Psalm 81 is a festival psalm where God is praised for His faithfulness. The trumpet is blown, and the people are gathered together to worship the Lord and to remember His lovingkindness:

• “Blow the trumpet at the time of the New Moon, at the full moon, on our solemn feast day. For this is a statute for Israel, a law of the God of Jacob. This He established in Joseph as a testimony, when He went throughout the land of Egypt, where I heard a language I did not understand” (Psalm 81:3-5).

The Lord is reminding His people how He liberated them from Egypt, where they were once enslaved, and how He gave them the Law in the wilderness so that they would be people set apart to Him. The Lord delivered them from a land immersed in the worship of false gods and brought them into the wilderness to teach them how to walk with Him, to trust Him, and to obey Him. The Lord commanded them time and time again not to live like the people around them who were steeped in idolatry: 

• “Hear, O My people, and I will admonish you! O Israel, if you will listen to Me! There shall be no foreign god among you; nor shall you worship any foreign god. I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt; open your mouth wide, and I will fill it” (Psalm 81:8-10).

However, the Israelites continued to reject the Lord in spite of the marvelous works He performed on their behalf. The Lord longed to pour out His blessings upon His people as He says “open your mouth wide, and I will fill it”, but the people lacked faith; therefore, the Lord gave them over to themselves:

• “But My people would not heed My voice, and Israel would have none of Me. So I gave them over to their own stubborn heart, to walk in their own counsels” (Psalm 81:11-12).

The Lord’s warnings were ignored by the Israelites as their hearts went after the idols of the nations around them, so the Lord gave them over to “their own stubborn heart, to walk in their own counsels”. Being left to ourselves is a death sentence. Jeremiah will later say, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9). An unrestrained person acting out of the lust of his own heart will always default to evil and wickedness. The Lord knows this and that is why He pleads for His people to obey His good commandments because He knows what is best for them:

• “Oh, that My people would listen to Me, that Israel would walk in My ways! I would soon subdue their enemies, and turn My hand against their adversaries. The haters of the Lord would pretend submission to Him, but their fate would endure forever. He would have fed them also with the finest of wheat; and with honey from the rock I would have satisfied you” (Psalm 81:13-16)

The Lord wants only good for His people – “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope” (Jeremiah 29:11). However, we must cooperate with the Lord, as Paul will later say, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (Romans 12:1-2). In order to be transformed, we must spend time in the presence of the Lord and in His word — we must be people of discipline and self restraint.

Tomorrow, Solomon sits on the throne as the new king of Israel. Just as the Lord has warned His people against idolatry and commanded them to walk in obedience all throughout the story, He will soon give the same charge to King Solomon – “Now if you walk before Me as your father David walked, in integrity of heart and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded you, and if you keep My statutes and My judgments, then I will establish the throne of your kingdom over Israel forever, as I promised David your father, saying, ‘You shall not fail to have a man on the throne of Israel.’ But if you or your sons at all turn from following Me, and do not keep My commandments and My statutes which I have set before you, but go and serve other gods and worship them, then I will cut off Israel from the land which I have given them; and this house which I have consecrated for My name I will cast out of My sight. Israel will be a proverb and a byword among all peoples” (1 Kings 9:4-7).

Solomon, like everyone else, will have a choice to make — obey the Lord and walk in His ways or don’t. Keep reading to see the life of King Solomon unfold. (Psalm 79-82)

In a time of trouble and despair, Asaph begins to question the Lord:

• “Will the Lord cast off forever? And will He be favorable no more? Has His mercy ceased forever? Has His promise failed forevermore? Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has He in anger shut up His tender mercies?” (Psalm 77:7-9).

Asaph’s questioning leads him to remembering the Lord’s past faithfulness:

• “And I said, ‘This is my anguish; but I will remember the years of the right hand of the Most High.’ I will remember the works of the Lord; surely I will remember Your wonders of old. I will also meditate on all Your work, and talk of Your deeds” (Psalms 77:10-12).

