This is an interesting psalm: the heading in my bible says, 'Of Solomon' and yet verse 29 says 'this concludes the prayers of David, son of Jesse' so who actually wrote it? And if you read the psalm it is talking about the king and how great he is going to be, so if Solomon did write this himself then it seems to smack of a little bit of 'Look at me! Look how great [...]
This feels like a psalm for old people [like me]. So if you're not even partly old, maybe bookmark this and come back and read it in ten years or so... And seriously go and read the whole psalm - i am not going to go through all of it here, but it really is a good one to read all the way through: 1 In you, Lord, I have taken refuge; let me never be [...]
Psalm number 70 is not the Lords of the Rings of the Psalming community. And because it is so short, i thought it would be helpful to actually just meditate on the whole thing together: 1 Hasten, O God, to save me; come quickly, Lord, to help me. 2 May those who want to take my life be put to shame and confusion; may all who desire my ruin be turned back in disgrace. 3 May those who say [...]
So hey, remember that King David guy and the 'man after God's own heart' moniker? Well, here is that guy going on a little enemy rant... 22 May the table set before them become a snare; may it become retribution and a trap. 23 May their eyes be darkened so they cannot see, and their backs be bent forever. 24 Pour out your wrath on them; let your fierce anger overtake them. 25 May their place be deserted; let there [...]
1 May God arise, may his enemies be scattered; may his foes flee before him. 2 May you blow them away like smoke— as wax melts before the fire, may the wicked perish before God. i'm not going to lie, i often don't quite know what to do with some of the anger and violence of the Old Testament. When i was young it was as black and white as an old A-team episode [google it, kids!] [...]
This is such a short baby of a psalm that it is worth publishing the whole thing here: 1 May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine on us— 2 so that your ways may be known on earth, your salvation among all nations. 3 May the peoples praise you, God; may all the peoples praise you. 4 May the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you rule the peoples with equity [...]
this is a super great psalm and just one of those where virtually every verse can be looked at and appreciated and spoken into - for that reason i want to encourage you to go and read the whole psalm and then come back here and share what stood out for you. i am just going to be looking at two specific sections that stood out for me: 8 Praise our God, all peoples, let the sound [...]
as i read the first four lines of this psalm it felt like i was part of a liturgical choir speaking them out: 1 Praise awaits You, our God, in Zion; to You our vows will be fulfilled. 2 You who answer prayer, to You all people will come. the psalm is subtitled as being a song of David and so maybe that is why it conveys that fullness of message and delivery. i can imagine a congregation [...]
what an incredible psalm. we know it was 'To the tune of “A Dove on Distant Oaks” which makes me wonder what type of genre song that was? is this David at his hip hop best? the title does have more of a country feel to it, or maybe a rock ballad? who knows, but it makes for interesting speculation. we also know this psalm is from 'when the Philistines seized him in Gath' so [...]
this is not a completely happy psalm. here we see David once again, who was the same guy who brought us this in Psalm 23: 1 The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, 3 he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake. 4 Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with [...]