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Read Psalm 68:1-6 Someone has said that a person is known not only by the friends he keeps but also by the enemies he makes. The Lord Jesus had enemies. David had enemies. Anyone who stands up for what is right will have enemies. But notice what these enemies are like--"as smoke is driven away" (v. 2). Who's afraid of smoke? It can smother us, but if we keep fresh air coming in--the fresh wind of the Holy Spirit--it can't bother us. David also compares his enemies to melting

Read Psalm 68:7-18 Here David describes the victories of God. "You have ascended on high, You have led captivity captive; You have received gifts among men" (v. 18). This is a picture of our Lord's ascension. We find this verse quoted in the New Testament, referring to Jesus Christ ( Eph. 4:8 ). Look at what Jesus has performed for us. First, He went before us. "O God, when You went out before Your people" (v. 7). Wherever you are today, if you're in the will of God, He has a

Read Psalm 68:19-27 "Blessed be the Lord, who daily loads us with benefits, the God of our salvation!" (v. 19). We can translate that verse, "Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears our burdens." Let's think about benefits and burdens. God is the One who gives us the burdens of life. Sometimes we bring burdens upon ourselves by our disobedience, rebellion, sin, unbelief, lack of love and unkindness. But if we are walking in the will of God on the path of His choosing, and if we

Read Psalm 68:28-35 We don't go far on our own strength. Here, David instructs us how to understand and appropriate the strength of God. He tells us to ascribe strength to God. Realize that He is a God of strength. "His excellence is over Israel, and His strength is in the clouds" (v. 34). That means His strength is high up. God can get strength even from the clouds (nothing but rolling vapor). We think of God as loving, gracious and merciful. But let's also think of Him as s

Read Psalm 69:1-12 I was chatting about death with a neighbor once, using it as an opportunity to witness to him. We were discussing what the most difficult way to die would be. I finally said, "Perhaps the most difficult way to die would be to be smothered--to be sinking in quicksand and be smothered." David had that kind of experience spiritually. "Save me, O God! For the waters have come up to my neck. I sink in deep mire, where there is no standing; I have come into deep

Read Psalm 69:13-21 "Reproach has broken my heart, and I am full of heaviness; I looked for someone to take pity, but there was none; and for comforters, but I found none" (v. 20). When we read Psalm 69, we meet Jesus Christ, for many verses from this psalm are quoted in the New Testament, relating to Him. For example, "I have become a stranger to my brothers, an alien to my mother's children; because zeal for Your house has eaten me up, and the reproaches of those who reproa

Read Psalm 69:22-36 "I will praise the name of God with a song and will magnify Him with thanksgiving." This verse seems out of place here, because this psalm has an atmosphere of trial and sorrow. Six times we find the word reproach in Psalm 69. David cries out to God for help, so it's strange to find him saying, "I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify Him with thanksgiving." When you are sinking, when you think that everything has gone wrong, when other

Read Psalm 70:1-5 Has God ever been slow in your life? He was in David's. This undoubtedly was one of the psalms written when David was being harassed by King Saul. So he cries out, "Lord, why don't You do something? You're being awfully slow." Have you ever pondered the delays of God? He is never in a hurry, but once He starts to work, watch out! He patiently accomplishes His work. David pleads, "Make haste, make haste" (v. 1). He repeats his plea in verse 5: "I am poor and

Read Psalm 71:1-11 The older I become, the more I appreciate this psalm. It focuses on God's special blessings for those who are getting older. "Do not cast me off in the time of old age; do not forsake me when my strength fails" (v. 9). What does God do for us as we get older? He helps us meet and solve some of the problems that we encounter in our later years. Take the problem of weakness, for example. That's what David talks about in verse 9: "Do not forsake me when my str

Read Psalm 71:12-24 As we get older, things change. We must drop some things, and we must start others. Not much goes on continually--except in Psalm 71. David uses the word continually three times. First, he tells us that we can continually resort to the Lord in prayer: "Be my strong refuge, to which I may resort continually" (v. 3). No matter how old we get, we can pray, because the Lord never fails. We also can have continual praise. "My praise shall be continually of You"

Read Psalm 72:1-11 Psalm 72 was written for Solomon, probably when he became king. But looking beyond this psalm, we will see someone who is greater than Solomon--Jesus Christ. Notice what the writer says, "Give the king Your judgments, O God, and Your righteousness to the king's Son" (v. 1). In fact, he mentions righteousness several times in this psalm. "He will judge Your people with righteousness" (v. 2). "The mountains will bring peace to the people, and the little hills

Read Psalm 72:12-20 "His name shall endure forever; His name shall continue as long as the sun. And men shall be blessed in Him; all nations shall call Him blessed" (v. 17). Originally, that was written about Solomon. But as we read this verse, we see that it also refers to Jesus. It speaks of His name. "You shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins"( Matt. 1:21 ). That's what His name means--Savior. What kind of a name is it? It is enduring: "His

