Category: Psalms

We will never be able to find a piece of nature that didn’t come from the mind of our God. Not only was He creative enough to think of it, but He was powerful enough to form it into being. Everything from the seas, the stars, and the seals are all from His creative power. This psalm helps us realize that God genuinely cares for His creation. He didn’t just create and then step away but is still involved in the happenings on Earth. He is an active God all throughout His vast creation. This psalm helps us understand the grandeur and wisdom of God. He’s not distant from His creation, nor is He inept in His power.

 It’s easy for us to get overwhelmed with the things on our immediate to-do list. We are so consumed with our work, our relationships, or our finances that sometimes we begin to believe we are the god of our lives. We have our own kingdom to run. It’s our job to run our life and we need to make sure we have it under control. However, this psalm allows us to step back and get perspective on what is actually true. We have a God that is so big and so great, that He is able to create and sustain everything on Earth. He is the One who has authority over every living thing. He is the One who is overseeing our lives. He’s not taking a role in our kingdom, but rather we are taking part in His. 

 We don’t have to be consumed with making sure all is well with our world because we aren’t the ones in charge of it. Psalm 104 should be a comforting reminder that we aren’t the sustainers of our life. Instead, we get the opportunity to rely on God to provide for us in every season. There is nothing too great for Him. He isn’t overwhelmed by your situation. As we meditate on all He has done, it should prompt us to the place where this psalm ends: with praise to our God. 

While the previous psalm was a cry for distress, Psalm 103 is one of the most familiar psalms of praise. Yesterday we heard David crying out for help and likening himself to a desert owl among the ruins and a bird alone on a roof (102:6-7). Both of these word pictures describe isolation and defeat.

 Notice today then, how David describes what God can do for your soul in verse 5: [He] satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. In comparison to the birds described in Psalm 102, the eagle is a picture of strength and victory. In fact, an eagle’s gripping strength is ten times stronger than the average grip of an adult hand, exerting upwards of 400 pounds per square inch. Despite this strength, the eagle also must go through the continual process of molting its feathers from head to tail in order to be able to survive. The eagle never loses all its feathers at once; instead it goes through this process losing only a few feathers at a time so that it can continue to fly and hunt.

 David didn’t use this word picture without reason. He knew that as a follower of God, there would be a continual process of rebirth and restoration as we walk through life on this earth. But, David also knew that God was faithful to renew our strength and ultimately make us victorious. How did he know? Let’s look again at verses 3-4.

God forgives all our sins. He heals all our diseases. He redeems our lives from the pit. He crowns us with love and compassion. David knew these things to be true because he had seen God’s faithfulness through his own life and the lives of those before him.  

 The same is still true. Jesus came to earth, died on the cross, and was raised to life three days later so that we could be fully restored and renewed. Sometimes in life we might feel like we are going through the molting process or feel more like the desert owl isolated among the ruins. But this chapter is a merciful reminder that God isn’t finished. He will satisfy our desires with good things and renew our strength like the eagle’s. If you’re in the “victory” period right now, praise Him for His kindness. If you feel like you’re in the middle of molting and isolation, don’t give up. He will not let you lose all your feathers at once. It might be slow and it might feel like it’s taking too long—but He is still good, and His promises stand true. You will survive the renewal process and come out the other side exactly as God created you to be: victorious in Him. For as high as the heavens are above this earth, so great is His love for you.

Even in the first verse of this chapter, we can see what kind of psalm we are about to read⏤a prayer and a plea. The author feels hopeless and sick and is asking God for help. His bones burn like red-hot coals, his heart withers like grass, he eats ashes for food, and he feels as if God has picked him up and thrown him out. 

This might be you. Maybe you feel overwhelmed by work, in a place of guilt because of your sin, or discouraged by the sin in the world around you. Maybe you are so overcome by the pain of this world that the only thing you can do is get on your knees and pray, and the only place you can run to is into the Father’s arms. If you are like this author right now, feeling like nothing from this world will fulfill or heal you, you’re completely right. 

Read that again: Nothing from this world will fulfill or heal you. Thank God He is not from this world. Verses 25-26 say this: “In the beginning you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment. Like clothing you will change them and they will be discarded.” God made the earth, but nothing here will last forever. Instead of finding our value and peace in the things of this world, we can trust in God. We can trust that He is powerful and in control over everything (v. 12). We can trust His promises and find security in the fact that He keeps His promises (v. 13-17). We can praise God for hearing us and freeing us time and again, and we can write it down so future generations can praise Him, too (v. 18-22). 

