Category: Psalms

As one of our fellow readers said to me, David really messed up a lot. We would expect a man after God’s own heart to make consistently better choices than David did. This reminds us that he was a man, made of flesh just like us. That timely reminder makes Psalm 108 all the more meaningful to me. This man testified at this point in his life that his heart was steadfast. That steadfast heart compelled him to praise God with all his being, so early in the morning that he awoke the dawn with his highest praise. What made him so steadfast and so grateful to and worshipful of God? It wasn’t his circumstances, for his army apparently wasn’t enjoying victory over their enemies; he said, “Have you not rejected us, O God? You do not go out with our armies.” What an example to us. Can you say in the midst of trying times that your heart is steadfast? When your circumstances are so adverse that it seems like God has rejected you, can you praise God for His great steadfast love and faithfulness that reaches to the clouds?

Psalm 109 is one of the best examples of a psalmist asking God to do awful things to another on his behalf. Check out his reasons for that: they were attacking him unjustly, speaking against him with lying tongues, encircling him with words of hate. He had experienced such animosity before, but had never displayed such a violent hatred against those who were responsible. The difference here is that he had loved these people who were encircling him with words of hate. How that must have hurt! How sad that love can turn into hatred.

Psalm 110 is prophetic, speaking of Jesus. It’s another reminder that Jesus wins in the end! That’s definitely a reason to hope and to offer praise to God today. With that reminder, we can, like David, joyfully praise God with highest praise no matter our circumstances. That is what a steadfast heart looks like. Is your heart steadfast today? Can you offer God lavish praise as David did?

More exuberant praise to God. Hopefully it doesn’t get boring for you, but rather gets you going on a track to offer your own praise to God. I’m ashamed to confess that in the days when I didn’t appreciate Scripture, this was dull reading for me. If that is you, please take that confession and concern to God, and ask Him to change you so that these become a treasured starting point for your own genuine and joyful praise to God. He wants to share the kind of intimacy with you that such praise will bring, so you can expect Him to do it.

As I have done in past posts, let us use these psalms as lists of ways in which we can praise God and things for which we can praise God. As starting points, they give us the freedom to expand any of the ideas that speak to us, so please keep an eye open for any of these items that do speak to you.

• Singing praise to God is one way to praise Him.
• Giving thanks to God is another way to praise Him.
• When the psalmist says that God is great above all gods, is he implying that there exist other gods above which God can rule as King? Let’s face it: we still worship other gods today – not in the form of deities and statues as they did in their day, but in the form of things that we treasure above the one true God. Do you value God above anything or anyone you value? If not, then you don’t value Him enough, and as a seeker you should be asking Him to transform your values. Even when we confess the shameful truth and seek His help to be transformed, we are offering Him our worship. One way you participate in that is to be deliberate and lavish in your worship of Him.
• If you lack appreciation for God’s greatness, contemplate the idea that He holds the depths of the earth and the highest mountains in His hands, while you shovel earth.
• The clouds and thick darkness that are all around Him speak of how unfathomable He is to us, unless He reveals Himself to us. He is holy, He is so other to us.
• Righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne. How blessed we are that such a powerful ruler rules in righteousness and justice.
• All people see His glory: it is evident to all. We can’t miss it, if we will only take the time and make the effort to contemplate it.
• We should expect to have new reasons to sing about God’s marvelous works. That implies that He should always be doing those marvelous works in our lives. If that is what He wants to do, we should be seeking and expecting those marvelous works – not for the sake of the works themselves, but for the sake of His glory, for the display of His glory. Seeking His marvelous works in our lives, choosing to exercise faith in Him to do marvelous works, is an act of worship. Recall that since His ways are higher than our ways, His ideas of marvelous works might not be consistent with ours. Choosing to trust Him to know what works are most marvelous is another act of worship.
• One of the marvelous things He has done is working out His plan for our salvation. Do you see His salvation as a marvelous work? Notice that the psalm says He worked salvation for Him. Does He need saved? That salvation is actually for us. He sees our salvation as a benefit to Him. Why do you suppose that is?
• Joyful noises to God are so apt that the psalmist sees nature as singing for joy. Exuberant joy should be natural for us, and is an act of worship. He gives one reason why all the earth should sing for joy, that of His judging the world with righteousness. This, of course, is only one of the many reasons to sing for joy to God. But that one reason is enough; Scripture teaches us that all of nature groans under the curse brought about by sin, implying that when the curse is banished all creation will be relieved.

Again, these are starting points for our worship of God. Can you take just one of them as a starting point today and spend some time lavishing your worship on Him in prayer or song or testimony or silent contemplation?

