Psalm 90 is a psalm of Moses. It is a powerful acknowledgement of God’s eternal nature, and of the fleeting years of our lives. Moses reminds us to God “1,000 years are as a day.” He also reminds us our days are short by comparison. 70-80 years is the length of our lives, and we live them in much strife. The LORD’s anger is often directed toward us according to Moses. He challenges us in light of the LORD’s eternal nature, and our fleeting lives to “number our days,” that we may live rightly. We are called to live our lives with intentionality each day, to bring glory to God and maximize our lives.
Psalm 91 is anonymous, but offers an amazing tribute to the LORD’s protection over those He loves. The psalmist lists a lengthy record of many different trials, and disasters that can befall us, and he tells us the LORD will protect us from each one. Little wonder, then, that Satan used this psalm to tempt Jesus to jump off the roof of the Temple, because as the psalm states, “…He will protect you so you won’t strike your foot against a stone.” The devil can quote Scripture, even appropriate Scripture, which is why it is so important for us to know God’s word and to be prepared to use it in our assault on him.
Psalm 92 is another anonymous psalm. It tells us it is a psalm for the Sabbath day. That makes sense, because it is a psalm of praise, and calls on us not only to praise the LORD with our mouths, but also with instruments. It is always appropriate to praise the LORD in our lives, and the psalmist reminds us how important it is to pause on a weekly basis to offer Him our praises as a people.
Psalm 93 is a brief anonymous psalm of praise, which also brings incorporates a call to praise the LORD for His natural wonders, and for His power and authority of nature.
Psalm 94 calls on the LORD to avenge those who have sinned against Him or His people. Then the tone changes and is a call for the LORD to be with those who follow Him. The psalm is a blend of rebuking the wicked, calling on the LORD to strengthen the psalmist and an affirmation of the LORD for who He is. This blend is one we have become used to experiencing as we work our way through the “Prayer book” of the Bible.
As we turn to Luke 20, Jesus engages in His last encounters with the religious leaders before He is arrested. It starts with the religious leaders asking Jesus by what authority He carried out His ministry? Jesus turned the question on them and asked by what authority John the Baptist had carried out his ministry? They realized Jesus had them, because if they said the LORD’s, He would ask them why they didn’t listen to John. If they said man’s authority, the crowds would turn on them, because they believed John was a prophet. They responded, “We don’t know.” Jesus told them He wouldn’t tell them either.
Next, Jesus told them the Parable of the Vineyard Owner, which we have come across before in our reading of the other gospels. The point of the parable is the “hired hands,” end up killing the master’s servants and ultimately his son. The religious leaders wanted to arrest Jesus for this, because they knew He was talking about them. They also stepped up their verbal attacks and questioning, so they could find some legitimate reason to arrest Him. Obviously, this never worked.
Next, came the religious leaders’ question to Jesus about whether it was lawful to pay taxes to Caesar. They thought they had Jesus regardless of how He answered, but they didn’t realize His answer would silence them all. The Sadducees attempted to stump Jesus next, with a question about a woman who was married to seven different brothers, and who she would be married to in heaven. Because they didn’t believe in the afterlife, they thought their question “proved” to believe in the resurrection is wrong. Again, Jesus showed them it was their knowledge that was flawed, not His.
The teachers of the Law realized Jesus had answered well, and they didn’t have any more tests for Him. Jesus closed out the interaction, by asking them How the Messiah could be the “Son of David,” when David called Him Lord? The great lesson in all of this is: don’t debate with the author about the content and meaning of the book!