Psalms Readings – Week 9
February 28 – Psalm 63
A psalm of David. When he was in the Desert of Judah.
1 You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you;
I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you,
in a dry and parched land where there is no water.
2 I have seen you in the sanctuary
and beheld your power and your glory.
3 Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you.
4 I will praise you as long as I live,
and in your name I will lift up my hands.
5 I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods;
with singing lips my mouth will praise you.
6 On my bed I remember you;
I think of you through the watches of the night.
7 Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.
8 I cling to you; your right hand upholds me.
9 Those who want to kill me will be destroyed;
they will go down to the depths of the earth.
10 They will be given over to the sword
and become food for jackals.
11 But the king will rejoice in God; all who swear by God will glory in him,
while the mouths of liars will be silenced.
David spent much time in the desert of Judah fleeing Saul, but the reference to “the king” implies that his flight from Jerusalem, after his son Absalom’s coup, is being spoken of here.
Even though David is still facing enemies who want to kill him, his tone is quite different in this psalm. He does not ask why. He does not cry out except to say that he earnestly seeks, thirsts, and longs for God in his current circumstances. He does make several declarations of God’s faithfulness which give him confidence that God will once again take care of his enemies.
The key to such assurance is, “You, God, are my God.” Underline “my.” God was not some impersonal force or being whom he believed in from a distance. God was his God. It speaks of a close dynamic relationship. David intimately knew God’s nature which nurtured him through all of life.
In his current circumstances, he confidently seeks God. Because he has beheld God’s power and glory and knows God’s love is better than life itself, he promises to praise God as long as he lives.
Even throughout the night, he thinks of God and knows God is his help. He envisions himself to be in the protective cover of God’s wings where he can confidently sing and cling. God’s power sustains King David, and he knows he will taste victory and will rejoice in God.
As we look back over our life with Jesus, we can find him to be equally faithful which encourages and empowers us for our current situation where faith may be needed once again.
Memory Verse: Psalm 63:7, Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.
Question(s) to Consider: What evidence do you have of God’s faithfulness in your life? How will you use such evidence to give you confidence for your life today?
March 1 – Psalm 64
For the director of music. A psalm of David.
1 Hear me, my God, as I voice my complaint;
protect my life from the threat of the enemy.
2 Hide me from the conspiracy of the wicked,
from the plots of evildoers.
3 They sharpen their tongues like swords
and aim cruel words like deadly arrows.
4 They shoot from ambush at the innocent;
they shoot suddenly, without fear.
5 They encourage each other in evil plans,
they talk about hiding their snares; they say, “Who will see it?”
6 They plot injustice and say,
“We have devised a perfect plan!”
Surely the human mind and heart are cunning.
7 But God will shoot them with his arrows;
they will suddenly be struck down.
8 He will turn their own tongues against them
and bring them to ruin;
all who see them will shake their heads in scorn.
9 All people will fear;
they will proclaim the works of God
and ponder what he has done.
10 The righteous will rejoice in the Lord
and take refuge in him; all the upright in heart will glory in him!
This is the final psalm in a series dealing with David’s enemies. Here, David faces a threat from those who conspire against him. He focuses on what their cruel and unbridled tongues cause as they make their unjust plans and, even, boast about them.
David has already spoken much about the pain others cause with their cunning talk in trying to defeat him. Such talk is like a sharp and dangerous arrow which inflicts great damage. We may know from our personal experience such emotional pain of having others shoot us with ungodly and unjust lies. The Lord’s brother, James, spoke about the potential evil of the tongue this way,
James 3:9-10, “With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be.”
David believes that one day God’s justice will prevail, and those who shoot evil arrows will themselves be inflicted with their own tongues. Others who see this judgment will fear and proclaim God’s greatness. The righteous will rejoice, take refuge, and glory in the beauty and wonder of God.
If unjust things are being said against you, trust in the Lord that He will provide justice in due time. It is not going unnoticed. It will be dealt with accordingly in God’s time and way.
Memory Verse: Psalm 63:7, Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.
Question(s) to Consider: How can you relate to David’s experience of ungodly and unjust words being spoken against you? How did you respond? How will you respond in the future?
March 2 – Psalm 65
For the director of music. A psalm of David. A song.
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.