Remembering what the Lord has done in the past allows us to trust Him in the present. And you can’t remember the faithfulness of the Lord unless you know His story. Asaph is a man who knows the story of the Lord as he recounts it Psalm 78:

• “Marvelous things He did in the sight of their fathers, in the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan. He divided the sea and caused them to pass through; and He made the waters stand up like a heap. In the daytime also He led them with the cloud, and all the night with a light of fire. He split the rocks in the wilderness, and gave them drink in abundance like the depths. He also brought streams out of the rock, and caused waters to run down like rivers” (Psalm 78:12-16).
• “Had rained down manna on them to eat, and given them of the bread of heaven. Men ate angels’ food; He sent them food to the full” (Psalm 78:24-25).
• “He also rained meat on them like the dust, feathered fowl like the sand of the seas; and He let them fall in the midst of their camp, all around their dwellings” (Psalm 78:27-28).

The Lord’s story not only highlights His faithfulness but also exposes mankind’s disobedience and lack of faith:

• “In spite of this they still sinned, and did not believe in His wondrous works. Therefore their days He consumed in futility, and their years in fear” (Psalm 78:33-33).
• “How often they provoked Him in the wilderness, and grieved Him in the desert! Yes, again and again they tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel. They did not remember His power: The day when He redeemed them from the enemy, when He worked His signs in Egypt, and His wonders in the field of Zoan” (Psalm 78:40-43).

Of course God’s power cannot be restrained, but we can limit the Lord’s activity through our own lives by not surrendering to Him. When Jesus arrives on the scene, He will be rejected in His own home town. Matthew will write about how Jesus’ works were limited there because of the people’s lack of faith – “Now He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief” (Matthew 13:58). The Lord desires to bless us and to lead us, but we must give Him full access to our lives. 

Asaph says that not only did the people rebel against the Lord in the wilderness, but also when He brought them into the promised land:

• “He also drove out the nations before them, allotted them an inheritance by survey, and made the tribes of Israel dwell in their tents. Yet they tested and provoked the Most High God, and did not keep His testimonies” (Psalm 78:55-56). 
• “When God heard this, He was furious, and greatly abhorred Israel, so that He forsook the tabernacle of Shiloh, the tent He had placed among men, and delivered His strength into captivity, and His glory into the enemy’s hand. He also gave His people over to the sword, and was furious with His inheritance” (Psalm 78:59-62).

Despite the people’s lack of faith, the Lord was faithful as He defeated the Philistines, brought the tabernacle back to Israel, and gave them a leader who was after His own heart, King David:

• “But chose the tribe of Judah, Mount Zion which He loved. And He built His sanctuary like the heights, like the earth which He has established forever. He also chose David His servant, and took him from the sheepfolds; From following the ewes that had young He brought him, to shepherd Jacob His people, and Israel His inheritance. So he shepherded them according to the integrity of his heart, and guided them by the skillfulness of his hands” (Psalm 78:68-72).

The Lord is still faithful today, in spite of man’s disobedience and lack of faith – “If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself” (2 Timothy 2:13). God is sending a better David to rescue and lead His people. This entire story is about the Lord’s Son Jesus Christ who is coming to live a sinless life we can’t live and die a horrific death that we deserve, so that anyone who puts their faith in Jesus Christ shall be deemed righteous, not based on our own merit but His, and restored to the Father. Today, right this moment, God is working to bring salvation to anyone who believes – to anyone. It doesn’t matter who you are or what you have done. Anyone who prays a prayer of genuine repentance and asks Jesus to be Lord over their life will be grafted into His Kingdom – “remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world… So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ” (Ephesians 2:12-13,19).

We have an awesome God with an incredible story of how He sent His Son to save the world! God commands His people to know His story and pass it down from generation to generation to remind them of the Lord’s faithfulness, and to encourage them to walk in the ways of the Lord:

• “I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings of old, which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us. We will not hide them from their children, telling to the generation to come the praises of the Lord, and His strength and His wonderful works that He has done” (Psalm 78:1-4). 

It only takes one generation not knowing the Lord and His ways to lead future generations away from God and into full blown idolatry as we saw in the Judges Era (Judges 2:10). May we be a generation that knows the Lord and His story and passes it down. 

We have one more day of reading the psalms, and then we will jump into the life of King Solomon, so keep reading. (Psalms 75-78)

Psalm 50:4-6 – “He shall call to the heavens from above, and to the earth, that He may judge His people: ‘Gather My saints together to Me, those who have made a covenant with Me by sacrifice.’ Let the heavens declare His righteousness, for God Himself is Judge.”

