1:1-6
- As well as journeying through the Old and New Testaments, we will
read a Psalm at fairly regular intervals. The first Psalm contrasts two
ways - the way of the Word and the way of the world, the way of blessing
and the way of judgment. Encouraging us to build upon the solid
foundation of God’s Word, the opening Psalm sets the tone for what is to
follow. To whet your appetite for the Psalms, here are some early
lessons: stability in the Lord (1:1-2); service for the Lord (2:11);
salvation of the Lord (3:8); sanctification from the Lord (4:4-5);
singing to the Lord (8:4); strength in the Lord (9:9). These are some
of the blessings promised to those who ‘delight in the law of the Lord’
(1-2). With a God like this - full of so much blessing for us - what
else can we do but rejoice in Him?
2:1-12
- In this Psalm, we read of a conflict. On the one side, there is ‘the
Lord and His Anointed’ (2). On the other there are those who ‘conspire
and ...plot’ (1). The conspiracies and plots of men will come to
nothing. The saving purpose of God will be fulfilled. This purpose will
be accomplished in Christ, the One to whom God says, ‘You are My Son’
(7), the One to whom God says, ‘I will make the nations your
inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession’ (8). God calls us to
worship Christ - ‘Kiss the Son’ (12). This call to worship Christ is
accompanied by a warning against judgment and a promise of salvation. As
sinners, we are under God’s judgment. Trusting in Christ, we are saved
(12; John 3:36). We are to take delight in Christ. This is the thought
conveyed by the phrase, ‘Kiss the Son’. We delight in God’s Son, and we
delight in God’s Word which leads us to Him.
3:1-6
- This Psalm begins with the human situation - ‘O Lord, how many are
my foes! How many rise up against me! Many are saying of me, “God will
not deliver him”’' (1-2). It ends with the divine provision - ‘From the
Lord comes deliverance’ (8). How does the Psalmist rise above his deeply
distressing circumstances? He takes his problem to the Lord. The
Psalm’s opening words, ‘O Lord’, indicate the way toward its triumphant
conclusion. Why is the Psalmist not overwhelmed by depression? - He is
looking to the Lord. This is not a case of ‘positive thinking’ on the
part of David. This is deliverance from the Lord. There is no simple
‘psychological’ explanation for David’s change of mood. He is delivered
by the Lord. He is raised from his depressive mood by the Lord, ‘my
Glorious One, who lifts up my head’ ( 3). What He’s done for others, He
can do for you!
4:1-8
- There is a great message of the Gospel here. By ourselves, we are
sinners, turning God’s glory to shame, loving delusions and seeking
false gods (2). By grace, God has done something about this - ‘the Lord
has set apart the godly for Himself’ (3). When we pray, ‘Answer me’ (1),
we have this confidence: ‘the Lord will hear when I call to Him’ (3).
The Lord hears the sinner’s prayer, ‘Give me relief from my distress;
be merciful to me and hear my prayer’ (1). Jesus Christ is God’s Answer
to this prayer. Christ brings relief (salvation). This salvation arises
from the mercy of God. In Christ, we have a ‘joy’ and ‘peace’ which the
world can neither give nor take away (7-8). When the seeking sinner
comes with question, ‘Who can show us any good?’ (6), the Gospel Answer
is always the same - Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
5:1-12-
This is a morning prayer: ‘morning by morning’, we are to come before
the Lord ‘in expectation’of His blessing (3). The Psalmist prays with
great earnestness. His prayer is a ‘sighing’before God, a ‘cry for
help’(1-2). He acknowledges the holiness of God: ‘You are not a God who
takes pleasure in evil, with you the wicked cannot dwell’(4). The words
of verse 9 apply to every one of us. Paul quotes this verse in support
of the conclusion that ‘allhave sinned and fall short of the
glory of God’(Romans 3:13, 23). There is, however, a way of coming to
God. It is ‘by His mercy’(7). Each of us has been declared guilty by God
(10; Romans 3:19-20). For the fallen, God has provided a way of
forgiveness. For the guilty, He has provided a way to gladness (11; Luke
2:10-11). ‘Hallelujah! What a Saviour!’(Church Hymnary, 380).
6:1-10-
What a pitiful picture: 'languishing ...troubled ...sorely troubled
...moaning ...tears ...weeping ...grief ...weak' (1-7). Transformation -
Overwhelmed by evil becomes overcoming evil. ‘O Lord - how
long?’becomes ‘The Lord has heard the sound of my weeping. The Lord has
heard my supplication' (3, 8-9). We look at our circumstances. We ask,
‘How long must this continue?’. We look at Christ’s Cross. We say, ‘He has
won the victory’. His victory becomes ours, as we say, in faith, ‘the
Lord accepts my prayer’(9). We look beyond our present circumstances to
Christ’s Second Coming. When He returns, the tables will be turned. In a
moment, there will be complete shame for His enemies (10; 1 Corinthians
15:25) and complete salvation for ‘those who are eagerly waiting for
Him’(1 Corinthians 15:51-52; Hebrews 9:28).
7:1-17-
Scripture speaks to us of both judgment and salvation (6,10; Hebrews
9:27-28). The Gospel brings salvation, - ‘God sent the Son... that the
world might be saved...’. There is also a warning - ‘he who does not
believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the Name of
the only Son of God’(John 3:17-18). The Lord does not wish ‘that any
should perish, but that all should reach repentance’. Nevertheless,
there will be ‘the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men’(2
Peter 3:9,7). What is happening here on earth? - ‘the wicked man...makes
a pit...and falls into the hole which he has made’(14-15). What does
God say about this? - ‘If a man does not repent, God will whet his
sword...’(12), ‘God... commands all men everywhere to repent’(Acts
17:30). God calls for ‘repentance’and ‘faith in our Lord Jesus Christ’-
‘Repent and believe the Gospel’(Acts 20:21; Mark 1:15).
8:1-9-
The Lord is ‘majestic’(1,9). He does not remain remote. He does not
keep His distance. He show us His greatness, the greatness of His love.
We feel forgotten. He remembers us. We feel unloved. He cares for us
(4). We are tempted. He will ‘still the enemy’(2). We look beyond our
creation (5-8) to our salvation - ‘we see Jesus, who for a little while
was made lower than the angels, crowned with glory and honour because of
the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God He might taste
death for everyone...that through death He might destroy him who has the
power of death, that is, the devil’(Hebrews 2:8-9,14). This is
‘Majesty’- ‘Jesus, who died, now glorified, King of all kings’. The Name
of the Lord is majestic ‘in all the earth’(1, 9). To God - Father, Son
and Holy Spirit - we pray, ‘Glorify Your Name in all the earth’(Mission Praise. 454,142).
9:1-20-
‘I will give thanks to the Lord...’(1-2). The enemy is defeated (3-6).
‘The Lord sits enthroned for ever’(7). ‘The Lord is a stronghold for the
oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble’(9). What an encouraging
Psalm this is: We have the victory in Christ. Nevertheless, it is not
easy when we face determined opposition from the enemies of Christ and
His Gospel: ‘Behold what I suffer from those that hate me’(13). In this
situation, we must call upon the Lord: ‘Arise, O Lord! Let not man
prevail’(19). Though the conflict is raging all around, we must - taking
our stand in Christ - declare God’s praises and rejoice in His
salvation (14). ‘The Lord dwells in Zion’(11): ‘Blest inhabitants of
Zion, Washed in the Redeemer’s blood’, may we always say, ‘Let the world
deride or pity, I will glory in Thy Name’(Church Hymnary,421).
10:1-18-
Wickedness seems to be so prevalent. Many ‘renounce the Lord’, saying
‘There is no God’(3-4). It seems that the wicked ‘prosper at all times’,
while the innocent victims of oppression feel that ‘God has forgotten’
(5-11). When it appears that God ‘has hidden His face’, when we feel that
He has forgotten us, we must remember this: ‘The Lord is King for ever
and ever’(11,16). Do not judge by appearances. Do not trust your
feelings. Everything changes. Nothing remains the same. Everything
changes - except God. He is unchanged, unchanging and unchangeable in
His faithful love for us. We rejoice in this: ‘Jesus Christ is the same
yesterday and today and forever’(Hebrews 13:5). Whatever circumstances
and feelings may suggest, never forget this: ‘He loved us from the first
of time, He loves us to the last’(Church Hymnary, 293).
11:1-13:6-
'The Lord is in His holy temple, the Lord's throne is in heaven': We
'take refuge' in Him (11:4,1). We are to seek His face, confident that
'when He appears...we shall see Him as He is' (11:7; 27:8; 1 John 3:2).
Seeking God's face, we learn to rest in His promises, we are protected,
we are kept (12:6-7). We may face difficult circumstances (13:1-4). We
can still trust in the Lord's 'steadfast love'. We can still 'rejoice'
in His 'salvation'. We can still say with the Psalmist, 'I will sing to
the Lord, because He has dealt bountifully with me' - 'God is able to
make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having
all that you need, you will abound in every good work (13:5-6; 2
Corinthians 9:8).
14:1-15:5-
Life can be testing and trying. In all of this, God makes Himself real
to us. This is our assurance of faith: ‘The Lord restores the fortunes
of His people’. He makes us ‘glad’- In Him, we ‘rejoice’(7). God Himself
is the Sure Foundation for our lives: Build on Him, and you ‘shall
never be moved’(15:5). We long for God’s blessing, ‘O that
salvation...would come...’(7). He will not disappoint us. Do not be ‘the
fool’ who ‘says in his heart, “There is no God”’(14:1). ‘Fear the
Lord’- ‘and give Him glory’(15:4; Revelation 14:7). We are to ‘act
wisely’- ‘seeking after God’, ‘calling upon the Lord’(14:2,4). Do you
want to ‘dwell on God’s holy hill’(15:1)? - ‘There is a way for man to
rise to that sublime abode...’(Church Hymnary, 357): Christ is the Way to God and Heaven (John 14:2-6).
16:1-11-
‘Thou wilt show me the path of life; in Thy presence is fulness of joy;
at Thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore’(11). In this
earthly life, there are many difficulties. For all of God’s people,
there is something better still to come. We must look not only at the
things which are happening now. We must look also to the glory which is
yet to come. Our hope of eternal glory is based on Christ’s
resurrection. David’s words (8-11) are quoted by Peter in connection
with ‘the resurrection of the Christ’(Acts 2:24-33). ‘Christ has been
raised from the dead...at His coming those who belong to Christ...will
be raised imperishable’(1 Corinthians 15:20-23, 52). ‘The Lord is my
chosen portion...Therefore my heart is glad’(5,9). Is this your testimony? Choose Christ and be glad.
17:1-15-
Here is the prayer of a man whose earnest desire is to walk with God,
to have a close walk with God in the centre of His will (5). His prayer
is sincere. It ‘does not rise from deceitful lips’(1). He is painfully
aware of ‘the onslaughts of the wicked’. His ‘enemies cluster round him,
breathing hostility’(9). Whatever troubles we may encounter, we must
learn to pray with the Psalmist: ‘Hear, O Lord, my righteous plea;
listen to my cry. Give ear to my prayer’(1). As we call upon the Lord,
He gives the assurance of His protection. Through His Word and Spirit,
He assures us that He will ‘keep us as the apple of His eye’(8). We are
precious in His sight. He looks upon us in love. He does not see our
sin. He sees us ‘in Christ’- ‘accepted in the Beloved’, ‘no
condemnation’(Psalm 32:1; Ephesians 1:6; Romans 8:1).