3 When we were overwhelmed by sins, you forgave our transgressions.
4 Blessed are those you choose and bring near to live in your courts!
We are filled with the good things of your house, of your holy temple.
5 You answer us with awesome and righteous deeds, God our Savior,
the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas,
6 who formed the mountains by your power, having armed yourself with strength,
7 who stilled the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, and the turmoil of the nations.
8 The whole earth is filled with awe at your wonders; where morning dawns, where evening fades,
you call forth songs of joy.
9 You care for the land and water it; you enrich it abundantly.
The streams of God are filled with water to provide the people with grain, for so you have ordained it.
10 You drench its furrows and level its ridges; you soften it with showers and bless its crops.
11 You crown the year with your bounty, and your carts overflow with abundance.
12 The grasslands of the wilderness overflow; the hills are clothed with gladness.
13 The meadows are covered with flocks and the valleys are mantled with grain;
they shout for joy and sing.
Psalms 65-67 reveal God’s concern for all peoples around the world. Because God is God, the one and only God, He is the Lord of all whether He is recognized as such. However, God’s heart has always been for the world to know His love, provision, and forgiveness.
Psalm 65 offers praise to God from the worshiping community. It begins with praise at the temple where it is envisioned all people would come. It is where prayer is answered and sins are forgiven. It is where the blessing of many good things fills all who gather to worship God at the temple. Something spiritually rewarding occurs when we gather as the Body of Christ and offer our best worship.
God, our Savior, is the hope of the world. The God who created the mountains, who stills roaring waves and warring nations. The whole earth, from sunrise to sunset, is overcome with awe of God’s wonders. God cares for the land by watering and enriching it so it produces bountiful crops for all to enjoy. Hill, valley, and meadow are clothed in God’s gladness with flocks and grain. Creation, in all of its abundant and flourishing apparel, sing out for joy to the Lord.
What a beautiful picture of God and his heart for all of creation around the world. Jesus said it as well, “For God so loved the world…” May God’s heart flood out hearts so we can have His vision for the world to know the greatness and grace of our God.
Memory Verse: Psalm 63:7, Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.
Question(s) to Consider: What does God’s abundant care and provision for creation speak to you about God’s heart for you and the world?
March 3 – Psalm 66
For the director of music. A song. A psalm.
1 Shout for joy to God, all the earth! 2 Sing the glory of his name; make his praise glorious.
3 Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds!
So great is your power that your enemies cringe before you.
4 All the earth bows down to you; they sing praise to you, they sing the praises of your name.”
5 Come and see what God has done, his awesome deeds for mankind!
6 He turned the sea into dry land, they passed through the waters on foot—come, let us rejoice in him.
7 He rules forever by his power, his eyes watch the nations—
let not the rebellious rise up against him.
8 Praise our God, all peoples, let the sound of his praise be heard;
9 he has preserved our lives and kept our feet from slipping.
10 For you, God, tested us; you refined us like silver.
11 You brought us into prison and laid burdens on our backs.
12 You let people ride over our heads; we went through fire and water,
but you brought us to a place of abundance.
13 I will come to your temple with burnt offerings and fulfill my vows to you—
14 vows my lips promised and my mouth spoke when I was in trouble.
15 I will sacrifice fat animals to you and an offering of rams; I will offer bulls and goats.
16 Come and hear, all you who fear God; let me tell you what he has done for me.
17 I cried out to him with my mouth; his praise was on my tongue.
18 If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened;
19 but God has surely listened and has heard my prayer.
20 Praise be to God, who has not rejected my prayer or withheld his love from me!
This joyous psalm of praise celebrates God’s deliverance. The unnamed psalmist recalls God’s miraculous work at the Red Sea and the Jordan River. He calls on all the earth to praise God and testify to his awesome deeds. This psalm highlights God’s sovereignty so everyone should bow down and sing praise to the God of Israel because He is the God of the world.
In declaring that God is the only God over the world, the psalmist implies what God did for Israel, He will do the same for all people who humbly respond to His leadership. If we are a Gentile Christian, we are the ultimate heirs and fulfillment of this vision. We are among “all the peoples” whom God loves and cares for. We are the ones He preserves and protects.
