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.

Psalm 56 - Be merciful to me, my God

Psalm 56

David was being pursued by the Philistines. As always he calls upon the Lord. Note that he asks God to be merciful to him. God is merciful, and God’s mercy is the basis for our calling on Him and our believing that He will answer, it is not founded in any righteousness of our own.The enemies were full of pride, the things, or people, that attack us may well be boastful and proud, this should not worry us for God opposes the proud. We may well feel afraid, but when we are we should put our trust in God. If God is for us, who can be against us?

The enemies may well twist our words, and conspire against us in all sorts of ways, but God will not let them escape.

David calls on God to record his misery, he wants God to be aware of what is happening to him, and God is aware. The antidote to fear is to put our trust in the Lord.\david knows that he will walk before God in the light of life. May we too move from darkness to light.

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.