18:1-24-
The first three verses set the tone: Worship. What a great start to
this Psalm. Our attention is directed away from ourselves to the Lord:
‘my strength...my rock, my fortress and my deliverer...my shield and the
horn of my salvation, my stronghold’(1-2). The great testimony of verse
3 - ‘I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved
from my enemies’- did not come easily (4-5). The enemies of the Lord
will be brought to judgment (13-14). ‘The cord of death encompassed
me...He delivered me from my strong enemy...’(4-5,17-19) - Rejoice in
the risen Christ through whom we have the ‘victory’ over ‘the last
enemy...death’(1 Corinthians 15:20,26,54). God is leading us into ‘a
broad place’(19). Step into the future with Him. Don’t hold back! ‘Let
go and let God have His wonderful way’.
18:25-50-
‘This God’ is ‘our God’. He is ‘the Rock’. He is ‘my Rock’. No one can
compare with the Lord our God. He is the living God, the God of our
salvation (30-31,46). In the Lord, we have salvation: ‘You save the humble but bring low those whose eyes are haughty’. In our God, we have victory:
‘You armed me with strength for battle; you made my adversaries bow at
my feet’(27,39). Do you want to enjoy God’s blessing - His salvation and
His victory? God says, ‘Clothe yourselves with humility’. Together with
His command, we have God’s warning- ‘God opposes the proud’- and God’s promise-
He ‘gives grace to the humble’(1 Peter 5:5). There is a question which
each of us must answer: ‘Who is on the Lord’s side? There is an answer
which of us must give: ‘We are on the Lord’s side’(Church Hymnary, 479).
19:1-14-
God reveals Himself in creation and Scripture. He speaks through His
created world. He speaks through His written Word. God is always
speaking. He is never silent. Through His created world, God is speaking
to us - every day, every night. He is showing us His glory (1-2). He
makes us aware of His presence. He whets our appetite for His written
Word. The Scriptures lead us to Christ. Through faith in Him, we receive
salvation (2 Timothy 3:15). Christ is the high-point of God’s
revelation. He is the living Word (John 1:1,14). The testimony of the
Psalmist - ‘The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul’(7) -
becomes real for us through faith in Christ - ‘I came to Jesus...My soul
revived and now I live in Him’(Church Hymnary, 212). Make it real. Come to Christ. Come alive in Him!
20:1-21:13-
‘We boast of the Name of the Lord our God...Through the steadfast love
of the Most High’ we ‘shall not be moved’(20:7;21:7). We do not trust in
things that ‘collapse and fall’. We build on ‘the Rock’(20:8; Matthew
7:24-27; Psalms 18:1-3; 62:5-7). We ‘rejoice’ in our God. He has made us
‘most blessed for ever’(21:1,6; Ephesians 1:3). Think of Jesus Christ
your Saviour. He is absolutely trustworthy. He is completely dependable.
His love is an ‘unfailing love’(21:7). In Him, there is salvation. In
Him, there is joy. With His strong and powerful love, He has saved us.
He has given us ‘a new song’ to sing, ‘a song of praise to our
God’(Psalm 40:1-3). Let us lift our hearts and voices to Him in praise
and worship: ‘Be exalted, O Lord, in Thy strength,! We will sing and
praise Thy power’(13).
22:1-18-
Read of the Psalmist’s sufferings. Think of the Saviour, suffering for
you (7-8,18; Matthew 27:39,43,35). We highlight two statements: ‘My God,
my God, why have you forsaken me?’, ‘They have pierced my hands and my
feet’(1,16). Jesus Christ was ‘crucified and killed by the hands of the
lawless men’(Acts 2:23). There is, however, more to His story than this:
‘The Lord has laid all our sins on Him’(Isaiah 53:6). When we read of
Jesus Christ, ‘pierced for our transgressions’, we see Him ‘pierced’ by
men and forsaken by God (Isaiah 53:5; Zechariah 12:10; John 19:34;
Matthew 27:46). Looking on to Jesus Christ, risen, exalted and
returning, we see Him still bearing the marks of His suffering - ‘the
mark of the nails’, ‘a Lamb standing as though it had been slain’,
‘pierced’(John 20:25; Revelation 5:6; 1:7).
22:19-23:4-
Jesus Christ has ‘tasted death for everyone’(Hebrews 2:9). Now, through
Him, salvation is proclaimed to ‘the congregation’, to ‘the ends of the
earth’ to ‘future generations’(22,27,30). Jesus Christ, ‘the same
yesterday, today and for ever’, proclaims salvation to the great
‘congregation’, drawn from ‘every tribe and language and people and
nation’(Hebrews 13:8; 2:12; Revelation 5:9). Jesus Christ has passed
‘through the valley of the shadow of death’ for us (4). Now, we rejoice
in Him, our Shepherd of love - (a) the Good Shepherd who died for us
(John 10:11); (b) the Great Shepherd who was raised for us (Hebrews
13:20-21); (c) The Chief Shepherd who is coming again for us (1 Peter
5:4). He restores us. He keeps us from ’straying like sheep’. He leads
us ‘in paths of righteousness’(3; 1 Peter 2:25).
23:5-24:10-
For God’s people, there is a glorious eternal destiny: ‘I shall dwell
in the house of the Lord for ever’(23:6). We ‘receive this blessing from
the Lord,...the God of our salvation’(24:5). There is only one answer
to the question, ‘Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord?: Jesus Christ
‘shall stand in His holy place’. No one else has ‘clean hands and a pure
heart’- no one else but Jesus. He is the One who receives ‘blessing’
from the Lord - and He gives it to us (3-5)! How do we receive His
blessing? - We must open our hearts ‘that the King of glory may come
in’(7,9). How can ‘the Lord, strong and mighty’ live in me? How can I
receive His resurrection power? Jesus says, ‘I stand at the door and
knock, if any one hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in’(8;
Ephesians 1:19-20; Revelation 3:20).
25:1-22-
‘Lead me in Thy truth, and teach me, for Thou art the God of my
salvation’(5). We can pray this prayer with confidence. God has given
His promise: ‘He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the
humble His way’(9). Our confidence is in the Lord. We ‘put no
confidence in the flesh’(Philippians 3:3). Jesus teaches us that God
hides Himself from the proud and reveals Himself to the humble:
‘…Father…Thou hast hidden these things from the wise and revealed them
to babes’(Matthew 11:25). In the life of faith, the most important thing
is the right attitude - not the ‘best education’! The proud may concern
themselves with impressing ‘the right people’. For the humble, there is
something more important - pleasing God. His opinion is the one that
really matters!
26:1-27:12-
God’s love for us inspires our loyalty to Him: ‘Your love is ever
before me, and I will walk continually in Your truth’(26:3). Loyalty to
the Lord involves worshipping Him and walking with Him (26:11-12).
Walking with God is not easy. There are ‘enemies round about’ us
(26:4-5, 9-10; 27:2-3,6,11-12). What are we to do? We are to worship
God: ‘One thing have I asked of the Lord…that I may dwell in the House
of the Lord…’(27:4). What are we doing when we gather in the Lord’s
House for worship? This is what we are doing - ‘Wait for the Lord; be
strong and let your heart take courage’(27:14). Where does our strength
come from? It comes from God: ‘The Lord is my light and my salvation…
The Lord is the stronghold of my life’. Strong in Him, we say, ‘My heart
will not fear… I will be confident’(27:1,3).
28:1-29:11- ‘The Lord is my Strength…The Lord is the Strength of His people’(28:7-8).
Our personal strengthening is closely related to the strengthening of
God’s people. Don’t be a ‘lone ranger’, going it alone, keeping yourself
to yourself. Share your strength with others. Draw strength from them.
‘Let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not
neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging
one another’(Hebrews 10:24-25). Where does your strength come from? It
comes from ‘the Lord’ who ‘sits enthroned as King for ever’(29:10). We
grow strong as we listen for ‘the voice of the Lord’(29:3-9). Don’t let
God’s voice be drowned out - ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by
every word that proceeds from the mouth of God’(Matthew 4:4).
30:1-12-
‘I will exalt You, O Lord’(1). God is not exalted because we exalt Him.
We exalt Him because He is exalted: ‘He is exalted, for ever exalted,
and I will praise His Name’(Mission Praise,217). How do we come
to the point where we say, ‘I will exalt You, O Lord’? We realize our
need of Him - ‘when You hid Your face, I was dismayed’(7). We look to
Him for mercy - ‘To You, O Lord, I called; to the Lord, I cried for
mercy’(8). God hears and answers our prayer - ‘You turned my wailing
into dancing; You removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy’(11). God
calls us to worship Him - ‘Sing praises to the Lord, O you His saints,
and give thanks to His holy Name’(4). ‘The joy of the Lord’, His
‘unutterable and exalted joy’, gives us ‘strength’(Nehemiah 8:10; 1
Peter 1:8). We worship God: ‘O Lord my God, I will give thanks to You
forever’(12).
31:1-24-
‘Into Thy hand, I commit my spirit’(5). These words were spoken by
Christ as, in death, He gave Himself for our sins (Luke 23:46). For
Christ, there was suffering - ‘I am the scorn of all my
adversaries’(11). His suffering was followed by rejoicing, the joy of
the resurrection - ‘I will be glad and rejoice in Your love, for You saw
my affliction and knew the anguish of my soul. You have not handed me
over to the enemy but have set my feet in a spacious place’(7-8). God
answered the prayer of His Son - He brought Him into the ‘spacious
place’ of the resurrection, the ‘spacious place’ which is, for us,
‘eternal salvation’(Hebrews 5:7-9). We look to the crucified Christ and
we say, ‘Praise be to the Lord, for He showed His wonderful love to
me’(21). In the risen Christ, we are ‘strong and our hearts take
courage’(24).
32:1-11-
The forgiveness of sins - what a tremendous blessing this is (1-2). We
receive God’s forgiveness when we confess our sins to Him. This is the
Psalmist’s testimony: ‘I made my sins known to You, and I did not cover
up my guilt. I decided to confess them to You, O Lord. Then You forgave
all my sins’(5). This is the promise of God: ‘If we confess our sins,
God is faithful and just, and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from
all unrighteousness’(1 John 1:9). Knowing that our sins have been
forgiven by God, we can face our many trying times with confidence in
Him: ‘You are my hiding place. You always fill my heart with songs of
deliverance whenever I am afraid. I will trust in You, I will trust in
You. Let the weak say, “I am strong in the strength of my God”’(7; Mission Praise, 793).
33:1-22-
‘Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous’(1). We have plenty of good
reasons for rejoicing in the Lord. He opens His heart to us, making
known ‘the thoughts of His heart to all generations’(11). In His heart,
there is love for us - ‘the earth is full of the steadfast love of the
Lord’(5). He speaks to us of His love. Listening to His voice of love,
our joy increases as we learn to trust in His Word - ‘the Word of the
Lord is right and true’- and rest in His faithfulness - ‘He is faithful
in all He does’(4). We have good cause to say, ‘Our heart is glad in
Him’(20). Think of God’s love - His heart of love, His purpose of love,
His Word of love. Let His love touch your heart and change your life.
May His love cause each of us to pray from the heart: ‘May Your
unfailing love rest upon us, O Lord’(22).
34:1-22-
Looking to the Lord, we are ‘radiant’ He has ‘delivered’ us. He has
‘saved’ us (4-6). Rejoicing in God’s salvation, we say, ‘I will bless
the Lord at all times’(1). We call upon others to worship the Lord with
us - ‘O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His Name
together!’(3). We invite them to trust in the Lord and come to know the
joy of His salvation - ‘O taste and see that the Lord is good! Happy is
the man who takes refuge in Him!’(8). We encourage them to keep on
hearing the Word of the Lord so that they may learn to walk with God -
‘Come, O sons, listen to me, I will teach you the fear of the Lord’(11).
We seek to lead people on to spiritual maturity. We say to them,
‘Depart from evil, and do good’, praying that they will become ‘mature’,
‘trained by practice to know the difference between good and evil’(14;
Hebrews 5:14).