• There will come a day when we all will stand before the Lord. Christians will not be judged in terms of their eternal salvation because that is secure in Christ; nor will we be judged for our sins because Jesus bore those for us on the cross. However, Christians will stand before the judgment seat of Christ (Romans 14:10, 2 Corinthians 5:10); and we will be judged for how we spent our time here on earth — judged for our works and our motives behind our works. For our good works, we will receive an award. However, there will be a loss for those works that did not glorify the Lord. 

Psalm 50:12-15 – “If I were hungry, I would not tell you; for the world is Mine, and all its fullness. Will I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats? Offer to God thanksgiving, and pay your vows to the Most High. Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me.”

• The Lord is rebuking His people who are just going through the motions of offering sacrifices to the Lord without a heart surrendered to Him. God is not in need of animal sacrifices or anything from us for that matter. He is not impressed with someone performing public religious displays but ignoring all His commandments in their personal life. The Lord desires for His people to give thanks to Him, obey Him, and trust that He is for them. 

Psalm 50:16-23 – “But to the wicked God says: ‘What right have you to declare My statutes, or take My covenant in your mouth, seeing you hate instruction and cast My words behind you? When you saw a thief, you consented with him, and have been a partaker with adulterers. You give your mouth to evil, and your tongue frames deceit. You sit and speak against your brother; you slander your own mother’s son. These things you have done, and I kept silent; you thought that I was altogether like you; but I will rebuke you, and set them in order before your eyes. Now consider this, you who forget God, lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver: Whoever offers praise glorifies Me; and to him who orders his conduct aright I will show the salvation of God.”

• The people are performing the religious duty of the animal sacrifice yet living lives consenting with thieves, partaking in adultery, lying, and slandering others. This blatant neglect of God’s law exposes a heart issue. A heart that loves the Lord will desire obedience and will delight in praising Him. The idea of your heart being exposed through your obedience to the word of God is not just an Old Testament concept. We will see this same rebuke given in the New Testament:
  • “For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God” (John 3:20-21).
  • “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him” (John 3:36). 
  • “If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:6-7).
  • “He who says, ‘I know Him,’ and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked” (1 John 2:4-6).
  • “Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble! But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?” (James 2:18-20).

Works do not save us, as Paul will explain in his letter to Titus – “But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life” (Titus 3:4-7). We are saved by grace through faith. However, our faith is exhibited through our works. And it’s not about going through the religious motions – it’s about a heart that loves the Lord and out of love for Him, our deeds are evidence to the world that we belong to Christ.

No one can fool God with religious activity. He is the one who sees the heart and knows all motives behind each action. Therefore, we can rest assured that the Lord sees the ones who truly belong to Him, and one day those who are His and who steward their time well here on earth will stand before Christ and hear these words – “Well done, good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:21). Keep reading. (Psalm 50, Psalms 73-74)

Psalm 89:3-4 – “I have made a covenant with My chosen, I have sworn to My servant David: ‘Your seed I will establish forever, and build up your throne to all generations.’”

Psalm 89:19-21 – “Then You spoke in a vision to Your holy one, and said: ‘I have given help to one who is mighty; I have exalted one chosen from the people. I have found My servant David; with My holy oil I have anointed him, with whom My hand shall be established; also My arm shall strengthen him.’” 

• Ethan, the psalmist of Psalm 89, writes about the Lord’s everlasting mercies and faithfulness as he remembers the covenant that the Lord made with King David. David was chosen, exalted, anointed, established, and strengthened by the Lord as king of His people. Partial fulfillment of the Davidic Covenant is through David’s son Solomon. However, it will be perfectly fulfilled through the Lord’s son, Jesus Christ. Jesus’ mother Mary, will descend from the lineage of King David’s son Nathan, and Mary’s husband Joseph will descend from the lineage of King David’s son, Solomon. When we get to the Book of Matthew, we will see that Matthew calls Jesus the Son of David before listing His genealogy (Matthew 1:1). 

Psalm 89:27-29 – “Also I will make him My firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth. My mercy I will keep for him forever, and My covenant shall stand firm with him. His seed also I will make to endure forever, and his throne as the days of heaven.”

• The Lord took Jesse’s youngest son David and made Him His firstborn son. God already said through the Patriarch Jacob, while he was on his deathbed in Egypt, that a king would come from the lineage of his son, Judah, and he would have an everlasting kingdom (Genesis 49:10). David was chosen by God as this firstborn king from the line of Judah. However, David’s life is just a foreshadowing of the coming King, King Jesus. Paul will later call Jesus Christ the firstborn – “For those whom He foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, in order that He might be the firstborn among many brothers” (Romans 8:29). Jesus is coming to die so that we may have life. After Jesus is crucified, He will rise from the grave three days later, making Him the firstborn of many. Therefore, anyone who trusts in Christ can have hope that they too will rise from the dead. 

