Psalms 1-5

Psalm 1—Like a Tree

*Confidence Verse—“For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish” (Psalm 1:6).

Read Psalm 1:1-6

The book of Psalms is an exciting book! It is also an intimate book. Some of the most personal feelings and cries in the Bible are revealed in the Psalms. In our study, we will see the longings, the pain, and the innermost emotions of David and others who poured out their hearts before the Lord.

The book of Psalms begins with the importance of knowing and thinking about Scripture. In our first Psalm, we learn how to achieve spiritual prosperity, which is directly related to meditating on God’s Word. As we study Psalms together, we will have many opportunities to bring the blessing found in Psalm 1 upon ourselves.

Write Psalm 1:1

Our study today begins with the word “blessed”, which is the Hebrew word “esher” and is used 45 times in the Old Testament. In 27 cases in the KJV, this word is translated “blessed”, but in 18 cases the word is translated “happy”. So we might accurately begin Psalm 1 by saying, “Happy is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked.” In other words, if you want to be happy, step one is don’t follow advice that contradicts biblical principles or hang out with people who love to break God’s rules.

Verse one of today’s Psalm lists a three fold progression of association with ungodly people: walks, stands, sits. The person who wants to be blessed, to be happy, to fellowship richly with God, won’t walk in the counsel of the ungodly; they won’t follow the steps the ungodly would advise. Often in the Bible, the word “walk” refers to a way of life. To walk with God means to spend your entire life doing what pleases God. Walking with the wicked means doing what they do. Proverbs 4:14-15 says, “Do not enter the path of the wicked, and do not walk in the way of the evil. Avoid it; do not go on it; turn away from it and pass on.”

As Christians, we’re not called to cut off all associations with unbelievers. If we remove ourselves entirely from the world, we’ll have no platform from which to shine our light. But though we’re in the world, we can’t be like the world.

How did Peter say unbelievers will react when we don’t join them in doing wicked things? (See 1 Peter 4:3-4)

Refer back to Psalm 1. If we, as God’s precious saints, are not having fun with wicked people, then where does verse 2 say we find our happiness?

The blessed, happy person finds their delight in God’s Word. In other words, if you want to be happy—base your happiness on God’s Word and meditate on His Word constantly. The word “meditate” refers to muttering, to chewing on something over and over, to focusing on and thinking about something obsessively.

If a person wants to prosper in whatever they do, what must they do? (vs. 2-3)

If you do this, the promise is grand. Learn, obey, and continually think about Scripture and be prepared to prosper. You’ll be like a tree that never withers. Through knowing the Bible, you’ll be equipped for every work God will call you to do.

What additional details does Jeremiah 17:7-8 tell us about being like a flourishing tree?

What does John 15:5 say about spiritual fruit?

The only way to flourish as a Christian is to hold tightly to the vine, Jesus Christ. When you are keeping your heart close to Him and seeking to do His will, you will bear fruit. When you trust Him during hard times and keep His Word in your mind, your leaves will stay green.

Do you feel more like a tree that is abounding with life or do you feel like you probably have some withered leaves? Explain.

Give an example of what a person with “withered leaves” might do. What does “bearing much fruit” look like to you?

At the beginning of our son Austin’s kindergarten school year, I thought it would be fun to study the first Psalm of the Bible together. Since Austin was unsure of what the word “whither” meant, we went outside together so I could show him exactly what a withered leaf looked like. Once outside, I realized that withered leaves weren’t hard to find in September! In fact, there wasn’t one tree we looked at without any withered leaves. I was deeply struck by what it means to be a woman whose leaf doesn’t wither. Even in the Septembers of life, when everything begins to turn brown and dry up—this woman does not wither! Instead, she prospers in whatever she does—because she meditates day and night on the Word of God! Because she meditates on God’s Word, she is able to make wise decisions, which preserve her from the trouble that foolish decisions bring.

Now, this phrase “in whatever he does, he prospers” doesn’t necessarily mean a person will prosper in earthly riches or achievements. Yet the person who studies God’s Word and lives by it will be wiser in all areas of life, including her finances, her friendships, and her every venture. And those things she does, in light of eternity, will prosper. In the end, everything we do that glorifies God has prospered.

The ungodly are the opposite of the godly. Their lives give them no eternal riches and their success will not last.

Using the analogy given to us in nature as found in Psalm 1, describe a godly person compared to an ungodly person.

If I were to draw two pictures based on this nature analogy, one would be of a luscious thriving tree by a river and the other would be of some dead, dried up weeds which have been pulled from the ground and are being blown away by the wind.

When Judgment comes, the ungodly with be found guilty and they will not be able to stand before God with any case of righteousness. But the Lord knows the ways of the righteous, and He has both appointed their way for them and given them His righteousness. God keeps the foot of the righteous secure, but the ungodly has no security before God.

What does Psalm 68:1-2 say about the security of the wicked before God?

It is interesting to me that the wicked are compared to chaff, smoke, and wax. Wax melts and disappears as a candle burns. Smoke fades away into the air. And chaff—the dry protective coating on seeds and wheat—is thrown away once the grain underneath is removed. The process of winnowing is done by gently throwing wheat up into the air. The wind blows the chaff away and the wheat falls back down to be collected. Chaff, smoke, and wax are all share the common trait of fading away.

God will drive the wicked away and they will perish forever. Yet we, as God’s saints, are called to receive the glorious blessings found by delighting ourselves in God’s Word!

The terms “wicked” and “righteous” are used with great frequency in the Psalms. Let’s look at what each of these words mean. The word wicked is defined as “evil; very wrong or very bad.” “Righteous” is defined as “always behaving according to a religious or moral code.” However, we know from the Bible taken as a whole that “righteous” people do not always behave perfectly according to God’s standard. So, the way the Bible defines righteous is different than most generic dictionaries.

Does “righteous” mean a person is sinless? What do each of the following verses say in answer to this question?