Read Psalm 73:1-28 Asaph begins by standing true in what he believes about God, but he slips because he starts to look at neighbors and becomes envious. He wonders why the wicked prosper. When he loses his praise, he starts stumbling and suffering. He should have sought answers by looking up, not by looking around or within. Asaph understands the end of the evil ones. The key question is not "Where are you?" but "Where are you going?" Are you taking the broad road that leads

Read Psalm 73:1-12 When we are burdened and bothered by what we see in this world, we need to read this psalm. It starts with a wonderful affirmation of faith. "Truly God is good to Israel, to such as are pure in heart" (v. 1). Asaph believes in the God of Israel, and he believes that God honors and rewards those who keep their lives clean. But in verse 2 he turns his eyes off of God, and he starts looking around at other people. "But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled; m

Read Psalm 73:13-17 Is it really worth it to be a dedicated Christian? Is it worth it to obey the Lord when those who disobey Him seem to be more prosperous than we are? That's what Asaph wondered when he wrote Psalm 73. In the first 12 verses he thought he had really missed the good life: "I have cleansed my heart in vain, and washed my hands in innocence. For all day long I have been plagued, and chastened every morning. If I had said, 'I will speak thus,' behold, I would h

Read Psalm 73:18-28 You will guide me with Your counsel, and afterward receive me to glory" (v. 24). Asaph wrote this verse after he had gone through a period of doubt, and it was a wonderful conclusion to his severe depression. He came out of his experience with several certainties. First, God holds us. "Nevertheless I am continually with You; You hold me by my right hand" (v. 23). The wicked may have violence, bounty, prosperity and a full cup of apparent blessing. But we h

Read Psalm 74:1-11 It must have been difficult for the Jewish people to watch the Babylonians destroy their city and temple. No wonder Asaph wrote, "O God, why have You cast us off forever? Why does Your anger smoke against the sheep of Your pasture?" (v. 1). Keep in mind that this happened because the people had sinned. They had their great city. They had their beautiful temple. The problem was they trusted the city and the temple, but they did not obey the Lord. In their si

Read Psalm 74:12-23 For God is my King from of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth" (v. 12). Asaph wrote those words after surveying the damage the Babylonians wrought in Jerusalem and the temple. In verses 1-11 he looked around and saw perpetual desolations. He saw the enemy had wrecked the sanctuary of God. The Babylonians had removed God's banners and set up their own. All the beauty, all the splendor of Jerusalem had gone up in smoke. When you look around and

Read Psalm 75:1-10 In this day when people promote themselves and take care of "number one," it's good to read verse 7: "But God is the Judge: He puts down one, and exalts another." This rebukes our pride. Who is the One who allows people to be where they are? God. John the Baptist said, "A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven" ( John 3:27 ). Peter wrote: "Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due tim

Read Psalm 76:1-12 We read and hear so much about the love of God that we sometimes forget the fear of God. "You, Yourself, are to be feared; and who may stand in Your presence when once You are angry?" (v. 7). What is this fear Asaph mentions? It's the fear of the Lord, that reverent respect and awe that we show to Him because of His greatness and power. We are God's children, and the Holy Spirit in our hearts says, "Abba, Father." We can pray, "Our Father, who art in heaven

Read Psalm 77:1-6 It doesn't have to be dark outside for us to be in the middle of the night. Sometimes the darkness is in us. Discouragement moves in, and we are like Asaph, who said, "My hand was stretched out in the night without ceasing; my soul refused to be comforted" (v. 2). Some translations read, "My sore was running in the night." What do you do when your soul refuses to be comforted? Asaph tells us what we should do. First, talk to God. "I cried out to God with my

Read Psalm 77:7-10 Asking questions is much easier than answering them. If you have children or grandchildren, you know how true that is. These verses contain a series of questions from a discouraged man. "Will the Lord cast off forever? And will He be favorable no more? Has His mercy ceased forever? Has His promise failed forevermore? Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has He in anger shut up His tender mercies?" (vv. 7-9). Then he concludes by saying, "This is my anguish; bu

Read Psalm 77:11-20 Asaph refused to be comforted. He asked a lot of questions of the Lord. At the close of his discouragement, he came to two wonderful conclusions. First, "Your way, O God, is in the sanctuary; who is so great a God as our God?" (v. 13). And second, "Your way was in the sea, your path in the great waters, and your footsteps were not known" (v. 19). What an unusual way to express faith! First, Asaph tells us that God's way is in the sanctuary. His way is a wa

Read Psalm 78:1-8 We have a responsibility to the next generation. The psalmist wrote, "We will not hide them from their children, telling to the generation to come the praises of the Lord, and His strength and His wonderful works that He has done" (v. 4). Why should we share the Word of the Lord with the generation to come? "That they may set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep His commandments" (v. 7). That's preparing them for the future, because h