Category: Psalms

In many of the psalms we have read so far, we see the author pouring out his heart to God, asking why the world is the way it is⏤looking for an answer, for hope in the darkness. Psalm 43 is no exception, and it is a perfect example of what to do when we feel oppressed and discouraged. 

In this short psalm, there are four questions the Sons of Korah (the authors) ask. Reread these questions in verses 2 and 5. Sometimes Scripture asks questions that are responses to an author’s circumstances, and they are there to serve a point. These questions show us that when we are wronged, discouraged, or confused, we can express ourselves honestly to God. Christianity is not a faith where we are required to bottle up our hurt and confusion. It’s a faith where we can bring our emotions to the light. 

In addition to questions and cries of lament to God, there is another response. In verses 3 and 5, the author asks for God’s light and truth (found in His Word), a path to the Holy Mountain (referring to Mount Zion in Jerusalem, where people went to collectively praise God), and a declaration that he will praise God with his harp (worshiping through song). These desires for praise aren’t there because everything was going great for the psalmist. They aren’t there because the psalmist felt close to God. As we saw earlier, the author actually felt far from God. But the psalmist knows when we are troubled or things aren’t going well, God is our “only safe haven” (v. 2). So when we feel like we are far from God, the best thing to do is express that to God and sing His praise, just like the psalmist did here.

As we begin reading Psalm 42 today, some of us might have a soundtrack slowly rising in the background of our minds. The first verse served as the basis for a popular worship song written in 1984, “As the Deer.” It offers a calming melody and words of devotion to God. Reading this full psalm paints a different picture.

This is a gritty, groaning, gutsy chapter depicting the back-and-forth struggle between the writer’s earthly feelings and heavenly faith. We can almost hear the two different voices pleading and praising in the author’s mind and heart: one relaying suffering and the other reminding the solution. For example: 

Suffering: My tears have been my food, day and night, while people say to me all day long,“Where is your God?” (v. 3)

Solution: These things I remember as I pour out my soul: how I used to go to the house of God under the protection of the Mighty One with shouts of joy and praise among the festive throng. (v. 4)

Suffering: Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? (v. 5)

Solution: Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God. (v. 5)

We often avoid sharing our suffering with God. We have been misled to believe God doesn’t want us to speak of it or to question it. When suffering comes, and it absolutely will, many well-intentioned friends skip over validating our pain and refrain from sitting in sympathy as we suffer. Instead, we are given “coffee cup” scripture and paraphrased principles. We are encouraged to “focus on the good” with the unspoken direction to silence the difficult. There is some hidden undercurrent that acknowledging the suffering seems unholy.

But here’s the thing: God hears both. We do not need to hide our pain or protect Him from our questions. We do not need to feel shameful or shaky in our faith because of our suffering. Rather, God’s power is perfected in our weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9), our faith is strengthened in our suffering (1 Peter 5:9), and we are refined through the fire of challenges (Isaiah 48:10).

So we can share our suffering with God and proclaim Him as the solution – all with the same faith and in the same breath.  We can bring our gritty, groaning, gutsy pleas to His feet and praise His faithfulness. We can claim the refrain of Psalm 42 for ourselves:

Put your hope in God,

for I will yet praise him,

my Savior and my God.

David uses this psalm to demonstrate how considering the poor can transform one’s life from the illusion of self-sufficiency to that of total dependence on God. Consideration extends beyond just a thought to wise action and intervention. We often think of being poor as purely a monetary or physical condition. The term poor, or poverty, does not simply refer to people in lower economic standing. There is also emotional, relational, and spiritual poverty. None of us are immune to that. Deep awareness of our deficiencies, brokenness, and our own poverty should overwhelm us with our desperate need for a savior. Once we realize that, we are better equipped to care for the needs of those around us.  

David continues in verses 5-9 to confess his fears and vulnerabilities to God. By listing rejection, ridicule, gossip, and betrayal, David effectively surrenders himself, his relationships, and situations to God as we are commanded to in Philippians 4:6 and 1 Peter 5:7. Upon realizing our own poverty and deficiency we should also confess our sins, fears, and situations to God and praise God for who He is!

