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Read Psalm 104:14-18 The psalmists were captivated by the God of creation. Of course, the world they lived in was a little cleaner, a little purer, maybe a little more beautiful, because man had not yet exploited it. They recognized their dependence on Him for their sustenance: "He causes the grass to grow for the cattle, and vegetation for the service of man, that he may bring forth food from the earth, and wine that makes glad the heart of man, oil to make his face shine, a

Read Psalm 139:7-12 Years ago, A. W. Tozer wrote, "The essence of idolatry is the entertainment of thoughts about God that are unworthy of Him." God is much greater than we are, and our thoughts of Him must be great thoughts. David's thoughts of God in this psalm center on His omnipresence. As we read his words, we can answer three simple questions. Can we flee from God? The psalmist says no. Height and depth will not enable us to run away from God. Life has its ups and downs

Read Psalm 49:1-13 The writer of this psalm certainly had the right attitude toward wealth. He warns, "Those who trust in their wealth and boast in the multitude of their riches, none of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him" (vv. 6,7). Money cannot take us to heaven, "for the redemption of their souls is costly" (v. 8). It cost the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ! In fact, Jesus warned that money keeps some people out of heaven. "

Read Psalm 140:1-13 King David was going through another battle. He needed deliverance from an attacking enemy. "Deliver me, O Lord, from evil men; preserve me from violent men, who plan evil things in their hearts; they continually gather together for war. They sharpen their tongues like a serpent; the poison of asps is under their lips. Keep me, O Lord, from the hands of the wicked; preserve me from violent men" (vv. 1-4). David's enemies had hidden snares to trap him. What

Read Psalm 119:41-48 Many people have the strange idea that God's Law and man's liberty are enemies. They say, "I want freedom. I want to do my own thing." How wrong they are. God's Law and your liberty go hand-in-hand, and verse 45 makes this clear. "And I will walk at liberty, for I seek Your precepts." Now, the world would write that verse like this: "And I will walk at liberty, for I reject and break Thy precepts. I'm going to do my own thing, my own way." Let's get down

Read Psalm 109:21-31 When David wrote this psalm he was being sorely persecuted by his enemies. He was praying for them; they were preying on him. Yet throughout this psalm he expresses some rather vehement thoughts. He calls upon God to bring judgment upon them because of the way they lived. Again, keep in mind that David was not seeking personal revenge. He was above that. Instead, he was praying as God's anointed king, concerned about the needs of his people. I like the wa

Read Psalm 105:24-45 Suppose you were an Egyptian during the time of Moses and Aaron. You lived through the plagues that came on your land because of the stubbornness of Pharaoh. What would be your response when you saw the Jews leave Egypt? The psalmist wrote, "Egypt was glad when they departed, for the fear of them had fallen upon them" (v. 38). I have no problem believing that at all. Furthermore, I suspect that when God's people depart from this world, when our Lord comes

Read Psalm 119:65-72 "The law of Your mouth is better to me than thousands of coins of gold and silver" (v. 72). Can we honestly say that we would rather have God's Word than money? Many people in the Bible had that testimony. For example, Abraham led his army to a great victory. He brought back all of the captives and all the spoil. The King of Sodom showed up and said, "Abraham, you can have all this spoil. Just give me the people." But Abraham said, "Before this battle sta

Read Psalm 103:19-22 No matter how difficult your situation may be today, no matter how discouraging the news, you can still lean on this: "The Lord has established His throne in heaven, and His kingdom rules over all" (v. 19). God is enthroned in heaven and in control of everything that happens. Sometimes it may not look like it. If you're walking by sight, you may wonder if there is a God at all. Or if there is a God, does He care? Or if He cares, can He do anything? The ps

Read Psalm 143:1-12 How should we pray when we are going through trouble? We find several requests in David's prayer, and if we follow his example, God will lead us through our difficulties into blessing. First, he says, "Hear my prayer" (v. 1) and "answer me speedily, O Lord; my spirit fails!" (v. 7). We don't have to shout to God; we don't have to argue with Him. We simply can come to Him and say, "Lord, hear me." When a child comes to his father or mother, the parent has h