Even if we aren’t hopeless, it is helpful and fulfilling to know that God doesn’t change and will always be there. Reread the last three verses of this chapter. May we find peace and hope in the fact that God is the same forever. Because of who God is, we can live in security and thrive in His presence. 

Psalm 101 was written by David. It is understood as a vow made as he assumed leadership of God’s people, but is also considered a vow of how he plans to lead his household. We understand David to be a man after God’s own heart. This psalm is a beautiful peek into his heart for God and his people. Whether it be in governance, the workforce or in our families, this psalm is packed with insights for any who have been placed in any kind of leadership position or position of influence and authority. Embrace this wisdom as we seek to steward the influence we have in our world faithfully. 

David vows to bring glory and honor to the name of God and live blamelessly before Him. This highlights the importance of adopting God’s standards of holiness and righteousness as our benchmark. David knows following God is serious business. Reaching God’s high standard is not easy. Anything that misses the mark must be rejected. David leads others to reach God’s standard by rewarding obedience to God’s ways and promoting a culture of holiness and godliness among his followers.

Are we aware of how Satan works in this space? The way he goes about stealing, killing and destroying leaders can be hard to see coming. We may never see a thief, receive a death threat or have any part of our lives seemingly destroyed in an instant. However, we might begin to give ourselves a free pass on select sins (“Well, that’s not a big deal. I’m doing better than most people. Nobody’s perfect.”). We may not hold our followers to a high standard. Satan uses these kinds of thoughts and actions to keep us from meeting God’s standards of holiness and righteousness.

Through this psalm, we are reminded that leadership is a serious matter. When we take it seriously, we are careful to honor the Lord in any responsibility we have. Whether it seems like a trivial responsibility or one that holds extreme importance. Whatever positions we find ourselves in, we bring glory to God and order and peace to the spaces and people within our spheres of influence. 

Psalm 100 serves as a powerful reminder of the fact that the Lord reigns as King and we are His people. Through no effort or accomplishments of our own doing, the Lord has invited us into His eternal presence. He’s worthy of our praise and worship, songs of joy, and eternal gratitude. When we’re faithless, His faithfulness endures through all generations. 

Yet, when we’re honest with ourselves, we forget about this amazing, undeserving invitation we’ve received. We don’t shout for joy and our hearts are often filled with complaint and comparison, rather than gladness, gratitude, and joy. Many Sundays, we find ourselves going through the motions as we sing songs, pray, and listen to a sermon. 

Would someone ever accuse you of “shouting for joy to the Lord”? What does it look like to live a life that shouts out in joy to the Lord? The world, and even the church, is not marked by this type of “joy-shouting” life. In moments of authentic reflection, you might admit your life looks like the lives of those in the rest of the world. We’re often no different than our non-believing friends, family members, co-workers, and neighbors.

We’ve been invited into the courts of the living God. The psalmist wrote this psalm around three thousand years ago. The Son died on the cross for our sins two thousand years ago. But the Father’s love endures forever, and His faithfulness continues for generation after generation after generation (and so on!).

Take a moment to reread this short psalm. It’s only five verses—certainly you can read it or listen to it again. Be reminded of His enduring, never-ending, faithful love for you. Take a moment to thank Him for it. And don’t be afraid to shout for joy to Him in worship and in the way you live your life today. (Just don’t wake up your roommates or any sleeping family members!)

This psalm reminds us that our God is just, right, and holy. These words are found all throughout Scripture to describe God. Righteousness describes God’s objective morality. Everything He does and everything He is can be described as moral and right. God is our standard for morality. From His righteousness comes His justice. These two go hand in hand. The word justice here can also be interchanged with judgment. This is God’s declaration of what is righteous and unrighteous and the consequences that follow. God’s justice demands that a price be paid for unrighteousness. This truth is ingrained in each of us. When someone wrongs us, there is something in us that desires a consequence. When we have been hurt by someone, we have a deep desire for payment, for that wrong to be made right somehow. God’s holiness describes His otherness. He is separate from the brokenness and sinfulness that infects each of us, perfect in justice and righteousness.