Ecclesiastes 7:20

Romans 3:23

1 Kings 8:46

Psalm 130:3

Psalm 143:2

1 John 1:8, 10

Isaiah 64:6

No one is completely sinless, yet people are still called righteous. The word righteous is first used in the NASB in reference to Noah. “Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his time; Noah walked with God” (Genesis 6:9). Again Noah is called righteous. “Then the LORD said to Noah, "Enter the ark, you and all your household, for you alone I have seen to be righteous before Me in this time” (Genesis 7:1). But in the whole world, Noah was the only righteous person. So while righteous doesn’t mean perfect in this context, it isn’t easy to be righteous either!

According to verse 6, what does the Lord know about the righteous?

God knows your way. He knows your name, the plan He has for your life, and all that you do. While the wicked will perish, God is concerned for the righteous and He preserves them.

Congratulations on finishing Psalm 1! You’ve done a great job. Conclude by asking God to make you a woman who delights greatly in His Word, so that unlike the trees in September, your own leaves will never wither!

Reread Psalm 1 and underline a verse in your Bible that impacts you from this Psalm.

Psalm 2—With a Rod of Iron

*Confidence Verse—“Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance, and the very ends of the earth as Your possession” (Psalm 2:8).

Read Psalm 2:1-12 from the view of King David when he wrote the Psalm.

Throughout the Psalms we see how David cries out to God because he has many enemies. When I read this Psalm with the perspective of King David, I can see David’s great faith that God will be triumphant over all his enemies. David knows that God will ultimately bring terror upon all those who don’t currently fear Him.

Now, read Psalm 2 again as a prophecy about Jesus Christ our Messiah.

If you are a student of the Bible, you likely noticed that verse 7 is a prophecy about Jesus, mentioned in the book of Hebrews. While this Psalm is written from King David’s point of view, it is primarily prophetic. When we begin to unfold its meaning, we’ll see that the prophecy progresses in stages of time.

First, in verses 1-3 we see the resistance of humankind to God’s authority. When Jesus came in His humanity, during His first coming, His authority was resisted and He was ultimately put to death.

How does Acts 4:27-28 show the precise fulfillment of Psalm 2:1-3?

The heathen took council against God’s Annointed, Jesus Christ, and succeeded at killing Him. But their “success” did not dethrone God, as they might have hoped, since God had foreordained the death of Jesus. Those who killed Jesus were simply fulfilling God’s plan. For thousands of years people have plotted ways to destroy the righteous. They’ve met in councils and gathered kingdoms together with the hope of preventing Christ from setting up His kingdom.

What phrase does Psalm 2:1 use to describe what the nations and people are plotting?

Why are their actions vain? Because the nations will never defeat God. He is still triumphant, even to this day. Christ has not and cannot be removed as Lord from the hearts of His elect. Though the people of this world want to live however they choose and get rid of all religious rules and morality, they will never succeed. Unbelievers have never been able to remove the authority of God from over them because though they may not submit to God’s authority on this earth, and though they may pretend God doesn’t exist and His laws don’t matter, their actions will be punished and their souls will be required (Luke 12:20).

In verse 2, who is gathering together against God?

In light of verses 2 & 9, is there any advantage to having the weight of the kings of the earth on your side when that side is against Christ?

There is no advantage to having the security of the multitude behind you on earth if you will be standing alone before God at judgment. All the kings of the earth are easily crushed like a clay pot when they resist God’s authority.

What is the goal of all this plotting and rebellion? (vs. 3)

The phrases “cast away their cords” and “burst their bonds apart” and “tear away their fetters” are descriptions of God’s laws which the people view as bondage. Think about these phrases in a modern day translation: “Escape out of the handcuffs” and “break free from the jail cell” and “loosen the ropes.”The nations want to rid themselves of any restraint and any morality they feel God or His people are imposing on them so they can commit any sin they want. They don’t want to be bound to do what God says.

What evidence do you see of this happening in our society today?

I believe we are at a point in history where the world is violently fighting to remove anything that might restrict the indulgences of a sinful lifestyle. The world is warring to eliminate any laws or policies that would even hint homosexuality is immoral. Activist groups want to remove every public display of the Ten Commandments. The world wants to remove the “ropes” or “cords” of morality from our society.

But what is God’s response to wicked people? (vs. 4)

What is going to happen on earth because of those who want to be free of moral constraint? (vs. 4-5)

God is sitting down when He scoffs at the heathen who fight and plot against Him. The all-powerful God doesn’t need to stand to fight against the kings on earth, but from His seat in heaven He will fight fiercely against the unbelievers.

“Mark the quiet dignity of the Omnipotent One, and the contempt which he pours upon the princes and their raging people. He has not taken the trouble to rise up and do battle with them — he despises them, he knows how absurd, how irrational, how futile are their attempts against him — he therefore laughs at them.”

But God simply declares the victory He already accomplished: “As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill” That which they sought to prevent has already been done. God the Father has set Christ as King over every king. God the Father has given the decree that Jesus His only begotten Son will rule the nations.

What is the decree of God in verse 7?

This verse may raise questions in your mind, such as: “Was Jesus born the day the Psalm was written? Was He ever born?” C.H. Spurgeon in the Treasury of David says the following concerning this verse: “‘Thou art my Son.’ Here is a noble proof of the glorious Divinity of our Immanuel. ‘For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee?’ (Hebrews 1:5). What a mercy to have a Divine Redeemer in whom to rest our confidence! ‘This day have I begotten thee.’ If this refers to the Godhead of our Lord, let us not attempt to fathom it, for it is a great truth, a truth reverently to be received, but not irreverently to be scanned. It may be added, that if this relates to the Begotten One in his human nature, we must here also rejoice in the mystery, but not attempt to violate its sanctity by intrusive prying into the secrets of the Eternal God. The things which are revealed are enough, without venturing into vain speculations. In attempting to define the Trinity, or unveil the essence of Divinity, many men have lost themselves: here great ships have foundered. What have we to do in such a sea with our frail skiffs?”

What promise is made to the Son in verse 8?

What promise is made to all who belong to God in Romans 8:17?

The word “fellow heir” in Greek is transliterated “sygklēronomos” and it means “a fellow heir, a joint heir; one who obtains something assigned to himself with others, a joint participant.” This really is mind blowing. We are joint heirs with Jesus! The promise made to the Son is for us also. He gave up everything and we share His reward by simply believing.