Psalm 89:30-37- “If his sons forsake My law and do not walk in My judgments, if they break My statutes and do not keep My commandments, then I will punish their transgression with the rod, and their iniquity with stripes. Nevertheless My lovingkindness I will not utterly take from him, nor allow My faithfulness to fail. My covenant I will not break, nor alter the word that has gone out of My lips. Once I have sworn by My holiness; I will not lie to David: his seed shall endure forever, and his throne as the sun before Me; It shall be established forever like the moon, even like the faithful witness in the sky.”

• When we read about the life of King Solomon and David’s descendants, we will discover that they will forsake the law and neglect the ways of the Lord, and there will be consequences because of their disobedience. However, the Lord will never break His covenant with King David. This seed that shall endure forever is the seed that the Lord promised to send back in the garden after the serpent deceived Adam and Eve. When Adam and Eve listened to the voice of the serpent instead of the voice of the Lord, sin entered the world. However, God didn’t leave them in their sin state without hope. The Lord promised to send a seed of a woman who would come and crush the head of the serpent. That seed is Jesus Christ, who is coming from the outside as God and will be born by Mary, a descendant of King David. Jesus will come once and defeat death, but He will come back one day for ultimate victory over Satan. Satan will be bound and thrown into the lake of fire along with anyone who rejects Christ, but for those who accept Jesus as their Savior, they shall never perish (Revelation 20-21).

So when Ethan says, “What man can live and not see death? Can he deliver his life from the power of the grave?” (Psalm 89:48) – we know the answer! Jesus Christ! And since Jesus defeated death, we can live our lives with hope that there is way more in store for us than this shattered world has to offer. We can look with anticipation to the Day that we will stand face to face with our Lord and Creator. 

Therefore, just as Paul will later write from prison to his disciple Timothy, we too can suffer for a moment, knowing that one day the Lord will take us home – “Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God, who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began, but has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, to which I was appointed a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles. For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day” (2 Timothy 1:8-12).

May we live our lives with our focus on that Day, the Day we stand before the Lord. Keep reading. (Psalms 144-145, Psalms 88-89)

David is a man who relies upon the Lord for protection, not only from his outside enemies, but also from himself. Sometimes our worst enemy is the enemy that lies within. Therefore, David prays:

• “Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my anxieties; and see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (Psalm 139:23-24).
• “Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips. Do not incline my heart to any evil thing, to practice wicked works with men who work iniquity; and do not let me eat of their delicacies” (Psalm 141:3-4).
• “Cause me to hear Your lovingkindness in the morning, for in You do I trust; cause me to know the way in which I should walk, for I lift up my soul to You” (Psalm 143:8).
• “Teach me to do Your will, for You are my God; Your Spirit is good. Lead me in the land of uprightness” (Psalm 143:10).

David even prays for accountability to help him walk in the ways of the Lord, avoiding the lust and the temptations of this world and the wickedness of his own heart:

• “Let the righteous strike me; it shall be a kindness. And let him rebuke me; it shall be as excellent oil; let my head not refuse it” (Psalm 141:5).

Only a humble man can come to the Lord asking Him to search him for evil and requesting rebuke for any found wickedness:

• “Lord, my heart is not haughty, Nor my eyes lofty. Neither do I concern myself with great matters, Nor with things too profound for me” (Psalm 131:1).

Since David has a high view of God and His ways, he trusts the Lord with his life and that which he can’t understand. Whether David is a shepherd boy out in the fields, a man on the run from his enemies, or a king sitting on a throne, David finds contentment in the Lord, knowing that the Lord specifically designed him for a life that only David can live: 

• “For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well. My frame was not hidden from You, when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. 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” (Psalm 139:13-16).

Later in the story, Paul will explain how the Lord not only saves us and gives us new life through Christ, but He also uniquely created us to carry out works that He predestined for each – “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10). So if we truly believe this, that God has given us what only we were created to do on this earth and the same with those around us, we can rest and be content with His perfect plan for our lives. And the good news is, not only does the Lord have plans for us, He is the One who gives us what we need to execute His will:

• “The Lord will perfect that which concerns me; Your mercy, O Lord, endures forever; do not forsake the works of Your hands” (Psalm 138:8).

