ש This is the 21st letter of the Hebrew Alphabet. If there's a dot above the right side, it's pronounced sh; above the left side is pronounced s. Shin is important because it's the first letters of one of the names of God--"Shaddai--Almighty". It's also in shabbat, the 7th day of creation, the day of rest. And shalom, which means peace. Priests would form this letter with their hands when reciting a blessing. Our word for today is sas, "rejoice".
The student starts out with two negative words from yesterday--rim redafuni, which means "princes persecute". The students have all grown up, including the classroom bully; it looks like he's climbed the ladder to seeming success. The bully is still making the author's life hard with lies, but he's going to keep his eyes on the Teacher. He's put himself on a schedule of praise, seven (another s word!!) times a day. Those who follow the word of God have peace, and nothing can make them trip or fall. The psalmist isn't terribly worried about hardship, because his victory comes from his Teacher. He desires to keep the declaration of truth from God. He is an open book before the Teacher. 💗
The negative of the last two days finds it's positive in this section. Who is the bully, the persecuting prince? It is the enemy, Satan, showing up to distract us. Sometimes through others, sometimes through our own thoughts. When we need relief from the negative, we should stand in awe of the Word of God. Not in awe of self-help words of a famous guru, or advice from a well-meaning friend. We will find the greatest treasure in the Bible, the primary source of peace. Our society is on fire for self-help and self-care. Secondary sources--resources explaining Godly principles as if they are secular wisdom--are all the rage. But why put our trust in the words of others? El-Shaddai, God Almighty, alone has the power to deliver us to a place of great peace. let’s carve out a schedule of praise to Him alone.
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