Our culture glorifies individualism and self-determination. From a young age we are conditioned to believe the idea that our successes are the result of our hard work, failures are the result of our laziness, and that we can do everything on our own. But Scripture tells us that we should strive towards full dependence on God rather than ourselves. That realization points us toward our Savior and can transform our lives from self-supported poverty to God-provided blessing.  

We know with our heads that God is able to redeem the messy things in us, but we also know the battle in our hearts to really live out that belief. We want to fix ourselves, to heal our own brokenness, to get ourselves out of the messes we find ourselves in. Wouldn’t it be so much faster that way? And wouldn’t that give us the satisfaction of knowing we are strong, independent, and capable all on our own?

Psalm 40 shows a much different approach. All throughout this chapter, David remembers his weakness and inability to save himself. While David is feeling overtaken by his sinfulness (v. 12), his response is to wait patiently for the Lord to save him. If you look at the actions of David compared to the actions of God described in this chapter, you will notice an important difference. God has lifted David from the pit, set his feet on firm ground, and protected and delivered him. David acknowledges his need, sees the work of God, then speaks of God’s faithfulness. God does the work and David responds with praise.

The healing of our hearts and our own sinfulness happens when we remember that we cannot do anything by our own power. We cannot heal or fix ourselves. We cannot earn our own forgiveness or salvation. On our own, we are powerless to overcome sin and brokenness. Those who long for God and for His saving help are the ones who will see His greatness (v. 16) because those are the people that are best positioned to see God move.

David knows this because he knows God’s heart – that we would acknowledge our complete dependence on God and that He would be glorified through our praise and faithfulness. He does not want our sacrifices. He wants our hearts and our praise. Isn’t that exactly what is at the heart of the gospel? While we were stuck in the mud and mire, God became flesh, took on our sin, died, and rose again to save and redeem us. When we acknowledge that we cannot do anything apart from God, only God can receive the glory. Then His name will be made great and His people will respond in praise. What a good God that His glory is also our greatest good.

We do not always know how to handle our messy lives. Similar to yesterday’s psalm, David is grieved by his life circumstances. He was sick. He dwelled in his discomfort. He internalized his doubts. His silence led to grief. A fire of discontentment and anxiety burned within him. The turmoil became too much to handle on his own, and he cried out to God.

David was impatient for the end of his life. Learning about this man’s deep mental struggle humanizes our reading of this psalm. We can all relate to wanting a less taxing and easier life. David did not live a perfect life, but he was still used by God. He realized that life’s ills and woes are fleeting as we have the hope of heaven. Our lives are as quick as a breath compared to our eternity with God. 

Our path through this life is not always rainbows and butterflies. David needed refining, and so do we. In verse 11, we read, “When you [the Lord] discipline a man with rebukes for sin, you consume like a moth what is dear to him; surely all mankind is a mere breath!” Sometimes the Lord will destroy what we delight in, like a moth destroying fine clothing, because that is what we need in order to seek Him. It’s not that God is mean; it is quite the contrary. He is loving. He would rather destroy our idols while we have a chance of communing with Him than let us suffer eternity in excruciating discomfort. 

David chose to keep fighting his battles because God allowed him to live for a reason. The obstacles David faced paled in comparison to the greatness of the Lord and heaven. Praying for deliverance through teary eyes is worth it, because we are only guests here on the earth for a short time.

Today we read another lament of David in Psalm 38. This was a lament written as a memorial for God to remember His people (Israel) and for Him to act on their behalf. It is also a penitential psalm where David lays his sin before God, realizing that the trouble he is in is a result of his sin. While it is not always the case that trouble and suffering are a direct result of sin (see the book of Job), that is the case in this psalm. 

We have all made decisions that we later regretted, whether it is waking up with the weight of regret from how we spent the previous night to seeing flashing lights approaching from out of the darkness. Sooner or later our sin will be found out and that is exactly what David is experiencing here in this psalm. In verse four he expresses that “My guilt has overwhelmed me like a burden too heavy to bear,” but Jesus promises to give rest to the weary and burdened– His yoke is easy and His burden is light (Matthew 11:28-30). When we come to Jesus there is rest for our souls. We have a salvation rest, knowing our eternity is secure (Ephesians 4:30). We also have a spiritual rest when we confess our sin (1 John 1:9). 

