Intro to the Book of Psalms
I’m so excited to be studying the book of Psalms. When I was in Israel in 2023, we visited En
Gedi. It was one of my most favorite places. It is said that this was the place that David wrote
some of the Psalms. This beautiful place lives in my heart and when I read a Psalm I feel alive,
I feel fiercely connected to Israel and to the Holy Land.
Psalms is a very comforting book found in the Old Testament. Lisa Harper calls them, “Lyrics to Life”
It is a great book of prophecy, ultimately all about Jesus! David wrote many of the Psalms, but not all of the Psalms, he was not just a king, he was also a prophet. This is noted in Acts chapter 2:29-31. Other writers include David’s worship leader Asaph and the sons of Korah. You can find out more about Asaph if you read Nehimiah and you can find out about Korah and his rebellion against Moses and Aaron in Numbers.
The Hebrews didn’t know what to call this book, this collection of praises. So they ended up
calling it, Book of Praises, and then just shortened it to Praises which in Hebrew it is “tehillim”.
The Greek translation “Psalmos”, translates to the definition of a striking of a stringed instrument
and then the most recent translation in the Greek is “Psalmoi” which means songs. In English
it’s translated to Psalms.
No matter what season of life you’re in, Psalms will bring comfort to you. If you are in a
challenging time in your life, I recommend living that season in the book in Psalms. And the
reason why is, Psalms will bring you back to a God-centered focus. Heaven will open up to you
in the Psalms and it will allow you to look up and focus on God instead of whatever you’re going
through at the time. Psalms are basically grouped together in categories and here are the
categories.
*Wisdom Psalms -guidance for living a godly life
*Royal Psalms– also known as the Messianic Psalms they foretell of Messiah
*Lament Psalms – these are full of emotion and record the heart of the writer for a Deliverance of
some sort
*Imprecatory Psalms – these call upon God to pour out his wrath his judgment
*Thanksgiving Psalms – Express gratitude
*Pilgrimage Psalms – these were songs that were to be sung when the Jewish people made their
pilgrimages to Jerusalem.
*Enthronement Psalms– describing God’s rule and Majesty
We will not study all 150 Psalms, but we will cover only a few of them in this study. As always,
please read all of them. I encourage you to read as many translations as possible of the scriptures. The
Bible app is very helpful as they have many different translations. Each translation might help
you understand the content a little better, using different words, more contemporary language.
This study will use the NIV and the AMP translations taken from Bible Gateway and You
Version Bible found online. http://www.biblegateway.com I also am not a theologian or have any
earthy credentials to write this study. I am a child of God, a believer in Jesus Christ, and a
forever student of the Living Word. I will not get everything right, I won’t even pretend too. My
faith leads me to believe that Jesus will not be mad at me if I don’t get it all the way right like the
Bible Scholars do or your Pastors do, as I am neither of these things. I am a person that wants
to share my stories and studies in effort that the Word of God will be opened up to you in a way
that makes you understand the Bible a little better and ultimately fall in love with this amazing
guide to life. This amazing love story.
Psalm 1
Mad Dash for Happiness
NIV
Psalm 1
1 Blessed is the one
who does not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take
or sit in the company of mockers,
2 but whose delight is in the law of the LORD,
and who meditates on his law day and night.
3 That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither—
whatever they do prospers.
4 Not so the wicked!
They are like chaff
that the wind blows away.
5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
6 For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.
AMP
Psalm 1
1 Blessed is the one
who does not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take
or sit in the company of mockers,
2 but whose delight is in the law of the LORD,
and who meditates on his law day and night.
3 That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither—
whatever they do prospers.
4 Not so the wicked!
They are like chaff
that the wind blows away.
5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
6 For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.
Reflection
Back in June of 1980, there was a movie called Urban Cowboy. I was always rooting for Bud
and Sissy and even though Pam had beautiful hair and could rock the cowboy hat, I was not a
Pam fan. Anway, I loved the dancing, and that movie made me want to learn the two-step and
dance like all the people did at Gilley’s. I have yet to dance the two-step. One day you will see
Greg and I out there dancing. There was a song in that movie by Johnny Lee, called Looking
for Love. The first part of that song sticks with me to this day…..part of the lyric to the song was
”Well, I spent a lifetime looking for you. Single bars and good time lovers were never true.
Playing a fool’s game, hoping to win, and telling those sweet lies and losing again. I was lookin’
for love in all the wrong places. Lookin’ for love in too many faces. Searchin’ their eyes, lookin’
for traces. Of what I’m dreamin’ of …..” Believe it or not, this song brings me to the Lord. We all
search for happiness and love. When I look back over my life and when I was struggling to find
love and happiness, and when I hear of others that are also struggling in finding happiness and
love, this song comes to mind. It comes to mind because it’s true we get it wrong. Where are
we looking for and to for happiness and love. We think we can manifest happiness on our own.
We get it wrong. And until we get it right it’s just a typical foolish night at Gilley’s. We will
continue to search for happiness in all the wrong places, until we unlock the key to happiness
and love. That key is the Lord. We must first know and understand His love for us. We must
realize that what God’s will is for us in this life is so much better than anything we can ever
dream of. To do this we need to be a little more like David.
Love and happiness, the two things that we all want in this world. You can pretend you don’t,
but let’s get real with one another, who doesn’t want to be happy. The world is not going to
deliver these two things to your door, you can’t order them on your Amazon app and have the
FedEx driver deliver them to your door. In fact, the world wants the complete opposite for you.
You will waste your entire life chasing down the key to happiness, until you figure it out. It might
take a hundred times banging your head against the wall, or experiencing heartbreak after
heartbreak, it might take a few or many overdraft fees in your bank account, before you stop
being foolish and bring yourself to the feet of Jesus. You are being foolish if you think you first
must love yourself before you love others. You are foolish if you think you can buy happiness
with material possessions. We tend to overcomplicate the solution. You want love and
happiness, then make a mad dash for God! You must love God first, yes God, not yourself. You
alone will not be truly happy until you figure this part out. Psalm 1 lays it out perfectly for us.
Application
Happy is the one the delights in the laws of the Lord, or as verse one says, “Blessed is the one”.