35:1-28-
The Psalmist prays, ‘Contend, O Lord, with those who contend with me;
fight against those who fight against me!’(1). Jesus says, ‘In the world
you have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the
world’(John 16:33). Paul rejoices in the Lord`s victory - ‘If God be for
us, who can be against us?’(Romans 8:31). How do we know that God is
for us? How do we know that the victory is ours in Christ? We read the
words of John 3:16 - ‘God so loved the world that He gave His only
Son...’- and we say, with the Psalmist, ‘Then my soul shall rejoice in
the Lord, exulting in His deliverance’(9). We read the words of 1
Corinthians 15:57 - ‘Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through
our Lord Jesus Christ’- and we say, with the Psalmist, ‘I will thank
Thee...I will praise Thee...all the day long’(18,2,8).
36:1-12-
Read about God’s ‘steadfast love’ and rejoice in Him: ‘Your steadfast
love, O Lord, extends to the heavens...How precious is Your steadfast
love, O God!...O continue Your steadfast love to those who know
You...’(5,7,10). Rejoicing in the Lord’s ‘steadfast love’ is quite
different from taking His love for granted. We dare not say, “God loves
me. I can do what I like”. We must not become like the wicked - ‘there
is no fear of God before his eyes’(1). Where there is true rejoicing in
God’s ‘steadfast love’, there will also be ‘the fear of the Lord’ which
‘is the beginning of wisdom’(111:10). A real appreciation of God’s
‘steadfast love’ brings with it a real awareness of our own sinfulness.
Knowing how much God loves us leads us to pray, ‘Let not the foot of
arrogance come upon me, nor the hand of the wicked drive me away’(11).
37:1-40-
Those who ‘trust in the Lord...will dwell in the land’. Those who turn
from Him will ‘perish’(3,20). Through faith in Christ, we look ahead to
‘a heavenly country’, ‘better’ than anything we will know on earth
(Hebrews 11:16; Philippians 3:20). We have caught sight of ‘a happy
land, far, far away, where saints in glory stand, bright, bright as
day’. We have heard the sound of their song - ‘O how they sweetly sing,
“Worthy is our Saviour King!”’. We lift our voices to the Lord - ‘Loud
let His praises ring, praise, praise for aye’. Still, some are
perishing. They have not come to Christ for salvation. To them, we say,
‘Come to this happy land, come, come away; Why will ye doubting stand?
Why, still delay?’(Revised Church Hymnary, 587). Trust in the Lord now and look forward to being with Him in heaven.
38:1-22-
What a sorry state of affairs we have here! - ‘My guilt has overwhelmed
me. Like a heavy load, it is more than I can bear’(4). What are we to
do when things are going from bad to worse? What are we to do when
everything seems to be falling apart? We must do what the Psalmist does -
‘I wait with hope for You, O Lord’(15). The Psalmist was ‘completely
devastated’. His ‘heart was in turmoil’. He looked to his friends for
help, but they were not there - ‘My loved ones and friends keep their
distance’(8,11). Despised and forsaken by his friends, there was only
one thing for it - ‘Take it to the Lord in prayer’. There is ‘a Friend
so faithful’. He ‘knows our every weakness’. He ‘will share all our
sorrows’. This Friend is Jesus. He will be there for us when there’s
nowhere else to go (Mission Praise, 746).
39:1-13-
Some live to a ripe old age. Some die young. How does God view our time
on this earth? - This is what the Psalmist says, ‘My life span is
nothing compared with Yours’(5). The quality of our living is more
important than the quantity of our years. “How am I living?’- This is
the question of quality. It is more important than the question of
quantity - “How long have I lived?”. “What am I doing with my life?”-
This is the question each of us must answer. Life is not only about
survival - living for a long time. It is about revival - living in the
light of eternity. The Psalmist asks the question - ‘Lord, what am I
waiting for?’. He gives his answer - ‘My hope is in You’(7). Let us live
as ‘citizens of heaven’- ‘We look forward to the Lord Jesus Christ
coming from heaven as our Saviour’(Philippians 3:20).
40:1-17-
We have been saved by the Lord: ‘He drew me up from the desolate pit,
out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my feet
secure’(2). He calls us to a life of worship and witness.
We are to worship Him with ‘a new song...a song of praise to our
God’(3). We are to be His witnesses, sharing with others the Good News
of His salvation: ‘I have not hid Thy saving help within my heart, I
have spoken of Thy faithfulness and Thy salvation...’(10). God has given
out His call to worship and witness. May our response be like the
Psalmist’s: ‘I delight to do Thy will, O my God’. Let us worship the
Lord - ‘Great is the Lord’. Let us be His witnesses - ‘I have told the
glad news of deliverance’. Let us pray for the Lord’s help: ‘let Thy
steadfast love and Thy faithfulness ever preserve me!’(8,16,9,11).
41:1-13-
What do you do when everything seems to be going wrong? Do you forget
about God? That’s the worst thing you can do? That’s just asking for
trouble! Our problems are bad enough - with God’s help. Things can only
get worse - if we turn away from the Lord. When the going gets tough, we
must turn to the Lord. Share your ‘day of trouble’ with the Lord. Let
Him come to you with His blessing (1-3). Satan is busy, trying to draw
you away from the Lord. It is only through the strength of the Lord that
you will be able to say, with confident faith, ‘my enemy has not
triumphed over me’(11). Look up from your problems to your Lord. Let Him
fill your heart with praise - ‘Blessed be the Lord...’(13). Let this be
your testimony: ‘When no one but Christ could help, Love lifted me!’(Mission Praise, 450).
42:1-43:5-
Three times, the question is asked, ‘Why are you downcast, O my soul’.
Three times, the answer is given, ‘Put your hope in God’. Three times,
there is the response of faith: ‘I will yet praise Him, my Saviour and
my God (42:5,11; 43:5). Often, we are filled with questions. We must
bring our questions to God. We must learn to listen for His answers. The
Lord is speaking to us. Are we listening? God speaks to us through His
Word. Are we taking time to read His Word? He wants us to come to Him
with the prayer, ‘Speak, Lord, for Your servant is listening’(1 Samuel
3:8-10). Listen to the Word of the Lord. Let His Word be your Guide:
‘Send forth Your light and Your truth, let them guide me...’(43:5).
‘Deep calls to deep’(42:7) - Let ‘the Spirit’ show you ‘the deep things
of God’(1 Corinthians 2:10).
44:1-26-
Victory comes from the Lord. In ourselves, we are defeated. In Him,
there is victory. We see this in the history of Israel, the people whom
the Lord redeemed (3). We see it also in the experience of the Psalmist
(6-7). We must remind ourselves of these things. It is so easy to
forget. We take our eyes off the Lord, and we get despondent - ‘...You
have rejected and humbled us...You have made us retreat before the
enemy...You gave us up to be devoured like sheep...You have made us a
reproach to our neighbours...My disgrace is before me all day
long...’(9-16). What are we to do when such negative thoughts fill our
minds? We must pray, ‘Awake, O Lord!...Rise up and help us; redeem us
because of Your unfailing love’. Pray for the faith which says, ‘We are
more than conquerors through Him who loved us’(23,26; Romans 8:37).
45:1-17-
Jesus Christ is ‘the most excellent of men’(2). He is more than that.
He is God. In verse 6, we read these words - ‘Your throne, O God, will
last for ever and ever’. We read them again in Hebrews 1:8. They are the
words which God the Father speaks to His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
How does the Word of God describe Jesus Christ? - ‘He is your Lord’. How
are we to respond to Him? - We are to approach Him with ‘reverence’. We
are to ‘honour’ Him. We are to ‘bow down’ and ‘worship’ Him. We are to
‘obey’ Him (11). Think of the “Good News’ of our Lord Jesus Christ -
‘the Son of God loved me and gave Himself for me’. Let your heart
overflow with praise to the Lord Jesus Christ - What a wonderful Saviour
He is (1; Galatians 2:20)! Let us celebrate His Name in this generation. Let Him be praised for ever and ever’(17).
46:1-47:9-
‘Be still, and know that I am God...Shout to God with loud songs of
joy’(10; 47:2). In our worship, there is to be both quiet trust and loud
praise. We read the great words: ‘God is our refuge and strength, a
very present help in trouble’(46:1). God’s Word brings peace - ‘in
quietness and in confidence shall be your strength’. We must not keep
God’s blessing to ourselves. We must share it with joy - ‘Sing to the
Lord...let them shout from the top of the mountains. Let them give glory
to the Lord, and declare His praise in the coastlands’(Isaiah 30:15;
42:10-12). The Lord is to be ‘exalted among the nations’. He is not only
‘our King’. He is ‘the King of all the earth’(10; 47:6-7). ‘Father
(Jesus/Spirit), we love You. We worship and adore You. Glorify Your Name
in all the earth’(Mission Praise, 142).
48:1-14- ‘Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised’(1). We worship God in the place of worship - ‘Within Your Temple,
O God, we meditate on Your unfailing love’. Our worship must not end
there. We are to play our part in seeing that the praise of the Lord
‘reaches to the ends of the earth’. We are to ‘be glad’ in the
Lord. We are to ‘rejoice’ in Him (9-11). We must not keep this joy to
ourselves. The Lord is ‘the joy of all the earth’. We must share His
joy. We are to ‘tell the next generation’. How will they know if we do
not tell them? Many are slow to come and worship the Lord. We must not
be slow to witness for Him. Let’s remember God’s promise - ‘My
Word...will not return to Me empty, but will...achieve the purpose for
which I sent it’- and let’s say - ‘Here am I. Send me!’(Isaiah 55:11;
6:8).
49:1-20-
How can I be saved? How does God answer our most important question,
the question of salvation? He speaks to us about (a) our need of
salvation; (b) His provision of salvation; (c) receiving salvation. (a) Our need of salvation: We
cannot save ourselves. ‘No man can ransom himself, or give to God the
price of his life. The price to be paid for his soul is too
costly’(7-8). (b) His provision of salvation: Jesus Christ came
to earth ‘to give His life as a ransom for many’. We are ‘redeemed with
the precious blood of Christ’(Mark 10:45; 1 Peter 1:18-19). (c) Receiving salvation:
Christ died to ‘save us from the power of hell’ and ‘take us to
Himself’. We receive salvation through faith in Him: ‘Believe in the
Lord Jesus and you will be saved’. ‘He who believes in the Son has
eternal life’(15; Acts 16:31; John 3:36).
50:1-23-
‘Our God comes, He does not keep silence’(3). God does not keep His
distance. He comes near to us. He does not keep His silence. He speaks
to us - ‘God the Lord speaks’(1). How does God come near to us? How does
He speak to us? He comes near to us in Jesus Christ. He speaks to us
through Jesus Christ. In John 1:1, we have this tremendous description
of Jesus Christ: ‘In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with
God, and the Word was God’. Jesus Christ is the Word. God is speaking to
us through Jesus Christ. How does God speak to us through Jesus Christ?
He speaks to us by drawing near to us - ‘the Word became flesh and
dwelt among us’. Jesus Christ is God’s Word. He is God, speaking to us.
He is God, coming near to us. He is God, ‘full of grace and truth’(John
1:14).
51:1-19-
‘Create in me a clean heart, O God... Cast me not away from Thy
presence... Restore to me the joy of Thy salvation’(10-12). These words
come to us from the ancient past. They were first spoken many centuries
ago. They can be the words which change your future. You can make them
your words. David made a new beginning with God. You can make a new
beginning with God. You have sinned. You need to be forgiven. Come to
Christ. He says, ‘I will never turn away anyone who comes to Me’(John
6:37). You need to be ‘born again’. Receive Christ as your Saviour and
be ‘born again’- ‘born of God’(John 3:3,7; 1:12). You feel so weak,
unable to be the person God wants you to be. Let ‘the joy of the Lord be
your strength’(Nehemiah 8:10). Let His love reach you. Let His power
make you a new person.
