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Read Psalm 1:1-6 Have you ever read the preface to the hymnal used in your church? Few people ever do. The preface to God's hymnal (the Book of Psalms) is Psalm 1. It begins with a word we often use--blessed. Nowhere does Scripture tell us that God blesses programs or promotions. But it does teach that He blesses individuals. He blessed Abraham so he might be a blessing to others. And He blesses us so we might bless others. What you delight in is what will direct your life, s

Read Psalm 1:1 , 2 Two of the most popular words in the Christian vocabulary are bless and blessing. God wants to bless His people. He wants them to be recipients and channels of blessing. God blesses us to make us a blessing to others, but He has given us certain conditions for receiving blessings. First, we must be separated from the world (v. 1). The world is anything that separates us from God or causes us to disobey Him. Separation is not isolation but contact without co

Read Psalm 2:1-12 Are you surprised that God laughs? "He who sits in the heavens shall laugh; the Lord shall hold them in derision" (v. 4). God has a sense of humor, but His laughter is the kind that is born of judgment. It's the laughter of derision, the laughter of irony. What is God laughing at? He's laughing at puny little kings and rulers who have united to shake their fists at His throne and tell Him they don't want Him to rule over them (vv. 2,3). God laughs at them be

Read Psalm 2:1-6 The world is getting noisier. So many voices vie for our attention. The result is that many people are getting the wrong instructions. It is important that we have discernment in a noisy world filled with propaganda. We need the truth. We need to distinguish the four voices of Psalm 2. The first is the voice of defiance--the nations of the world (vv. 1-3). It is amazing that the nations would defy Almighty God. He has provided for them ( Acts 14:17 ), guided

Read Psalm 2:7-12 A third voice we hear in the world is the voice of declaration-- God the Son (vv. 7-9). He runs the universe by decree, not by democracy. He knows everything, is everywhere and can do anything. God's decrees will succeed. Puny, foolish men with their godless living will not eradicate or hinder His decrees. God decrees that Jesus Christ is His Son. Jesus is God, and He is King by nature, by conquest and by His Resurrection. He is reigning today, and we can re

Read Psalm 3:1-8 How well we sleep sometimes indicates how much we really trust the Lord. David said, "I lay down and slept; I awoke, for the Lord sustained me" (v. 5). We may think we can do that anytime. But what if we had been where David was? He was fleeing from his son Absalom, who had turned against him and had driven him from Jerusalem. Now David was in the wilderness with his army. It would be difficult to lie down and sleep knowing that you are in a dangerous wildern

Read Psalm 4:1-8 Sometimes God's people can be so discouraging! In Psalm 4 we find David listening to people saying, "Who will show us any good?" (v. 6). David's own men were discouraged. They were going through a trial, and some were saying, "O David, this is the end. God is no longer going to help us." That's hard to take. It's rough when your associates or friends say to you, "Well, you've reached the end. Who will show us any good?" But David called on the Lord, and God e

Read Psalm 4:1-8 David was experiencing great difficulty. He was in a "tight corner." God permits tight corners ( II Sam. 12:10 ). He forgives but disciplines, and we reap what we sow ( Ps. 25:17 ). Psalm 4 is encouraging because it tells us that God cares for us and gives us several blessings in the midst of our trials. First, He gives us the blessing of enlargement (v. 1). Relieved means "enlarged." When God permits enlarged troubles, He enlarges His people; that is, we gro

Read Psalm 5:1-12 It's imperative for us to meet God in the morning if we want to have a good day. Jesus got up early in the morning to pray, according to Mark 1:35 . Here we find the psalmist saying, "My voice You shall hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning I will direct it to You, and I will look up" (v. 3). When I used to work the night shift, I would sleep in the morning. So when I got up in the afternoon, I would meet with the Lord. Meeting with God is not an appoi

Read Psalm 5:1 -l2 What do you do in difficult situations? Many of the psalms were written during difficult, often painful, experiences. In Psalm 5we find two sequences concerning trials. In the first sequence (vv. 1-7), David is experiencing difficulty and makes his request--"hear me." (v. 1-3). Meditation here means "sighing, murmuring, groaning"--a quiet expression of feelings. When our burden is beyond expression, all we can do is sigh and moan before the Lord. The Spirit

Read Psalm 6:1-10 All of us know what it means to sin and to confess our sin. Psalm 6 is the first of the seven penitential psalms. Occasionally God has to remind us to confess our sins. In verses 1-5 David pleads for God not to rebuke him or to chasten him. God's chastening is not punishment. It builds our Christian character. Hebrews 12 talks about chastening, and the word used means "child training." It's the picture of a child learning how to be a good athlete. God chaste

Read Psalm 7:1-9 This psalm was born out of a sad experience David had with Cush, a Benjamite (see I Sam. 24-26 ). Cush was one of Saul's spies. And because of what David did, Cush caused the deaths of innocent men. Whenever David had a problem with persecution or with people, he would run to God. "O Lord my God, in You I put my trust; save me from all those who persecute me; and deliver me" (v. 1). David's enemies were pursuing him. But the first thing he did was examine his

