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Read Psalm 12:1-8 Whenever you get the idea that you are the only one left who is godly, beware. That's how David was praying in Psalm 12. He said, "The godly man ceases! For the faithful disappear from among the sons of men" (v. 1). I call this the Elijah complex. You will remember that Elijah had this problem (I Kings 19). He left his place of ministry, went out into the wilderness and sat down, pouting. God asked, "What are you doing here?" Elijah replied, "I'm the only go

Read Psalm 12:1-8 When you feel deserted, alone in standing for what's right, read Psalm 12. The emphasis in this psalm is on words, on speaking. First, David speaks in prayer (vv. 1-3). Where are the godly? People today don't want to take a stand for the truth, but David stood for what is right. Sometimes we feel the faithful have disappeared--those who believe in prayer, giving and commitment. Today's generation doesn't believe in commitment, especially with our words. We h

Read Psalm 13:1-6 Have you ever been impatient with God? Impatience is one of my big problems. I always get into the wrong lane on a toll road. Someone's in front of me with foreign currency, trying to buy his way through the tollbooth. I get into the wrong line at the airport, thinking, This line is a good line; it's going to move. But it doesn't because somebody in the line has lost his passport. And I get irritated. It's one thing for us to be impatient with ourselves or w

Read Psalm 14:1-7 The word fool in Psalms or Proverbs does not refer to an unintelligent person. It refers to a person who is morally perverse. Why is he a fool? Because "the fool has said in his heart, 'There is no God'" (v. 1). And what is the result of this? "They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none who does good" (v. 1). God looks down and says, "Does anybody have a clean heart?" The answer is no. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom ( P

Read Psalm 15:1-5 Imagine what would happen if I walked up to the main gate at Buckingham Palace in London and said to one of the tall, hand-some, well-dressed guards, "Sir, I want to live with the royal family." He would look at me and say, "Begone, before I arrest you." Who is worthy to live with God? Only through Jesus Christ can we "dwell in God's holy hill." David always was a little bit envious of the priests. When we read the Psalms, we find David saying such things as

Read Psalm 16:1-11 This is a psalm of delight. We find no trials or tribulations in this song. David is simply delighting, first of all, in the Lord. "You are my Lord, my goodness is nothing apart from You" (v. 2). In other words, he is saying, "I have no good beyond God." Then David delights in the Lord's people. "And to the saints who are on the earth, 'They are the excellent ones, in whom is all my delight'" (v. 3). Do you delight in God's people? "To live above with saint

Read Psalm 17:1-15 Three words summarize David's cry in Psalm 17. The first word is hear. "Hear a just cause, O Lord, attend to my cry" (v. 1). David was saying, "I want the Lord to hear me, because my heart is right." "You have tested my heart" (v. 3). When did God do that? "You have visited me in the night" (v. 3). The dark times of life are when God proves us. He also proves Himself to us--if we let Him. When you're going through the darkness, when the night has come, when

Read Psalm 17:1-15 Prayer is essential to the Christian life. God commands us to pray ( Luke 11:2 ; 18:1 ; I Thess. 5:17 ), and He uses people of prayer. What are the elements of an effective prayer life? First, we need God's ear--"hear me." David was praying for "a just cause"; he was concerned about God's will. But God won't hear us if we harbor deliberate sin in our lives, if we pray with "deceitful lips." He loves us too much to pamper us in our sins. To get God's ear, we

Read Psalm 18:1-6 Psalm 18 celebrates David's victory over his enemies. Notice the inscription at the beginning. This is the song David sang "on the day that the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul." David did not classify Saul as one of his enemies. Isn't that interesting? David was an enemy to Saul, but Saul was not an enemy to him. We may not be able to prevent other people from being our enemies, but we can prevent ourselves from

Read Psalm 18:7-15 These verses present one of the greatest descriptions of a storm found in the Bible. It is a graphic picture of the way God works when He comes to the aid of His children. David was saying in these verses that God the Creator, God the Deliverer, used everything in nature to come to his aid. The earth shook, down to its foundations. Smoke came up, and fire came out. Coals were kindled. The heavens bowed down. The wind began to blow, for God was coming on the

Read Psalm 18:16-19 For several years David had been forced to live in confined places while he fled from Saul. More than once he fled to a cave to save his life. Then God brought him out of the caves and out of confinement and into a large place. "He also brought me out into a broad place; He delivered me because He delighted in me" (v. 19). David was a man after God's own heart, and God delighted in him, just as He delighted in our Lord Jesus. God said of Him, "This is My b

Read Psalm 18:20-29 No matter how difficult our trials are, if we have clean hands, God will fill them with blessing. "The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands He has recompensed me" (v. 20). "Therefore the Lord has recompensed me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in His sight" (v. 24). David's hands were clean. His enemies were lying about him--those people in Saul's court who wanted Saul's