Read Revelation 19:11-16.

According to Psalm 2:8, what will Jesus receive as an inheritance?

What does Revelation 19:11 say about how Jesus receives this inheritance?

Fill in the blanks:

Psalm 2:9 “You shall _________ them with a ______ of iron.”

Revelation 19:15 “He will _________ them with a _______ of iron.”

After the tribulation is over, Christ will return bodily to earth and set up a kingdom. He will reign from Jerusalem for one thousand years. This reign of Christ is referred to as the millennium. During this time, Satan will be bound in a bottomless pit. All nations will be under the rule of our Messiah.

The phrase—“a rod of iron”—used in Revelation, is the same phrase used here in verse 9 of our Psalm. As King, Jesus will force all people to obey Him until the end of the 1000 years when Satan is released. In Psalm 2:10, the scene changes back to those kings who seek to rebel.

What are the kings and judges of the earth exhorted to do in verses 10-11?

A wise ruler fears God. Fearing God is a necessary part of the Christian life. “Transgression speaks to the wicked deep in his heart; there is no fear of God before his eyes” (Psalm 36:1). While unbelievers do not fear God, believers are to be distinguished by their fear of God: “By the fear of the LORD one turns away from evil” (Prov. 16:6).

What is the consequence for those who will not honor the Son? (vs. 12)

Depending on your Bible translation, verse 12 may say “Kiss the Son” or “Do homage to the Son.” Both these phrases mean “worship.” In other words, worship the Son quickly, so you may avoid His coming wrath (at judgment). If you take refuge in Him now, blessed are you because He will be your intercessor.

Have you put your trust in Jesus as your Savior and Lord?

Psalm 3—Salvation Belongs to the Lord

Read Psalm 3:1-8

David wrote Psalm 3 while fleeing from Absalom his son. Through some clever politics, Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel, and Israel and Judah wanted Absalom to be their king. Here we see King David, who had been greatly loved and supported by his people, suddenly forsaken. Second Samuel 15:12 says “the conspiracy was strong; for the people increased continually with Absalom.” When a messenger told David about the great number of people following Absalom, David and his men fled for their lives out of Jerusalem.

Thus our Psalm begins as David pours his heart out before the Lord. He does not hesitate in speaking about the specific details that troubled him.

What was the cause of David’s distress in verses 1-2?

David stops at the end of verse two to insert the word Selah. We will see this word “Selah” seventy-three times in the Psalms. Its meaning is uncertain. Some people believe it may be a musical or liturgical direction, possibly indicating a pause or a chance to be silent. Others believe this word indicates that it’s time to raise or elevate the voice or music. Both meanings cause the text to stand out, whether with a pause or with an elevated sound. From this I would infer that anytime we come to the word “Selah”, it is an opportunity for us to meditate on what has just been said and what is about to be said.

Now that David has described to the LORD the anguish of his predicament in verses 1 and 2, why does David begin to be so confident? (Use all of Psalm 3 for your answer.)

Recap why David trusts in God by filling in the blanks:

God _______________ David’s head.

God is a ________________ about him.

God is David’s _______________.

God _______________ David from His holy mountain.

God _______________ David as he sleeps.

God _______________ David’s enemies.

God ________________ the teeth of the wicked.

David’s comfort does not come until after he poured out his heart before the Lord. The word “shield” used in verse three is also translated “buckler, defense”. David confidently believed God would protect him and be his defense.

The next phrase David uses in verse three—“my glory”—causes my mind to pause in awe as I consider what David is saying. David was the glorious king of Israel. He had been anointed by the prophet Samuel. Multitudes of women had sung his praise. He was renown as the fighter who’d killed the Philistine giant, Goliath.

But now, forced to run away from his kingdom shamefully, David declares God is his glory. Though David’s “glory” as king is waning, David acknowledges his glory was never found in his position as king, in his fame throughout the lands, in his reputation as a mighty warrior, or even in his status as a man after God’s own heart. No, David’s glory was based on something far greater. God Himself was David’s glory, his success, his dignity, his splendor, his honor, his riches, and his reputation. David’s greatness was not found in David; it was found in God!

Jeremiah 9:23-24 says “Thus says the LORD: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD.”

The third phrase David uses in verse three is “lifter of my head.” God was also the lifter of David’s head. David trusted that God would lift his head, whether it be from sorrow to joy, from disgrace to esteem, or from defeat to reinstated honor as king.

How sure is David that God heard his prayer? (vs. 4)

David cried out loud to the Lord with his voice. David was not talking to himself when he cried out to God with his voice, for God heard David’s prayer and answered him. Psalm 34:17 says “When the righteous cry for help, the LORD hears and delivers them out of all their troubles.” As a result of David’s confidence in God’s protection of him, David says he was able to lie down and sleep. Sleep is a laborious task for an anxious heart. David may have been a courageous fighter when awake, but while sleeping he had no defense but God. But not only did he sleep, he awoke again, for God kept David safe.

Because David is so filled with faith in God, what does David specifically mention that would not make him afraid? (vs. 6)

I would be hard pressed to think of a scenario more terrifying than ten thousands of people surrounding me, to kill me. Facing such a predicament, David said he would not be afraid. Such confidence in God is supernatural, and so to God be the glory!

What parts of the body does David specifically mention that God will strike?(vs. 7)

David was familiar with wild animals. Having killed both a lion and a bear, he understood that to break the jaw of an animal destroyed the animal’s power. By breaking the teeth of David’s enemies, God would render his enemies powerless. David knew his enemies were unable to do anything that God did not allow.

Verse eight is a fitting conclusion, as salvation is ascribed to God both temporally and eternally. In David’s immediate situation, he knew that the credit for his protection and safety belonged to the Lord. In the eternal sense, this verse is a beautiful summary of our salvation as believers. To God alone belongs the credit and glory for our faith in Jesus, for our obedience, and for our good works. John 1:12-13 says “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.” We’ve never deserved salvation and we never will. We’ve become children of God, not by our own wills, but by God’s will. And so let us say: “Salvation belongs to the LORD”!

