The Shepherd’s Psalm Psalm 23:1–6 The Lord is my shepherd. Psalm 23:1 Psalm 23 is a masterpiece throughout. But if ever a psalm could stand almost on a single line, it is this one, and the line it can stand on is the first. In fact, it can stand on only part of a line,…

The Suffering Savior Psalm 22:1–18 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Psalm 22:1 THE SUFFERING ONE cries out to God, believing that he has been forsaken by him, asking why he has been forsaken, and asserting that God is silent. He receives no answer (see Matt. 27:46). The idea that Jesus could…

Responding to God Psalm 19:1–14 O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. Psalm 19:14 The final three verses of this psalm are the climax of the psalm. For in them the psalmist applies what he has been learning to himself. They show that he has been learning. His response to God’s self-revelation falls into two…

My God Is My Rock Psalm 18:30–50 It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect. Psalm 18:32 (NIV) David describes in common terms what God’s intervention meant to him personally. It meant, in short, that God provided for his every need. The terms are physical. First, his feet: “He made…

What Can the Righteous Do? Psalm 11:1–7 For the Lord is righteous; he loves righteous deeds; the upright shall behold his face. Psalm 11:7 What can the righteous do? David looked around at the wicked. He looked up to God. Now he looks ahead, to the future, concerned at this point not with the destiny…

Praise the Lord! Psalm 9:1–20 I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart. Psalm 9:1 The tone of Psalm 9 is set by the first two verses, which declare David’s intention of praising God verbally, with words and in song, and with his whole heart. Here we need to apply David’s example…

In God’s Thoughts Psalm 8:1–9 What is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? Psalm 8:4 Psalm 8 begins with a celebration of the surpassing majesty of God, and this places men and women within a cosmic framework. It is a way of saying from…

God Our Shield Psalm 3:1–8 But you, O Lord, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head. Psalm 3:3 The first stanza of Psalm 3 is an expression of the crisis that has come into the psalmist’s life because of the enemies who have risen up against him. The second…

The Right Path Psalm 1:1–6 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked. Psalm 1:1 When most people think of the results of upright or godly living, they think of rewards. That is, they think that if they do what God tells them to do, he will reward them, but…

Our Powerful Redeemer Job 19:23–27 I know that my Redeemer lives. Job 19:25 The word redeemer in Hebrew is goel. It refers to a relative who performs the office of a redeemer for his friend. We must visualize a situation such as this. A Hebrew has lost his inheritance through debt. He has mortgaged his…