52:1-53:6-
‘I am like a green olive tree in the House of God’(9). This is a
picture of growth and fruitfulness - in the House of God. You can grow
spiritually - in the House of God. You can become spiritually fruitful -
in the House of God. We must not ‘go it alone’. We receive strength as
we worship with the Lord’s people. When the Psalmist prays for God’s
blessing, he is not just thinking about himself. He is praying for the
whole people of God: ‘O that salvation for Israel would come from Zion!’. He is praying that God will ‘restore the fortunes of His people’.
He is not thinking only about his own personal happiness. He is praying
that all God’s people ‘will rejoice and be glad’(53:6). Don’t just pray
for yourself. Pray ‘that the body of Christ may be built up until we all... become mature...’(Ephesians 4:12-13).
54:1-55:23-
The Psalmist had problems - ‘Strangers are attacking me; ruthless men
seek my life - men with no regard for God’(54:3). There was, however,
something else troubling him. Someone else was causing him problems -
‘my close friend, with whom I enjoyed sweet fellowship, as we worshipped
together at the House of God’(13-14). He felt like running away from it
all - ‘Oh, that I had the wings of a dove! I would fly away and be at
rest - I would flee far away and stay in the desert... I would hurry to
my place of shelter, far from the tempest and storm’(55:6-8). This is
what he felt like doing. He had almost forgotten - ‘God is my
Helper’(54:4). With God, he faced and overcame his problems: ‘I will
call upon God; and the Lord will save me’. ‘Cast your burden on the Lord, and He will sustain you’(16,22).
56:1-57:11-
‘Be gracious to me, O God... Be merciful to me, O God’(56:1; 57:1). In
mercy, God withholds from us the judgment we deserve. In grace, He gives
to us the salvation we do not deserve. How does He do this for us? He
makes His grace and mercy available to us through the death of His Son,
our Saviour, Jesus Christ. How do we receive God’s grace and mercy? We
look to the Cross of Jesus Christ. There, we see our Saviour, bearing
our sin and inviting us to receive His salvation. There, we see God’s
‘steadfast love and faithfulness’(57:3,10). At the Cross of Christ, we
see eternal love. God loves us. His love is unchanged, unchanging and
unchangeable. How are we to respond to such love? - ‘I will give thanks
to You, O Lord... I will sing praises to You... Be exalted, O
God...’(57:9-11).
58:1-59:17-
‘Surely there is a God who judges the earth’(58:11). Let these words
send you to the Saviour. ‘Deliver me from my enemies, O my God’(59:1).
Take this prayer with you to the Cross of Christ. There, at the Cross,
you will meet the Saviour - ‘My God in His steadfast love will meet me’.
In our Saviour, we have the victory over our enemy, Satan - ‘My God
will let me look in triumph on my enemies’(59:10). What a Saviour we
have! Think of His love. Think of His power. Let your heart be filled
with praise to Him - ‘I will sing of Your strength... I will sing of
Your love... O my Strength, I sing praise to You; You, O God, are my
Fortress, my loving God’(16-17). What a great salvation God has given to
us in Christ - the forgiveness of our sins, victory over our enemies
and eternal life (1 John 1:7,9; 3:8; 5:4-5,11-13).
60:1-61:8 -
There is so much to hold us back from worshipping and serving the Lord.
We could so easily become discouraged. We need the encouragement of
God’s Word. This is what we have here: ‘With God we shall gain the
victory, and He will trample down our enemies’(12). At times, it may
seem like our enemies have the upper hand. When we feel like this, we
must remember the Lord - He is ‘a strong tower against the enemy’(61:3).
When things seem to be getting out of control, we must fix our eyes on
the Lord Jesus Christ - He is ‘enthroned for ever’(61:7). ‘Day after
day’, He calls us to worship Him and to live as His servants. He calls
us to receive ‘His mercy... new every morning’, to be ‘renewed day by
day’(61:8; Lamentations 3:22-23; 2 Corinthians 4:16-18).
62:1-63:11 -
The Lord is ‘my Rock and my Salvation’(62:2,6). As you read the
Psalmist’s words, let your thoughts turn to the Lord Jesus Christ. He is
our ‘Rock’ - the ‘Rock’ of our salvation. Through ‘the blood of
Christ’, we receive the greatest ‘blessing’ of all - salvation (1
Corinthians 10:1-4,16). No other blessing can ever compare with the joy
of knowing Christ as Saviour: ‘Your steadfast love is better than life’.
Through our great Saviour - the Lord Jesus Christ - , we are learning
to ‘praise’ God. We are learning to say, with the Psalmist, ‘I will
praise You as long as I live’(63:3-4). What a great Saviour we have. He
is greater than all our songs of praise. He is ‘too marvellous for
words’- ‘Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!’(Mission Praise, 788; 2 Corinthians 9:15).
64:1-65:13-
‘Let the righteous rejoice in the Lord’(64:10). True joy in the Lord is
not just a passing emotion, a feeling which doesn’t last for very long.
When our ‘praise’ to the Lord is real, it leads to a changed life: ‘O
God’, we will ‘keep our promises to You’(65:1). Jesus shows us the great
difference between a passing emotion, a feeling which doesn’t last, and
a true conversion which leads to a changed life. He speaks of those who
‘receive the Word with joy,... endure for a while’ and then ‘fall
away’. He speaks also of those who ‘hear the Word and accept it and bear
fruit’(Mark 4:3-9,16-17,20). How do you worship the Lord? Are you
looking for a good feeling - and nothing more than that? God is looking
for more. He wants us to live as ‘a new creation’(2 Corinthians 5:17).
66:1-67:7-
‘Come and see what God has done’(66:5). God invites us to look into His
Word, to read His Story, the Story of all that He has done for us.
‘Come and hear, all you who fear God, and I will tell you what He has
done for me’(66:16). God invites us to listen to the preaching of His
Word, to let His Story become our story, to let His salvation become
real in our lives. We read God’s Word. We hear His Word. This is our
journey of discovery. We discover what the Lord has done for us. We
discover how much He wants to bless us. He waits to hear our prayer -
‘May God be gracious to us and bless us...’. He answers our prayer -
‘God has blessed us’(67:1,6-7). He wants us to ‘be glad and sing for
joy’. He wants us to call ‘all the ends of the earth’ to ‘worship
Him’(67:4,7).
68:1-35- God is ‘our salvation’. He is the ‘God of salvation’(19-20). God’s salvation covers our past, present and future. (a) You have been saved. Through faith in Jesus Christ, we have received the forgiveness of our sins (Romans 5:1). (b) You are being saved. God is at work in our lives, making us the kind of people He wants us to be (Romans 5:3-5). (c) You will be saved.
We look forward to ‘sharing the glory of God’, being with the Lord
forever (Romans 5:2,9-10). From beginning to end, salvation is the work
of God – He has forgiven our sins. He is making us like Christ. He will
lead us on to heaven. Our God is great. His salvation is great. Let us
‘be joyful’. Let us worship the Lord ‘with joy’(3). Let us give all the
glory to God - ‘Blessed be God!’(35).
69:1-36-
David is going through ‘the deep waters’ of suffering. He prays to the
Lord for deliverance from ‘the flood’ and ‘the deep’(14-15). He had
sinned against the Lord. He does not try to hide this. He confesses his
sin and guilt - ‘the wrongs that I have done are not hidden from You, my
guilt is not hidden from You’(5). He looks to the Lord, remembering
that He is the God of ‘steadfast love’ and ‘abundant mercy’(16). When
you come to God in prayer, do not try to hide your sins from Him.
Remember - ‘Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners’. In
Christ, there is ‘mercy’- God doesn’t send the judgment we deserve - and
‘grace’- God sends the blessing we don’t deserve. Come to Christ and
receive His ‘mercy’ and ‘grace’(1 Timothy 1:13-16; Hebrews 4:14-16).
70:1-71:24-
David is in great danger. His life is being threatened by his enemies
(70:2). We might expect that he would be depressed. Far from it! Rather
than being preoccupied with his own problems, he is calling on God’s
people to worship the Lord with joy: ‘May all who seek You, rejoice and
be glad in You! May those who love Your salvation continually say, “God
is great!”’(70:4). How was David able to rise above his own problems and
call the Lord’s people to worship? - He knew that the Lord was his
‘Rock of refuge’, his ‘strong Fortress’(71:3). Like David, we may face
‘many terrible troubles’. Let us learn, like David, to praise the Lord
and look to Him to lead us in the way of victory: ‘You have done great
things, O God... You will revive me again’(71:19-20).
72:1-20-
Read the words - ‘His Name’ shall ‘endure for ever’(17) - and think of
Christ. His Name is ‘the Name above all other names’. He is ‘the King of
kings and Lord of lords’(Philippians 2:9-11; Revelation 19:16). Read
the words - ‘all nations call Him blessed’(17) - , and think of Christ.
‘From every tribe and language and people and nation’, God’s people have
been redeemed by the precious blood of Christ (Revelation 5:9). Read
the words -‘May His glory fill the whole earth!’(19) - and think of
Christ. In the ‘new heaven and new earth’, ‘the holy city’ will shine
with ‘the glory of God’. ‘Its radiance’, ‘like a very precious jewel’,
will be shining from this ‘lamp’: Jesus Christ, ‘the Lamb of God who
takes away the sin of the world’(Revelation 21:1-2,10-11,23; John 1:29).
73:1-28-
It is so easy for us to lose our way - ‘my feet had almost stumbled’.
We look at ‘the prosperity of the wicked’ and we become ‘envious of the
arrogant’(2-3). What are we to do when the worldly attitude threatens to
take control of us? We must remember the Lord, drawing near to Him in
worship and standing up for Him in witness. When others are forgetting
about God, we must continue to take our place in ‘the sanctuary of
God’(17). In an age when so many show no interest in worshipping God, we
must continue to say, ‘for me, it is good to be near God’. Our worship
is not to end the moment we leave the place of worship. We are to tell
others what the Lord ‘has done’ for us - ‘O magnify the Lord with me,
and let us exalt His Name together!’(28; 34:3).
74:1-23-
We have been ‘redeemed’. God has brought ‘salvation’ to us (2,12). We
rejoice in the Old Testament story of salvation: ‘the Lord has brought
you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you from the house of bondage,
from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt’(Deuteronomy 7:8). Through
Christ, we rejoice with a much greater joy: “In Him we have redemption
through His blood’. This is ‘the Gospel of our salvation’. It is ‘good
news of a great joy’. Through faith in Christ, we ‘rejoice with
unutterable and exalted joy’. Through faith in Christ, we look forward
to ‘a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time... the salvation
of our souls’(Ephesians 1:7,13; Luke 2:10; 1 Peter 1:5,8-9).
‘Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God’(Revelation
19:1).
75:1-76:12-
‘We give thanks to You, O God... I will rejoice for ever, I will sing
praises to the God of Jacob... Make your vows to the Lord your God, and
perform them...’(75:1,9; 76:11). True rejoicing in the Lord is more than
singing praises to Him. We are to live what we sing. ‘Fill Thou our
life, O Lord our God, in every part with praise’. ‘Take my life, and let
it be consecrated, Lord, to Thee’. These are not words to be forgotten
as soon as we leave the place of worship. ‘We ask... for a life made up
of praise in every part’. ‘Take myself, and I will be ever, only, all
for Thee’(Church Hymnary, 457, 462). Such words are not only for
singing. They are for living. We must not only sing them. We must live
them. ‘I can do all things through Christ who strengthens
me’(Philippians 4:13).
