Psalm 19 - Trust in the word of the Lord

Psalm 19

For once, David doesn’t seem to be in trouble! Instead we have  a psalm of unalloyed praise.There are many times when we do seem to be in trouble, but God also grants us times of peace. First of all David says how creation declares the glory of God. Some use science to try and "disprove God”, or as an alternative to God. Such attempts are both futile and misguided. If we approach things aright, then we see how creation shows how great God is. In Rom 1:19 Paul says that creation makes known to all something of the greatness of God, so men are without excuse.

Creation is good, the Law of the Lord is perfect. ` It refreshes the soul. We should always look to the word of the Lord. Some claim to be clever in their disbelief in God, but the opposite is true. They are fools (see previous psalm) and if we pay attention to the Law then we become wise. Atheism brings no peace, but the word of The Lord gives joy to the heart. His commands are radiant and give light to our lives, they enable us to see clearly. The decrees of the Lord are precious, they are worth much more than gold.

We should seek His word, and trust it more than anything.

Psalm 18 - The Lord is my deliverer

Psalm 18

The preamble to this psalm tells us that David wrote this after h e had been delivered from Saul by the Lord, it is similar, though not identical, to David’s psalm of praise in 2 Samuel 22. David loves the Lord, and describes the Lord as His rock, fortress and deliverer. When in trouble David took refuge in the Lord. He turned to the Lord, called upon the Lord, and sought to do things His way.

David faced many real threats, his very life being in danger, with death seeking to have him. David called upon the Lord in his distress. We may think that we can only call upon the Lord in faith, but sometimes our feelings will overwhelm us, we can still call upon the Lord. God heard Him from His temple, and God took action. We should realise where our prayers go, not into thin air, but up to the temple of God. The Lord took action and scattered David’s enemies. He reached down and pulled David out of the depths, he rescued him from the enemies who were too powerful for David. We may face situations where the opposition is much stronger than us. 

The Lord rescued David because David trusted in Him. Christ is our righteousness, but the fact that we trust in the Lord matters, the fact that we trust Him affects our relationship with Him.  And God enables us to do things that by nature we cannot do.  And the word of the Lord is flawless. So the end result was that David triumphed over his enemies.

Psalm 17 - Vindicate me Lord

Psalm 17

David is in trouble again. He feels that he is being unjustly treated, and he calls upon the Lord asking the Lord to vindicate him. In the psalms we get a full range of emotions from David. There are times when he is overwhelmed by sin,  others when he is full of fear. In all these situations he calls upon the lord, whatever circumstances we might be in today we should call upon the Lord.

David then says that the Lord could examine his heart but would find no wrong. We may think that we can never say that, but we pray on the basis not of our righteousness, but Christ’s righteousness. At the same time David had resisted attempts to bribe him, and had avoided violent ways. We should seek to stick to the Lord’s ways, and the Holy Spirit will help us to do that.

David is confident that God would hear him, we too should be confident that the Lord will hear us, on the basis of Christ’s righteousness. We should expect to see the  wonders of His great love. So often we expect to see disaster, but the Lord actively looks after us.

The wicked are indeed full of evil plans, but David calls on the Lord to rise up against them.

David expects the Lord to vindicate him, and that he will see the Lord.

Psalm 16 - Trust in the Lord

Psalm 16

David calls upon the Lord to keep him safe. Whatever the situation we should always take refuge in the Lord. David knows that all his hope is in the Lord, and he delights in God’s people. The company we keep is important, if we choose the wrong crowd we can be dragged away from the Lord, conversely if we mix with godly people it can help us in following the Lord.running after other gods is not a wise thing to do, it will lead only to trouble.

The Lord is our portion, He is our provider, and \He is good to us. He instructs us. We are secure only when we keep the Lord at our right hand.

When we put our trust in the Lord we will be glad and will rest secure. The Lord’s will is to look after us and to fill us with joy in His presence.

Psalm 15 - Who may ascend the hill of the Lord?

Psalm 15

For once David is not in trouble., this time he is musing on “who may dwell in the Lord’s sacred tent”. He has known God’s help, but who can ascend the hill of the Lord? The answers he gives sets a very high standard, and not one that we can reach, that is why we need Jesus. Yet it is still worth pondering them, for the Holy Spirit works in us to produce more of the character of Jesus within us. First his walk is blameless, he speaks the truth and is righteous. \he tells no lies, and does no wrong to his neighbour, he does not cast slurs. Notice how much of politics is casting slurs on others. He despises a vile person, rather than honouring him. Instead he honours those who fear the Lord. His word is reliable. He lends freely to the poor, not seeking to exploit them. Such  a person has the approval of God, and so his life is built upon a solid foundation.

Psalm 14 - when society rejects God

Psalm 14

In previous psalms Daavid has been dealing with fairly personal matters, in this one he takes a more general look at society. Those who say “There is no God”are fools. They might claim to be wise, but quite the opposite is true. Their deeds are evil, and they do no good. Our society that rejects God is a poorer society.

While they deny the existence of God , the Lord does exist and He sees all people. He looks to see if there are any who seek God., but all have turned away and have become corrupt. This is the general condition of mankind. A society that rejects God is a less caring society But God does exist and is active. He is present in the company of the righteous, so even if society as a whole turns away from God, we do well to continue to look to Him, and to put our trust in Him. 

Psalm 13 - When it is very difficult

Psalm 13

David is in trouble again. In this psalm we see how he is feeling and how he responds.. It starts with David feeling as if the Lord has forgotten him, and is paying him no attention. He is wrestling with all sorts of troubling thoughts, probably imagining all that could go wrong. Sorrow fills his  heart and it seems as if the enemy is triumphing over him. He does not want the enemy to be able to gloat in triumph over him. His response is to call on the Lord, he still trusts in God and reminds himself that God has been good to him. 

We can feel guilty when we experience difficult and negative thoughts and feelings, this is normal, and we see how David responds to the situation.