Dear reader, against all who are set against you, the LORD your God is with you. This is the reminder of Psalm 140. As David does here, first call out to the LORD your God for deliverance. 1 Deliver me, O Lord, from evil men; Preserve me from violent men, 2 Who plan evil things in their hearts; They continually gather together for war. 3 They sharpen their tongues like a serpent; The poison of asps is under their lips. Selah As David concludes, call out to the LORD for confidence. 12 I know that the Lord will maintain The cause of the afflicted, And justice for the poor. 13 Surely the righteous shall give thanks to Your […]

Dear Reader, God knows you. At Psalm 139, David sings of such truth. 1 O Lord, You have searched me and known me. 2 You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thought afar off. 3 You comprehend my path and my lying down, And are acquainted with all my ways. David sings of God’s plans for you. 16 Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, The days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of them. David sings of his need for the God that knows you. 23 Search me, O God, and know my […]

What a joy it is to consider the goodness of the LORD to His own. This is what David considers at Psalm 138 for it is, “A Psalm of David.” 1 I will praise You with my whole heart; Before the gods I will sing praises to You. 2 I will worship toward Your holy temple, And praise Your name For Your lovingkindness and Your truth; For You have magnified Your word above all Your name. 3 In the day when I cried out, You answered me, And made me bold with strength in my soul. The beauty of our God is the truth that even when the […]

Psalm 137 is a psalm of anger. It historically depicts Judah’s exile to Babylon in the sixth century B.C. Firstly, the psalmist share the mocking of their enemies. 1 By the rivers of Babylon, There we sat down, yea, we wept When we remembered Zion. 2 We hung our harps Upon the willows in the midst of it. 3 For there those who carried us away captive asked of us a song, And those who plundered us requested mirth, Saying, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!” Secondly, the psalmist shares his concern over losing sight of His God now that he’s lost sight of his home. 4 How […]

“For His mercy endures forever.” This is the theme of Psalm 136. Each one of its 26 Verses end with this statement. Verses 1-3 call upon the name of the LORD. 1 Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever. 2 Oh, give thanks to the God of gods! For His mercy endures forever. 3 Oh, give thanks to the Lord of lords! For His mercy endures forever: Verses 4-9 consider His creative power. 4 To Him who alone does great wonders, For His mercy endures forever; 5 To Him who by wisdom made the heavens, For His mercy endures forever; 6 To Him who laid out the earth above the waters, For His mercy endures forever; […]

Psalm 135 is bookended with the phrase, “Praise the Lord!” This means that the contents of this psalm, as all of Scripture does, warrants our praise. At Verses 5-7, let us praise God for our creation! 5 For I know that the Lord is great, And our Lord is above all gods. 6 Whatever the Lord pleases He does, In heaven and in earth, In the seas and in all deep places. 7 He causes the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth; He makes lightning for the rain; He brings the wind out of His treasuries. At Verses 9-12, let us praise God for our redemption! 9 He sent signs […]

Besides Psalm 92, which is a psalm for the Sabbath, Psalm 134 can argue for evening worship (or a second worship service, on the Lord’s Day). It is a short psalm and the last of the Psalms’ “Song of Ascents” series. These psalms were to be sung by God’s people, on their way to worship. Here’s one to sing on your way to your 2nd worship service. A Song of Ascents. 1 Behold, bless the Lord, All you servants of the Lord, Who by night stand in the house of the Lord! 2 Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, And bless the Lord. 3 The Lord who made heaven and earth Bless […]

In the uninspired title of the NKJV’s translation of Psalm 133, the two greatest commandments of God are hidden. These commandments, as Jesus has taught them to us are to love the Lord your God with your whole heart, soul, mind and strength, and to love your neighbour as yourself. This means that claiming love for God means seeking unity amongst His people. This means an intimate link between the first great commandment of God and the second. This means that you cannot have a relationship with God, without His people. This means communion and unity with God, as one […]

The psalmist of Psalm 132, knowing the kind of salvation the LORD his God has given, searches, as David searched at 2 Samuel 7, for a dwelling place for the LORD. 1 Lord, remember David And all his afflictions; 2 How he swore to the Lord, And vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob: 3 “Surely I will not go into the chamber of my house, Or go up to the comfort of my bed; 4 I will not give sleep to my eyes Or slumber to my eyelids, 5 Until I find a place for the Lord, A dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob.” David’s zeal was to be commended, […]

King David is called out as Psalm 131’s author. He too would ascend to Jerusalem for worship. In his life, he would become all Israel’s king. Historically, we could argue that his ascension to Israel’s throne was not a smooth one. But here, at Psalm 131, the psalmist proclaims that quieting one’s heart, in worship, before God, in humility, as a weaned child with his mother, is the right first step in understanding how God saves. A Song of Ascents. Of David. 1 Lord, my heart is not haughty, Nor my eyes lofty. Neither do I concern myself with great matters, […]