Read Psalm 132:11-18 God did not permit King David to build Him a house. Instead, He did just the opposite; He built a house for David. God said, "David, I am not going to build you a physical house but a house made of people. There will always be one of your descendants on the throne of Israel." He also said some things about David's children. "If your sons will keep My covenant and My testimony which I shall teach them, their sons also shall sit upon your throne forevermore

Read Psalm 119:97-104 How well I remember the day my doctor looked at me and said, "Reverend, you will not eat any more sweets." I've learned to do without desserts, but there's one sweet I cannot do without--God's Word: "How sweet are Your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!" (v. 103). Is the Word of God like honey or medicine to you? The way some people treat it, you'd think it is castor oil. True, there are times when we need the healing medicine of the Scri

Read Psalm 125:1-5 "As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds His people from this time forth and forever" (v. 2). We don't have to know much about geography to understand what the psalmist is saying. It's a declaration we can believe and put to work in our own lives today. God is compared to many things in the Bible. For example, "our God is a consuming fire" ( Heb. 12:29 ). Or, "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble" ( Ps. 46:1 ). H

Read Psalm 100:4 In Old Testament days, God's people brought animal sacrifices to the altar. Today, instead of bringing the Lord dead sacrifices, we present living sacrifices to Him. The Bible speaks of several sacrifices that praise God. We have the sacrifice of praise ( Heb. 13:15 ). When our lips thank God for what He has done and for who He is, our praise pleases Him. We have the sacrifice of a broken heart ( Ps. 51:17 ). We are to present our bodies as a living sacrifice

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 60:1-12 "Through God we will do valiantly, for it is He who shall tread down our enemies" (v. 12). Psalm 60 is unusual because David didn't write it in the midst of trouble. So many of his psalms were written from a cave or a battlefield. But this psalm was written after a great victory. The army had achieved a tremendous victory in Edom for the people of God. What do we learn from this psalm? First, we must be cautious after a victory. "O God, You have cast us off

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 118:19-29 "This is the day which the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it" (v. 24). When you are having one of those difficult days--a day when the storm is blowing and the battle is raging, when the burdens are heavy, when your heart is broken and your tears are flowing, when it feels like everybody is turned against you, including your Heavenly Father--that's the time to heed this verse by faith. The psalmist was going through battles and difficulties

Read Psalm 148:1-14 When I was a young pastor in my first church, we had to build a new sanctuary. My friends know that I don't know the first thing about construction. I can't read blueprints. I can't even make a birdhouse. But we began the project. Construction went slowly, and it was difficult. Then winter came. I recall standing by that piece of property, looking at those snow-covered arches and wondering, "Lord, why is it taking so long?" Then the Lord led me to Psalm 14

Read Psalm 142:1-7 I do not like caves. When I visited Mammoth Cave in Kentucky, I could hardly wait to get out. Thus, I somewhat understand David's distress as he wrote this psalm while hiding from Saul in a cave. In his distress, he looked in four directions. First, David looked within. "I cry out to the Lord with my voice; with my voice to the Lord I make my supplication. I pour out my complaint before Him; I declare before Him my trouble. When my spirit was overwhelmed wi

Read Psalm 145:1-13 This psalm has special meaning for me. Several years ago a drunken driver hit me going 80 or 90 miles an hour. When I woke up in the intensive care ward of a hospital with broken bones and lacerations, this is the verse that went through my mind: "Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; and His greatness is unsearchable" (v. 3). Let's praise God for His greatness. The psalmist says His greatness is eternal. "I will extol You, my God, O King; and I wi

Read Psalm 139:19-22 Many people are bothered by the problem of evil. They say, "If God is a loving and good God, why does He allow evil?" David did not ignore this problem, nor did he give in to it. Instead, he made a decision and took his stand with God. Only our God can permit evil and be able to overrule it to accomplish His purposes. As David confronted the problem of evil in the world, he did so in stages. Stage one: He evaluated (v. 22). David looked at the wicked, vio

Read Psalm 115:9-18 Years ago there was a "God is dead" movement in theology. Of course, He is very much alive, as Psalm 115 tells us: "But our God is in heaven. He does whatever He pleases" (v. 3). The problem with people is not that God is dead but that their faith is dead. They do not have living faith in the living God. The psalmist addresses three groups of people in this passage. First, he speaks to the nation. "O Israel, trust in the Lord; He is their help and their sh

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