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.

Psalm 12 - When all seem to neglect the Lord

Psalm 12

In the previous two psalms David had been praying in response to personal circumstances, in this one David is concerned about the overall state of the nation. We too can be concerned about the nation’s general state. So let's see how David responded. It can seem that there is no one who is faithful, people “flatter with their lips but harbour deception in their hearts”.

David calls on the Lord to silence all flattering lips and boastful tongues”. We should be bold in our prayers. When evil triumphs it is the poor who suffer most. The Lord rises in response. The words of the wicked tell lies, and are not fruitful, but God’s words are flawless. The Lord looks after the needy. He takes action against the wicked.

Psalm 11 - When all seems lost

Psalm 11

David was under pressure. In fact he spent most of his life under pressure of various sorts. Sometimes it was his own fault, as after the Bathsheba incident, at others it was because of others such as Saul. At such times we can think that retreating into “safety”, it can seem as if we are defeated. David is reacting to such a situation. Circumstances tell us to “Flee like a bird to our mountain”, “what can the righteous do?” Then David reminds himself of who the Lord is. The Lord is in His temple, He observes everything, He is not unaware of our situation, and HE hates the violent and the wicked. The Lord will take action. We need to listen to the Lord, not to the voices (even from within ourselves) telling us we are defeated and that our situation is hopeless.

Psalm 10 - When the Lord seems far off

Psalm 10

There are times when God seems to be far off, to be oblivious to our situation, and doing nothing about it. David wrote this psalm in one of those times The wicked seemed to be abounding,  hunting down the weak. The wicked were doing well having no regard for the Lord, boastful in his success.

He was full of lies, waiting for more people to trap. He thinks he cannot be seen by God.

David calls upon the Lord to rise up and do something about the situation. He is convinced that God does see the afflicted, and that “the Lord is king for ever and ever”. Even when things seem dark and God seems to be far off we should still call upon the Lord and trust in Him.

Psalm 9 - The Lord reigns forever

Psalm 9

The psalm is a psalm of praise.The introduction has “to the tune of “The death of the Son”, it does not indicate whether David has just suffered loss, whatever the case, David responds by praising the Lord. David declares that He will give thanks to the Lord, with his whole heart, and tell of God’s wonderful deeds. He will rejoice in the Lord and sing praises to Him. This is what we should always do. Sometimes it will be very difficult to do so, but we should persist.

Things can seem bad, but God has never forgotten us, So in v3 David says his enemies turn back, stumble and perish. God has upheld his cause, God has brought forth justice, He has taken action.

“The Lord reigns forever, evil does not reign forever, our enemies do not reign forever. God is a refuge for His people, so we should seek him out when it is all so difficult.

V13 makes it clear that David is fully aware of the difficulties, yet still calls upon the Lord. He calls on the Lord to act. We should follow the line that David takes.

Psalm 8 - How majestic is your name!

Psalm 8

Gittith is another musical term. As is quite common in the psalms, David sees the glory of God in creation. We should all dwell on the wonder of creation, seeing the glory of God reflected in it. Likewise, in science we can see the glory of God. Problems arise if we start worshipping creation itself, as humans are prone to do. Many are keen to write God out of the picture, an equally foolish approach is to denigrate all science. God has set His glory in the heavens. Children and infants can sometimes be wiser than the so-called sages of an age. The universe is vast, yet God has still given man a special place. David is amazed at this. Why are we so special? It is simply because God has decided that it is so, he chose us, and He cares for us. He has “crowned us with glory and honour”. Our importance comes from God, and when we try to detach ourselves from God we lose our place of glory and honour. It is when we get back in right relationship with God that we find our true place in life. God made us rulers over creation (Gen 1:26).  The fundamental fact of the universe is not evolution, but that the Lord’s name is majestic in all the earth.

Psalm 7 - How to react when others work against us

Psalm 7

Shiggaion is probably a musical term, this is its only occurrence in the Bible. Cush was a

Benjamite, and hence probably a supporter of Saul and so working against David.

There will sometimes be those who are working against us. In this Psalm we see

how David responds, and he does so by seeking refuge in the Lord, and calls on

the Lord to “save and deliver” him. If God does not do so, the danger is real, he

could be torn and ripped apart.

David was being accused of all sorts of things, but he was innocent in this matter.

We are saved by grace, by God’s mercy and forgiveness, even so it is better

if we obey the Lord. David seems to rely on his innocence in this matter.

Living a righteous life gives us a certain strength,

but we must not rely on self-righteousness, there is a difficult balance

to hold here.David calls on the Lord to act. We worship the

God who acts. We often look at situations as if the Lord will

do nothing, the God of the Bible is not a do-nothing God. God is our shield

“who displays His wrath everyday”. We should seek to live righteous lives (which

we can only do with the help of the Holy Spirit). Then we will see the deliverance

of the Lord, and give praise to Him.

Psalm 6 - the unfailing love of the Lord

Psalm 6

It seems that David knew he had done something wrong, something against the Lord, though we are given no indication of what. Whatever the details David asks the Lord not to rebuke him in His anger, but instead to have mercy on Him. We are all reliant upon the Lord treating us with mercy, David was not feeling good, he felt faint, and his bones were in agony. Moreover his soul was in anguish. Many of us go through times of feeling terrible, there is nothing unusual about this. We, like David, may wonder “how long?” David calls upon the Lord to deliver him on the basis of His “unfailing love”. He reminds God that the dead do not praise Him. We are more likely to praise the Lord when we are well than we are under pressure.

David was having a very difficult time, but he knew that the Lord had heard him and would answer his prayers. It is his enemies who would be put to shame. The unfailing love of the Lord is our strength and security.