77:1-20-
Sometimes, we have more questions than answers (7-9). The questions
keep flooding into our minds. We wonder where the answers are going to
come from. What are we to do when this happens? We must remember what
the Lord has done for us (11-12). Look back over the ‘years’- and
remember how the ‘hand’ of the Lord has been upon you (5,10). Think of
how the Lord has led you on your journey through life. He has been your
‘Shepherd’. He has led you ‘in paths of righteousness for His Name’s
sake’. Let the memory of God’s many blessings fill you with strength -
to face the future with confidence in Him: ‘Surely goodness and mercy
shall follow me all the days of my life; and I shall dwell in the House
of the Lord for ever’(19-20; 23:1,3,6). Trust in the Lord. He will make
you truly happy.
78:1-39-
‘Can God spread a table in the wilderness?’(19). We are living in a
spiritual wilderness. We wonder, ‘Can God continue to bless us in this
wilderness?’. How does God’s Word answer our question? - ‘You prepare a
table before me in the presence of my enemies’. In the ‘wilderness’,
there are many ‘enemies’. There is also the ‘table’. At the ‘table’, God
blesses us - ‘You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows’(23:5). We
are in the ‘wilderness’, surrounded by many ‘enemies’. What are we to
do? - We must come to the ‘table’- the Lord’s Table. We must come to
Christ. We must drink from ‘the cup of salvation’(116:7). Come to the
Saviour. Look to Him for His blessing. He will not disappoint you. You
will be ‘anointed with the oil of gladness’. His blessing will be poured
upon you ‘like precious oil’(45:7; 133:2). 78:40-72- ‘He brought
His people out like a flock; He led them like sheep through the
desert’(52). The Lord brought His people out of Egypt. He brought them
safely through the wilderness to ‘His holy land’(42-43,51,54-55). He did
great things for Israel. He does great things for us - ‘He restores my
soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for His Name’s sake’(23:3).
Through faith in our Saviour, Jesus Christ, we have ‘peace with God’.
Our sins have been forgiven. We now ‘stand’ in His ‘grace’. In our new
life with Him, there will be times of ‘suffering’. None of us is exempt
from suffering. It comes to all of us - without exception. In your
suffering, remember this: We will not be disappointed in ‘our hope of
sharing the glory of God’- ‘God’s love has been poured into our hearts
through the Holy Spirit...’(Romans 5:1-5).
79:1-13-
We look at what’s going on in our world today. We hear the enemies of
the Lord saying, ‘Where is their God?’. So many people are turning away
from the Lord. They no longer worship Him. We wonder if things can be
turned around. It would be so easy to give up and go the way of the
world. This is what we must not do. We must keep on praying - ‘How long,
O Lord? Will You be angry for ever?’ We must look to the Lord for help -
‘Help us, O God of our salvation’. We must look to ‘our Saviour’ for
deliverance and forgiveness. We must pray that the Lord’s Name will be
glorified. How is the Name of the Lord to be glorified in today’s world?
It must begin with us - ‘We, Your people, the flock which You shepherd,
will give thanks to You forever. We will praise You throughout every
generation.’(5,9-10,13).
80:1-19-
‘Restore us, O God, make Your face shine upon us, that we may be
saved’(3). This prayer for salvation is repeated with a growing sense of
God’s greatness - ‘O God Almighty’(7), ‘O Lord God Almighty’(19). To
those who are asking the question of salvation - ‘What must I do to be
saved?’- , God gives His answer - ‘Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you
will be saved’(Acts 16:30-31). What does the Lord say to those who look
to Christ for salvation? - ‘The Lord will bless you and watch over you.
The Lord will smile on you and be kind to you. The Lord will look on you
with favour and give you peace’(Numbers 6:24-26). Let us worship Him:
‘Praise the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! Through Christ, God
has blessed us with every spiritual blessing that heaven has to
offer’(Ephesians 1:3).
81:1-16-
God calls us to worship Him with joy - ‘Sing aloud to God our strength;
shout for joy to the God of Jacob!’(1). He has blessed us with His
salvation - ‘I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of
Egypt’. He will continue to bless us, as we keep on looking to Him for
blessing - ‘Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it’(10). God wants to
bless us. He wants us to seek His blessing - ‘O that my people would
listen to me, that Israel would walk in My ways!... I would feed you
with the finest of wheat, and with honey from the rock I would satisfy
you’(13,16). Far too often, we can’t be bothered with God and are not
really interested in seeking His blessing - ‘My people did not listen to
My voice; Israel would have none of me’(11). ‘You will seek Me and find
Me; when you seek Me with all your heart’(Jeremiah 29:13).
82:1-83:18-
‘The Lord’ is ‘the Most High’(18). Through faith in Jesus Christ, we
become ‘sons of the Most High’: ‘You are all sons of God through faith
in Christ Jesus’(82:6; Galatians 3:26). Through the great love of God,
we have received the great privilege of becoming ‘sons of the Most
High’. With this great privilege comes the great responsibility of
sharing His love with others: ‘Give justice to the weak and the
fatherless; maintain the right of the afflicted and the desolate. Rescue
the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the
wicked’(82:3-4). Let us rejoice in our great privilege. Let us be
faithful to our great responsibility. This is the way of enjoying God’s
great blessing: ‘Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called
sons of God’. This is the way of ‘giving glory to our Father in
heaven’(Matthew 5:9,16).
84:1-12-
‘How I love Your Temple, Almighty Lord! How I want to be there! I long
to be in the Lord’s Temple. With my whole being I sing for joy to the
living God’(1-2). This is much more than paying lip-service to the Lord.
This is real. Worshipping the Lord meant everything to the Psalmist: ‘I
long for You, O God. I thirst for You, the living God; when can I go
and worship in Your presence’(42:1-2). He found great joy in worshipping
the Lord: ‘Let Your light and Your truth guide me... to the place where
You dwell. Then will I go to the altar of God, to God, my joy and my
delight...’(43:4). He worshipped God with his whole heart: ‘O God, You
are my God, and I long for You. My whole being desires You... my soul is
thirsty for You’(63:1). This is real worship, joyful worship,
heartfetlt worship. May God help us to worship Him like that!
85:1-13-
We are to pray for revival - ‘Restore us again, O God our Saviour...
Will You not revive us again that Your people may rejoice in You?’(4,6).
We are to pray that God will ‘grant us His salvation’. We are to pray
that ‘His saving presence will remain in our land’. We must pray that
‘His glory may dwell in our land’(7,9). We are to pray for real
listening - ‘I will listen to what God the Lord will say’- , a real
turning to the Lord - ‘turning to Him in our hearts’- , and a real sense
of His blessing - ‘He will speak peace to His people’(8). Prayer for
revival does not begin as a prayer for others. It begins with ourselves:
‘O Holy Ghost, revival comes from Thee; send a revival - start the work in me’. It begins with this prayer: “Lord, take my life, and make it wholly Thine; fill my poor heart with Thy great love divine’(Mission Praise, 587).
86:1-17-
‘You are forgiving and good, O Lord, abounding in love to all who call
to you... Teach me Your way, O Lord, and I will walk in Your truth... I
will praise You, O Lord my God, with all my heart... For great is Your
love towards me’(5,11-13). God loves us. He forgives our sins. We
receive His love. We want to love Him more. His love inspires our praise
- ‘I will praise You...’. His love inspires our prayer - ‘Teach me Your
way...’. Our whole life is to be a celebration of His love - ‘Great is
Your love towards me’. We are to celebrate His love with ‘joy’(4). We
rejoice in the Lord because of who He is- ‘You, O Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness’- and what He has done for us - ‘You, O Lord, have helped me and comforted me’(15,17).
87:1-7-
‘Glorious things are said of you, O city of God... The Lord will write
in the register of the peoples: “This one was born in Zion”. As they
make music they will sing, “All my fountains are in You”’(3,6-7). The
‘city of God’ is our glorious destination - ‘we are looking for the city
that is to come’, ‘the Holy City’(Hebrews 13:14; Revelation 21:2). It
is also the place of our heavenly birth - ‘This one was born in Zion’.
The heavenly birth - This is where our journey to the ‘city of God’
begins: ‘No one can see the Kingdom of God without being born from
above’(John 3:3). Between our heavenly birth and our glorious
destination, there is life in the Spirit: The Psalmist says, ‘All my
fountains are in You’. Jesus says, ‘Rivers of living water shall flow
from the heart of anyone who believes in Me’(John7:38).
88:1-18-
The Psalmist is really ‘down in the dumps’. He feels like he is ‘in the
depths of the Pit”, He feels like he is ‘in the darkest depths’(6).
This is the way he feels, but he has not stopped praying - ‘O Lord, the
God who saves me, day and night I cry out before You... I call to You, O
Lord, every day... I cry to You for help, O Lord; in the morning my
prayer comes before You’(1,9,13). His prayer doesn’t make pleasant
reading: ‘My soul is full of trouble... I am like a man without
strength... Your wrath lies heavily upon me... the darkness is my
closest friend’(3-4,7,18). How can we be helped when we feel like this?
We can be helped by Jesus. He knows what it feels like. For us, He has entered the ‘darkness’- ‘My God, my God, why have You forsaken Me?’. For us, He has triumphed - ‘risen from the dead’(Matthew 27:45-46; 28:5-7).
89:1-37-
‘I will sing of the Lord’s great love for ever; with my mouth I will
make known Your faithfulness through all generations’(1). Many years
have passed since these words were written by the Psalmist. Many
generations have come and gone since Jesus Christ came to our world. The
years come and go. The centuries run their course. One generation gives
way to another generation. Time moves on relentlessly. None of us can
halt the march of time. Many changes have taken place over the course of
time. There is something which must never change. The Lord is to be
praised ‘for ever’. He is to be praised ‘through all generations’. We
must look back and remember. Jesus Christ was crucified for us. Jesus
Christ has risen for us. This is the Good News which inspires our
praise: ‘I will sing of the Lord’s great love for ever...’.
89:38-90:17-
‘Lord, You have been our dwelling place throughout all generations...
From everlasting to everlasting, You are God’(1-2). The Bible begins
with the words, ‘In the beginning, God...’. Before the world began,
there was God - ‘the eternal God’. He is ‘the high and exalted One’. He
is the God ‘who inhabits eternity’. He is the God ‘who lives for ever’.
He has no beginning. He has no end. He is ‘the beginning and the end’.
Our life on earth has a beginning. It has an end. Trusting in ‘the
eternal God’, we rejoice in His precious promises - ‘The eternal God is
your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms’; ‘I have loved you
with an everlasting love’; ‘The free gift of God is eternal life
through Jesus Christ our Lord’(Genesis 1:1; Deuteronomy 33:27; Isaiah
57:15; Revelation 21:6; Jeremiah 31:3; Romans 6:23).
91:1-16-
‘Surely He will save you from the traps of the hunter’(3). God has
given us His warning. We must ‘be alert’- ‘Your enemy the devil prowls
around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour’. He also gives
us His promise - ‘Resist the devil, and he will flee from you’. How are
we to resist the devil? - We are to ‘resist him, standing firm in the
faith’(1 Peter 5:8-9; James 4:7). We must not try to resist the devil in
our own strength. We will be defeated. He is much more powerful than we
are. We must resist him in the strength of our Lord Jesus Christ. In
Christ, we have the victory - ‘Thanks be to God! He gives us the victory
through our Lord Jesus Christ’(1 Corinthians 15:57). Satan is out to
get us. He’s trying to trap us. Let’s never forget this: Jesus is able
to ‘deliver us from the evil one’(Matthew 6:13).