What does the first verse warn us not to do. The Words instruct us not to walk, stand, or sit with the wicked, the sinners, and the mockers. If you look up this Psalm in the Message Bible, it
says, “you don’t hang out at Sin Saloon, you don’t slink along Dead-End Road, you don’t go to
Smart-Mouth College.” That is a good visual.
For me, verse one says, there is a natural progression when you befriend someone. Be careful
who you friend. Rember, we as believers are called to move the world, not have the world move
us. We want to lead non-believers to Christ; we don’t want the non-believers to move us away
from Christ. Look at Peter when he denied that he knew Jesus. Now, Peter was a disciple of
Jesus, he walked with Jesus, literally, and then when he was standing in the courtyard with the
non-believers, he denied he knew Him. We know Peter did this, so if it happened back then
with Peter, it can and will most certainly happen with us. There is a saying that I heard, and it
said, “Show me who you walk with, and I’ll tell you who you are.” Same principle here,
everyone will have an opinion on how you should live, what you should eat, who you should
date, you shouldn’t talk to, etc. The decisions you make are influenced by those you walk,
stand, and sit with. Be careful with advice you receive from people that are not believers. Be
wise to how you change when you are hanging out with them. Is your vocabulary changing-are
you saying bad words? What are you feeding your soul when you are with them? Are you
gossiping? Are you changing who you are?
We can be friends with everyone, just like Jesus, BUT don’t hang out with these friends to
become like them, hang out with them so you can raise them up in their life by your living
example. Jesus talked, ate, sat, and healed all, but when He needed counsel, he went to his
Father. Jesus didn’t change who he was. He changed others by his living example. He took a
tax collector and changed him completely. God’s advice is in His Word. If you are just learning
His Word, seek counsel from those that are wise in Him. If you don’t know if you are choosing
the right things or if someone is giving you good advice, check it against what God says in the
Bible.
Let’s move on and talk about fruit and chaff.
Back when this Psalm was written they didn’t have 66 books of the Bible like we do today, they
had five. Those five books are called The Torah otherwise known as the Pentateuch. Those
books are Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. The writer delighted in these
five books. How blessed are we that we can delight in so much more! We can learn and apply
so much more of God’s word in our life. The key is having the desire and will to learn it and
read it. It’s not a duty, it’s a delight! When you have the desire to learn and read the words of
the Lord you will prosper and yield fruit.
We all love fruit that is in season, don’t we? There is nothing better than a sweet watermelon on
a hot summer day, or a perfect juicy pineapple that is so refreshing. That production takes time,
it doesn’t happen overnight. The seed must be planted, it takes sunlight, and you need water,
etc. You want to be planted in God’s word, planted, not potted. If you are a tree in a pot, you
need constant watering by someone or something else, your roots never grow. When you are a
tree planted in the ground, your roots grow, and stretch, your roots find that water and the water
find the roots and the plant grows big! Be the planted tree not the potted tree. That river will find the way to the root and will feed you forever. Your leaves will not fall away in the wind, and
the heat will not wither you. You will bear fruit and prosper.
This Psalm is full of contrast, nothing says contrast like the two seas or Lakes in Israel. When I
was in Israel I went to the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea. Both were in Israel, but both very
different. The Sea of Galilee has an inlet and an outlet, it fills up and it gives out. It is alive, with
fish literally jumping out at you. The Dead Sea is the opposite, there is only an inlet not an
outlet. This sea only takes and does not give. It is like chaff; it is like the wicked. The wicked
want more, they say give me more, I need more, they never want to give. Chaff is the husk of
corn that everyone throws away. It is dead like the Dead Sea. So are those that are the wicked,
they will blow away like chaff. They will perish.
Summary
Two kinds of lives, two ends, two results. The first word of this Psalm and the last word of this
Psalm tell us everything. Do you choose a life of blessing or do you choose a life of destruction.
This psalm demonstrates there are only two paths we can take. There are just two, not 20 or
50, or whatever number of choices we think we have, there are only two. The Gospel of
Matthew tells us that we can go through the narrow gate which leads to life or through the broad
gate which leads to destruction. Two gates, two paths, two seas. The path of righteousness
takes work, it requires you to delight in the ways and in the Word of the Lord, it means saying
“no”, I’m not eating the ice cream even though my friends are telling me it tastes good. I know it
taste good, but it’s not good for me. I am not going to take the easy road, I’m not going to do
what the others do, because I’m set apart in the Lord. Do the hard stuff and choose the narrow
gate, otherwise you will find yourself on skid row.
Prayer
God help me keep your commitments to meditate on Your Word. God I know that selfishness
doesn’t belong in my heart, open my eyes to my weaknesses and give me the courage to
change what needs to be changed in my heart and in my mind, so I can bear lasting fruit for
your kingdom.
Psalm 2
We are not in charge and our God is mighty
NIV
Psalm 2
1 Why do the nations conspire[a]
and the peoples plot in vain?
2 The kings of the earth rise up
and the rulers band together
against the Lord and against his anointed, saying,
3 “Let us break their chains
and throw off their shackles.”
4 The One enthroned in heaven laughs;
the Lord scoffs at them.
5 He rebukes them in his anger
and terrifies them in his wrath, saying,
6 “I have installed my king
on Zion, my holy mountain.”
7 I will proclaim the Lord’s decree:
He said to me, “You are my son;
today I have become your father.
8 Ask me,
and I will make the nations your inheritance,
the ends of the earth your possession.
9 You will break them with a rod of iron[b];
you will dash them to pieces like pottery.”
10 Therefore, you kings, be wise;
be warned, you rulers of the earth.
11 Serve the Lord with fear
and celebrate his rule with trembling.
12 Kiss his son, or he will be angry
and your way will lead to your destruction,
for his wrath can flare up in a moment.
Blessed are all who take refuge in him.
AMP
The Reign of the Lord’s Anointed.
2 Why are the [a]nations in an [b]uproar [in turmoil against God],
And why do the people devise a vain and hopeless plot?
