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Read Psalm 22:22-31 The last half of Psalm 22 is an expression of praise. In verse 22 we see a change: The psalmist goes from prayer to praise, from suffering to glory. "I will declare Your name to My brethren; in the midst of the congregation I will praise You." In this passage we find the Lord singing in the midst of the congregation. Have you ever thought of Jesus singing? We think of Him preaching and doing miracles and teaching and counseling, but singing? "My praise sha

Read Psalm 23:1-6 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want" (v. 1). That must be one of the most familiar quotations from the Old Testament. Everybody has some kind of shepherd. Jeremiah said, "It is not in man who walks to direct his own steps" ( Jer. 10:23 ). We are like lost sheep, not able to guide our own lives. We need a shepherd. Who is your shepherd? When the Lord is your Shepherd, what will happen in your life? First, you will live a day at a time. "Surely goodness

Read Psalm 23:1-6 Psalm 23 depicts Jesus Christ as the Great Shepherd living for His sheep. It also gives us two assurances. First, Jesus shepherds us throughout each day. Dr. Harry Ironside used to say that goodness and mercy are the two sheepdogs that help keep the sheep where they belong. We live our lives one day at a time, because God built the universe to run one day at a time. There must be a time for labor and a time for rest. When we try to live two or three days at

Read Psalm 24:1-10 It can make a real difference in your life if you'll remember Psalm 24:1 : "The earth is the Lord's, and all its fullness, the world and those who dwell therein." Because the earth is the Lord's, we can turn it over to Him. What difference will that make? First, it will remind us that we are stewards and not owners. No matter what we have, we are only stewards of it. God owns everything. He doesn't own just the cattle on a thousand hills; He owns the Cadill

Read Psalm 25:1-7 Have you ever been so ashamed that you wanted to go somewhere and hide forever? Did you want to dig a hole, crawl into it and then pull the hole in after you? Read verses 1-3: "To You, O Lord, I lift up my soul. O my God, I trust in You; let me not be ashamed; let not my enemies triumph over me. Indeed, let no one who waits on You be ashamed; let those be ashamed who deal treacherously without cause." David was concerned that he would bring disgrace upon the

Read Psalm 25:8-15 I have little sense of direction. Fortunately, my wife has built-in radar. If she didn't travel with me, I'm afraid I often would be lost. David talks about the guidance of God in these verses. So much has been said about God's guidance. Does He still guide us? Does He have a specific plan for each of our lives? How does He guide us? David gives us some simple advice on receiving God's guidance. We must start with meekness. "The humble He guides in justice,

Read Psalm 25:16-22 The troubles of my heart have enlarged; bring me out of my distresses!" (v. 17). Have you ever prayed like that? David did. What kind of answer did God give him? Ultimately, David was brought out of his distresses and put on the throne, and his enemies were defeated. But he had to go through some difficult years before God finally brought him to that place of glory and victory. If you have ever prayed this way, stop and ask yourself, Is this the most impor

Read Psalm 25:1-22 In Psalm 25 David points out that we can experience God's guidance if we meet certain spiritual conditions. The first is confidence. We give evidence of our confidence in God through worship. We need to pray so that we might have our hearts right with Him. Waiting is another evidence (vv. 3, 5, 21). Every time I've rushed ahead, I've gotten into trouble. In verses 4 and 5 David talks about his willingness to follow. God won't show us His will unless we're w

Read Psalm 26:1-12 Integrity means that your life is whole, that your heart is not divided. Jesus said, "No one can serve two masters" ( Matt. 6:24 ). That's integrity. Duplicity means trying to serve two masters. Our Lord also said that nobody can look in two directions at the same time. If your eye is single, then your body is full of light. But if your eye is double, watch out. The darkness is coming in ( Matt. 6:22 , 23 ). If you look at the darkness and the light simulta

Read Psalm 26:1-12 Have you ever been blamed for something you didn't do? Leaders often are blamed falsely. The Israelites blamed Moses for lack of water, bitter water, enemies' attacks and lack of food. In this psalm, David is falsely accused, so he takes four steps to deal with his slanderers. Step 1: An honest examination (vv. 1-3). Human nature does not want to admit it's wrong, but we need to examine ourselves. David walked in integrity. Integrity means "wholeness of cha

Read Psalm 27:1-6 The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?" (v. 1). Those are good questions. Why should we be afraid? What does God do to us and for us when we face an enemy? This psalm tells us that when we fear Him, we need not fear anyone else. David talks about an enemy coming in. "When the wicked came against me to eat up my flesh, my enemies and foes, they stumbled and fell" (v. 2). Here w

Read Psalm 27:7-14 Have you ever fainted? The psalmist discovered a way to keep from fainting. "I would have lost heart [fainted], unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living" (v. 13). David felt somewhat forsaken. His enemies were attacking him, and the circumstances were unbearable. We have to walk by faith just as David did. "I would have lost heart, unless I had believed." Jesus taught in Luke 18 that men ought always to pray

