Psalm 63 - When God seems to be far off

Psalm 63

David was in a desert, hence his use of thirsting metaphors. He earnestly sought the Lord, yet He seemed to be nowhere to be found. There had been times when David had seen the Lord and knew of his presence. He praised the Lord because he knew of God’s love. Though now God seemed to be far off David would still praise the Lord. We should praise the Lord, even when we don’t feel like it.

David thought about the Lord even on his bed. He clung to God. He knew his enemies would be defeated.

So what we see in this psalm is David praising God and trusting in Him even when his feelings are not cooperating.

Psalm 62 - Trust in God

Psalm 62

The psalm was for Jeduthun. He was one of David’ musicians, and this was one of three psalms assigned to him. David wants Jeduthun to learn from him. First, his soul finds rest in God, and salvation comes from him. Whatever the situation we are facing, we need to look for God. What do we want most? We want peace of mind, and we want the situation to be resolved, both of these come from God. He is our salvation and our fortress.

David then speaks to those assaulting him. He admits that he is a “tottering fence”, and his enemies intended to topple him. Even so, he instructs his soul to find rest in God. His salvation and honour depend upon God. We are to trust in Him at all times., He is our refuge.

We are not to fear men, and must not rely on extortion. Power and unfailing love belong to God, so if we put our trust in Him, how can we lose?

Psalm 61 - The rock which is higher than I

Psalm 61

David is, as always, calling upon the Lord. This time  he calls from a state of weakness, he is calling from the ends of the earth and his heart grows faint. “Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.” Even when all our strength is gone, there is still hope.For there is one who is higher than us, and David had known times in the past when God had been his refuge, and had been a strong tower.

So there are two things that we can learn. One is that we should dwell upon the times when we have known God’s help, the other is that we are not limited by the extent of our own resources, but by God’s resources,which are unlimited. We should stand upon the lord.

David longed to dwell in the Lord’s tent, we need to know the presence of the Lord. David calls upon God to increase the years of his life. When he knew the reality of the presence of the Lord he would sing God’s praises, and fulfil his vows to the Lord.

Psalm 60 - You have rejected us, God.

Psalm 60

David says that God had been against them, and calls on Him to restore them. The land and people had suffered much. But God had raised a banner for those who feared Him. Even if most are turning away from the Lord, it is always worth continuing to fear Him.

David calls on God to save them with His right hand. Note that the help God gives is personal.,and god loves His people. \\\we should never forget that god loves us.

Even if God had been against themDavid knew that God was their only hope. And he believed that God would indeed help them. \so even if you think \god has been against you, and even if you deserved it, you should still look to Him. God is our only source of salvation.

Psalm 59 - Deliver me from my enemies

Psalm 59

The preamble tells us that David wrote this psalm when Saul had sent men to watch his house, with the aim of killing him. David was not killed. The enemy may well have devised plans against us, this does not mean that they will succeed.

As always, David called upon the Lord to deliver him from his enemies. He did not deny that there were people who were out to get him, but he believed that God could rescue him. David claims that he had done no wrong, and so he called on God to punish the nations.

David is in no doubt about the nature of his enemies, of the sin in their hearts. He believed that he would gloat over his enemies, he also called on God not to kill them. David wanted Israel to learn from this, he wanted them to see how God brought their enemies down. One of Israel’s great failings was to go to idols or to other nations when faced with threats, instead of going to the Lord.

Enemies will be caught out by their sins. God is active.

The enemies would be active too, but David would sing of the Lord’s strength. We should do the same, for our God is stronger than any who oppose us. He is our fortress and refuge in time of trouble. We can rely upon the Lord.

Psalm 58 - There is a God who judges the earth

Psalm 58

David is addressing the rulers, questioning whether they are actually ruling with justice and equity. They may have claimed to rule unjustly, as most governments do, but in fact they devised injustice and meted out violence.This was the way they acted from birth, injustice was not a recently acquired skill, but one they were born with. Snakes are poisonous, but a charmer could control them to some degree, but the wicked were not like that, their ears were deaf to any attempts to charm them, regardless of how well the charmer played. So David calls on the Lord to deal with them severely, do we too often just pray for “nice” solutions? The righteous would be glad when they see the wicked dealt with. The righteousness of God will have been displayed.

Psalm 57 - Be exalted, O God

Psalm 57

According to the preamble, David wrote this psalm when he was hiding from Saul in a cave. When this happened David had the chance to kill Saul, but chose not to take it. Instead, he put his trust in the Lord.  He relied on God’s mercy, depending upon the Lord to vindicate him.  “I am in the midst of lions”, this was presumably metaphorical, but he lived in the midst of danger, with men who sought to destroy him. Even so he still put his trust in the Lord, he wanted God to be exalted. We too should look to the Lord, this will affect what we do, and what we will not do. It is the Lord’s glory that we seek.