2
The kings of the earth take their stand;
And the rulers take counsel together
Against the Lord and His Anointed (the Davidic King, the Messiah, the Christ), saying,
3
“Let us break apart their [divine] bands [of restraint]
And cast away their cords [of control] from us.”
4
He who sits [enthroned] in the heavens laughs [at their rebellion];
The [Sovereign] [c]Lord scoffs at them [and in supreme contempt He mocks them].
5
Then He will speak to them in His [profound] anger
And terrify them with His displeasure, saying,
6
“Yet as for Me, I have anointed and firmly installed My King
Upon Zion, My holy mountain.”
7
“I will declare the decree of the Lord:
He said to Me, ‘You are My Son;
This day [I proclaim] I have begotten You.
8
‘Ask of Me, and I will assuredly give [You] the nations as Your inheritance,
And the ends of the earth as Your possession.
9
‘You shall break them with a rod of iron;
You shall shatter them [in pieces] like earthenware.’”
10
Now therefore, O kings, act wisely;
Be instructed and take warning, O leaders (judges, rulers) of the earth.
11
Worship the Lord and serve Him with reverence [with awe-inspired fear and submissive wonder];
Rejoice [yet do so] with trembling.
12
Kiss (pay respect to) the [d]Son, so that He does not become angry, and you perish in the way,
For His wrath may soon be kindled and set aflame.
How blessed [fortunate, prosperous, and favored by God] are all those who take refuge in Him!
Reflection
It took me a little while to start to read the book of Psalms because it’s poetry. Either you love poetry, or you hate poetry. The reason I don’t particularly care for poetry is because I have a hard time understanding it. The same can be true of the Psalms. You can read a psalm and think what are they talking about. I actually didn’t start reading all the psalms until I started reading the 365-day bible. You could say, I didn’t really have a choice, lol. If you start to feel this way, I encourage you to keep reading, don’t give up. Not only did it get easier, it strengthened my prayer life and showed me what faith looks like. Let’s walk through this psalm together.
David is talking to us in the first part of the psalm, questioning the foolishness of those rebelling against God, what are you thinking…Are you crazy, he says? The nations, the people, the kings, and the rulers they all band together, conspire, plot in vain, and rise to rebel against God and Jesus, His anointed one. David is bringing to light for us that rebelling against God will get you nowhere. It’s futile.
The nations, people, the kings and the rulers of the earth think that God is a bondage bringer instead of what He really is, a bondage breaker. Why would they think that way. Let’s explore. They think God is being restrictive (chains and shackles), sort of like what kids think of their parents. Why do parents have rules and standards, to keep the kids safe, to keep them from harm, to protect them. That is exactly what our Father does for us. The kids, though, you know they just don’t see it until they have kids of their own. This is true also of the folks David is talking about in this psalm. They (people, nations, kings, rulers….) want to do whatever they please, they want their freedom from God. They want to lavish in the delights of the flesh, be that, drinking, parting, doing drugs, living it up, getting their swerve on, being turnt up, sleeping around, having sexual immortality, not staying faithful in relationships, having no discipline in your finances, hurting people, taking and stealing, showing up to work when you feel like it, or whatever else people do that results in/from lawlessness. They want to do and act how they please, and they don’t want anyone calling them on it. Doing things your way instead of God’s way or living for things of the flesh is to rebel against God in today’s world. Doing so, will only lead to skid row and a life without blessing.
At verse 4, As God is sitting in Heaven, note, he is not, stressing, freaking out, pacing back and forth. He is sitting in heaven, in peace, occupying the throne of heaven with all authority over all things, over all of creation. Let’s take a minute and understand the greatness of our Creator Redeemer, how God is our majesty, how He is Holy. How small are we. Ok, back to the psalm. God is saying just about the time man thinks he is in charge, he is not. God comes along and says, actually, I’ve chosen my own King, he is to rule over all mankind. His throne is in Zion (Jerusalem) on the holy hill. This is the prophecy part of the psalm. This is the time that hasn’t happened yet, when Jesus comes back, on the cloud, to Earth, otherwise known as the millennial kingdom. So, Kings and rulers be wise and serve the Lord.
At verse 7, the anointed speaks, this is Jesus, God’s chosen King. Here Jesus is quoting God the Father, a reminder for us that Jesus became the begotten of the father at a certain point in time. Begotten is different than created. God established a King. His son, King Jesus and the relationship between God the Father and God the Son is when someone gives forth a son or daughter. The opposite for us, in our relationship with God, we are the creation of God, we are His creatures, and we are adopted by Him as sons and daughters through Jesus, His begotten Son. This is an important concept because when you read Hebrews, it speaks to this in chapter one and for some can be a little confusing.
Verse 8, for me this sounded very familiar, because going back to the Gospel Luke chapter 4, after Jesus was baptized, the Holy Spirit led him into the wilderness. While Jesus was in the wilderness for 40 days, he was tempted by satan, and satan used these same words, promising him that if he followed satan he would rule the earth. Jesus knew His Father already gave that to Him. Verse 9, also familiar, as this is quoted by Jesus in the book of Revelation, chapter 2, verse 27. Another example of how this Psalm is a messianic psalm. Jesus confirms this for us in the book of Revelation chapter two, that Psalm 2 was about Him.
In verses 10-12, the speaker changes again, the voice of counsel that comes from the Lord that issues a warning to us. To serve and submit, and to seek our refuge in Him. It is not our job to resist or correct Him or even shape Him to what we want. Remember He is not a genie in a bottle. He is our Creator Redeemer, The Holy One, Jesus, He is our King. Our job is to seek His wisdom and to submit. It is a vain thing to resist God. The one thing about wrath of God, the wrath is this, He speaks before the wrath. He will persuade you to give up your resistance against Him. He gives you one last chance to do the right thing. Serve, kiss, and obey His Son Jesus and we will be blessed.
Application
The world tells us the less of God, the better. It’s everywhere in the US, in government, in the state, in the schools. Anti-God everywhere, on TV, in the movies, celebrities, mainstream music, and on social media. If you say you love God and promote what God loves, then you will lose followers, be called names, and have people turn against you. The question I have is, what wrong has God done. What benefit is it to rebel against God?
