Psalm 55 - Listen to my prayer, O God

Psalm 55

David was “distraught” (v3), and he was troubled by his thoughts, this is something I guess most of us have experienced. As always, he calls upon the Lord.Part of the reason for the problem is what the enemy has been saying to him. This “enemy” may be a particular person or even his own thoughts.

Whatever the case, his heart was in anguish. Note that David experienced all the emotions that we have, and still called upon the Lord. The anguish was real: “fear and trembling” had beset him, he just wanted to fly away, to be far away from all his problems. To make matters worse, it was a companion, not an enemy, who was attacking him. Jesus likened his situation with Judas to what David describes here.#David wishes ill on his enemies. This may shock some, if it does tough, the psalms are far more real than we often are.

“As for me, I call to God”, he cries out in distress. And the Lord saves him and rescues him unharmed. Let us learn from David.

Psalm 54 - Save me , O God

Psalm 54

David wrote this psalm when it seemed that the ziphites would betray him. As always his response is to call upon the Lord, note that David does this in all sorts of situations, even when the situation is “his fault”. We can often think that guilt means that God would not be interested in hearing us, the psalms tell us a different story.

Arrogant foes were attacking him. Our enemies may be proud and boastful, having no regard for God, this should not cause us to fear,Our Lord is stronger and is well able to save us. Also David has no reluctance in asking God to destroy his foes,, sometimes we can be “too nice”.

David is confident that he will look in triumph on his foes. So will we.

Psalm 53 - The fool says "There is no God"

Psalm 53

The preamble describes this psalm as “a maskil”, this means that it is a contemplative psalm. In this case contemplating the nature of those who say “there is no God”, and it does not have a very favourable view of such people. First, they are described as fools, then they are called corrupt, and their ways as vile., and none of them do good. In fact this psalm can be viewed as a commentary on mankind as a whole. We think we are gods, self-sufficient, this is a fundamental denial of reality.

God looks down on mankind to see if there are any who seek God, but all have turned away and have become corrupt. We know nothing, and they devour God’s people. Seeking God was meant to be the defining characteristic of God’s people. We are meant to look to God, then our enemies will be overwhelmed with dread. Salvation comes from God alone.

Psalm 52 - Why do you boast of evil?

Psalm 52

The introductory stuff tells us this was written after Doeg had gone and told Saul where David was. David  must have felt downhearted. Evil men boasted of their ways and practised deceit. They loved evil and falsehood. They seemed to succeed in their evil ways, yet David was convinced that God would bring them down. In the end the righteous would triumph. Those who do not put their trust in God, but boast of their own wealth will eventually come to nothing.

David, on the other hand, did trust in God, and he would flourish. Like David we should hope in God’s good name, and trust in Him. God is utterly reliable.

Psalm 51 - dealing with our sin

Psalm 51

This is a well known psalm. It was written after Nathan the prophet had confronted David with the truth of what he had done. He had committed adultery with Bathsheeba, and had murdered Uriah in an attempt to cover up his sin.

So how did David respond? First, he asked God to have mercy on him. \he depended on \god’s unfailing love and His great compassion. He admitted his sin, and did not try to excuse it nor try to explain it away. He recognised the depths of his sin, not just in regard to the immediate incidents, but in his very nature. HE was utterly sinful, but God desired faithfulness.

He knew that God could cleanse him, he believed he could be set free from his sin. He could once again enjoy salvation, God could “renew a steadfast spirit” within him.

Then he could teach sinners God’s ways, he would once again praise the Lord.

The message of the psalm is that sin is not the end, if we recognise the reality and seriousness of our sin, and put our trust in God’s mercy.

Psalm 50 - The Mighty One

Psalm 50

This is a psalm of Asaph. Asaph is mentioned in 1 Chron 6:39 and 1 Chron 16. He was a skilled musician, and also a prophet. He is also named in Psalms 73-80. The Lord summons the earth, the whole of creation is dependent upon God for its creation and for its continual existence. God shines forth from Zion. The glory and beauty of God shines forth from His people. Now at one level this seems pretty hopeless, which is why God sent His son, to purify us from our sins.

We made a covenant with God by sacrifice, the sacrifice of Jesus is the basis for our covenant.

The sacrifice of the Old Testament could never purify the people, as Hebrews makes clear, and here it makes clear that God has no need of bulls and lambs, and He has no need of us or our offerings in themselves, the sacrifice of Jesus is for our benefit. He does desire thank-offerings and for us to fulfill our vows, i.e. the things we willingly give to God. We are also called upon to  call on the Lord in the day of trouble. When we are in trouble, who or what do we look to?

God has no delight in the wicked, and their sacrifices count for nothing. We are to honour the Lord.

Psalm 49 - Hear this all you people

Psalm 49

This psalm is directed to all people, “both high and low",and the words are words of wisdom. The words will give understanding, the words of unbelievers do not give wisdom, quite the opposite in fact.

The natural response when evil days come is to be full of fear. This happens to those who trust in their wealth, for when evil comes wealth can very quickly disappear. Your life is in danger and no one can give enough to God to guarantee one's life Both the wise and the foolish perish. Even if they became famous, this worldly renown is of no use. It is only those who depend upon the Lord  whose lives can be redeemed. 

This psalm urges us to have proper perspective on life, and not to be fooled by the false allure of earthly wealth or fame. Knowing the Lord is wisdom thatd is worth having.