Read Psalm 18:20-27 God wants to have a personal relationship with each of us. He is the God of the individual believer through Jesus Christ, and He delights in us just as we delight in those we love. The highest and holiest experience we can have is the worshipful delight of the Lord. This passage gives us insight into how we can delight in God and how He delights in us. First, how does one delight God? By one's character. David had integrity (v. 20). He was not free from si

Read Psalm 18:30-36 Life is 10 percent how you take it and 90 percent what you make it. Notice the repetition of the word make in verses 30-36: "It is God who arms me with strength, and makes my way perfect" (v. 32). I like verse 35: "You have also given me the shield of Your salvation; Your right hand has held me up, Your gentleness has made me great." Why does God permit difficulties to come to our lives? Sometimes He has to break us before He can make us. Sometimes He has

Read Psalm 18:37-45 We must remember that David's enemies were God's enemies and that he was fighting the Lord's battles. As Christians, we are taught to pray for our enemies and to do good to those who despitefully use us ( Matt. 5:44 ). David did that. He prayed for Saul, and on at least two occasions, he could have killed him but didn't. David had the right attitude toward Saul, but Saul did not have the right attitude toward David. As we read verses 37-45, we need to reme

Read Psalm 18:46-50 David closed this long psalm of triumph and victory with a doxology. "The Lord lives! Blessed be my Rock! Let the God of my salvation be exalted" (v. 46). David had been a fugitive. He had been waiting for the day when he could ascend the throne. Now the day had come. How did he respond? He glorified God. I suppose some of us would have said, "Well, my enemies are gone. Now I can do what I please. My battles are over. I've been put into a large place. Ther

Read Psalm 19:1-14 Psalm 19 is so familiar to us. The first six verses talk about the glory of God seen in creation. Verses 7-11 talk about the glory and grace of God revealed in the Word, and verses 12-14 talk about God speaking to our hearts. He is revealed in the skies, in the Scriptures and in our own hearts and souls. Even though creation is in travail because of sin ( Rom. 8:22 ), God's glory is revealed there. Someone has said that if the stars came out only once every

Read Psalm 19:7-14 The revelation of God in nature prepares us for His revelation in the Scriptures. Ultimately, Jesus Christ reveals Himself as Savior. This was the experience of the Magi ( Matt. 2 ). the light of nature led them to the light of the Word, which led them to the Light of the World. The Bible meets the needs of the human heart. No other book is like it. It is God's testimony. Its name is the Law of the Lord . The sun is to creation what the Law is to God's peop

Read Psalm 20:1-9 David wrote, "Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; but we will remember the name of the Lord our God" (v. 7). The big question is, What are you trusting today? Everybody trusts in or believes in something. Some people trust in their money or credit cards. Some trust in their strength or expertise or experience. Verses 1 and 2 say, "May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble; may the name of the God of Jacob defend you; may He send you help from the

Read Psalm 20:1-9 D. L. Moody did not want soloist Ira Sanky to sing the hymn "Onward Christian Soldiers" because he felt the Church was anything but a victorious army marching off to war. Yet the Bible pictures God's people as soldiers in His army. As soldiers, we must be familiar with Psalms 20 and 21. The first deals with prayer and winning the victory, and the second deals with praise and holding the victory. If we trust the Lord, we will move from trouble to thanksgiving

Read Psalm 21:1-7 Kings have everything. If you were a king, what would you rejoice in the most? In what did David rejoice? Psalm 21 tells us what it means to be a king--not just for a day but for a lifetime. We are kings because we are God's children. Jesus Christ has made us kings and priests because He loves us and washed away our sins in His blood. Today, God wants us to reign in life. We are on the throne with the Lord Jesus. "The king shall have joy in Your strength, O

Read Psalm 21:8-13 We don't like them or want them, but sometimes we can't help having enemies. A person is not only known by the friends he makes; sometimes he's better known by the enemies he makes. No, we can't help having enemies, but we can help how we deal with them. This is what David is talking about in this passage. How do you deal with your enemies? Paul said, "All who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution" ( II Tim. 3:12 ). Some people are en

Read Psalm 22:1-11 "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" (v. 1). Those are familiar words. Jesus spoke them from the cross ( Matt. 27:46 ), but they were first spoken by David when he was going through a severe trial. Jesus Christ was forsaken that we might not be forsaken. God the Father forsook His Son on the cross when He was made sin for us ( II Cor. 5:21 ). But David says in this psalm, "Our fathers trusted You, and You took care of them; now I'm trusting You, and

Read Psalm 22:12-21 Are you an animal lover? I must confess that, apart from a certain sympathy with cats and a liking for friendly dogs, I don't really care much for animals. My wife enjoys going to the zoo, and I dutifully go along, but I would much rather be in the library. Do you know that God uses animals to teach us about sin? Today's passage talks about the Devil's entire zoo. "Many bulls have surrounded Me; strong bulls of Bashan have encircled Me" (v. 12). Our Lord w