Going back to the garden of Eden, man in some way has tried to oppose God and resist His will. And it never works out good for man. It’s not God who loses, it’s man.
Do you know a guy named Jesus? What about a guy named Diocletian? Do you know him? He was a Roman Emperor around 245-313, and he was a great prosecutor of Christians. In fact, he wanted to wipe out all Christianity, extinguish it from all of Earth. He had coins and propaganda printed, he killed so many Christians for a decade. He tried to rebel against God. Did he wipe out Christianity? No, in fact, I didn’t even know the name Diocletian until I started studying this psalm. I had to google the name. And I bet most of the world today doesn’t know who Diocletian was, he is just a small paragraph in a world history class and printed in encyclopedias. But King Jesus, well I think everyone on this planet knows the name Jesus. God’s plan will prevail. Many more examples exist, the second great awakening, the Jesus Movement in the 1960’s to name a few, and if I was a theologian I could name many other movements. The point is this, the world will continue to rebel, protest, disapprove, and object, but we must keep our focus on God and eternity. Not jump on the bandwagon and fall victim to the pull of the world. When we see and hear bad news on TV, and the events going on in the political scene and on the world front, are those things making us fearful. If so, let us not get intimidated. God is at work not only in our personal life, but also in the public sector. We must include all political leaders and politicians, and worldly events in our prayers.
Blessed are all who take refuge in him, or Happy are all who put their trust in him. It’s hard to be a Christian when the world is tugging at you. It’s easier to live by the world standards. Remember life on this earth is temporary, our home is eternity with the Lord in the heavens. Stay close to God, be in His Word, for God is a bondage breaker, and Jesus not only forgives our sins, but gives us rest to our souls.
God has done mighty things before, let’s look to Him to do mighty things again!
Prayer
Lord, our magnificent creator, our heavenly Father, I lift up to you all our political leaders, and our world leaders. I pray they seek your wisdom and guidance to do their jobs well and they would come to realize that they are all your servants. I put all my confidence in Lord Jesus Christ.
Psalm 3
Peace in the Storm
NIV
Psalm 3
A psalm of David. When he fled from his son Absalom.
1 Lord, how many are my foes!
How many rise up against me!
2 Many are saying of me,
“God will not deliver him.”[b]
3 But you, Lord, are a shield around me,
my glory, the One who lifts my head high.
4 I call out to the Lord,
and he answers me from his holy mountain.
5 I lie down and sleep;
I wake again, because the Lord sustains me.
6 I will not fear though tens of thousands
assail me on every side.
7 Arise, Lord!
Deliver me, my God!
Strike all my enemies on the jaw;
break the teeth of the wicked.
8 From the Lord comes deliverance.
May your blessing be on your people.
AMP
Morning Prayer of Trust in God.
A Psalm of David. When he fled from Absalom his son.
3 O Lord, how my enemies have increased!
Many are rising up against me.
2
Many are saying of me,
“There is no help [no salvation] for him in God.” [a]Selah.
3
But You, O Lord, are a shield for me,
My glory [and my honor], and the One who lifts my head.
4
With my voice I was crying to the Lord,
And He answered me from His holy mountain. Selah.
5
I lay down and slept [safely];
I awakened, for the Lord sustains me.
6
I will not be intimidated or afraid of the ten thousands
Who have set themselves against me all around.
7
Arise, O Lord; save me, O my God!
For You have struck all my enemies on the cheek;
You have shattered the teeth of the wicked.
8
Salvation belongs to the Lord;
May Your blessing be upon Your people. Selah.
Reflection
This psalm is the first with a title. The titles are important because they tell us something about the psalm or why it was written. The title provides a context for us. In this case it tells us for certain who wrote it and the time period in which it was written. Absalom, was one of David’s sons. The short of it is, David’s son, Absalom started a civil war and was trying to kill him. This rebellion came after David’s sin with Bethsheba. Short narrative, Bathsheba is a beautiful married woman, David saw her bathing and fell for her, committed adultery, had her husband murdered and then covered it up, and married her. This was a big scandal during David’s rein. Heck, it still would qualify in today’s world as a big scandal!
I highly recommend reading about Absalom’s conspiracy, this is found in 2 Samuel chapters 15-18. If you want to read about David and Bathsheba, you can find that in 2 Samuel chapter 11. The bible is definitely not boring! I encourage you to spend some time reading 2 Samuel. A side note, I had never read the entire book of 2 Samuel until I started reading the 365 day Change your Life Bible by Becky Tirabassi this year. My friend, LeAnne was talking about this Bible at the beginning of the year, and she recommended it. Here I am recommending it to you all. I bought mine on Amazon. Reading this Bible has been significant for me in growing in God’s word. Why, because it forces me to read books in the Bible that I wouldn’t choose necessarily on my own. And….It makes me read the entire book, not just pieces of it. So, I’m getting the entire history and context.
Psalm 1 is also the first psalm of prayer. Psalm 1 and 2 prepared us for prayer, but now we are praying. David is in trouble; David is in a storm. In this psalm, it’s David talking to God. It is a one-to-one relationship. So unlike Psalm 2, this psalm is easier to read. You might also note the word Selah after some of the verses. There are many opinions of what this word means. Psalms were hymns, so this might be a musical notation, it might mean to pause, who knows. Some bible teachers will pause, others will omit. There is really no clear answer.
David’s foes are many, many are rising up against him, the Message bible says, “Enemies past counting, enemies sprouting like mushrooms, mobs of them all around me, roaring their mockery.” That sounds like a whole lot of stress, anxiety, fear, people ganging up against you, it sounds like a horrific storm. What was the mockery David is talking about, it was that God was not going to save David this time. His sin was so great, that God was not going to help him out of this mess. Ever feel like you have pushed the limits, your sin is so great that God will turn His back on you. I have, and let me tell you, that is why we have to be more like David. David heard what the many were saying about him, but David had complete faith in God as his shield, as the lifter of his head, his glory. David was planted firmly in God’s firm foundation. Nothing was going to shake him. David didn’t accept what the people said about him, and that is what we see in verses 3 and 4.