The writer of Hebrews will echo this same truth – “Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen” (Hebrews 13:20-21).

So if you are alive in Christ today, you have a specific calling upon your life to carry out the will of God. It’s a calling only you can fulfill. Therefore, we too shall pray to the Lord to search us for any wicked ways, set a guard over our mouths and hearts, cause us to hear Your lovingkindness, show us the way in which to walk, and teach us to do Your will by the power of the Holy Spirit. In Jesus’ name, Amen. 

Keep reading. (Psalm 131, 133, Psalms 138-141, 143)

In Charles Spurgeon’s Treasury of David, he says the subject of Psalm 110 is “The Priest King”. There were no kings in Israel who were both priest and king. This psalm points to Jesus Christ, the coming Priest King:

Psalm 110:1 – “The Lord said to my Lord, ‘Sit at my right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool’.”

After Jesus completes the work of our salvation, He will ascend to heaven and sit at the right hand of His Father until His return. An excerpt from an article by Dr. Joel McDurmon said that God quotes this verse from Himself more than any other verse – “This verse is quoted or alluded to a whopping 23 times in the NT! It is quoted in 11 out of 27 NT books, and by 7 of the 9 NT authors.” Jesus will later use this verse to prove to the Jews that He is greater than King David, the psalmist, because He is the Son of God (Matthew 22:44).

Psalm 110:2-3 – “The Lord shall send the rod of Your strength out of Zion. Rule in the midst of Your enemies! Your people shall be volunteers in the day of Your power; in the beauties of holiness, from the womb of the morning, You have the dew of Your youth.”

Spurgeon says Jesus is not inactive while sitting at the right hand of God in heaven. However, “We look for the clearer manifestation of His almighty power in the latter days; but even in these waiting times we rejoice that to the Lord all power is given in heaven and in earth.” The Lord is now, always has been, and always will be, in full control of everything in heaven and earth.

Spurgeon explains that the sending forth of the rod of strength is the gospel going forward creating converts; and the metaphor of the dew is about new converts “so these willing armies of converts have a holy excellence and charm about them: and as the dew is the lively emblem of freshness, so are these converts full of vivacity and youthful vigour, and the church is refreshed by them and made to flourish exceedingly.” Disciples of Jesus Christ, those who have accepted Him as their Savior, are now enlisted in the army of the Lord. And by the power of the Holy Spirit, the Lord sends us out to share the gospel with the world. 

Psalm 110:4 – “The Lord has sworn and will not relent, ‘You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.’” 

Melchizedek, king of Salem and a priest of God, was introduced in the Patriarch Era when he blessed Abraham after Abraham rescued Lot, the people, and all their belongings and returned them to Sodom (Genesis 14:17-24). Spurgeon says, “Melchizedek’s office was exceptional, none preceded or succeeded him; he comes upon the page of history mysteriously; no pedigree is given, no date of birth, or mention of death; he blesses Abraham, receives tithe and vanishes from the scene amid honours which show that he was greater than the founder of the chosen nation… Our Lord Jesus, like Melchizedek, stands forth before us as a priest of divine ordaining, not made a priest by fleshly birth, as the sons of Aaron… His order begins and ends in His own person, and in Himself it is eternal, ‘having neither beginning of days nor end of years The King Priest has been here and left His blessing upon the believing, and now He sits in glory in his complete character, stoning for us by the merit of his blood, and exercising all power on our behalf.’” 

Psalm 110:5-7 – “The Lord is at Your right hand; He shall execute kings in the day of His wrath. He shall judge among the nations, He shall fill the places with dead bodies, He shall execute the heads of many countries. He shall drink of the brook by the wayside; Therefore He shall lift up the head.”

These verses refer to the last days when Jesus will come back and judge the world. At the end of the story, we will read how Jesus will return – “Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The word of God. And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS” (Revelation 19:16).  