92:1-93:5-
‘You, O Lord, are exalted for ever... The Lord reigns, He is robed in
majesty...’(8; 93:1-2). The Lord is ‘exalted’. We are to exalt Him in
our worship. He is not exalted because we exalt Him. We exalt Him
because He is exalted. He is ‘exalted far above all gods’. That is why
we sing, ‘I exalt Thee, O Lord’. ‘He is exalted, the King is exalted on
high’- This is the truth concerning the Lord. ‘I will praise Him’- This
is our response to His truth. We sing, ‘Jesus, we enthrone You, we
proclaim You our King’. This is our response to the eternal truth
concerning our Saviour: ‘The Lord is enthroned as King for ever’. ‘From
all eternity’ the Lord is ‘robed in majesty’. Let us respond to His
majesty. Let us ‘magnify’ the Lord - ‘O Lord our God, how majestic is
Thy Name’(97:9; 29:10; Mission Praise, 158,217,388,507).
94:1-23-
‘When I said, “My foot is slipping”, Your love, O Lord, supported
me’(18). The Lord is ‘able to keep us from falling’. We are ‘kept by the
power of God’. Putting our trust in the Lord, we may be confident of
this: ‘God, who began His good work in us, will carry it through to
completion on the Day of Christ Jesus’. We are called to ‘press on
towards the goal to win the prize for which God has called us
heavenwards in Christ Jesus’. As we ‘press on’, we must never forget
this: ‘It is God who works in us to will and to work according to His
good purpose’. ‘Let us fix our eyes on Jesus’, trusting in His promise:
‘My sheep listen to My voice... I give them eternal life, and they shall
never perish; no-one can snatch them out of My hand...’(Jude 24-25; 1
Peter 1:3-5; Philippians 1:6; 3:14; 2:13; Hebrews 12:2; John 10:27-30).
95:1-11- ‘Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord... Let us come before Him with thanksgiving... Come, let us bow down in worship...’(1-2,6).
We are to worship the Lord with joyful thanksgiving. We rejoice in the
Lord. We give thanks for His love. He is ‘the great God’. He is ‘our
God’. He is the God of creation - ‘In His hand are the depths of the
earth, and the mountain peaks belong to Him. The sea is His, for He made
it, and His hands formed the dry land’. He is the God of salvation -
‘We are the people of His pasture, the flock under His care’(3-5,7). If
we are to learn to worship the Lord with joyful thanksgiving, we must
open our hearts to Him: ‘Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden
your hearts’(7-8). When we hear the call to worship, we must open our
hearts to the Spirit of worship.
96:1-97:12-
‘The Lord reigns’(96:10; 97:1). ‘The Lord is King!’. He is not only
‘the King all-glorious above’. He is ‘the King of love’. He is ‘our
Maker, Defender, Redeemer and Friend!’. He is not only ‘the King of
heaven’. He is ‘the God of grace’. He is ‘the King of mercy’(Church Hymnary,
35,36,388,360,86). His reign is not to be restricted to some faraway
heaven. It is not to be a reign that is far removed from the
practicalities of our everyday life. He is to reign in our hearts.
He is to reign in every part of our life. Let His reign of love begin.
Let His grace and mercy control all that you do. We must pray, ‘Reign in me, Sovereign Lord, reign in me’. When we say, ‘Let Your Kingdom come’ and ‘let Your will be done’, we must pray, ‘Captivate my heart. Establish there Your throne’(Mission Praise, 570).
98:1-100:5-
‘Exalt the Lord our God... Make a joyful noise to the Lord’(99:5,9;
98:4,6; 100:1). We are to worship the Lord with joy. We are to glorify
God. We are to enjoy Him. In our worship, we must never forget the holiness of God: ‘He is holy!... The Lord our God is holy!’(99:5,9). In our worship, we rejoice in the love of
God: ‘His steadfast love endures for ever... He has done marvellous
things!’(100:5; 98:1). The God of ‘awesome purity’ loves us with the
most perfect love of all: ‘No earthly father loves like Thee...’. Let us
worship Him with holy fear and heartfelt love: ‘O how I fear Thee,
living God, with deepest, tenderest fears... with trembling hope and
penitential tears! Yet I may love Thee too, O Lord, Almighty as Thou
art, for Thou hast stooped to ask of me the love of my poor heart’(Church Hymnary, 356).
101:1-102:28-
‘I will sing of Your love... I will walk with integrity of
heart...’(101:1-2). These words were written many centuries ago. ‘Things
are very different now’- so we’re told! Worshipping the Lord and
walking with Him: Are these things out-of-date now? Are they to be
forgotten? So many people have no time for the Lord. They feel that they
can do without Him. They refuse to worship Him. They do not walk with
Him. In our ever-changing world, there is something we must never
forget: The Lord is ‘enthroned for ever’. His ‘Name endures to all generations’.
In all the changes of life, the Lord ‘remains the same’. His ‘years go
on through all generations’. His ‘years will never end’(12,24,27). These
words were ‘written for a future generation’. They were written for us.
We must not forget to ‘praise the Lord’(18)!
103:1-22-
‘Praise the Lord’(1-2,20-22). Let’s praise Him for His ‘steadfast
love’. He is ‘abounding in steadfast love’(8). How are we to respond to
His ‘steadfast love’? Are we to say, ‘God loves me. I can do what I
like’? No! We must not think like this. We’re not to say, ‘I’ll keep on
sinning. God will keep on forgiving’(Romans 6:1-2). God’s Word tells us
something very different. Loved by God, we learn to love Him. When God’s
‘steadfast love’ has really touched our hearts, it changes our lives.
This is the great change which the Psalmist has in mind when he writes,
‘As the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His steadfast love
toward those who fear Him... The steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon those who fear Him’(11,17). Let’s thank God for His love - and live to please Him!
104:1-35- ‘I will sing to the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live’(33).
Do you feel like giving up? Other things are becoming more important to
you. Worshipping the Lord is being pushed out to the edge of your life.
Wrong attitudes are creeping in. It starts with the idea, ‘Worship’s
just an hour on a Sunday’. Then, it becomes, ‘I’ll worship the Lord when
I feel like it’. It soon becomes, ‘I’ll worship the Lord when I’ve
nothing better to do’. Before long, all desire for worshipping the Lord
has gone! Little-by-little, you are drifting away from the Lord. It’s
time to start thinking about what’s happening. It’s time for a new
beginning. It’s time for an ‘all my life’ commitment to worshipping the
Lord - not just on a Sunday, not only when I feel like it, not only
‘when there’s nothing better to do’!
105:1-22- ‘Look to the Lord and His strength;
seek His face always. Remember the wonderful works that He has
done...’(4-5). The Lord gives strength to those who put their trust in
Him. Trusting in Christ, we have this great testimony: ‘I can do all
things through Christ who strengthens me’(Philippians 4:13). How do we
receive the Lord’s strength? We must ‘seek His face always. We must not
think we can face difficult circumstances in our strength. Without the
strength of the Lord, we will be defeated. He has helped us in the past.
Never forget this. Give thanks to Him for every victory won. As you
face temptation, remember the Lord’s promise of victory: ‘God is
faithful, and He will not let you be tempted beyond your strength. With
the temptation, He will also provide the way of escape...’(1 Corinthians
10:13).
105:23-45- ‘He brought His people out with joy’(43).
When things are going badly and we feel like giving up, we must
remember the Word of the Lord: ‘The joy of the Lord is your
strength’(Nehemiah 8:10). We are to ‘rejoice in the Lord always’. The
Lord does not leave us on our own when our time of testing comes. He is
there for us in our time of need: ‘My God will supply every need of
yours according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus’(Philippians
4:4,19). When we are deeply conscious of our own weakness, the Lord
comes to us with His Word of strength: ‘My grace is sufficient for you.
My power is made perfect in weakness’(2 Corinthians 12:9). Through the
Word of God, we receive strength. His Word brings joy to us. Let us sing
‘glad songs of victory’: ‘The Lord is my Strength, my Song, my
Saviour’(118:14-15).
106:1-48- We read here about sin and salvation.
There is a very realistic description of Israel’s sin - ‘They soon
forgot what He had done and did not wait for His counsel... They
despised the pleasant land; they did not believe His promise... They
grumbled in their tents and did not obey the Lord... They rebelled
against the Spirit of God’(13,24-25,33). This is not only ancient
history. It’s the story of our life! We read this, and we must
join in Israel’s confession of sin: ‘We have sinned, even as our fathers
did; we have done wrong and acted wickedly’(6). The history of Israel
is not only a history of sin. It is also a history of salvation: ‘He
saved them...’(8,10). As we read of God’s salvation, we must echo the
prayer of God’s people - ‘Save us, O Lord our God...’- and join with
them in praising God - ‘Praise be to the Lord...’(47-48).
107:1-43 -
There are some things that are worth repeating! The story of God’s
amazing grace is worth repeating over and over again - ‘Then they cried
out to the Lord in their trouble, and He delivered them from their
distress’(6,13,19,28). The call to praise the Lord is also something we
need to hear again and again - ‘Let them give thanks to the Lord for His
unfailing love and His wonderful deeds for men’(8,15,21,31). Let us
‘consider the great love of the Lord’. Let us ‘give thanks to the
Lord’(43,1). ‘The great love of God is revealed in the Son, who came to
this earth to redeem every one. That love, like a stream flowing clear
to the sea, makes clean every heart that from sin would be free... It’s
yours, it is ours, O how lavishly given! The pearl of great price, and
the treasure of heaven!’(Church Hymnary, 415).
108:1-13-
‘With God we shall gain the victory. He will trample down our
enemies’(13). In ourselves, there is only defeat. We are no match for
‘our enemies’- the world, the flesh and the devil.
We are surrounded by the world - ‘The world is ever near. I see the
sights that dazzle. The tempting sounds I hear’. We live with the
constant problem of the flesh - ‘the storms of passion, the murmurs of
self-will’(Church Hymnary, 434). Behind the world and the flesh,
there is an even stronger enemy - the devil: ‘Our struggle is not
against flesh and blood, but against... the spiritual forces of
evil...’(Ephesians 6:12). Our situation seems to be utterly hopeless.
How can we possibly win the victory? The simple truth is: We cannot. There is, however, a deeper truth: God is with us- and ‘with God we shall win the victory’!
109:1-31-
We must come to the Lord, recognizing that, without Him, our situation
is hopeless - ‘I am poor and needy, and my heart is wounded within me. I
fade away like an evening shadow’(22). When our enemies are on the
attack, we are no match for them. What are we to do when the world, the
flesh and the devil are threatening to overwhelm us? We must come to the
Lord, praying for His help, asking Him to save us - ‘Help me, O Lord my
God; save me in accordance with Your love’(26). Let us look away from
ourselves and our own weakness. Let us put our trust in the Lord and His
strength. The Lord will not fail us. He ‘stands beside’ us in our time
of testing. He ‘saves’ us from our enemies. Let us praise Him: ‘I will
greatly praise the Lord with my mouth. I will praise Him among many
people...’(30-31).
110:1-7 -
‘The Lord says to my Lord: ‘Sit at My right hand...’(1). These words
direct our attention to our Lord Jesus Christ: When ‘He was taken up
into heaven, He sat at the right hand of God’(Mark 16:19). When Jesus
ascended to the Father’s right hand, the Holy Spirit was sent down from
heaven to fill our lives with God’s blessing (John 7:37-39). Through the
power of the Holy Spirit, our lives are changed: ‘In the Day of Your
power, Your people will come to You willingly...’. We come to the Lord
in our weakness, and He ‘renews our strength’. We come to Him in our
weariness, and we are ‘refreshed’ by His ‘streams of living water’(3,7).
‘Come, Thou Fount of every blessing, tune my heart to sing Thy grace.
Streams of mercy never ceasing call for songs of loudest praise’(Revised Church Hymnary, 435).