The following verses 5 and 6, David’s confidence in the Lord is so great he lays his head down and falls asleep. Even though he knows the mob wants to kill him, he sleeps, and he awakes a new day, he does not fear. How about you, do you have restless nights of sleep when you are in the midst of your storm? Does stress and fear keep you up at night? David was confident that the Lord was going to act. David could rest in the faith, in that trust, that he had in the Lord. In verse 7, David knows how the Lord will act on his behalf. He knows because the Lord has done this before. The Lord has protected him from his worst enemies! David knows He will strike down and shatter their teeth. If you have trouble in God’s confidence, recount all of the Lord’s blessings in your life. Recall, all the times God has delivered you from the storm. Remember the good that came from the storm. In remembering the blessing and the praise will allow you to see how God works in your life for the good. That will help you in growing your confidence that God will be there, and God will provide. Why, because God has done it before in your life, and He will do it again. In verse 8 David is reminding us that only God can deliver, which is complete opposite of verse 2, (what the people think.) David puts his trust in God not people. That is why he didn’t listen to the many people in the first place. The last verse, now David has changed the relationship from him and God, to us and God. Meaning that God’s blessings is not just for David, but it is for all the people that put their faith in Him. This is the Good News for us!!
Application
David didn’t accept what the people said, David had faith and confidence in God. David knows God. David recalls all the times God provided and protected him. David has a true relationship with God. David didn’t’ care what the crowd said, he knew God was his shield. David wasn’t and didn’t need to pray for a shield because he already knew he had one in the Lord. Did you catch that part. If not go back and reread verse 3. Start expecting God to show up for you. Expect the answered prayer. Show God you trust Him and have confidence in Him.
In this day in age, we find glory in lots of earthy things, who are you finding your glory in? Is it the Lord, or are you looking to find glory in fame, power, prestige, possessions, positions, money, beauty, achievement, fitness, friends, and followers. David found his glory in the Lord. In times of trouble David had faith because of his relationship with God and because his glory was in the Lord. The Lord knew David’s voice and David knew the Lord’s voice. If you are having trouble hearing God’s voice, I recommended reprioritizing who and what you are putting your glory in. Are you mediating on the Word of God? If not, start picking up your Bible more. Start saying “no” a little more often to some things so you can start saying “yes” to spending time with God.
David also tells us in the psalm that he cried out loud. How many times do we pray out loud, cry out loud, or are you praying silently in your head to God? Try praying more than just in your mind. Try crying out in prayer, pray out loud if this is not something you regularly do. Expand your current style. Also, if you do not pray in public, maybe try that too.
Whatever storm you are going through, focus on God and not the storm. No matter if it’s just a sprinkle of if it is pouring buckets, focus on the Lord. Remember this psalm. The Lord is your shield, He is the lifter of your head. Walk and talk in the faith of this confidence that you have in Him through Jesus Christ our magnificent Savior.
Prayer
Lord, I trust you with my life. I know your will for my life is so much greater than I could ever imagine. I surrender my will for your will. I know you give me peace and protection and I give you praise, for I know you are the lifter of my head. You give me the rest and strength I desperately need every day, and I am so thankful to you. Fill me Lord, with unshakable confidence. You are my dependence, you are my defense, for I fear nothing. My trust is in you my Holy Father.
Psalm 4
Are you sleeping or stirring
Psalm 4
NIV
For the director of music. With stringed instruments. A psalm of David.
1 Answer me when I call to you,
my righteous God.
Give me relief from my distress;
have mercy on me and hear my prayer.
2 How long will you people turn my glory into shame?
How long will you love delusions and seek false gods[b]?[c]
3 Know that the Lord has set apart his faithful servant for himself;
the Lord hears when I call to him.
4 Tremble and[d] do not sin;
when you are on your beds,
search your hearts and be silent.
5 Offer the sacrifices of the righteous
and trust in the Lord.
6 Many, Lord, are asking, “Who will bring us prosperity?”
Let the light of your face shine on us.
7 Fill my heart with joy
when their grain and new wine abound.
8 In peace I will lie down and sleep,
for you alone, Lord,
make me dwell in safety.
AMP
Evening Prayer of Trust in God.
To the Chief Musician; on stringed instruments. A Psalm of David.
4 Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness!
You have freed me when I was hemmed in and relieved me when I was in distress;
Be gracious to me and hear [and respond to] my prayer.
2
O sons of men, how long will my honor and glory be [turned into] shame?
How long will you [my enemies] love worthless (vain, futile) things and seek deception and lies? Selah.
3
But know that the Lord has set apart for Himself [and dealt wonderfully with] the godly man [the one of honorable character and moral courage—the one who does right].
The Lord hears and responds when I call to Him.
4
Tremble [with anger or fear], and do not sin;
Meditate in your heart upon your bed and be still [reflect on your sin and repent of your rebellion]. Selah.
5
Offer righteous sacrifices;
Trust [confidently] in the Lord.
6
Many are saying, “Oh, that we might see some good!”
Lift up the light of Your face upon us, O Lord.
7
You have put joy in my heart,
More than [others know] when their wheat and new wine have yielded abundantly.
8
In peace [and with a tranquil heart] I will both lie down and sleep,
For You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety and confident trust.
Reflection
When crisis comes are you sleeping or are you stirring? Are you doubting God when your prayers aren’t being answered or are you being patient? If you’re not being patient, are you turning to wickedness and sinful behavior, or are you meditating on the word of God.
In Psalm 4 verse 1, David is talking to God and in verse 2 and 3, David is talking to the people in the audience and then in verse 4 through 8, David is talking to himself. So that is how this psalm is laid out. I love how this psalm starts with David stating how righteous his God is, and it shows us his love for the Lord. Reading this was a reminder to me of how this relationship was special so special between David and the Lord. David trusts the Lord completely.