“In the last sentence the peculiarity and speciality of salvation are plainly stated: "Thy blessing is upon thy people." Neither upon Egypt, nor upon Tyre, nor upon Ninevah; thy blessing is upon thy chosen, thy blood-bought, thine everlastingly-beloved people. "Selah:" lift up your hearts, and pause, and meditate upon this doctrine. "Thy blessing is upon thy people." Divine, discriminating, distinguishing, eternal, infinite, immutable love, is a subject for constant adoration. Pause, my soul, at this Selah, and consider thine own interest in the salvation of God; and if by humble faith thou art enabled to see Jesus as thine by his own free gift of himself to thee, if this greatest of all blessings be upon thee, rise up and sing.” (The Treasury of David, by Charles Haddon Spurgeon. Published by Guardian Press, 1976, Vol. I, Page 27)

Psalm 4—Set Apart For God

Read Psalm 4:1-8

Though David has human enemies, God is on David’s side. Looking at this whole Psalm, in what ways does God show favor to David and help him?

Based on this Psalm and your previous answers, fill in the blanks:

God _____________ David when he was in distress.

God _____________ when David calls to Him.

God put ________________ in David’s heart.

God makes David dwell in _____________________.

These things that God does for David, he also does for us.

Combining your “fill in the blanks” answers from yesterday and today’s Psalms, fill in the blanks.

For those who love God and who trust in Him like David…

God will ______________ you when you are in distress. He will ___________ when you call to Him. He will put _________________ in your heart. He will make you dwell in ______________. He will be a ______________ about you. He will ___________ your head when you are discouraged. He will ___________________ you from His holy mountain. He is your _____________. And God will _______________ you as you sleep.
(If you get stuck, here are some words to choose from: shield, relieve, lift, hear, gladness, answer, safety, glory, sustain.)

Thank you Lord for all You do for us!

This is the first Psalm in the Bible that starts with the phrase, “To the chief musician” or “For the choir director.” A total of 54 Psalms in the Bible start with this phrase. Of those, 39 were written by David, like this one. The chief musician or choir master was the director of the sanctuary music. 1 Chronicles 15:16 says, “David also commanded the chiefs of the Levites to appoint their brothers as the singers who should play loudly on musical instruments, on harps and lyres and cymbals, to raise sounds of joy.” Music is a great part of our worship of God, as it has been over many centuries.

Summarize verse one.

How I agree with David: “O Lord, if I’m going to pour out my heart in the labor of prayer, please answer me. Don’t let my prayers be in vain. Lord, you’ve answered me before; be gracious to me and please answer me again.”

According to Matthew 21:22, what difference does it make when we believe God will hear and answer our prayer?

What else does God say about our prayers in the following verses?

1 John 5:14-15

1 John 3:22

John 14:13

John 15:7

James 1:6

James 4:3

James 5:16

Proverbs 15:29

Think with me about the powerful phrase “O God of my righteousness” (vs. 1). According to this phrase, where does our righteousness come from?

Read Romans 4 and answer the following questions:

According to Romans 4:4, what happens to the person who tries to earn righteousness by doing good works?

According to Romans 4:5 and 24, what is the qualifying condition to be considered righteous by God?

What does the word “it” represent in Romans 4:24?

The source of our righteousness, of our right standing before God, is faith in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. He gives us righteousness freely as His gift, not as a payment for something we’ve earned. The source of David’s righteousness, which gave him confidence to ask the all-powerful God for help, was God’s righteousness bestowed upon him.

In verse one, David is speaking to God. Who does David address in verse two?

He asks them, “How long? For how long will you fight against me and ultimately against God?” The men whom David addresses have taken up the fight against David, but to do so they must employ vain, worthless words and lies. The phrase vain words or vanity or worthless can also be translated emptiness, without purpose. Their fight against David is empty and vain, because they are fighting against God. Proverbs 21:30 says “No wisdom, no understanding, no counsel can avail against the LORD.”

In verse three, what does David tell us to know?

This phrase—“set apart the godly for Himself”—follows what David says about the men who love vain words and seek after lies. God has set apart the godly for Himself; God has chosen people to not love vain words and seek after lies. God has set apart certain people for Himself; people for whom He has removed their heart of stone and replaced it with a heart of flesh; people in whose hearts God has placed a desire for righteousness.

Ephesians 1:4 says “He chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him.” How blessed we are to have been set apart for godliness so that God can love us, delight in us, and hear us when we call to Him. Just like a husband has a special love for His wife in a healthy marriage relationship, God has a special and distinct love for His chosen people.

David is certain that God will hear his prayers. Though God knows all things, God does not listen or respond to every prayer that is prayed. Isaiah 59:1-2 says “Behold, the LORD's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or his ear dull, that it cannot hear; but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.”

In verse one, David asks God to hear his prayer, and in verse three David declares with faith that God does hear his prayer.

Write the first line of verse four.

The word angry in the ESV is translated as stand in awe in the King James Version or tremble in the NASB. The Hebrew word can mean “tremble, quake, rage, quiver, be agitated, be excited, be perturbed.”

What are we told to avoid if we get angry?

The “and” between the two phrases of “be angry and do not sin” can often be indistinguishable. Can we be angry and not sin? In Colossians 3:8, wrath is listed as a deed of the flesh: “But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth.” The word “anger” in this verse in Colossians refers to a plant or fruit swelling with juice. To “swell” or be controlled by anger is sin.

Often anger’s first appearance is uncontrolled. I’ll be walking down the hallway, delighting myself in the Lord while carrying a basket of laundry, when suddenly my elbow smacks the wall, and I get angry at the pain. Now at this point I haven’t necessarily sinned yet. But within moments of my arm hitting the wall, if I also realize my son hasn’t cleaned up his toys like I’d asked him to, this is where my anger can become sin. In my frustration from getting hurt, if I snap at my son, harshly commanding him to pick up the toys NOW, I’m being controlled by my anger.

First I was angry, but if my anger progressed to my actions being controlled by my anger, my anger would become sin. I would be failing to keep Colossians 3:12-13: “Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other, as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.” At the point when my anger keeps me from being compassionate, kind, humble, meek, patient, and forgiving, it becomes sin.