Therefore we can confess with confidence, as David does, that God alone is our hope and Savior. That is an astounding mark of Christianity, that even when everything is crumbling around us, we can say with great confidence that God alone is our hope. He has a perfect resume. Even when it does not feel like God is at work or near, we can bring our frustrations to Him. We know that God will not turn away a truly repentant person, and that He honors honest prayers. What an encouragement that reading through the Psalms continues to show us! The Psalmist brings forth everything going on in their life, the good and the bad. We do not need these polished, stained glass, robotic prayers. We can take heart in knowing that God sees and He knows. 

In today’s reading we see the clear and repeated theme of how we should respond when the bad guys win. We are reminded that it is God that created the universe and it is God who has the final word in every situation. David, in his older years, writes to us after years of witnessing the bad guy come out on top. We, of course, see this all too often in our own lives. So how do we keep the faith and be content in our current circumstances? Psalm 37 describes that a life of doing good reaps abundant peace while a life of evil leads to destruction.

Verses 1-11 tell us to submit to God, to do good, and then we will inherit the land. Verses 12-26 tell us to be content in God and let Him be the judge. Verses 27-40 tell us to act justly even when others wrong us. David writes with such conviction because he is writing from first hand experience. King Saul tried to kill David time and time again. David had the opportunity to kill Saul many times, yet spared his life only to watch Saul return to his comfortable palace. David, on the other hand, went back to a cold, dark cave. David abided in God, and in return, God cultivated in him a right perspective of justice. This perspective allowed David to be content in every circumstance, because he knew God would be the ultimate judge.

Like David, when we see evildoers prosper, we must submit to God, fully trusting that He will judge righteously. Psalm 37 repeatedly tells us that the righteous will “inherit the land” (verses 9, 11, 22, 29, and 34). David is saying that God will bless those who stand firm in His promises and that the righteous will be given what they need as long as they trust in the Lord. These promises are what we can cling to when hope seems lost, when we have been wronged, and when justice feels distant.

It would be easy to fall into the mindset of those who are evil, especially when outwardly they find success. Let us remember, though, that at the end of the day, we serve a God who has the final word. Even if the bad guys win every time here on earth, God has the ultimate victory and those who follow Him will reap the ultimate reward of being with Him forever.

The Lord is the source of life. Psalm 36 is written with a style reminiscent of wisdom literature, while also containing a prayer for help. Much like Psalm 1, David contrasts the corrupting way of the wicked and the faithful love of the Lord. The conclusion is that without the Lord’s unfailing love, the righteous would cease to exist. Therefore, David would certainly agree with Paul that in order to attain salvation, one must receive righteousness from God. He says, “This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe” (Romans 3:22). 

The psalmist begins by reflecting on the way of the wicked. Essentially, David is learning from the mistakes of those around him or potentially the mistakes he made himself. So, David begins listing what has been learned. In wisdom literature, “the fear of the Lord” is the beginning point of wisdom (Proverbs 1:7). Therefore, the Psalmist clarifies that the wicked person’s misdirected life stems from their lack of fear of God. The character of the wicked person is displayed in their habits (v. 2), words (v. 3), and in their plans/attractions (v. 4). While the wicked person dreams of new ways to commit themselves to evil, the righteous person meditates on God’s truths both day and night (Psalm 1:2). 

The common approach in wisdom literature is to parallel a description of the wicked with the description of the righteous. However, David follows the wicked with a hymn praising the goodness and unfailing love of the Lord. God’s love is higher than the heavens. His righteousness is as huge and immoveable as the mighty mountains. His justice is as deep as the sea. David also writes that God’s love is priceless and does not discriminate—all are welcomed to find refuge under God’s wings. Finally, wisdom literature declares that “the teaching of the wise is a fountain of life” (Proverbs 13:4). But here the psalmist takes it further, describing God as the source or fountain of life and of light. This, perhaps, is why David did not contrast the behaviors of the wicked and righteous. The point is that the only way in which we live righteously is by drinking the righteousness we receive from the Lord.