In verse 2 we get maybe a gist of what’s going on with David, he says how long will you people turn my glory into shame. So maybe, someone is questioning or calling out David’s character, maybe someone is saying things about David that are not true. Has that ever happened to you? Just the other day someone was calling into question a lady’s character on Facebook. They were accusing her of stealing their money on a marketplace transaction. That is pretty terrible. After reading this psalm, it made me think, did the lady being accused, was she able to sleep that night or was she stirring? Did she call out to the Lord or did her anger get the best of her, so much so, did she act out her anger in sinful behavior toward the person making the accusation. I don’t know the answer, all I know is that we as believers have a choice. We can stand in the faith of Jesus and walk in righteousness no matter what the crisis or we can turn to false Gods and wickedness and be robbed of our joy. So, how do we sleep through the crisis. We mediate on God’s Word.
Biblical mediation is different than Eastern mediation. Eastern mediation is emptying everything out of you. Biblical mediation is when we are filling ourselves up with God’s word. We are reading the word, listening to the word, seeing the word, etc. Chewing and thinking about God’s word in our entire being.
The second part of that same verse 2, David asked the question how long will you love delusions and seek false gods, so again we don’t know exactly why David is writing this psalm, maybe since this is Old Testament times, Israel might have been experiencing famines or droughts, maybe this is the distress that the people are in because it goes on in verse 6 to say, who will bring us prosperity. It makes me wonder maybe God isn’t ending the famine, or the drought and the people are turning to delusions and seeking false gods -they were looking for a quick answer- they’re desperate so they’ll do anything instead of being patient.
In verse 3, David reminds us the Lord set us apart for Himself, for service to Him and His kingdom. So, we are set apart and He hears our cries. This is true today because of Jesus. Verse 4, in the NIV says the word tremble and do not sin, other translations say, Be angry but do not sin. The second sentence says, when you are on your beds search your hearts and be silent. It’s hard to be silent when you are angry. At least it is for me. This is a reminder that saying nothing is what we are called to do. Sometimes we are just to go to bed. To lie down in the peace that Jesus provides for us. Be silent and still and trust in the Lord no matter the crisis.
Whatever the crisis is in your life, we can gain great wisdom from David in Psalm 4.
Application
How do we sleep in distress? Well, let’s look to the Gospel story of when the disciples were in the boat and there was a storm, and Peter thought they were going to drown. First, try not to focus on the distress more than you are focusing on Jesus. Don’t give the storm your faith, put your faith where it belongs, in Jesus. Have great faith like David. Be like Peter in Acts Chapter 12. Peter is in jail, and would go to his death the next day, but the Angel comes in a frees him from his chains, and says “arise quickly”, let’s go. David was asleep, I’m not sure I could be asleep if the next day I was going to die. How about you? Faith that is how we sleep during distress, lets pray for faith like David and let us give thanks to our Lord, that we can sleep and rest our heads in Jesus during the distress in our lives, be it a fire, a flood, a famine, an overdrawn checking account, an illness, or someone spreading false truths about us on social media or otherwise. Focus on the One that saves us from everything.
It is hard to be patient, and we can get angry, but we are not to engage in sinful behavior. Sometimes it’s hard to be silent when we are angry, trust me, I know, I’m pretty passionate. My mouth has gotten me into trouble on occasion, more so when I wasn’t following Jesus. We are to search our hearts and be silent and trust in the Lord. Sometimes when our prayers are not answered we could come to the assumption that God isn’t hearing us. If that is how you feel in your heart, there are scriptures that say that sometimes there are reasons, here is a list of scriptures that tell us why sometimes you may think God doesn’t hear you or why he isn’t answering our prayers. Sometimes, it could be a warning sign from the Lord, that we need to evaluate ourselves, look in our hearts, to see if we need to modify some of our behaviors.
John 15;7, are you abiding in God
Matthew 17, 20-21, Do you believe in God? Are you fasting?
1st Peter 3;7, are you in a bad marriage relationship
James 5;16, do you need to confess your sin to another person
Psalm 17;1, Are you engaging in lying and deceitful behavior
Proverbs 28;9, Lack of reading the Bible, teaching/study
Where is Jesus in this psalm. He is everywhere! In verse 2, He is the one who the wicked men tried to turn his glory into shame. In verse 3, Jesus is the one who fulfills our confidence that God will hear us when we call. David had great confidence in God hearing him, but we have even more now because it is through Jesus that God hears us today. In verse 4, Jesus was the ultimate example of someone who is angry yet not sinful. Jesus got angry, but He never sinned. Remember when He turned the tables at the Temple Mount. Verse 6, Jesus is the ultimate expression of the light of God’s face.
How do we know that God looks upon us with a pleasant face, how do we know God hears us, it is because of Jesus. We stand in God’s grace because of what Jesus did for us on the cross. You must put your faith in Jesus. Jesus will fill your heart with joy so much more then the wicked feel when they are prosperous either in crops or in financial gain. That is the kind of joy we get from Jesus. When we look to Jesus and put our faith in Him, we are safe no matter what the storm, crisis, fire, or famine, we dwell in the safety of Jesus because we are set apart. We are His, we are His faithful servants.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, pour out your gladness in my heart. I want more than the gladness of the ungodly have when they’re prospering financially. Thank you, Holy Father, for granting me the peace that allows me to sleep, to rest at the feet of your Son Jesus. What gifts you have given to me. Thank you for your gift of sleep, of peace, but most of all, thank you for your Son Jesus.
Psalm 6
Every tear will be wiped away
NIV
Psalm 6
For the director of music. With stringed instruments. According to sheminith.[b] A
psalm of David.
1 Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger
or discipline me in your wrath.
2Have mercy on me, Lord, for I am faint;
heal me, Lord, for my bones are in agony.
3My soul is in deep anguish.
How long, Lord, how long?
4 Turn, Lord, and deliver me;
save me because of your unfailing love.
5Among the dead no one proclaims your name.
Who praises you from the grave?
6
I am worn out from my groaning.
All night long I flood my bed with weeping
and drench my couch with tears.
7My eyes grow weak with sorrow;
they fail because of all my foes.
8Away from me, all you who do evil,
for the Lord has heard my weeping.
9 The Lord has heard my cry for mercy;
the Lord accepts my prayer.
10All my enemies will be overwhelmed with shame and anguish;
they will turn back and suddenly be put to shame.
AMP
Prayer for Mercy in Time of Trouble.
To the Chief Musician; on stringed instruments, set [possibly] an octave below. A
Psalm of David.