This doesn’t mean we never show anger. Certain times certainly call for anger, like when Jesus overturned the tables of the money changers in the temple. (John 2:14-17) But when we overreact because of anger—when we could be patient but we yell instead, when we could let it go but we feel offended instead, when we could love others freely but we feel like they don’t deserve it—we are letting our anger become sin.

Instead of sinning in our anger, what does Psalm 4:4-5 tell us to do?

What is the result, according to verse 7?

If our joy does not come from the Lord, it will never last. This heartfelt praise David speaks to the Lord is very sweet. David is happier in the Lord than others feel when they become wealthy.

Take a moment to think how much you value your relationship with God. David said his relationship with God gave him more joy than any earthly event. It’s like a love song: Being with You has made me happier then if I made the Forbes World’s Billionaires list. After reflecting on this, thoughtfully pray verse seven to the Lord in your own words.

Verse eight is such a comforting promise! Truly God alone can make us dwell safely. A while back, my husband and children and I went on a vacation with my parents. We were all out on my parent’s boat on a lake when my dad realized gas was leaking out of the engine. He quickly pulled the boat into a cove and turned off the motor. Once the boat’s engine was turned off and the hood was lifted, he realized gas was pouring out. He sopped up the gas that had leaked with towels and proceeded to see what he could do to fix it.

After a few hours, he decided to drive the boat back to the dock. The rest of the family took my parent’s wave runner back to the dock to get the cars ready, and my dad, my daughter Tyla, who was our youngest child at the time, and I took off in the boat. With a fire extinguisher within reach, the strong stench of gas fumes surrounding me, and my little girl asleep on my lap, I sat back in the seat only feet from the engine prepared for it to explode.

While the boat lugged back to the dock and I sat staring at the open engine, this verse came to my mind: “In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.” I translated it to fit my situation and prayed to the Lord, “In peace I will both sit back and not worry; for you alone, O Lord, make me ride in safety.” Though the engine could have burst into flames, I had to trust that God was able to make me ride on the boat in safety according to His will.

Because I believed that He alone was able to keep my family and I safe, I was able to travel back to shore without anxiety. If the very God who created the heavens and the earth has promised He will take care of me—I need to believe it! Believing that God is in control of all that happens (for our good—Rom. 8:28) is essential to our security and mental stability as believers.

Reread Psalm 4 and underline a verse in your Bible that impacts you.

Psalm 5—God’s Hatred Toward Sin

Read Psalm 5:1-12

David begins this psalm, as in the previous one, requesting God to listen to the prayer he is about to pray, to “consider [his] groaning.” In other words, “notice how distressed I am.”

In verse two, David moves away from praying with words to praying with crying. It seems sometimes that special favor is given to those prayers which are accompanied with tears: “Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy!” (Psalm 126:5). Possibly this is because tears are often accompanied by humility, and God gives grace to the humble (James 4:8).

Sometimes there are no words to express the cries of our hearts. But God doesn’t need our words—He not only knows what we need, but the Holy Spirit intercedes on our behalf: “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.” Romans 8:26-27.

To whom does David say he will pray? (vs. 2)

Like David, God is our King and our God. He is the King of all kings and the God of all gods. He is above everything that is worshipped as a king or as a god, and it is to this great and mighty King that we pray. And this great God and King hears our prayers!

In verse 3, David says he will order his prayer to God in the morning. The word order, also translated direct or prepare (vs. 3) from the Hebrew means “to arrange, set or put or lay in order, set in array, prepare, order, ordain, handle, furnish, esteem, equal, direct, compare.” As we might order our day on a calendar or schedule, so in the morning we lay out our prayers to God and arrange them before Him, praying for our specific events, circumstances, and the people in our lives. Then we watch in anticipation throughout the day to see what God will do in answer to our prayers. Part of watching is being aware of what God is doing, so we don’t forget what we’ve asked and then miss His faithful answer.

In verse four, David begins the thought which he’s been preparing to express: his prayer for the wicked contrasted with his prayer for himself. Read verses 4-5 again.

In verse 5, who does God hate?

Sometimes in an attempt to cover all theology with the blanket of “God is love” (1 John 4:8), people refuse to believe that God differentiates in His love toward different people. So before David makes the bold statement that God hates evildoers, he first declares, “For you are not a God who delights in wickedness; evil may not dwell with you.” In other words, for God to hate evildoers is not wrong—it is God’s righteousness that causes Him to hate evil doers.

The word hate in verse five refers to the hatred a person feels toward their enemies. We must be careful to notice that this verse says “you hate all evildoers” and not “you hate the actions of all evildoers.” To say that God loves the sinner but hates the sin contradicts what the Bible is here clearly teaching. The Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry give the following insight into this verse:

“God hates sin. But, He does not punish sin. He punishes the sinner. Sin cannot be tied up and thrown into a fire. It cannot be put in a box or glued to a stick. It is rebellion. It is rebellion in the heart. It is breaking God's Law. Sin occurs inside the heart and mind of people. Therefore, God must punish the sinner. Why? Because He is both Holy and Just and the person who sins offends God. God's Holy and Just character will not allow Him to ignore this offense.”

People must be warned of God’s coming wrath so they don’t underestimate their sin. “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Heb. 10:31). God’s wrath is to be feared because God hates evildoers. The wicked have separated themselves from God as His enemies, having rejected the free gift of eternal life in Christ Jesus.

Sometimes people think God has changed His mind in this area; that though He once was angry at the wicked, He isn’t anymore. But the New Testament makes clear that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Heb. 13:8).

With whom is God angry, according to Romans 1:18 and Ephesians 5:6?

Though boastful men may stand for a time on this earth, they will have no place to stand before God. If the earth and sky must flee before God (Rev. 20:11), with how much greater trembling do you suppose the boastful man will feel before God at judgment? He may have honor now, but the day is coming when he shall be brought down to the sides of the pit.

According to Psalm 5:6, what will God do to those who speak lies?