The second half of this song is the psalmist’s personal thanksgiving for answered prayers. The reason the psalmist wants all the earth and all its peoples to praise God comes from his own personal experience of God’s answer to prayer. It is not something he wants to keep to himself but desires others to see and hear what God has done. This is the heart of an evangelist, one who tells others the good news of God’s salvation.
God’s answer to prayer is meant to be our testimony and not kept to oneself. In his praise of God, the psalmist, also, teaches us that if we harbor sin in our hearts, if we refuse to confess our sin, our prayers will not be heard and will go unanswered.
Memory Verse: Psalm 63:7, Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.
Question(s) to Consider: What answered prayer are you celebrating today? Have you given praise to God? Who have you told?
March 4 – Psalm 67
For the director of music. With stringed instruments. A psalm. A song.
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
and guide the nations of the earth.
5 May the peoples praise you, God;
may all the peoples praise you.
6 The land yields its harvest;
God, our God, blesses us.
7 May God bless us still,
so that all the ends of the earth will fear him.
No other psalm so beautifully captures the overarching vision that God is the God of all people and nations. God wants the world to know, to accept, and to follow His ways. This psalm clearly tells us what our role is. The people of God are to be mediators of that blessing to the world.
This is not new information. It has its foundation in God’s promise to Abraham,
Genesis 12:2-3, “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”
The psalm begins with a prayer asking God to bless his people. It is almost a word-for-word repetition of the first part of the Aaronic Blessing found in Numbers 6:24-26. The difference is that here the people are asking for the blessing themselves instead of the priests pronouncing it upon them. Here we, also, see the purpose of asking for God’s blessing is not solely for ourselves but for God’s light and truth to be shown and known among the nations.
Paul would later say it this way,
2 Corinthians 5:18-20, “All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.”
May we pray this prayer of blessing so that we can be true evangelists of the grace and generosity of our God who through Jesus came to redeem and reconcile the world back to Him. Be prepared to answer the prayer through shining the light of Christ through integrity of character and gracious words.
Memory Verse: Psalm 63:7, Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.
Question(s) to Consider: Will you join me in praying this prayer so that we can live out our mission?
March 5 – Psalm 68
For the director of music. Of David. A psalm. A song.
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.
3 But may the righteous be glad and rejoice before God; may they be happy and joyful.
4 Sing to God, sing in praise of his name, extol him who rides on the clouds; rejoice before him—his name is the Lord.
5 A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling.
6 God sets the lonely in families, he leads out the prisoners with singing;
but the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land.
7 When you, God, went out before your people, when you marched through the wilderness,
8 the earth shook, the heavens poured down rain, before God, the One of Sinai, before God, the God of Israel.
9 You gave abundant showers, O God; you refreshed your weary inheritance.
10 Your people settled in it, and from your bounty, God, you provided for the poor.
11 The Lord announces the word, and the women who proclaim it are a mighty throng:
12 “Kings and armies flee in haste; the women at home divide the plunder.
13 Even while you sleep among the sheep pens, the wings of my dove are sheathed with silver,
its feathers with shining gold.”
14 When the Almighty scattered the kings in the land, it was like snow fallen on Mount Zalmon.
15 Mount Bashan, majestic mountain, Mount Bashan, rugged mountain,
16 why gaze in envy, you rugged mountain, at the mountain where God chooses to reign, where the Lord himself will dwell forever?
17 The chariots of God are tens of thousands and thousands of thousands; the Lord has come from Sinai into his sanctuary.
18 When you ascended on high, you took many captives; you received gifts from people, even from the rebellious— that you, Lord God, might dwell there.
19 Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens.
20 Our God is a God who saves; from the Sovereign Lord comes escape from death.
21 Surely God will crush the heads of his enemies, the hairy crowns of those who go on in their sins.
22 The Lord says, “I will bring them from Bashan; I will bring them from the depths of the sea,
23 that your feet may wade in the blood of your foes, while the tongues of your dogs have their share.”
24 Your procession, God, has come into view, the procession of my God and King into the sanctuary.
25 In front are the singers, after them the musicians; with them are the young women playing the timbrels.
26 Praise God in the great congregation; praise the Lord in the assembly of Israel.
27 There is the little tribe of Benjamin, leading them, there the great throng of Judah’s princes,
and there the princes of Zebulun and of Naphtali.