O Lord, do not rebuke or punish me in Your anger,
Nor discipline me in Your wrath.
2
Have mercy on me and be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am weak (faint, frail);
Heal me, O Lord, for my bones are dismayed and anguished.
3
My soul [as well as my body] is greatly dismayed.
But as for You, O Lord—how long [until You act on my behalf]?
4
Return, O Lord, rescue my soul;
Save me because of Your [unfailing] steadfast love and mercy.
5
For in death there is no mention of You;
In Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead) who will praise You and give You thanks?
6
I am weary with my groaning;
Every night I soak my bed with tears,
I drench my couch with my weeping.
7
My eye grows dim with grief;
It grows old because of all my enemies.
8
Depart from me, all you who do evil,
For the Lord has heard the voice of my weeping.
9
The Lord has heard my supplication [my plea for grace];
The Lord receives my prayer.
10
Let all my enemies be ashamed and greatly horrified;
Let them turn back, let them suddenly be ashamed [of what they have done]
Reflection
David is in great mourning. Have you ever been in grief so badly your bones hurt. I have.
Most everyone has lost things, people, pets, and relationships. You may have gone through
a job loss, a divorce, you may have had your innocence taken from you, you name it, we will
go through it. The thing about life is no matter how much we have lost already, we will lose
more. If you haven’t gone through loss and grief yet, you’re probably too young. It’s
coming. Grief can be soul sucking, and it can take you and keep you in dark places- Sheol.
David is going through different types of pain. In verse one, David thinks he brough on this
pain because of the sin he committed. He thinks God is disciplining him. In V2, he
experiences physical pain, he is faint and weak. In verse three he is experiencing pain of
the soul. In verse 4 and 5 David is praying for God to save him from his enemies. David is
completely worn out from this grieving. He has cried himself to sleep, he can barely open
his eyes in verses 6-9. He knows the Lord hears him. In verse 10, David is confident that
the Lord will save him.
Are you confident the Lord will save you. Do you know that He hears your cries. Part of
David thinks God isn’t paying attention to him and the part of him thinks God is not going to
do anything. Sometimes grief sticks with us for a long time, sometimes it never goes away
completely. Greif is only for a season. If you carry it like a heavy weight through your whole
life, it’s okay, God isn’t going to mad at you. This life is just a season, your life here on earth
is just for a season. There is so much more in our future. Greif is not forever. God really
doesn’t want you to live your life carrying the weight around your neck. Give it to Jesus.
Application
The truth is we all have or will again experience horrific grief. The great news for us is that
we have a Savior. We have Jesus. We are much better off than David was. David didn’t
have Jesus, and he didn’t have the Holy Spirit. We do. How great is our God, that He loves
us so much!
The death of my mom was a great loss for me. It was sudden and unexpected. I remember
leaving the ICU and laying down on the couch in the ICU waiting room at Queen of the
Valley Hospital and I just sobbed. I laid there and cried my eyes out for 45 minutes. I
probably would have laid there longer, but a couple was walking down the hallway toward
me to enter the ICU themselves. With the strength of God through the Holy Spirit I was able
to stand. It was hard to walk, and it was hard to see. I felt like David. I’m hear to tell you,
just this year God took away my pain. The anniversary of her death passed this year, and I
didn’t even remember until days after. No more sadness, no more grieving. Praise the Lord!
Why does God allow this type of suffering, why does God let bad things happen. I can’t
answer this and really, It’s not my place. God knows and that is good enough for me. What
I do know is that He wants our attention sometimes. When I am going through a hard time,
I am definitely close to God. I am giving him the attention He wants. Every hardship is an
opportunity for you to give God your attention. I also know that when our hearts are healed
from the loss or hardship, then God uses us to help others through their hardships. That is
what we are called to do. Read 2 Corinthians chapter 1 verses, 3-11.
I am now able to comfort a mom whose child is in addiction and recovery because I walked
through that pain. My heart knows what that feels like. I have had my guts ripped out of me
several times, and through all of it the Lord was with me. We must remember that we walk
through these hardships, with our Savior by our side. God didn’t remove the Red Sea during
the exile, He parted it, and they walked through it. In the same way, we are protected and
guided through our hardship by the Holy Spirit. We must walk through it; God is not going to
remove it for us.
Verse three, is so real to me. How long God…..Lord how long am I going to have to endure
this pain? If you haven’t asked this question yet, it means you haven’t’ lived long enough or
hurt bad enough. It’s real. God doesn’t minimize grief, there is not a spoken timeline about
it, there is no rule book. Since God doesn’t mock grief, neither should we. There is also no
judgement in grief, God doesn’t judge, and neither should we. In these hardships, lean on
the Holy Spirit, pray to the Lord to have God use the Holy Spirit to comfort you just as it tells
us in Luke 11. This psalm reminds us the Lord hears our prayers. As we go on in life and
experience different types of loss, pain, hardships our confidence in the Lord will grow. Our
relationship with our Creator Redeemer will grow and that is good news for us!
Prayer
Lord, my Heavenly Father, you are Holy, Holy, Holy. You hear my cry. Walk with me through
my pain, hold me in your arms, send your Holy Spirt to comfort me. You are faithful to me,
and I praise you. Wipe my tears away, fill me with your love. Soften my heart and heal me
so I can help others.
Psalm 8
Imago Dei
NIV
For the director of music. According to gittith.[b] A psalm of David.
1 Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory
in the heavens.
2 Through the praise of children and infants
you have established a stronghold against your enemies,
to silence the foe and the avenger.
3 When I consider your heavens,
the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which you have set in place,
4 what is mankind that you are mindful of them,
human beings that you care for them?[c]
5 You have made them[d] a little lower than the angels[e]
and crowned them[f] with glory and honor.
6 You made them rulers over the works of your hands;
you put everything under their[g] feet:
7 all flocks and herds,
and the animals of the wild,
8 the birds in the sky,
and the fish in the sea,
all that swim the paths of the seas.
9 Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
AMP
The Lord’s Glory and Man’s Dignity.
To the Chief Musician; set to [a]a Philistine lute [or perhaps to a particular Hittite tune]. A Psalm of David.