God destroys all those who speak lies without repenting. No person will stand before God at judgment with a valid excuse for their sin. When God executes His judgment and people are sent to the lake of fire, it will not be unrighteous of God. Acts 17:30 says “The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.”

Read Revelation 21:8. What type of sinner is mentioned last on the list? What will be their punishment?

A lake of fire is a severe punishment. But it is consistent with God’s righteous judgment and His relentless hatred of sin. God’s hatred of the workers of iniquity does not make God unrighteous, but rather it emphasizes just how holy and righteous God is!

If we thought the word hate in the previous verse was severe, verse six steps it up a notch. God abhors “the bloodthirsty and deceitful man.” God loathes, detests, and regards as an abomination those men who deceive others and love to shed blood.

In light of God’s holiness, how will David approach God and bow before Him? (vs. 7)

Two verses ago, David noted that the boastful have no place in God’s presence. In contrast, David will “bow down” humbly in God’s presence. He will not come to God pridefully, but aware of God’s abundant steadfast love and mercy, he will enter God’s house fearfully.

In verse eight, David declares that, though men are sinners by their own doing, righteousness is God’s doing. As for his course of life, David does not ask God to make his way straight, but David asks God to make God’s ways straight for him to walk in. He doesn’t want to walk after the path of his own desires, but according to the path of God’s desires for him.

How does David describe his enemies? (vs. 9)

Imagine an open casket, left unburied in the cemetery. The odor of rotting flesh would saturate the air and the foulness of the decaying corpse would pour out—so is the throat of all people apart from Christ. Lies and destruction ooze from the mouth of the wicked.

I remember riding in a car many years ago with someone whose breath smelled like death. I felt like I could not breath and I held my breath the entire car ride, only inhaling when I absolutely had to. I rolled down my window, offered gum, and did anything and everything I could think of to make the smell more bearable, while still trying to be as polite as possible.

But to this day, I am scarred by the smell. It’s given me a concrete idea of what the Bible means by “their throat is an open grave.”

Read Romans 3:10-18, focusing on verse 13. Now, looking at Romans 3:9, who do these verse apply to?

By the saying “both Jews and Greeks,” Paul is expressing that this description includes all people apart from Christ. That Paul is speaking of everyone is confirmed in verse 10 when he quotes, “There is none righteous, not even one.”

In response to the wickedness David sees, what is his cry? (vs. 10)

We must see David’s cry for judgment, not as a vindication for himself, but as his desire to see the wicked receive back what they’ve done: “Make them bear their guilt […]let them fall by their own devices.” God is not digging the pit for the wicked to fall into—He is only allowing the wicked to fall into the pit which they already dug.

The psalmist here does not say “cast them out, for they’ve rebelled against me, they’ve insulted me.” Rather he says “cast them out, for they’ve rebelled against You.” David’s declaration of judgment for the wicked is prophetic, as God will cause those who have unrepentantly rebelled against Him to be cast out into outer darkness, where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth (Luke 13:28).

What emotion does David attribute to those who put their trust in God and love His name? (vs. 11)

Those who take refuge in God have great reason to rejoice. Unlike the boastful who thought they could stand before God, those who know they can’t stand before God with their own righteousness, and are therefore hidden in His righteousness, are safe from God’s wrath. His protection is spread over them and it is well with their souls, so let them sing for joy forever—eternal joy is part of the inheritance of the saints. We will dwell in Christ’s presence securely, and in His presence is fullness of joy.

Describe the promise given to the those who are righteous. (vs. 12)

It makes sense that those who are righteous, that those whom God has chosen, would also have the favor and blessing of God. And surely we do! “In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. […] So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.” (1 John 4:10,16).

Fill in the blanks to emphasize the difference between God’s relationship with the righteous and His “relationship” with the wicked?

RIGHTEOUS:

O LORD, You will ___________ my voice (vs. 3)

By your _________________ _______________________ I will enter your house. (vs. 7)

God ____________ the righteous. (vs. 8)

Let all who take refuge in God be _______________ (vs. 11)

God ________________ the righteous with favor (vs. 12)

God ________________ the righteous (vs. 12)

WICKED:

God ______________ those who do iniquity (vs. 5)

God _______________ those who speak falsehood (vs. 6)

God _____________ the man of bloodshed and deceit (vs. 6)

God holds them ____________ (vs. 10)

God ________________ them out (vs. 10)

I hope you’ve seen this week what an honor it is that God gives us His righteousness through the finished work of Christ.

Write a verse—or underline it in your Bible—that impacts you from today’s Psalm.

As we’ve come to the end of the first five Psalms, maybe you’ve realized that the first five Psalms are filled with more theology and surprising truths than many people realize. These five Psalms drove home the contrasts between those who love God and those who don’t. From the very first Psalm, when David compares those who delight in the law of the LORD to the wicked who are like chaff, each of these Psalms emphasizes the differences between the righteous and the wicked.

Psalms 6-10

Psalm 6—From Brokenness to Confidence

Read Psalm 6:1-10

What phrases does David use to express his grief in this Psalm?

This is the first penitential Psalm. A penitential Psalm is one that expresses repentance and remorse for sin, whether for personal sin or for the sin of the whole nation of Israel. The first seven verses of this Psalm express David’s grief because of both his own sin and the sin of his enemies. The last three verses reveal David’s confidence in God.

Let me here note one of my favorite things about the Psalms: no matter how distraught or downcast the psalmist may feel, by fixing his gaze upon God as he writes his Psalm, he always ends his prayer with joy and confidence in God’s faithfulness.

In verse one, David reveals how aware he is of his sin. He fears the rebuke and chastening of God. He would not have feared rebuke if he was blameless before God.

How does David not want to be disciplined? (vs. 1)

In this Psalm, David is struggling because bad things are happening and he wants the trials to end. This Psalm really resonates with me. When I’ve suffered, I’ve also felt like, “How long Lord?” I’ve wondered why God isn’t delivering me more quickly, why He isn’t answering my prayers sooner, why I am having to endure so much pain and “make my bed swim” with my tears.