Read Psalm 28:1-9 When I was in grade school, each day the teacher would walk up and down the aisles and make us hold out our hands: first, with the palms up to make sure our hands were clean and then with the palms down to make sure our fingernails were clean. Of course, none of us liked this, because little kids would much rather have dirty hands. Psalm 28 talks a great deal about hands. The psalmist lifted up his hands. The enemies were doing evil work with their hands. Bu

Read Psalm 29:1-11 I don't know how my psychologist friends will analyze this, but for some reason I enjoy a rainy day. I especially enjoy it during a day off at home. I find it soothing to stand at the window and see the clouds and the rain and even hear the thunder. Psalm 29 is a description of a storm. I suppose David was out in the fields or in a cave when this storm came. He saw the power of God in the turbulence. Before it started, he said, "Give unto the Lord, O you mi

Read Psalm 30:1-12 Two words are repeated seven times in Psalm 30--"you have." David is praising God for what He had done for him. Are you doing that today? Perhaps you've seen the plaque that says, "Prayer changes things," and that's true. I've also seen a plaque that says, "Praise changes things," and that also is true. It's amazing how our whole attitude and whole outlook can be transformed by praising God. In verse 6 David gives a testimony: "Now in my prosperity I said,

Read Psalm 3l:1-8 Psalm 31 is one of David's exile psalms. He wrote it when Saul was chasing him through the rough hill country of Judah. David was going from cave to cave and from hill to hill. During his exile, David discovered that God's hand was adequate for every need of every day. Have you noticed in the Psalms how often David talked about hands? As a shepherd he knew the importance of his hands. He had to carry the shepherd's crook, the staff. He also used a slingshot

Read Psalm 31:9-13 We can't help what others do and say. We can help only what we do. When others start talking about us or fighting against us, we may not be able to control that. It's difficult when people start to slander the righteous. But this is what David had to endure. In verse 11 we read, "I am a reproach among all my enemies." We expect that. "But especially among my neighbors." Now that hurts. "And am repulsive to my acquaintances." That hurts even more. "Those who

Read Psalm 31:14-24 David often talked about God's hand and the hand of the enemy. "My times are in Your hand; deliver me from the hand of my enemies, and from those who persecute me" (v. 15). That's a marvelous declaration of faith. And David didn't write it from a hotel suite somewhere. He was out in the Judean wilderness, where it was dark and dirty and dry. And he was being chased by Saul. In writing "my times are in Your hand," David teaches us several lessons. First, ti

Read Psalm 32:1-7 Psalm 32 is the record of David's experience after he sinned with Bathsheba and then confessed his sin to the Lord. He feels the heavy hand of God's discipline. "For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; my vitality was turned into the drought of summer" (v. 4). In other words, David says, "God, Your hand was so heavy on me that it was like squeezing a sponge. You have just squeezed all of the energy out of me." It's difficult to have the heavy hand of

Read Psalm 32:8-11 Did you know there are three levels on which God can deal with you? You must decide whether you want Him to treat you as a thing, an animal or one of His own children. God had to treat David as a thing (a sponge), and His hand was heavy on him (vv. 3,4). David was rebelling. He was not acting like God's child. Instead of confessing his sin, he was covering it. But the Bible says, "He who covers his sins will not prosper" ( Prov. 28:13 ). So God had to treat

Read Psalm 33:1-5 "Sing to Him a new song; play skillfully with a shout of joy" (v. 3). Have you sung a new song to the Lord lately? Where do you find this new song, and how can you best express it? The psalmist is talking about worshiping the Lord. Worship should have a freshness to it. Sometimes in our worship we sing the old songs in the old way, and we lose some of our skill. David was a harpist. He said, "Praise the Lord with the harp; make melody to Him with an instrume

Read Psalm 33:6-11 Are you depending on the counsel of the Lord? The Word of God, His counsel, runs this whole universe. How did God create it? "And God said, 'Let there be . . ."' ( Gen. 1 ). He spoke, and it was done, which shows the power of His Word. Did you know that the same Word that created the universe holds the universe together and is guiding the universe and human history for you? When we are in tune with the Word of God, we're in tune with the whole universe and

Read Psalm 33:12-19 So often the psalmist says, "Blessed is the man" or "Blessed is the family." But in verse 12 he says, "Blessed is the nation." Does God bless nations? Yes. He blessed the nation of Israel. He endowed the Israelites with some special blessings and gave them special tasks. They failed, however, in some of the things He gave them to do. But eventually God brought His Word and His Son through the people of Israel. Christ was born of the tribe of Judah in the f

Read Psalm 33:20-22 Waiting is one of the hardest things for me to do. I would rather work than wait. Somehow I always end up in the wrong lane or the wrong line, and I'm forced to wait. My impatience is probably why the Lord reminds me of verse 20: "Our soul waits for the Lord; He is our help and our shield." Why does God delay in answering prayer? He wants to give us a better blessing. Why does God delay in bringing deliverance or healing? He has something better in store f