Psalm 95 says that God loathed the generation of His people who put Him to the test, because they went astray in their hearts and did not know His way. I don’t believe that this means that loathing was His actual feeling for those people, because His word speaks much about His love for all of us. Rather, that is the poet’s way of describing God’s attitude toward them based on His actions toward them. His actions would indicate loathing; He acted loathingly toward them, but I don’t believe He felt loathing. Isn’t it awful to think that God was compelled to act against His people as if He loathed them? He refused them entrance into the rest of the Promised Land; that tells us that He will refuse us entrance into His Promised Land of Heaven also, if He says He will. How important it is for us to know Him and love Him! Worship is a vital part of that, and thus is vitally important for us to be doing. Today’s reading is our reminder and our opportunity to choose to do it.

These psalms speak of David’s longing for God’s salvation. A good study technique is to write down your observations from the text, consider the full meaning of what is being said, and then apply that to your life. Although that is too much for this post, I can offer some observations about David’s expectation for salvation:

• Salvation comes through the abundance of God’s steadfast love. The fuller meaning of that includes David’s understanding that he wasn’t going to do anything to earn his salvation.
• David worshiped in anticipation of God’s salvation, not for the benefits he was to receive, but because God is worthy of his worship. Do you love God for who He is, or for the benefits you can get from Him? If it’s the latter, perhaps you need to be intentional in your worship, and worship more frequently and with greater thoughtfulness in order to know God better.
• David understood his vulnerability to his enemies, and asked God to lead him in His righteousness as a way of protecting himself. One who requests leading implies that he will follow. Are you willing to follow God’s leading, even when it takes you to some unexpected or frightening places?
• The one who is truly taking refuge in God will able to rejoice in Him. Rejoicing sets that one in contrast with others because of what comes out of his mouth: others speak lies, flattery, their own counsel, and rebellion against God. Notice that one who takes refuge in God doesn’t exult in his salvation, but in God Himself. Do you rejoice in God?
• David longed for God’s salvation, experienced physical effects of intense longing. It’s possible that some of these psalms are conveying a double meaning, that David was suffering a physical ailment that he believed was a result of his sin, as well as the feelings of being spiritually fouled by sin. He said that his longing for God was so intense that it was like panting in thirst. He wept for God, and couldn’t eat. Can you feel his longing? Do you long for God? If not, ask Him to fill you with longing for Him, and cultivate it.
• David confessed that he was a sinner and asked for God’s graciousness in healing him. Note in Psalm 41 that confessing his sin didn’t keep him from believing that God upheld him because of his integrity. Why do you suppose that is?
• Salvation to David meant being in God’s presence forever. It was about relationship, not enjoying the delights of a great place to live.
• Regardless of rough circumstances that caused him to feel like God had forgotten him, David knew the reality was that God’s love was always with him. The way his ideas bounced around, it is possible that he had to discipline his thoughts repeatedly in order to keep his grasp on the truth. Can you make the sacrifice to discipline your thoughts to conform to the truth you know in your head, when your feelings might be telling you otherwise?

With these psalms I have demonstrated a brief version of an inductive Bible study method. I encourage you to make observations from the text as you read, no matter how obvious those observations seem, and then contemplate their deeper meaning. Then seek God’s help in applying to your life what the text says.

Did you notice the common themes of waiting on God and finding refuge in Him? They go together in the psalmist’s mind.

David waited for God. Note the conditions in which he was waiting: when people were attacking him, it couldn’t have been easy for him to wait, and yet, he waited on God. This king and soldier did not take matters into his own hands, but waited on God.  Observe what that looked like from David’s description of how he waited. Do you wait for God like that?

David’s enemies were the wicked. In these psalms, note all the things the wicked did that made them wicked. Some of the people who attacked David likely thought they were right to do so, because human beings are prone to serve self and see only their self-centered viewpoints. Do you find yourself doing any of those things? Does the Holy Spirit convict you about any of your own actions and ways?

David cried out to God to vindicate him. His request was founded on a relationship with God that he had cultivated by doing some things and not doing other things and demonstrating a certain kind of character. What distinguished him from his enemies so that he felt justified in asking for God’s vindication? How do you compare to David’s actions and character? Would God find any basis for vindicating you?

David asked for God to take vengeance on his enemies, and what he asked for sometimes was brutal vengeance. We’ve seen that before in the psalms and considered how to reconcile that brutality in the man after God’s own heart, with the better plan of God for His people revealed in Jesus’ teaching. Being designed in God’s image, we long for justice, and sometimes justice does call for vengeance to be taken against a wrongdoer. God understands that the righteous need to know that at the end of the wait on Him, there is reward for the righteous.

Note what happens to David’s wicked enemies, and what the result is. All of their exercise of power over their victims, the victim’s suffering under the injustice and persecution, and God’s salvation for the victims, serve the ends of strengthening the relationship of trust and love between God and those who take refuge in Him, and of glorifying God. Can you seek these ends as you wait on God, and thus allow Him to use your waiting for the good He wants to bring?

Any of us should be able to understand the feeling of anguish that made David wish he could run away and hide, that made him wonder where God was and if He would ever relieve his suffering. The man after God’s own heart may be able to teach by his example how best to handle that kind of hurt. I’m leaving you on your own to make a list of your observations of the ways he handled the situation.