Read Psalm 7:10-17 This passage presents a frightening picture. We read about swords and arrows, pits, ditches and death. God is angry and is judging sin, and He hears David's petition about his persecutors: "O Lord, they are accusing me of something I didn't do. They are Lying about me." That's tough to take. People lied about the Lord Jesus, too. And anyone who tries to live like Him is going to suffer this kind of persecution. David's enemies wanted to kill him. Some innoc

Read Psalm 8:1-9 Psalm 8 deals with sovereignty. "O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is Your name in all the earth, You who set Your glory above the heavens!" (v. 1). The first Lord means "Jehovah," the covenant-keeping God, the God who keeps His promises. The second Lord means "the Sovereign," the One who has not only the ability but the authority. "O Lord (the promise-making God), our Lord (the Sovereign, who has the power to keep His promises), how excellent is your name in a

Read Psalm 8:1-9 What is man? Charles Darwin said man is an animal. Sigmund Freud taught that man is a spoiled child. Karl Marx believed man is an economic factor. But the Bible says God has a much higher calling for man. God wants us to be kings; He wants us to reign in life. In Psalm 8 we see three different kings exemplified in Adam, Jesus and David. First, God the Father created us to be kings ( Gen. 1:26-28 ). God gave Adam dominion over the earth. We are created in the

Read Psalm 9:1-6 Psalm 9 is a great victory psalm. "I will praise You, O Lord, with my whole heart; I will tell of all Your marvelous works" (v. 1). Notice the universals in that verse--"my whole heart" and "all Your marvelous works." I must confess that there are times when I don't praise the Lord with my whole heart. At times I've stood in church with the hymnbook in my hand, singing a great song of praise--but not with my whole heart. The best way to have victory is to pra

Read Psalm 9:7-12 This passage teaches a great truth: The safest and strongest protection we have is the name of the Lord. "And those who know Your name will put their trust in You, for You, Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You" (v. 10). As I read those words, I'm reminded that God forsook His Son for us. Jesus said from the cross, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" ( Matt. 27:46 ). Has it ever occurred to you that the only person God ever really forsook was Hi

Read Psalm 9:13-16 Have you ever looked at a beautiful rose and watched it slowly blossom day after day? Have you ever tried to help it open? If you try, you might kill it. God makes everything beautiful in His time. He causes everything to straighten out and line up according to His schedule. If you have a problem in your life with a person or a circumstance, rely on God to resolve it. "'Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,' says the Lord" ( Rom. 12:19 ). One of the worst things

Read Psalm 9:17-20 The humanist sings, "Glory to man in the highest." And sometimes it looks as if man is prevailing and God is a failure. You recall the slogan that was popular a few years ago that proclaimed "God is dead." Then the philosophers decided God was not really dead; He was simply sick and infirm and couldn't do much about what was going on in the world. This mindset began in Genesis 3, when Satan said to Adam and Eve, "Look, why should you be a man? You can be li

Read Psalm 10:1-11 As we read the Book of Psalms, we find that David was constantly in and out of trouble. Some people say that Christians who really love the Lord will never be in difficult places. But that wasn't true of Moses; it wasn't true of David; and it certainly wasn't true of our Lord Jesus Christ! Our Lord ended up in the most difficult place of all--crucified on a Roman cross. Listen to David: "Why do You stand afar off, O Lord? Why do You hide Yourself in times o

Read Psalm 10:12-18 David cried out and said, "God, You've got to take care of the situation." For several years Saul had been pursuing him. At one point David compared himself to a flea that was being chased. Saul's problem was that he was listening to liars in his court. Those who wanted Saul's favor were saying, "David wants your crown. He wants your throne. David said this, and David did that." They lied about him, and he could do nothing about it. We have little control

Read Psalm 10:1-13 "Why?" is the easiest question to ask but the hardest to answer. David asks why three times in this psalm. The atheist's answer to this question is that there is no God; the rationalist says God is unable to act or doesn't care; and the legalist says this is punishment for personal sin. The truthful answer comes from David. There are three stages in this experience of asking why. The first stage is concerned is hiding. People have asked for centuries, "Why

Read Psalm 10:14-18 In Part 1 we dealt with concern--the first stage of asking the question "Why?" In this segment we will cover the last two stages. The second stage involves commitment--God is helping. Man's sinful condition leaves him helpless, so David turns his attention from the wicked to God. We can be encouraged by knowing that God sees our trouble and knows our grief (v. 14). Objectively, He knows what we face; subjectively, He feels what we feel. Phillips Brooks sai

Read Psalm 11:1-7 Have you ever felt like running away? "In the Lord I put my trust; how can you say to my soul, 'Flee as a bird to your mountain'?" (v. 1). All of us have days when we feel like quitting. We throw up our hands and say, "That's it. I've had it, and I'm leaving." At times we do need to get away to rest and regain our perspective. Our Lord Jesus said to His disciples, "Let's just depart and rest a while." Vance Havner once remarked, "If you don't come apart and