Psalm 103 is one of the most powerful psalms of praise of King David. Not only does David extol the LORD but he also tells of the LORD’s steadfast love and mercy. He recounts how the LORD was with Moses, and how He is always with His people. The psalm is a powerful call to praise the LORD, give Him thanks, and remember all His benefits from start to finish.
Psalm 104 is a long and specific record of the LORD’s hand in creation and in caring for the animals of many different species. It tells how He created them, how He feeds them. We’re told He feeds the leviathan, the great sea monster from His hand. One of the interesting aspects from Psalm 104, is folks in the middle ages used it to “prove” the earth was flat. The second half of verse two tells us “He stretches out the heavens like a tent. If the heavens are a tent, then in order to stretch them out and drive the tent pegs into the ground it would have to be flat. The logic sounds right, but only if the image was a literal statement of what takes place rather than a metaphor. It is always dangerous to literalize the Bible when a poetic image is being drawn. The Bible was never intended to be a science book. That doesn’t mean it contradicts science. It means when we want to talk about science, we ought to go to a science book. Science would do well to take this reminder and not step over into the field of theology, as when it “assumes” the universe started with a big bang, that had no origin. That sounds a great deal as if it were the act of a Creator. I believe God created the universe, and that belief is based on the Bible. Science cannot state with any kind of certain how the universe came into existence, so it would do well to stick with cause and effect. It seems the theologians of the middle ages would have done well to stick with theology!
Psalm 105 is a lengthy psalm of praise, that also recounts the history of God’s presence with His people from the time of Abraham through the time of God using Moses to deliver Israel from slavery in Egypt. The psalmist goes into great detail concerning the period of the Israelites time in Egypt starting with God “sending” Joseph into Egypt ahead of time to prepare the way for them.
As we turn to Luke 23, the religious leaders take Jesus to Pilate. Luke tells us after examining Him and finding no fault with Him, he found out Jesus was a Galilean, so he sent Jesus to Herod for examination. Herod relished the opportunity to interview Jesus, because he had wanted to see Jesus perform a sign or wonder for him. Jesus wasn’t compliant, so Herod made fun of Him and then Him back to Pilate. Pilate tried three times to release Jesus, but the crowd cried out for Pilate to release Barabbas and to crucify Jesus. Finally, Pilate relented and went with the crowd’s desire. Jesus was beaten and sent to be crucified. The Romans called on a man named Simon from Cyrene to carry Jesus’ cross. Many women followed and cried for Jesus’ plight. Jesus told them to mourn for their own people, not for Him.
When they crucified Jesus, He was placed between two other criminals. Jesus cried out for His Father to forgive them, because they didn’t know what they were doing. The religious leaders ridiculed Jesus and told Him that He had saved others, so come down from the cross and save Yourself. Then the Romans mocked Him. Eventually, one of the criminals hanging beside Him joined the mocking, but the other one asked him what he was doing. After all, they deserved to die, but Jesus was innocent. He then asked Jesus to remember him when He came into His kingdom. Jesus told him that he would be with Him that day in Paradise.
The sky turned dark for several hours, and Jesus died. Before He died, He commended His Spirit to the Father. As He died there was an earthquake, and the veil in the Temple was torn in two, signifying the division between God and humanity had been opened. Women mourned, and the centurion in charge said, “Surely this man was innocent.” (He might have said that because of how quickly Jesus died, as well as how He endured the pain and stood the abuse hurled at Him by others. After His death, Joseph of Arimathea went to Pilate and asked for permission to bury Jesus body in his tomb. Pilate agreed. The women went and saw where Jesus was buried, and then went back and prepared spices for His burial. These would need to wait for Sunday morning, because it was the beginning of the Passover Sabbath.