalm 119:11--Building My Life on Your Word - Rick Muchow, etc.) 

I just find it so interesting that poems from thousands of years ago continue to inspire modern music. 

The last words we get from our very middle reading are in Psalm 134:3--
"May the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth, bless you from Zion [the hill in Jerusalem on which the city of David was built]." 

We're halfway through the Bible, and may God continue to bless you as we finish up this journey together. 

Tomorrow's reading: Psalm 135:1-Proverbs 6:35.
Have a wonderful day (and enjoy this weather!)

Jill Jafarace
Director of Student Ministries
New Leaf UMC 


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