A Psalm a Day: DOY = d + 30m + g

I enjoy beginning my days by singing through a Psalm, one each day, in order from Psalm 1 to Psalm 150. With 365 days in a year (usually) I will have sung through the entire Book of Psalms twice, with third time through the first 65 Psalms!

(On Day 119 I must take some creative license and break the 22 sections into thirds!)

I’m not used to keeping track of each day of the year. There are computer applications and internet sites that can do that for me, but I prefer to do it the old-fashioned way: mathematics.

Here’s my formula: DOY (Day Of Year) = d + 30m + g

Where,

• d = day of the month
• 30m = number of completed months, multiplied by 30
• g = net days gained

This formula takes into account the fluctuation from month to month of 30 days or 31 days, and the four-year variance in February from 28 to 29 days.

For example:

Today’s day of the month, plus (30 x completed months) plus gain = equals the day of the year.

December 9 = 9 + 330 + 5 = Day 344

Here’s a table to help keep track of the net gain as each month is completed. At the end of January, our calendar has “gained” one day, since January has 31 days (one day more than 30 days). Normally, February would then set the calendar back two days (having 28 days, two days less than 30). However, this year was a leap year, allowing February 29 days, only one day less than 30. That one day “lost” in February cancels the day “gained” at the end of January, so at the end of February, our net gain is zero.

Day of the Year for 2020:

Month	Gain	Total
January	+1	1
February	-1	0
March	+1	1
April	+0	1
May	+1	2
June	+0	2
July	+1	3
August	+1	4
September	+0	4
October	+1	5
November	+0	5
December	+ 1	6

There are 150 Psalms in The Holy Bible. Singing a psalm a day for a year means repeating all 150 Psalms at least twice, and then some! Upon Day 151, I will read Psalm 1; upon Day 152, Psalm 2, and so on.

Upon Day 301, again I begin again with Psalm 1.

On December 31, I will end the year (most years) on Day 365, singing Psalm 65. On the next day, January 1, New Year’s Day, I will begin again with Psalm 1.

One final note:

I’m not a talented singer, but I love music, and I have medium level skills on the guitar. I sing through the Psalms as written in the New International Version, usually with a simple chord progression: D-C-G. I like experimenting with the D and F chord forms, moving up and down the frets to find pleasing sounds. I also at times get wild and crazy, throwing a Dm or Em or Fm chord into the mix, as well!

Translation of Hebrew into English rarely allows the Psalms to retain their original meter and rhyme…I have to improvise!

In conclusion, whether you choose to sing, hum, read silently or recite aloud, a Psalm a day is exceeding good for one’s soul! It is good to express to God our Creator and Lover all our emotions, from joy to jealousy, from happy to hateful, to pleasure and praise to confusion and condemnation. Our emotions, all of them, good and “bad”, are designed to turn our hearts to the Father! God’s are the only shoulders strong enough to bear our honest and full emotional baggage!

Milt Reynolds December 9, 2020 Boise, Idaho

Photo by Milt Reynolds, 2020