Wednesday, March 22, 2017

Psalms 37 and 38 from my new book:

A NEW LOOK AT THE OLD PSALMS
Praying the Psalms: a modern interpretation

A New Look at the Old Psalms

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I present here a new perspective on the psalms. I have rewritten them from a New 
Testament Christ-centered point of view. I did not try to capture the poetry of the 
psalms – I leave that to more gifted writers – but I attempted to capture their message
with a more modern interpretation.
God bless,
John
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Psalm 37

Who will gain admittance to heaven? Those who do good, reject evil, and trust in the Lord; who follow his decrees faithfully and patiently; who are not jealous of the wicked; who delight in the Lord; who dedicate all they do to him; who do not give in to anger, rage or envy; who treasure holiness over possessions; who follow their conscience which is well informed by God’s teachings; who never stray from God’s path; the gentle and humble; the innocent and generous; the good, honest souls who love peace.

As for the ungodly, they will not enter the kingdom of heaven; they will fade away; be destroyed; lose what they cherish the most; find themselves weak and defenseless, the cause of their own undoing. The Lord will laugh at their defiance, for judgment day is coming. 


Psalm 38


Jesus takes the place of sinners on the cross and begs the Father for their salvation. “Father, as I suffer on this cross to atone for the sins of others, your rebukes and punishment are killing me. My health is failing because of the heavy guilt I bear for sinners. I am mortally wounded; filled with pain; burning with fever; exhausted, crushed and in anguish; my heart beats irregularly; I can no longer see; my appearance is abhorrent. I was betrayed by a friend who laid a trap for me. But I kept silent, for I am waiting for you, Father, to answer these false charges. You will not let them rejoice in my demise. Accept my sacrifice as payment owed by others, for I have done nothing wrong. Evil opposes me because I am good. Save me, Father. Do not leave me in the grave.”8
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Cover image: Christ the Saviour (Pantokrator)." Web. 25 Sept 2016.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Spas_vsederzhitel_sinay.jpg
"Creative Commons License." Web. 18 May 2016.
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

8The Orthodox Study Bible. (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2008), 707.

This book and other books I have written are posted for your reading pleasure at Booksie.

Scriptural quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, 
copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois
60189. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2016 by John P. Gross. All rights reserved. Reproduction of this material must 
be done in its entirety with the copyright notice intact. This book is not for sale, but is 
offered to the public free of charge for the glory of God.

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