8 O Lord, our Lord,
How majestic and glorious and excellent is Your name in all the earth!
You have displayed Your splendor above the heavens.
2
Out of the mouths of infants and nursing babes You have established strength
Because of Your adversaries,
That You might silence the enemy and make the revengeful cease.
3
When I see and consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,
The moon and the stars, which You have established,
4
What is man that You are mindful of him,
And the son of [earthborn] man that You care for him?
5
Yet You have made him a little lower than [b]God,
And You have crowned him with glory and honor.
6
You made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands;
You have put all things under his feet,
7
All sheep and oxen,
And also the beasts of the field,
8
The birds of the air, and the fish of the sea,
Whatever passes through the paths of the seas.
9
O Lord, our Lord,
How majestic and glorious and excellent is Your name in all the earth!
Reflection
This psalm is a declaration from David of how majestic our Lord is! Praise the Lord for His glory has exceeded all he has created. How great is our God! This psalm is definitely a psalm of praise.
The psalm starts and ends the same, God’s glory are the bookends and in the middle is mankind, the centerpiece if you will. David knew that God uses the weak to defeat the mighty. He knows this is true because he lived it when he defeated the Philistines by killing Goliath. That story is in 1 Samuel chapter 17.
Why does God establish strength through the mouths of children because He is all powerful. God’s glory is evident when he does the impossible. Look how God showed his strength with Job. God sustained Job with His unseen hand in the midst of Job’s profound weakness and suffering. God’s glory is evident when Jesus entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, the children were singing the praises of the Lord, Hosana, Hosana in the highest and in Matthew 21 v 15-16. In that scripture, Jesus is referring to this psalm, Psalm 8. Jesus is telling his adversaries who he is and who they were. Jesus identified himself as God and He identified the religious leaders as the enemy and avenger. Read below.
15 But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did and the children shouting in the temple courts, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they were indignant.
16 “Do you hear what these children are saying?” they asked him.
“Yes,” replied Jesus, “have you never read,
“‘From the lips of children and infants
you, Lord, have called forth your praise’[g]?”
Let’s look at a scripture from the New Testament 1 Corinthians 1:27-30
27 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28 God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, 29 so that no one may boast before him. 30 It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.
Okay for verses 5-8, David is talking about dominion. We find out about man’s dominion in Genesis chapter one verses 26-28. In the beginning God gave dominion over the earth to Adam. There was nothing that God did not put under man’s feet, but mankind and sin ruined it. Man lost its dominion and that is why the enemy is the prince of the earth. God didn’t give up on us though. Sin deteriorates us, it has a history of doing that and it comes in cycles throughout the ages. In the times of Noah, man had great weakness, downright wickedness, and God was going to destroy the earth, but God saw Noah and his faithfulness, and the world was spared. Let’s look at Abraham, he interceded with God and saved the city of Sodom for only a few righteous people existed. For us, in the world today, God sent us His Son, the redeemer of mankind. God cares for us that much. That is how much we mean to him. Jesus came to earth and that is when He added a human nature to His divine nature. The writer of Hebrews quotes this psalm, see below; Hebrews 2:6-9,
6 But there is a place where someone has testified:
“What is mankind that you are mindful of them,
a son of man that you care for him?
7 You made them a little[a] lower than the angels;
you crowned them with glory and honor
8 and put everything under their feet.”[b][c]
In putting everything under them,[d] God left nothing that is not subject to them.[e] Yet at present we do not see everything subject to them.[f] 9 But we do see Jesus, who was made lower than the angels for a little while, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.
Jesus is who has won back that dominion for us. That is why when we pray, we pray in the name of Jesus. Remember in the Gospel story of the storm, Jesus had dominion over the wind and the waves. We might not see the dominion today, but we see Jesus. We can look to Jesus. Let’s look at Ephesians chapter 1 verse 19-22
“19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength 20 he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21 far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. 22 And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church”
Application
This psalm changed a couple of things about me. First, it changed my prayer life. I imagined David sitting on a rock in EnGedi and looking up at the stars in the sky and singing this psalm. He is pouring his praise out for our Lord. Today, we again, have it better than David, because we have the technology to see not only the stars, but we can see the planets, and galaxies too. How great is our Creator!
It made me think, my praise needs to exceed David’s praise in my prayers. because I can see so much more of the magnificent creation throughout the earth. Every once in a while, a post from Sir David Attenborough is on my Facebook feed when I am scrolling, and I see amazing wildlife pictures. Because of social media and technology, I get to see pictures of amazing creations in places I have never been. One of those pictures I saw was one of the rarest animals on earth, the Fire Fox, and she is a beauty. I don’t think David ever saw a Fire Fox. God is a magnificent creator. Not only did our Yahweh, Adonai create the heavens, the earth, the stars, the plants, the animals, he created me and you.
The second thing that changed me was Imago Dei. He created us in his image (Imago Dei). So, what does this mean, this Imago Dei. It means this to me, when ever I start to think more or less of myself than I should, I think of how great our God is, and that he made me in His Image. Then I start to remember who I am to Him in Christ Jesus. I am His child. I am His creation. I am joined with Him. I am a member of Christ’s body. I have direct access to God through His Holy Spirit. I am a fellow citizen with the rest of the saints. I am redeemed. I am forgiven. I am complete in Christ. I can’t be separated from the love of God. Now, when you think you are not good enough, remember this psalm. Remember Imago Dei and be confident in what Paul tells us in Philippians 1:6. Be confident that the good work that God has begun in you will be completed. God chose you; you are perfect!
Let us always honor God in all creation. Love each other, lift each other up, and love and take care of our planet, our environment, and all the animals. Be gentle and gracious because we are responsible to take care of the earth and to share His image to all creation.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, how glorious you are to me, how powerful you are that you can use me and others like me, to accomplish your work here on earth for the glory of your kingdom. You Lord, are almighty, continue to silence the enemy and your adversaries. I sing praises of glory to you Lord. I am so thankful you gave me Jesus. Through your wonderful Son, we will never be separated. All glory to you my creator redeemer.
Christina Braden 