Jesus is coming once as the innocent lamb to be slaughtered, but He will return one day as the mighty Priest King. “In the latter days we look for terrible conflict and for final victory. Long has Jesus borne with our rebellious race, but at length He wilt rise to end the warfare of longsuffering, by the blows of justice. God has fought with men’s sins for their good, but He will not always by his Spirit strive with men; He will cease from that struggle of long suffering love, and begin another which shall soon end in the final destruction of His adversaries. O King priest, we who are, in a minor degree, king priests too, are full of gladness because Thou reignest even now, and wilt come ere long to vindicate thy cause and establish Thine empire for ever. Even so, come quickly. Amen.” ~ Charles Spurgeon 

Keep reading. (Psalm 103, Psalms 108-110, Psalms 122, 124)

“Save me, O God! For the waters have come up to my neck. I sink in deep mire, where there is no standing; I have come into deep waters, where the floods overflow me. I am weary with my crying; my throat is dry; my eyes fail while I wait for my God” (Psalm 69:1-3).

Many of David’s psalms were written during times of despair, and David unashamedly cried out to the Lord. Then he waited for God to act on his behalf. I noticed in today’s psalms that David said the word “let” about thirty times. How could David surrender his need to control his life and simply “let” the Lord have His way with him and those around him? Because David fully trusted that the Lord was for him though it seemed that the world was against him. David also knew that there was nothing he can do to muster up the strength needed to survive in this broken world — his strength had to come from the Lord:

• “Ascribe strength to God; His excellence is over Israel, and His strength is in the clouds. O God, You are more awesome than Your holy places. The God of Israel is He who gives strength and power to His people” (Psalm 68:34-35).
• “But You, O Lord, are a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering and abundant in mercy and truth. Oh, turn to me, and have mercy on me! Give Your strength to Your servant, and save the son of Your maidservant. Show me a sign for good, that those who hate me may see it and be ashamed, because You, Lord, have helped me and comforted me” (Psalm 86:15-17).

David experienced persecution because of his love for the Lord and for the house of the Lord. But when men rejected him, David turned to God:

• “I have become a stranger to my brothers, and an alien to my mother’s children; because zeal for Your house has eaten me up, and the reproaches of those who reproach You have fallen on me. When I wept and chastened my soul with fasting, that became my reproach. I also made sackcloth my garment; I became a byword to them. Those who sit in the gate speak against me, and I am the song of the drunkards. But as for me, my prayer is to You, O Lord, in the acceptable time; O God, in the multitude of Your mercy, hear me in the truth of Your salvation” (Psalm 69:8-13).
• “Reproach has broken my heart, and I am full of heaviness; I looked for someone to take pity, but there was none; and for comforters, but I found none. They also gave me gall for my food, and for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink” (Psalm 69:20-21).

Persecution comes with being a Christian as Jesus will later say, “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:10). Jesus will experience this same persecution that David is describing and much more. Jesus will be stripped. A crown of thorns will be shoved onto His head. He will be mocked, spat upon, and beaten. Nails will be driven into his hands and feet. And while hanging on the cross, dying a death we deserve, “they offered him wine to drink, mixed with gall, but when He tasted it, He would not drink it” (Matthew 27:34). 

Following Christ on this side of heaven is not always easy, as Jesus will explain to his disciples – “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also” (John 15:18-20). However, we can find rest in Jesus Christ – “Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30).

Our hope is found in Christ and His finished work of salvation. Therefore, like David, we can relinquish control over our lives and “let” the Lord give us the strength needed to sustain us through hard days while praising Him for the salvation He is providing through His Son Jesus Christ –  “Let Your salvation, O God, set me up on high. I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify Him with thanksgiving” (Psalm 69:29-30). 

Keep reading. (Psalms 68-70, Psalm 86, Psalm 101)

Today’s psalms reveal the power of prayer, the power of a testimony, and the power of intercession for the nations: 

• Power of prayer – We see in David’s psalms how he cried out to the Lord through prayer, fully trusting that the Lord would respond:
  • “Hear my cry, O God; attend to my prayer. From the end of the earth I will cry to You, when my heart is overwhelmed; lead me to the rock that is higher than I” (Psalm 61:1-2).
  • “Truly my soul silently waits for God; from Him comes my salvation” (Psalm 62:1).
  • “My soul, wait silently for God alone, for my expectation is from Him” (Psalm 62:5).
  • “Trust in Him at all times, you people; pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us” (Psalm 62:8).
  • “Hear my voice, O God, in my meditation; preserve my life from fear of the enemy” (Psalm 64:1).
  • “O You who hear prayer, to You all flesh will come. Iniquities prevail against me; as for our transgressions, You will provide atonement for them” (Psalm 65:2-3).
  • “By awesome deeds in righteousness You will answer us, O God of our salvation, You who are the confidence of all the ends of the earth, and of the far-off seas” (Psalm 65:5). 