Psalm 5 - The right side of God

For some reason David is experiencing hard times, so he has written a lament. Most of God’s people in the Bible experienced hard times. David called upon the Lord for  help, and acknowledged the Lord as his king and his God. He knew that the Lord was the One who ultimately determined the course of his life.

David made his requests known to God at the start of  the day. He knew that God stood for righteousness. So the arrogant people who opposed David were also on the wrong side of God. Today people talk about being on the wrong side of history, being on the wrong side of God is a far more serious place to be in. So when the unrighteous oppose us we need not fear.

David asks the Lord to lead him in His righteousness. The unrighteous are full of evil and deceit, but those who take refuge in the Lord can be glad and full of joy. The Lord is a shield around us.

Psalm 4 - peace under trial

Psalm 4

This was a psalm of David, and may have been written while his kingship was being slandered. So David feels in distress, and his response is to call upon the Lord. The kingship was his glory, but there were those who were turning it into shame. These people preferred delusions and false gods. David was the Lord’s chosen servant, and the Lord back his servants, and hears David when he calls upon Him. We too can be confident in the Lord.

The people were plotting sin, instead they should tremble before the Lord. What sorts of thoughts do we have when lying on our beds? We should offer the sacrifices of the righteous, we should humble ourselves before the Lord and seek his purposes.

David asks the Lord to bring prosperity upon the land and to fill his heart with joy. When we are under pressure we do not normally feel joy, but we should ask the Lord for joy, joy is part of the fruit of the spirit. Neither do we feel peace, but again, we should ask for peace. Our prayers should be guided by what the Holy Spirit can give, not by what we think we can achieve.

Psalm 3 - Our deliverer

Psalm 3

As the text indicates David wrote this psalm when he fled from his son, Absalom. THis happened as after his sin with Bathsheba and Uriah. God was judging him, so the taunts of the enemy  that God would not deliver Him would be all the more poignant. Even so David still had faith in God, God was still a shield around him. Go answered his prayers from his holy mountain. The Lord was still His strength and His protector. For all of us there are times when we are acutely aware of our failings, our sinfulness, even in those times God is still our saviour. This is not to belittle our sins in any way, but we must still trust in the Lord, He is our only hope. When Jesus told Peter that despite his protestations he would deny Jesus, Jesus also said He had prayed for Peter that his faith would not fail (Lk 21: 31,32).

So even in this situation, David prays for help from The Lord and knows that deliverance comes from Him.

Psalm 2 - serve the Lord

Psalm 2

This Psalm talks about the futility of man raging against God. Men (and women) of all sorts often present themselves as superior to God, knowing better than Him. We should not fear when this happens. The psalmist begins by asking why do the nations conspire, they are plotting in vain. The rulers of the earth rise up both against the Lord, and His anointed (i.e. against Jesus). They see God as imposing unnecessary and unwanted restrictions on us. So they seek to break free of the supposed shackles.

However, God is enthroned in heaven and merely laughs at their futile efforts. He rebukes them, and terrifies them in His wrath. Why? Because His ways are actually good for us, and going against them harms us and others. God has installed Jesus as Lord of All. The Lord has made the nations His inheritance, Jesus will break them with a rod of iron.

So anyone who is wise, whether kings or ordinary mortals, should humble themselves before the Lord, and chose to serve Him. We can either become objects of wrath, or recipients of blessing.

Psalm 1 - follow the Lord

Psalm 1

\as well as expressing feelings. Praising God, and calling out for help, the Psalms also give instruction, and this psalm is a prime example.The Psalm reminds us that it is wiser and better to walk in the ways of the Lord, than to follow the ways of the wicked. This was something that Israel repeatedly forgot to do. The one who shuns the ways of the wicked is the one who is blessed, Parallelism is a common feature of Hebrew poetry, with an idea being repeated. We have an example here in v 1. We are not to follow the ways of the wicked, and this means not standing in the way of dinners, nor sitting in the company of  mockers.Sinners are, by definition, fools, so it makes sense to avoid standing in their place. Mockers have no regard for the ways of the Lords, so we should not keep company with them. 

Instead we should delight in the law of the Lord. We should meditate on His Law, not on the ramblings of the wicker or of mockers. If we do this we ill be like a tree planted by streams of water, we will receive sustenance and refreshment. If we are in a difficult situation right now, but turn to God we can be confident that we will receive strength. Success lies in following the Lord.

The wicked may seem OK for a time, but they are like chaff, they will not stand in the judgement. It is axiomatic in the Bible that all things will eventually be brought under judgement.

Conversely the Lord watches over the way of the righteous. Right now the Lord is watching over us, we are always in His care, but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.

Psalms - Introduction

Psalms - Introduction

 The Psalms are many people’s favourite part of the Old Testament. Many, but not all, were written by David, 73 are attributed to David, Psalm 90 is attributed to Moses, and others are credited to various temple musicians. They cover a wide range of emotions, Some are pure praise, others deal with David in various situations he encountered as recorded in the Old Testament. The psalms are split into five “books”, and they formed an important part of Israel's worship. The five books are:

Book 1 - 1-41

Book 2 - 42-72

Book 3 - 73-89

Book 4 - 90-106

Book 5 - 107-150

It is worth noting that the New Testament makes use of the psalms, including two of the most “theological” books, Romans and Hebrews. God teaches us through a combination of His word and our experiences. When we are going through testing times I find it helpful to let the psalms correct my thinking, for in the midst of difficultues we often have a number of wrong thoughts, we forget who God is and His promises to us.