Welcome to “Music To My Ears!” It is a collection of personal meditations on the book of Psalms. The comments on these psalms were made by myself (Pastor Chuck) and shared with many people over the Internet beginning on January 1, 1997. As I did my daily devotions in the journal that we handed out in “Discovering Maturity” (C.L.A.S.S. 201). I studied my passage for the morning and wrote my observation. I then typed these observations into an e-mail letter which I sent to all those in my e-mail address book. Since I received so many comments from them, I thought I would put them together in this short volume and offer them to anyone interested.
You will notice that there isn’t anything especially fancy or unique in the format or the content, rather it’s just personal. The most interesting thing is the new translation which I quote frequently. I refer to various translations, but primarily focus on “The Message” which I used as the primary Bible text. I refer to it throughout these pages as TM. There are other translations used. I’ve given the translation titles and abbreviations used to identify them in the text of the following pages:
NIV = New International Version
NASB = New American Standard Version
KJV = King James Version
JB = Jerusalem Bible
NJB = New Jerusalem Bible
LB = Living Bible
GN = Good News Bible or Today’s English Version
NLT = New Living Translation
CEV = Contemporary English Version
GWT = God’s Word for Today
RSV = Revised Standard Version
NLV = New Life Version
There are others who have sent replies to my psalms during the past few months. Some of them were very insightful and I’ve included them. In each case they will be identified as they appear.
Also, in 1973, during a course at Bible College, Judy Collicott took a course during which she kept a journal of her daily devotions through the Psalms. She has let me use that in my studies and when I quote her, I use the abbreviation JT for “Judy’s Thoughts.” (By the way, she got an “A” for her work!)
You will find either direct or indirect references to songs from the popular culture. This is not meant to indicate acceptance, approval, or anything else with regard to them or those who performed them. It is simply an attempt to take strong expressions of feelings in songs which many in our culture are familiar with and focus their strength on the One we should be honoring and singing about. I believe that all passion expressed in art of any kind is fueled from legitimate feelings that God created for our experience. The problem with modern culture is that it takes legitimate expressions of strong emotion and passion and aims it at the wrong target. The right target for these legitimate feelings is the Lord Our God! Psalms is a collection of the songs of the Hebrew culture which expresses the depth of legitimate emotion. I want to refocus the strong, familiar expressions of the songs from our culture on the One who rightfully deserves it.
To be honest, this work is an attempt to wash my mind of the past. I did not come to Christ until I was 32. The greatest influences in my life up to that point were the many lyrics to songs from the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s, that to this day remain in my mind. If I’m doomed to remember the phrases and choruses of these songs for the rest of my life, I want to attach them to one of God’s songs!
The last five psalms particularly are an explosion of musical worship! They call for music, music, music! They call for it to be used as the primary means of worshipping God. I want to use Psalm 146 and 147 as the theme Psalms for “Music to My Ears.”

PSALM 146
Strike up the band! Call the backup singers! I’m ready to sing to God for the rest of my life! Tune up the instruments! Let the music start and never stop. Like the rockin’ robin, I want to fill every morning singing my song of praise to God! I don’t want to bother singing about anything else! Especially people! “Mere humans don’t have what it takes.”TM “But God is God for good.”TM “The Lord will rule forever . . . over all people for all time.”NLV (New translation = New Life Version). So sing about God and “know real life blessings.”TM Sing songs that tell all about God’s greatness. like:
He created everything – He can make the gray sky blue! He can make it rain whenever he wants it to! (HE can even get next to you…)
He delivers the hurting – When it hurts so baaaaad, when there are tears on my pillow and pain in my heart, when there ain’t no sunshine… when I’m cryyyyying.. crying…, when I’m down and troubled, when I’m weary feeling low… when one is the loneliest number – He picks me up with His songs. You see He is music, and He writes the songs!
He sets the prisoners free – All we do is cry, release me, let me go… and along comes the Lord! “He helps them who have a bad power over them.”NLV
He defends the defenseless – When I can’t help myself, he rescues me!
He feeds those who are hungry through and through – Hungry for His good love… His everlasting love! He touches us and we sing, “My cup runneth over with love.”
“God is God for good.”TM

PSALM 147
I’m singing about my God, because it’s the right thing to do. We must never stop the music! Hearing people Praise God is music to my ears! Never let the music stop! “Sing to God… play music on your instruments.”TM He is responsible for the clouds in the skies, the rain on the earth.. grass turning green all around… the coming of spring. C’mon rockin’ robins, rock in the tree tops all day long!!! Praise the coming of Spring at God’s command! He also brings Winter. “He gives snow like wool.” NLV He brings us a winter wonderland! So sing about how wonderful God is! Don’t waste your time singing about horses or humans. “He’s not impressed with horse-power; the size of our muscles means nothing to him.”TM He’s not impressed by Big Bad Leroy Brown, Big Bad John, or the Secret Agent Man!
Praise him with your voice! It’s music to my ears! Praise him with every instrument you have! It’s music to my ears! But praise him, and him alone! It’s music to my ears!!!
“Help me not to put my trust in mortal man, but to look only to you.”JT Let my songs praise you, Lord, every day of my life! And may the praise of you as the one true God never stop being music to my ears! Never stop the music!