One note, however, about some of his comments. If they seem to jump around, one minute praising God for giving him relief and the next crying out, “How long?”, that’s because they do jump around. Have you ever experienced the kind of distress that one moment you were in control of, and the next moment your control slipped? That’s what David experienced, too. He was a human being with human feelings, just like us. He handled his anguish in a way that obviously pleased God, so we can learn from his experience.

Reading these psalms in their historical context deepens their meaning, don’t you think?

I had long been disgusted by David’s audacity in asking all the things he asked for after the horrible sins he had committed, until I realized that the man after God’s own heart, where his concept of God’s forgiveness differs from mine, may be able to teach me something about the way God wants to forgive. Viewed in that context, these psalms are powerful. I am tempted to expound on them more than I should, because I treasure the truths taught in these psalms; however, I know that the Holy Spirit’s teaching is much more powerful than mine, and I want you to benefit from truly understanding the truths presented in these psalms as much as I have. So this post will attempt to guide you in seeking the truth from God. I pray that you will find it healing, and that it will draw you closer to God.

David’s description in Psalm 32 of what bearing the guilt for his sin was like for him reveals more than the historical accounts do; can you relate to his suffering? The opening verses in the psalm testify that he took God at His word when He offered him forgiveness. Do you remember what God had told him through Nathan? Can you feel his joy in those verses, the joy of being relieved of his guilt?

Think about the following questions:

• What is he advising in verse 6?
• How is that connected to verse 7?
• What is his counsel to the godly in verses 8 through 10? How do you need to apply that to your own life?

Psalm 51 is the one that used to make me so angry with David; now I treasure it. Make a list of all that David asks for from God in the way of forgiveness and restoration. I will get you started:

• Mercy according to His steadfast love
• Blotting out of his transgressions (which God had already promised; why would he need to ask for that?)
• Thorough cleansing from his sin – not just forgiveness, but cleansing from the enslavement that sin produces…
• The last couple verses are David’s request for relief from the consequences of his sin. As the capital of the nation, Jerusalem was not only important, but symbolic; building it up meant stability for the nation. I wonder if he wasn’t aware that that would be the place God would choose to build a temple and thus the place where all the nation would gather for the celebration of their holy days forever after. He was asking God not to change His mind about establishing the nation by establishing this important city, as consequence of his sin. He didn’t want God removing His favor from Israel because of their leader’s sin.

If David asked for this kind of forgiveness, why shouldn’t we when we need to seek God’s forgiveness? Now that we understand the fullness of the forgiveness God wants us to seek, to fail to seek it is repudiating His good gift. Who doesn’t take such rejection of a treasured gift personally? Whether we would intend to or not, refusing to accept His precious gift is a slap in His face. Is there any part of this full forgiveness that you need to seek today? Be a ready confessor like David was, and experience the drawing near that God wants you to enjoy!

Today’s psalms offer lessons about the various forms worship of God takes. Do you want to draw near to God? Do you struggle to find Him enough? Worship is the means by which we can know Him so intimately that we find Him to be enough in every situation. He doesn’t want us just to know about Him, He doesn’t want us to know Him at arm’s length, but to dwell with Him – that implies a close relationship. That will result in our knowing that He is great, rejoicing in Him, and being glad in Him. He wants us to delight in Him, to experience mutual delight with Him.

These psalms open with a profound truth: praise is due to God. Pause a moment to let that sink in. Whether we acknowledge it or not, whether we feel like it or not, regardless of our circumstances, praise is due to God. Further, think about what precious realities God offers the one who dwells in close relationship with Him: if we dwell in intimacy with Him, we will be satisfied and have hope. If He can still the roaring waves of the sea, He can still the tumult of the peoples – how comforting this truth is to one who is weary of the drama of life.

Every time we read psalms that speak of worship, we are reminded that worship involves joy and gladness, such joy that we shout and sing. Glorious praise would be lavish praise. It is amazing that the writer can say that when he suffered God’s tying him as silver is refined and laying a crushing burden on his back. Given those circumstances, how could the psalmist say that all the earth worships God and sings His praise? There is a lot of evil in this world that does not look like singing God’s praise. But the reality is that all of His creation demonstrates God’s glory, as evidenced in the earth’s yielding its increase to feed and shelter us. One day every knee will bow to Him; that is so certain that we can talk about it as truth. This psalm reminds us that the end of the story of earth and time is that God wins!

That God wins is such a blessing for us because He is a God of steadfast love. Even when David’s circumstances were awful, with people gossiping about him, reproaching him, making fun of him, mistreating him and treating him unjustly, even when he was afflicted and in pain, he praised God for His steadfast love. One of the important truths about worship presented here is that we are to praise God even when we don’t feel like it. The passages from this psalm that were quoted in the Gospels remind us of our Savior’s suffering; in light of what He suffered, do we suffer so much? If He can remain faithful in that, when He had the power to call angels to rescue Him, then with His victory over death enabling us, we can remain faithful, too.