• Power of testimony – David was so overwhelmed by the goodness of the Lord, His works, and His faithfulness that he could not keep silent. David shouted the Lord’s praises to the world:
  • “Make a joyful shout to God, all the earth! Sing out the honor of His name; make His praise glorious. Say to God, ‘How awesome are Your works! Through the greatness of Your power Your enemies shall submit themselves to You. All the earth shall worship You and sing praises to You; They shall sing praises to Your name.’ Come and see the works of God; He is awesome in His doing toward the sons of men.” (Psalm 66:1-5)
  • “Come and hear, all you who fear God, and I will declare what He has done for my soul. I cried to Him with my mouth, and He was extolled with my tongue. If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear. But certainly God has heard me; He has attended to the voice of my prayer. Blessed be God, Who has not turned away my prayer, nor His mercy from me! (Psalm 66:16-20).

• Power of intercession – In psalm 67 we see the psalmist long for salvation of the nation. The psalmist asks the Lord to shine upon them so that they may be a witness of the ways of the Lord to the world. When Jesus arrives on the scene, He will say to His disciples, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19). This psalmist’s prayer is aligned with the heart of the Lord as he boldly prays for salvation for all the nations:
  • “God be merciful to us and bless us, and cause His face to shine upon us, That Your way may be known on earth, Your salvation among all nations. Let the peoples praise You, O God; let all the peoples praise You. Oh, let the nations be glad and sing for joy! For You shall judge the people righteously, and govern the nations on earth. Let the peoples praise You, O God; Let all the peoples praise You. Then the earth shall yield her increase; God, our own God, shall bless us. God shall bless us, and all the ends of the earth shall fear Him” (Psalm 67).

We too, like David, can run to the Lord and pour out our heart to Him in prayer, trusting that He hears and that He will respond in a way that only He can – for our good and for His glory. And what would happen if our prayer life was similar to the psalmist who wrote Psalm 67? What if we prayed that the Lord’s face would shine upon us so that we can shine His goodness to others and shout to the nations His awesome deeds? 

Dear Lord, may Your face shine upon us so that we may make Your ways known on earth. And may the people praise You, ”Then the earth shall yield her increase; God, our own God, shall bless us. God shall bless us, and all the ends of the earth shall fear Him” (Psalm 67:6-7). Amen.

Keep reading. (Psalms 61-62, Psalms 64-67)

In David’s Psalm 40 we see glimpses of what’s anticipated through the Lord’s Son Jesus Christ:

Psalm 40:6 – “Sacrifice and offering You did not desire; My ears You have opened. Burnt offering and sin offering You did not require.”

David knows that God is more interested in the heart behind the person offering an animal sacrifice than the actual animal sacrifice. What pleases the Lord is a person who is fully surrendered to Him. The author of Hebrews is later going to say that our faith pleases the Lord – “And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6).

Sins are atoned for by the shedding of the blood of the innocent. The sacrificial system does not take away sins, but it reminds people of their sin and their need for a Savior. The sacrificial system points to the Savior, Jesus Christ, who is coming to remove sin through the shedding of His innocent blood. Anyone who puts their faith in Jesus Christ will be washed clean of their sin and reconciled to the Lord. Later in the story, after the death and resurrection of Jesus, the author of Hebrews will quote David while explaining the concept of substitutionary atonement to the Jews. The author will say that the Lord does away with the first, the sacrificial system, in order to establish the second, salvation through the blood of Jesus Christ (Hebrews 10:1-10).

Psalm 40:7-8 – “Then I said, Behold, I come; In the scroll of the book it is written of me. I delight to do Your will, O my God, and Your law is within my heart.” 

Jesus is willingly coming, as written about throughout Scripture, to fulfill the law which no human can. The Lord has set the plan for salvation in motion, but Jesus will have to be born as a man, live a perfect life, be crucified as the final sacrifice, and rise from the grave in order to finish the work His Father willed. And when Jesus arrives on the scene, He will say, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished” (Matthew 5:17-18). Jesus will do for us what we can not do for ourselves. He will complete the works of our salvation.

Psalm 40:9-10 – “I have proclaimed the good news of righteousness in the great assembly; Indeed, I do not restrain my lips, O Lord, You Yourself know. I have not hidden Your righteousness within my heart; I have declared Your faithfulness and Your salvation; I have not concealed Your lovingkindness and Your truth from the great assembly.”