 Still, God bends low to speak to us. When we choose pride, lust, greed, dishonesty, selfishness, or anything other than God, He is faithful to forgive us and call us back to Himself. How can God be holy, set apart, and still near to us in all of our brokenness? How can God call Himself just while extending such radical forgiveness?

 Our God, perfect in justice, righteousness and holiness, desires our nearness to Him so much that He put on flesh and wore our sins as scars. He bore the consequences of our sinfulness and took them to the grave, paying the price that we could not pay. Jesus died the death that we deserve because of our unrighteousness. Then, once the price for our sins had been paid in full, He rose to life so that we can have the hope of new life. Ephesians 1 tells us, “He chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.” Those who repent and accept the forgiveness we have been offered through Jesus are seen as holy in God’s sight. Jesus’ payment made a way for us to be near to God for eternity. Our holy God made us holy in His sight to draw us into a relationship with Him. The forgiveness we are offered through Jesus is not despite God’s holiness and justice, but because of His holiness and justice.

The book of 1 Samuel first introduces us to Saul, the first Israelite king. In sharp contrast to Saul’s life, we see the true king extolled in Psalm 98. Although it may be short, it is packed with beautiful images of praise to the Lord. Verse 1 opens with “sing a new song to the Lord, for He has performed wonders; His right hand and holy arm have won Him victory.” The occasion in which the psalm was written is unknown, but clearly it contains a triumphant tribute to the Lord. Notice it instructs participants to sing a new song; God is continually at work which should inspire fresh and dynamic worship to Him. The psalmist recounts how the victory has revealed God’s righteousness, love, and faithfulness in plain sight of the nations. Nothing has been hidden but is visible to all Israel and to the ends of the earth as the unfolding work of redemption is displayed.

What should the response be to His marvelous works? The verbs imply a celebration of all the earth with shouts of joy and jubilation, singing, and blasts of the ram’s horn in the presence of the Lord. The sea, rivers, and mountains are also invited into the worship and praise before the Lord. If you have ever watched ocean waves crash on shore, it’s easy to embrace this element of praise. All creation was made for God’s glory and to declare His praises. He inhabits the praises of His people as the enemy is rendered powerless.

The praise described in this psalm is not only for the marvelous things the Lord has done, but also for the work He will do in the  future. The last verse states, “He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples with equity.” What a consolation for all creation that has suffered under the sin and rebellion of mankind! In the ancient world, justice was rare – and this is still true sometimes. Judges were bribed or turned by ideology and prejudice. The idea of a coming judgment with equity was a great relief to those who were often oppressed and denied justice (Guzman).

“The Lord reigns, let the earth be glad.” Why is the earth to be glad? Because the Lord reigns, of course! Many Christians would agree with this statement, but many couldn’t say why. Psalm 97 serves as a reflection on the power and majesty of the Lord our God. It shows His ultimate power and authority over all of creation, the insurmountable gap between Him and anything humans may place as an idol, and it shows His loving protection for His people, using that power for their good and His glory.

In verses 2-6, we see the illustrations of His power. We see His throne, with the foundation of righteousness and justice, surrounded by thick darkness. We see fire going before Him, His lightning lighting up the world, and mountains melting like wax in His presence. All of these things seem terrifying to many readers, and surely they would be to see in person. Scripture actually holds an example of human reactions to this very sight. It is found in Exodus chapters 19-20.

“On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightning, with a thick cloud over the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast…Mount Sinai was covered with smoke, because the Lord descended in fire…” (Exodus 19:16-18).

In this scene, Moses is serving as a middle-man between God and the Israelites. The depictions of God’s power are strikingly similar, are they not? He appears with fire, dark clouds, and lightning, so it’s understandable when, in chapter 20, the Israelites tremble in fear rather than interacting with God. Instead, they have Moses handle all of the interaction, and Exodus 20:21 says Moses “approached the thick darkness where God was,” while the rest of the people stayed at a distance.

This isn’t something merely hidden in the Old Testament, however. Christians still act like this today! Instead of meeting God where He calls, many shrink back, willing to only meet with Him from a distance, whether from the base of a mountain or the foot of a stage. Psalm 97, though, promises us that, while the Lord is powerful, He is also good. His power should be absolutely respected, but His love and goodness will cover all. Rest in this, Christian. The Lord God “guards the lives of His faithful ones and delivers them from the hand of the wicked” (v. 10).