111:1-112:10-
‘Praise the Lord... To Him belong eternal praise... Blessed is the man
who fears the Lord... His heart is secure, he will have no fear; in the
end he will look in triumph on his foes...’(111:1,10; 112:1,8). Those
who ‘fear the Lord’ have no need to live in fear of man. Those who know
that ‘eternal praise belongs to the Lord’ can face their enemies with
confidence. Our confidence is not in ourselves. Our confidence is in the
Lord. We know how good the Lord has been to us - ‘He provided
redemption for His people’. We have heard and believed the Good News of
Christ. We need not ‘fear’ any ‘bad news’ which the devil sends our way.
We ‘trust in the Lord’, confident that the ‘light ‘will triumph over
the ‘darkness’. The Good News of Christ will triumph over the devil’s
bad news (111:9; 112:4,7).
113:1-114:8-
‘The Lord is high above all nations... Who is like the Lord our God,
who is seated on high?... Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord,
who turns the hard rock into springs of water’(113:4-5; 114:7-8). The
Lord is greater than we could ever imagine. There is no greatness like
the greatness of the Lord. All human greatness cannot even begin to
compare with the greatness of God. His greatness is not only the
greatness of His power. It is also the greatness of His love.
When we sing, ‘How great Thou art’, we sing not only of His power - ‘Thy
power throughout the universe displayed’. We sing also of His love -
‘And when I think that God His Son not sparing, sent Him to die - I
scarce can take it in, that on the Cross my burden gladly bearing, He
bled and died to take away my sin...’(Mission Praise, 506).
115:1-18-
‘Not to us, O Lord, not to us but to Your Name be the glory because of
Your love and faithfulness’(1). God loves us. He loves us with a
faithful love, ‘an everlasting love’, a ‘love that will not let us go’.
His love ‘never comes to an end’. Nothing can separate us from His love
(Jeremiah 31:3; Lamentations 3:22-23; Romans 8:38-39; Church Hymnary,
677). What have we done to deserve such love? Absolutely nothing! We
are ‘sinners’. We do not deserve to be loved by God. We have done
nothing to earn His love. Love begins with God. It comes from Him. How
do we know that He loves us? Have we proved ourselves worthy of His
love? No! - ‘God shows His love for us in this: While we were still
sinners, Christ died for us’. ‘To God be the glory!’(Romans 5:8; Church Hymnary, 374).
116:1-117:2-
‘I love the Lord... I will call on Him as long as I live’(116:1-2). Our
love for God is to be a lifelong life. It is to be the love of our
life. What are we to do when our love for God grows weak? We must
remember His love for us - ‘Great is His love towards us. The
faithfulness of the Lord endures forever’(117:2). When we find it
difficult to keep on loving God, we must remember how much He loves us.
When we feel like giving up on loving God, we must remember that He
never gives up on loving us. He loves us when our love for Him is
strong. He loves us when our love for Him is weak. In love, He reaches
out to us. He brings us out of our weakness and into His strength. Let
His strong love reach you in your weakness and give you His strength:
‘Loving Him who first loved me’(Church Hymnary, 450).
118:1-29-
‘The Lord is my Strength and my Song. He is my Saviour’(14). Knowing
that Jesus Christ is our Saviour gives us a song to sing: ‘Blessed
assurance, Jesus is mine... This is my story, this is my song, praising
my Saviour all the day long’. Knowing that Jesus Christ is our Saviour,
we sing His song with strength, committing ourselves to His service,
earnestly seeking to win others for Him: ‘We’ve a story to tell to the
nations, that shall turn their hearts to the right ... We’ve a song to
be sung to the nations, that shall lift their hearts to the Lord...We’ve
a message to give to the nations, that the Lord, who reigneth above,
hath sent us His Son to save us... We’ve a Saviour to show to the
nations...’(Mission Praise, 59,744). Don’t keep your Saviour to yourself. Share Him with others. Win others for Him.
119:1-24
- The way of blessing is the way of obedience (1,9,11,17). Many will
choose the way of disobedience - ‘influential people sit together and
slander me’. We must choose the way of obedience - ‘Your servant will
meditate on Your teachings’ (23). Following Jesus Christ will not be
easy. We see many people turning back from following Him. We are tempted
to join them. We feel the pull of the world. We must not take our eyes
off Jesus. We must not return to the world’s way of living. We must
remember all that Jesus has done for us - ‘He loved us and gave Himself
for us’ (Galatians 2:20) - and recommit ourselves to following Him: ‘I
have decided to follow Jesus... The world behind me, the Cross before
me... Though none go with me, I still will follow... No turning back, no
turning back’ (Mission Praise, 272).
119:25-48
- ‘Revive me according to Your Word’ (25). How does God revive us
according to His Word? He gives us His salvation: ‘Let Your unfailing
love come to me, O Lord - Your salvation according to Your Word’ (41).
He gives us His strength: ‘My soul is weary with sorrow. Strengthen me
according to Your Word’ (28). He gives us a change of heart: ‘I have
chosen the way of truth; I have set my heart on Your laws... I run in
the path of Your commands, for You have set my heart free... Give me
understanding, and I will keep Your law and obey it with my whole
heart... Turn my heart to Your testimonies...’ (30,32,34,36). He gives
us ‘new life’: ‘When someone becomes a Christian he becomes a brand new
person inside. He is not the same anymore. A new life has begun!’ (40; 2
Corinthians 5:17).
119:49-72
- God’s Word makes such a difference! When everything seems so
hopeless, we turn to God’s Word and we find that there is ‘hope’ (49).
When we are going through a time of terrible ‘suffering’, we turn to
God’s Word and we find ‘comfort’ (50,52). When everything seems to be
going so badly, we must keep on reading the Word of the Lord: ‘The
wicked have laid a trap for me, but I do not forget Your law’ (61).
Through His Word, God is teaching us to see His purpose in our
sufferings: ‘The punishment You gave me was the best thing that could
have happened to me, for it taught me to pay attention to Your laws’
(71). God is showing us what is really important: ‘The law that You gave
means more to me than all the money in the world’ (72). He is teaching
us to see His ‘love’ in every part of our life (64).
119:73-96
- We rejoice in God’s ‘constant love’. This is our ‘comfort’ - God
keeps on loving us no matter what’s going on in our lives. We may be
going through really hard times - ‘Men persecute me with lies... They
have almost succeeded in killing me’. There’s one thing that never
changes - God’s ‘constant love’. He loves us in the hard times as well
as in the happy times. His love inspires us to keep on loving Him when
we feel like giving up in despair (76,86-88). We see many changes taking
place in our world. Sometimes, we wonder, ‘Where is God in all of this?
Has He abandoned us? Can we keep on trusting Him and rejoicing in His
Word?’. When our minds are full of negative thoughts, we must remember
God’s Word - ‘Your Word, O Lord, will last for ever... Your faithfulness
endures through all the ages’ (89-90).
119:97-120
- Throughout life, we have to make choices. Some choices are
relatively straightforward. Others are very much more difficult. Some
choices don’t affect the rest of our life very much. There are, however,
choices which affect the whole of our life. There is one choice which
is more important than any other - Choosing the Lord Jesus Christ as
your Saviour. Those who refuse to choose are ‘double-minded’(113). They
can’t make up their mind. They know that they should be following Christ
- but they are still ‘in love with the world’. They are ‘lovers of
pleasure rather than lovers of God’ (I John 2:15; 2 Timothy 3:4). Make
your choice. Say to the world, ‘Away from me, you evildoers, that I may
keep the commands of my God’. Say to God, ‘I have decided to obey Your
laws until the day I die’ (115,112).
119:121-144
- ‘The entrance of Your words gives light’ (130). The Word of God
brings light into our lives. Sadly, many people ‘love darkness rather
than light’. They refuse to ‘come to the light’. They prefer to remain
in the darkness. They refuse to listen to what God is saying to them
through His Word. Then, when things are not going so well for them, they
blame God. They say, ‘It’s all Your fault’! Things could have been so
different. They could have learned to spend time with God. They could
have learned the lessons of faith which are found in God’s Word. They
could have learned to cope with life’s difficulties. They could have
been filled with the strength of the Lord. They would not be complaining
against Him. They would be rejoicing in Him: He has ‘called us out of
darkness into His marvellous light’ (1 Peter 2:10).
119:145-176
- ‘With my whole heart I cry; answer me, O Lord!’ (145). God is
calling us to pray. There is nothing more important than this. If other
things have become more important in our lives, we need to think about
the way we are living. God wants to send His blessing into our lives:
‘Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and
it will be opened to you’ (Matthew 7:7). His blessing will come to those
who seek him with their whole heart: ‘You will seek Me and find Me when
you seek me with all your heart’ (Jeremiah 29:13). If we do not ask, we
will not receive: ‘You do not have, because you do not ask’ (James
4:2). God’s blessing is not given to those who are half-hearted. God is
calling us to love Him with our whole heart: ‘I long for Your salvation,
O Lord, and Your law is my delight’ (174).
120:1-121:8
- ‘Deliver me, O Lord, from lying lips’ (120:2). God calls us to
‘believe the truth’, ‘love the truth’ and ‘follow the truth’. We are to
be people who ‘do what is true’ (2 Thessalonians 2:10-11; 3 John 3-4;
John 3:21). How can we be such people? We must keep our eyes fixed on
Jesus. He is ‘the Truth’ (Hebrews 12:2; John 14:6). When we are tempted
to turn away from the pathway of truth, we must remember this: ‘My help
comes from the Lord’. We must remember God’s promise: ‘The Lord is your
Keeper...The Lord will keep you from all evil’. God’s promise is not
only for ‘this time’. It’s ‘for evermore’(121:2,5,7-8). This gives us
glorious hope as we keep on looking to Christ,‘eagerly awaiting’ His
Return ( Hebrews 9:28).
122:1-124:8
- ‘I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go into the House of the
Lord”’ (122:2). Why do we go to the House of the Lord? We go ‘to give
thanks to the Name of the Lord’ (122:4). We seek His mercy for our past
sins: ‘Have mercy on us, O Lord, have mercy on us!’ (123:3). We seek
His help for our future temptations: ‘Our help is in the Name of the
Lord...’ (124:8). As we receive mercy and help from the Lord, we worship
Him: ‘Blessed be the Lord’ (124:6). In our worship, we ‘look to the
Lord our God’, drawing encouragement from His Word: ‘The Lord is on our
side’ - In Him we have the victory (123:2; 124:1-5). Rejoicing in God’s
blessing, we pray for others: ‘May they prosper who love You’ (122:6).
125:1-127:5
- ‘Those who trust in the Lord... cannot be moved...’. When we put
our trust in the Lord, we are like the ‘wise man who built his house on
the rock’. His house ‘did not fall because it had its foundation on the
rock’. When we do not put our trust in the Lord, we are like the’foolish
man who built his house on sand’. His house ‘fell with a great crash’.
‘Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labour in vain’ (125:1;
127:1; Matthew 7:24-27). ‘Jesus Christ’ is the ‘sure Foundation’ upon
which our faith is built. He is ‘the solid Rock’, our ‘mighty Rock of
spiritual refreshment’ (1 Corinthians 3:11; 10:3-4; Church Hymnary,
10,411). ‘Christ died for our sins... He was raised on the third day’.
Let us rejoice in Him: ‘The Lord has done great things for us, and we
are filled with joy’ (126:3; 1 Corinthians
15:3-4).
128:1-129:8
- ‘Blessed are all who fear the Lord, who walk in His ways’ (128:1).
If we are to enjoy the Lord’s blessing, we must fear Him and walk in His
ways. Many people despise the place of worship. They ‘pass by’. They
have no desire to know ‘the blessing of the Lord’. God warns us that we
must not allow this attitude to grow in us: ‘May all who hate Zion be
put to shame’. We must take care that our love for the Lord doesn’t
‘wither’ away. We must keep on praying that our love for Him will
‘grow’. If we place no value on the Lord’s blessing, our lives will be
empty. Come to the Lord with this prayer: ‘The greatest thing in all my
life is knowing You, loving You, serving You. I want to know You more,
love You more, serve You more’. He will ‘fill’ your life with His
blessing (129:5-8; Mission Praise, 646).