David was compelled to proclaim the faithfulness and goodness of the Lord, and when Jesus Christ arrives, He will do the same. Charles Spurgeon said that Jesus was “the Prince of open-air preachers, the Great Itinerant, the President of the College of all preachers of the gospel.” 

Paul will also be compelled to share the Good News of Christ after he encounters Jesus. In a letter to the Corinthians, Paul will say – “Yet preaching the Good News is not something I can boast about. I am compelled by God to do it. How terrible for me if I didn’t preach the Good News!” (1 Corinthians 9:16). Once you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior, you too, like David and Paul, will be compelled by the Holy Spirit to share the Good News of salvation with others. All who have been saved by grace through faith have a testimony to share, but there is no greater testimony than Jesus Christ’s. That is why it is so important to know His story – so keep reading! (Psalms 39-41, Psalms 53, 55, 58)

“Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him; do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass. Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; do not fret—it only causes harm” (Psalm 37:7-8).

It’s difficult to look around at this fallen, broken world and not fret; yet, David tells us twice in these two verses not to worry. Not only does David tell us not to worry, he says that our worrying causes harm. Worrying is a sign of not trusting in the Lord. Worrying occurs when we respond based on what we see instead of what we believe. 

Knowing the character of the Lord and how He operates can help combat the worry and anxiety that can so easily creep into our lives. Today David hits on three truths:

1) The wicked always try to destroy the righteous, but their plans will not ultimately prevail –

• “The wicked plots against the just, and gnashes at him with his teeth. The Lord laughs at him, For He sees that his day is coming” (Psalm 37:12-13).
• “The wicked watches the righteous, and seeks to slay him. The Lord will not leave him in his hand, nor condemn him when he is judged” (Psalm 37:32-33).

We saw the wicked attacking the righteous displayed in the beginning of the story when wicked Cain killed his righteous brother Abel. The pattern continues throughout the entire story, all the way to the arrival of Jesus, and will continue until Jesus’ final return. David is fully aware of how the wicked love to see a righteous man fall. However, David is also fully aware that his help is in the Lord.

2) The Lord fights our battles –

• “Plead my cause, O Lord, with those who strive with me; Fight against those who fight against me. Take hold of shield and buckler, And stand up for my help. Also draw out the spear, and stop those who pursue me. Say to my soul, ‘I am your salvation’” (Psalm 35:1-3).
• “But the salvation of the righteous is from the Lord; He is their strength in the time of trouble. And the Lord shall help them and deliver them; He shall deliver them from the wicked, and save them, because they trust in Him” (Psalm 37:39-40).

Later in the story, Paul will say, “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:10-12). Paul says to put on the armor of God, which is truth, righteousness, gospel of peace, faith, word of God, and prayer. Paul understands that there is a real enemy at work against us in the spiritual realm and that we need the strength of the Lord to stand against the enemy. Since warfare is a spiritual one, prayer is our strong weapon. David was obviously a man of prayer. Over and over again David cried out to the Lord to deliver him. And over and over again the Lord acted on his behalf. 

3) One day the Lord will cut off wickedness for good, and the righteous will have eternal peace – 

• “Wait on the Lord, and keep His way, and He shall exalt you to inherit the land; when the wicked are cut off, you shall see it. I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like a native green tree. Yet he passed away, and behold, he was no more; indeed I sought him, but he could not be found. Mark the blameless man, and observe the upright; for the future of that man is peace. But the transgressors shall be destroyed together; the future of the wicked shall be cut off” (Psalm 37:34-38).

The pain, suffering, and injustice that we experience on this side of heaven is temporary for those who put their trust in the Lord. The Lord never promised us a pain free life, but He does promise to give us a peace beyond understanding – “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7).

The day will come when we all will stand before the Lord and for the Christian, there will be no more pain and no more suffering – “And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away” (Revelation 21:4). But for the wicked, those who turn their back on the Lord and His ways, they “shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death” (Revelation 21:8).

One day the Lord will put an end to all wickedness, but while there is still time, may our lives be spent sharing the Good News of Christ with this lost and dying world:

• “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance” (2 Peter 3:9).
• “But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things? For we are not, like so many, peddlers of God’s word, but as men of sincerity, as commissioned by God, in the sight of God we speak in Christ” (2 Corinthians 2:14-17).

Keep reading. (Psalm 35-38)