28 Summon your power, God; show us your strength, our God, as you have done before.
29 Because of your temple at Jerusalem kings will bring you gifts.
30 Rebuke the beast among the reeds, the herd of bulls among the calves of the nations.
Humbled, may the beast bring bars of silver. Scatter the nations who delight in war.
31 Envoys will come from Egypt; Cush will submit herself to God.
32 Sing to God, you kingdoms of the earth, sing praise to the Lord,
33 to him who rides across the highest heavens, the ancient heavens, who thunders with mighty voice.
34 Proclaim the power of God, whose majesty is over Israel, whose power is in the heavens.
35 You, God, are awesome in your sanctuary; the God of Israel gives power and strength to his people. Praise be to God!
I love the thought in verse 19 that God bears our burdens daily. God enjoys walking and helping to carry the weight of our worries. Some days, we may need to give him the whole load. Today, rest on the promise that you are not alone in tackling your tasks, meeting with clients, serving the community, leading the organization, etc. Welcome God into your day and let Him share in all of your activity.
Memory Verse: Psalm 63:7, Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.
Question(s) to Consider: If you really believe God carries your burdens, how will it encourage and strengthen you throughout your day?
March 6 – Psalm 69
For the director of music. To the tune of “Lilies.” Of David.
1 Save me, O God, for the waters have come up to my neck.
2 I sink in the miry depths,
where there is no foothold. I have come into the deep waters; the floods engulf me.
3 I am worn out calling for help; my throat is parched. My eyes fail, looking for my God.
4 Those who hate me without reason outnumber the hairs of my head; many are my enemies without cause, those who seek to destroy me. I am forced to restore what I did not steal.
5 You, God, know my folly; my guilt is not hidden from you.
6 Lord, the Lord Almighty,
may those who hope in you not be disgraced because of me; God of Israel,
may those who seek you not be put to shame because of me.
7 For I endure scorn for your sake, and shame covers my face.
8 I am a foreigner to my own family, a stranger to my own mother’s children;
9 for zeal for your house consumes me, and the insults of those who insult you fall on me.
10 When I weep and fast, I must endure scorn;
11 when I put on sackcloth, people make sport of me.
12 Those who sit at the gate mock me, and I am the song of the drunkards.
13 But I pray to you, Lord, in the time of your favor; in your great love, O God, answer me with your sure salvation.
14 Rescue me from the mire, do not let me sink; deliver me from those who hate me, from the deep waters.
15 Do not let the floodwaters engulf me or the depths swallow me up or the pit close its mouth over me.
16 Answer me, Lord, out of the goodness of your love; in your great mercy turn to me.
17 Do not hide your face from your servant; answer me quickly, for I am in trouble.
18 Come near and rescue me; deliver me because of my foes.
19 You know how I am scorned, disgraced and shamed; all my enemies are before you.
20 Scorn has broken my heart and has left me helpless; I looked for sympathy, but there was none,
for comforters, but I found none.
21 They put gall in my food and gave me vinegar for my thirst.
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 be no one to dwell in their tents.
26 For they persecute those you wound and talk about the pain of those you hurt.
27 Charge them with crime upon crime; do not let them share in your salvation.
28 May they be blotted out of the book of life and not be listed with the righteous.
29 But as for me, afflicted and in pain— may your salvation, God, protect me.
30 I will praise God’s name in song and glorify him with thanksgiving.
31 This will please the Lord more than an ox, more than a bull with its horns and hooves.
32 The poor will see and be glad— you who seek God, may your hearts live!
33 The Lord hears the needy and does not despise his captive people.
34 Let heaven and earth praise him, the seas and all that move in them,
35 for God will save Zion
and rebuild the cities of Judah. Then people will settle there and possess it;
36 the children of his servants will inherit it, and those who love his name will dwell there.
David laments during an unknown crisis when he was being persecuted severely for sins he had committed. His emotions are raw, and the imagery is vivid. The New Testament applies many of the psalm’s sentiments to Jesus. Deep waters are metaphors for David’s most severe troubles. He calls on God to judge his persecutors and finishes by confidently declaring that God hears the cries of the needy and then offers praise to God for His coming answers. As it did for David and Jesus, may zeal for God’s house consume and lead us to offer praise and worship to God with our church family.
Memory Verse: Psalm 63:7, Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.
Question(s) to Consider: Are you consumed with passion to worship God today at His house?