130:1-131:3
- We are not to pray to God with superficial words that don’t mean
very much to us. Our prayer is to be a real cry from the heart: ‘Out of
the depths I cry to You, O Lord’ (130:1). We are to ‘cry for mercy’ with
a deep awareness of how sinful we really are: ‘If You, O Lord, kept a
record of sins, O Lord, who could stand?’ (130:3). We must come to God
with deep humility - ‘My heart is not proud, O Lord’ (131:1). When we
truly confess our sin, we receive God’s ‘unfailing love’ and
‘forgiveness’ (4). ‘In the Lord’ we have ‘full redemption’ (7). It is
for ‘now’ - ‘The vilest offender who truly believes, that moment from
Jesus a pardon receives’. It is ‘for evermore’ - ‘But purer and higher
and greater will be our wonder, our transport, when Jesus we see!’.
‘Praise the Lord!... Give Him the glory!’ (131:3; Church Hymnary, 374).
132:1-18
- ‘Let us go to the Lord’s House; let us worship before His throne’
(7). God is calling us to worship Him. We are to gather together as His
worshipping people. As we gather for worship, we remember that ‘the Lord
is King’. We do not only give Him the praise of our lips. We give Him
the praise of our lives. We do not only sing to Him. We live for Him. We
come ‘before His throne’ with this prayer, ‘Take my heart - it is Thine
own; It shall be Thy royal throne’. God hears and answers our prayer.
He gives us His strength. We rise to His challenge: ‘Rise up, O Church
of God! Have done with lesser things; Give heart and soul and mind and
strength to serve the King of kings’ (Church Hymnary, 36,462,477). The service of worship comes to an end. Let our service of living begin - and never end!
133:1-134:3
- God sends ‘His blessing’ when His people gather together for
worship: ‘How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity!’
(133:1,3). Many people like to think of themselves as ‘believers’, yet
they show no interest in worshipping together with God’s people. What
does God’s Word say about this? - ‘Let us not give up meeting together,
as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another...’
(Hebrews 10:25). ‘Praise the Lord, all you servants of the Lord who
minister by night in the House of the Lord’ (133:1; 134:1). Some
people never miss a Sunday morning service - but they always miss the
Sunday evening services! They are missing out on so much of God’s
blessing. ‘May the Lord... bless you...’ on Sunday evenings as well as
Sunday mornings (134:2)!
135:1-21
- ‘Praise the Lord’ (1-3,19-21). ‘The Lord is good... The Lord is
great’ (3,5). In our worship, we focus on both God’s greatness and His
goodness. God is great in power: ‘Great is our Lord and mighty in power’
(147:5). He is also great in love: ‘How great is the love the Father
has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!’ (1 John
3:1). When we praise the Lord, singing of His greatness, let us not
think only of the greatness of His power: ‘I see the stars, I hear the
mighty thunder, Thy power throughout the universe displayed’. Let us
think also of His goodness, the greatness of His love: ‘And when I think
that God His Son not sparing, sent Him to die - I scarce can take it
in, that on the Cross my burden gladly bearing, He bled and died to take
away my sin’ (Mission Praise, 506).
136:1-26
- ‘His love endures for ever’. This is the great message contained in
every single verse of this Psalm. It’s a message worth repeating - over
and over again! God’s love is an everlasting love - ‘I have loved you
with an everlasting love’ (Jeremiah 31:3). God’s love is an unfailing
love - ‘My unfailing love for you will not be shaken’ (Isaiah 54:10).
Let us ‘give thanks’ to God for His love (1-3,26). In His love, the Lord
has provided for us ‘an everlasting salvation’. His ‘salvation will
last for ever’ (Isaiah 45:17; 51:6). We must not be like those who
refuse to love the Lord - ‘Pharaoh... great kings... mighty kings ...’
(15,17-20). Those who reject God’s love will not receive ‘eternal life’.
Their future will be very different - the ‘raging fire that will
consume the enemies of God’ (John 3:16-18; Hebrews 10:26-27).
137:1-138:8
- ‘How can we sing the songs of the Lord while in a foreign land?’
(137:4). It is not easy to keep on worshipping the Lord when so many
show no interest in worshipping Him. What are we to do when our faith
seems so weak and we are on the verge of giving up? ‘Ask the Saviour to
help you, comfort, strengthen and keep you’. What will we find when we
come to the Lord, looking to Him for strength? ‘He is willing to aid
you. He will carry you through’. God gives us strength - ‘You answered
me when I called to You. With Your strength, You strengthened me’
(138:3). ‘To him that o’ercometh, God giveth a crown. Through faith we
shall conquer, though often cast down. He who is our Saviour, our
strength will renew. Look ever to Jesus. He will carry you through’ (Church Hymnary, 482).
139:1-24
- Through Christ our Saviour, we are led ‘in the way everlasting’:
‘God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son’ (24; 1 John
5:11). God’s great purpose of eternal salvation seems ‘too wonderful’ -
‘too good to be true’! ‘It is a thing most wonderful, almost too
wonderful to be, that God’s own Son should come from heaven and die to
save a child like me, and yet I know that it is true...’ (6; Church Hymnary,
385). God has a glorious future planned for us. We can hardly even
begin to take it in: ‘Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty
for me to attain’. We know that ‘no mind has conceived what God has
prepared for those who love Him’ yet we rejoice in this: ‘God has
revealed it to us by His Spirit’ (6; 1 Corinthians 2:9-10). ‘Lead me in
the way everlasting!’(24).
140:1-13
- When we are threatened by ‘men of violence’, we must must put our
trust in the Lord, our ‘strong Deliverer’. We must pray that the ‘men of
violence’ will not succeed in their ‘evil plans’: ‘Do not let their
plans succeed... May disaster hunt down the men of violence’
(1-2,7-8,11). The ‘men of violence’ may seem to be getting things all
their own way. We must not allow ourselves to be brought down to their
level. In our battle against the ‘men of violence’, we must use God’s
‘weapons’: ‘truth... righteousness... peace... faith... salvation...
prayer’. These ‘weapons’ have ‘divine power to demolish the strongholds’
of Satan (Ephesians 6:13-18; 2 Corinthians 10:4). Never forget this:
‘“Vengeance is mine, I will repay”, says the Lord’ (Romans 12:19).
141:1-142:7
- The Psalmist continues to emphasize the importance of ‘prayer’ in
our battle against ‘evildoers’: ‘My prayer is ever against the deeds of
evildoers’ (141:5). We pray that their ‘wicked deeds’ will not succeed.
We pray that they will see ‘the error of their way’, returning to the
Lord and being ‘led in the paths of righteousness for His Name’s sake’
(141:5; 23:3; James 5:19-20). We may feel that our ‘persecutors’ are
‘too strong’ for us. We must never think that ‘no one cares’. We must
bring our fear to God, praying, ‘Set me free from my prison, that I may
praise Your Name’. Faced with powerful enemies, we must remember this:
The Lord is our ‘portion in the land of the living’. In the face of
fierce opposition, we must learn to say, ‘Surely goodness and mercy
shall follow me all the days of my life; and I shall dwell in the House
of the Lord for ever’ (142:4-7; 23:6).
143:1-12
- The Psalmist prays, ‘Rescue me from my enemies, O Lord’ (9). He is
not concerned only about his own welfare. He is concerned about the
glory of God: ‘For Your Name’s sake, O Lord, preserve my life’
(11). How does God lead us in victory? How is He glorified in our lives?
He brings to us the teaching of His Word - ‘Let the morning bring me Word of Your unfailing love’ (8). He gives to us the strength of His Spirit
- ‘May Your good Spirit lead me in good paths’ (10). Through His Word
and Spirit, God shows us His ‘unfailing love’. He enables us to say,
‘You are my God’, ‘I have put my trust in You’ and ‘I am Your servant’.
He ‘shows us the way we should go’. He ‘teaches us to do His will’. He
gives us victory over our ‘enemies’ (8,10,12).
144:1-15
- ‘Praise be to the Lord my Rock, who trains my hands for war, my
fingers for battle’(1). The Lord is ‘the One who gives victory’ to His
people (10). What a great God we have! He is ‘our loving God, our
Fortress, our Stronghold, our Deliverer, our Shield’ (2). What great
blessing the Lord sends into our lives! He fights for us (Exodus 14:14;
Deuteronomy 1:30; 3: 22; Nehemiah 4:20). He is ‘our Strength’ (28:7-8;
59:17). ‘With God we shall gain the victory’ (60:12). Let us pray that
God will pour out His blessing upon us: ‘Part Your heavens, O Lord, and
come down... Reach down Your hand from on high...’ (5,7). Let us think
of how much the Lord has blessed us. Let us sing our song of praise to
Him: ‘I will sing a new song to You, O God’ (9).
145:1-21 - ‘Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised. His greatness is beyond understanding’. Let us worship our great God:
‘I will exalt You, my God the King. I will praise Your Name for ever
and ever. Every day I will praise You and extol Your Name for ever and
ever’ (1-3). The God whom we worship is so much greater than the worship
we bring to Him. Our worship is to be a ‘joyful celebration’. We
celebrate His great love: ‘The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love’. We rejoice in His great faithfulness:
‘The Lord is faithful to all His promises’. Here on earth, we have only
begun to worship our great God. Our worship will continue in His
‘everlasting Kingdom’. There, we will ‘praise His Name for ever and
ever’ (7-8, 13,21).
146:1-10
- ‘I will praise the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God as
long as I live’ (2). Praising the Lord our God: This is a lifelong commitment. We cannot maintain this lifelong commitment in our own strength. We need the Lord’s help.
We must never forget this: ‘Unless the Lord builds the house, those who
build it labour in vain’ (127:1). We are not expected to maintain this
lifelong commitment in our own strength. We have the Lord’s help. We must always remember this: ‘Our help is in the Name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth’ (124:8). ‘Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God, who made heaven and earth, the sea and all that is in them, the Lord who remains faithful for ever’ (5-6).
lifelong commitment in our own strength. We have the Lord’s help. We must always remember this: ‘Our help is in the Name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth’ (124:8). ‘Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God, who made heaven and earth, the sea and all that is in them, the Lord who remains faithful for ever’ (5-6).
147:1-20
- ‘The Lord builds up Jerusalem. He gathers the exiles of Israel. he
heals the broken-hearted and binds up their wounds’ (2-3). This is much
more than the building of the city of Jerusalem with bricks and mortar.
This is God building up His people in their ‘most holy faith’ (Jude 20).
This is God blessing His people as they gather together to worship Him.
In Christ, we are ‘being built together to become a dwelling in which
God lives by His Spirit’ (Ephesians 2:22). The Lord draws us to Himself.
He brings us into fellowship with His people. He calls us to worship
Him: ‘Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving’. He ‘blesses’ us through ‘His
Word’. He ‘blesses’ us in ‘the Spirit’: ‘He sends His Word... and the
waters flow’ (7,12-13,18; John 7:37-39).
148:1-150:6
- ‘Praise the Lord’. Psalms 146 and 147 began and ended with these
words. Now, we find the same beginning and ending in each of these three
Psalms - ‘Praise the Lord’. Our personal song of praise to God -
‘Praise be to the Lord my Rock... I will sing a new song to You, O
God... I will exalt You, my God the King; I will praise Your Name for
ever and ever; Every day I will praise You... My mouth will speak in
praise of the Lord... I will praise the Lord all my life; I will sing
praise to my God as long as I live’ (144:1,9; 145:1-2,21; 146:2) - is
just a small part of something so much richer and fuller - ‘Let
everything that has breath praise the Lord’ (150:6). May these great
Psalms of praise inspire us to praise the Lord more truly and more
fully.
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