I can imagine that every time David got more bad news, such as, “Another army is on its way to fight you,” his heart sank. “How long Lord? How long until this is over?” But David doesn’t continue to feel sorry for himself while he waits for God’s answer. Though he prays for deliverance and asks God “how long?”, David fully believes God will help him. Thus his question is not if God will help him but when. “How long” means “I believe You will deliver me. I just need a time frame.”

When difficult times increase, we might easily think that God might not ever help us. Even worse, we might begin to think that God is against us. Though David feared at first that this might be the case, he was able to trust in God’s love during what seemed to be deathly blows against him.

For what reason does God discipline us, according to Hebrews 12:10?

We need correction so we can be conformed into God’s image, but let the correction come in God’s love and not in His anger. Let the correction come so God may kill our sin and preserve our souls.

In verse two, David prays for healing. He was weak and his bones were aching.

According to Isaiah 57:15, what kind of person does God revive? What else do we learn about God in this verse?

For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite” (Is. 57:15).

Down to his soul, David was troubled. So he asked the question, “O Lord, how long?”(vs. 3). When the heat of fiery trials increases, when financial problems multiply, when prayers don’t seem to be answered, when certain people in our lives aren’t changing, and when life starts to look hopeless—we can certainly agree with David, “O LORD—how long? How long until You deliver me Lord, because You alone can.”

In the midst of David’s misery, his first request is for God’s presence: Return, O Lord (vs. 4). “Come to me, Lord. You are what I need above all earthly remedies.”

What reason does David use to persuade God to deliver him? (vs. 5)

If David’s body were to die, his mouth would not utter songs of worship. No graveyard has ever resounded with the noise of corpses singing. So David intreats God on behalf of God’s glory.

This verse touches on a deep theological issue. There were two holding places for those who died before the resurrection of Jesus. When saints died, they went to a place called “Abraham’s bosom” where they waited for the resurrection of their bodies to glory. In the other holding place, the wicked wait for the resurrection of their bodies to judgment and the second death.

Read Luke 16:19-26 and answer the following questions.

Where did Lazarus go when he died?

Where did the rich man go when he died?

How does the rich man describe Hades?

How many times is the word torment or agony used in these verses?

Was it possible for the rich man to travel to Lazarus? Why?

This place called Hades is also more commonly referred to as hell. After judgment, unbelievers will go to Gehennah, which is the lake of fire.

The believers in Abraham’s bosom we’re led up to heaven by Christ after the crucifixion, while all those who die apart from Christ still go to this place of torment called Hades.

Read Ephesians 4:8-10 to answer the next set of questions.

Where are the two places that Jesus went in these verses?

Who did Jesus take with Him and where did they come from?

That host of captives included Lazarus and all the saints who were waiting in Abraham’s bosom. After Jesus died on the cross, He went to Abraham’s bosom to lead captivity captive.

When believers died in the Old Testament, they had a “waiting period” before they would be resurrected and go to heaven. Souls during this holding time were insubstantial. They had neither their earthly bodies nor their resurrection bodies. They had no mouths to praise God or voices to sing. Therefore he says, “in Sheol who will give you praise?”

Summarize what happened in Matthew 27:52-53.

They were out of the tombs because something BIG was about to happen—they were going to heaven. Jesus had finally made a way for complete reconciliation with God the Father through His own blood.

According to 1 Corinthians 5:8, when believers die and become “absent from the body,” where do they go?

Where does 1 Peter 1:13 say we must put our hope?

David had no anticipation of death, though New Testament saints gladly await it. For us, our great hope is the return of Christ. The Bible says that certain truths were hidden until after Christ came (Eph 3:4-6, Col. 1:26-27). Though these truths most predominately speak of the inclusion of Gentiles as heirs with the Jews, other mysteries, such as life after death, have also been revealed to us much more clearly.

Unable to clearly see his hope after death, and struggling with life on earth, what does David do at night? (vs. 6-7)

After pouring out his heart before the Lord, who does David address? (vs. 8-10)

With confidence, David believes God heard his cry. He began his prayer with fear that God might be angry at him. Here he shows his faith that God is not only not angry with him, but God loves him steadfastly. And David pleads with God to deliver him based on God’s mercy, on God’s own steadfast love—not on any merit of David’s. (vs. 4)

So with complete confidence in God, David turns to his enemies and basically says, “You better get away from me quickly, you wicked men, because God has heard my prayer and He is coming after you.” We are commanded to pray in faith, believing God will answer, and here we see the example of a saint doing just that. Mark 11:24 says, “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”

What does David want for his enemies? (vs. 10)

In other words, “Let those men who wanted to harm me leave me alone. Let them feel ashamed for the things they wanted to do to me. Let them give up and feel guilty.” David wasn’t praying for their destruction in these verses, but that they would be ashamed of their actions and realize their error.

Now as for us, we have a new requirement when praying for believers. Jesus said, “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you” (Luke 6:27-28).

With the death of Jesus on the cross, things radically changed. Some things haven’t changed: salvation by faith alone, God’s character and obedience to God. But some things did change: dietary laws, the Holy Spirit sent to indwell the believer, salvation made known to all the world, and believers being marked by love.

Before Jesus died on the cross, David wanted to see his enemies get what they deserved. After the resurrection of Jesus, Stephen cried out that God would not punished his enemies while they stoned him to death (Acts 7:60). Jesus set the precedent of this new example when He cried out from the cross, saying, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34).

Still, even in blessing our enemies, we expectantly wait for the day when we shall be glorified together with our Savior and God will righteously judge the earth.

Reread Psalm 6 and underline a verse in your Bible from this chapter (or write it below) that has most impacted you.

1. Charles H. Spurgeon, Treasury of David, Psalm 6.
2. Augustine, Ambrose, and Chrysostom; quoted by F. H. Dunwell, B.A., in "Parochial
Lectures on the Psalms," 1855

Psalm 7—God the Righteous Judge

Read Psalm 7:1-17

The term “Shiggaion,” used in the introduction of Psalm 7 and translated “meditation” in some versions, is most likely a musical term. But because of the word’s antiquity, it has no definite definition. It is used only one other time, in Habakkuk 3:1.

David wrote this Psalm after Cush, an Israelite from the tribe of Benjamin, slandered him. The story of the insult is not recorded in the Bible, but we can infer from the Psalm that David was innocent of whatever Cush accused him of. It is possible Cush accused David of treason against King Saul.

While David was being accused by Cush, what did he do? (vs. 1)

There is no safer refuge than God. If David chose to sail into the middle of the ocean and away from all his enemies, without making God his refuge, even in perceived safety, the sea might swallow him or the sharks devour him. And if David were to stand in the midst of his enemies, surrounded on all sides, with God as his only refuge, it is was God’s will to protect David, then David could be confident of complete safety. God could do for David more than what any other refuge could do. God has said “I will make all your enemies turn their backs to you (Ex. 23:27)” and He alone can do it.

What did David fear would happen if God did not save him? (vs. 2)

Lions are mentioned ten times in the Psalms, often as a way of referring to enemies. Special notice is given to the appetite, the teeth, the mouth, the strength, and the fury of lions.

In Psalm 57:4, lions are used as a reference to the cruel speech of the wicked: “My soul is in the midst of lions; I lie down amid fiery beasts— the children of man, whose teeth are spears and arrows, whose tongues are sharp swords.” Because Cush was slandering David, David compares him to a lion.

Like David, we also have an enemy who seeks to devour us like a lion. “Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Pet. 5:8). And like David, we must take refuge in God because He is the only place of true safety.

Read 1 Peter 5:8-9. What are God’s instructions to us about how to deal with our enemy?

Sometimes Christians give Satan too much attention, obsessing over how he works, what he does, who he is, and on and on. I was at the Bible Book Store in Fullerton, CA many years ago looking at books when something in me decided to ask the cashier what books were most popular. “Oh, by far they are books on spiritual warfare. This book on how Satan works is selling really well right now.” I was shocked. I just figured Christians—Christ followers—would be into book on Jesus, not Satan.

Later I learned that many Christians are into books about Jesus, which is good because to God belongs the attention, the adoration, and the glory. I’m not saying we can’t learn Satan ways, but our preoccupation should be God, not Satan.

Based on David’s plea in verses 3-5, do you suppose David is innocent or guilty?

What request did David make in verse six?

In the midst of David’s heartbreaking difficulties, it seemed to him as though God had fallen asleep or was laying around, unconcerned with David’s troubles. But we know God never sleeps nor slumbers (Ps. 121:4). We also know God is always working (John 5:17).

God was not oblivious about David’s situation, but God’s stillness reveals His patience with sinners, in giving them time and opportunity to repent. It also reveals that God has a purpose in allowing us to suffer—and even that He is “okay” with it when we suffer because He uses our suffering for His glory.

What does the Bible say about suffering in the following verses?

1 Peter 5:10

Colossians 1:24

2 Corinthians 1:5-6

Philippians 3:10

Romans 8:28

David based his request on what he already knew about God: “You have appointed judgment.” His prayer was not a blind request for God’s destruction of all men, but it was an appeal to God supported by what God was already going to do. Our prayers should be in accordance with God’s will because “this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us” (1 John 5:14).

Now verse seven can be speaking of either the saints gathered around the Lord with their requests and petitions, who long for the return of their Savior or the people gathered around God at judgment, to whom God will return on high to judge. (Revelation 20:11-15) For believers, the Day of Judgment will be a glorious event, as we will be hidden from the wrath of God by the righteousness of His Son Jesus. On that day, we will be on God’s team and He will be for us.

Though we know the basis of our righteousness is the righteousness of Jesus imputed to us, God still blesses and rewards obedience. Have you ever wanted God to repay you for something good you did? David wanted God to see his integrity and bless him accordingly. At this time in David’s life, he was living righteously, so he made his plea to God according to his obedience. God does bless obedience, and on judgment day (if our sins have been removed by the blood of Jesus) we’ll be rewarded for the good things we have done. “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil” (2 Cor. 5:10).

With that said, those who have rejected Christ will receive only penalties for their sins. Good works are for the believer after salvation, but good works apart from salvation have no profit: “Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. And to the one who does not work but trusts him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness” (Rom. 4:4-5). If a man seeks to do good works and earn righteousness apart from Christ, he only owes God more.

What does David ask in verse nine?

Though David’s prayer wouldn’t be answered in his lifetime, it speaks again of the coming judgment, when God will once for all “let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end” and “establish the righteous” forever.

What does verse nine say that God tests or tries?

God examines the secret motives and ambitions of men’s actions. God evaluates the thoughts and desires of all people, seeing if their actions are driven by a wicked or blameless heart.

Why does God do testing, according to Jeremiah 17:10?

What understanding does God have that enables Him to test people? (See Psalm 44:21)

The Bible speaks about how secret things will one day be revealed and how hidden things will be exposed in the light. Have you ever wondered why things are happening a certain way in your life? In the Bible, God often allowed trials in peoples lives as a way of testing them. One reason why God allowed the Israelites to wander in the wilderness for forty years was to see what was in their hearts: “And you shall remember the whole way that the LORD your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not” (Deut. 8:2, italics added).

Maybe God has put you in the place you are to test you and reveal the kind of person you are and what is in your heart. It is when things are tough that we run to God or run from Him, give thanksgiving or get bitter, grow apathetic or serve God more.

According to verse ten, what is the heart condition of the person God delivers?

As a shield stops the onslaught of flying darts, so God was David’s shield from the attacks of wicked men.

Write verse 11.

Because God searches, tests, and evaluates every person’s deepest longings and motives, He is able to make an accurate judgment every time. No one will ever be unfairly condemned by God. God will punish sinners in accordance with their crimes.

Though God feels indignation every day, He still waits (even to this day) to judge men. God’s longsuffering is beyond our comprehension. Every day, since David wrote this until now, God has felt indignation toward sin. In great patience he has withheld His severest punishments. Though men freely blaspheme God, in great hatred reviling His holy name, God still shows them kindness. “For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust” (Matt. 5:45).

But despite God’s kindness, we mustn’t think God doesn’t feel anger. He feels angry everyday. And those people who pridefully suppress the truth in unrighteousness will one day experience the powerful force of that indignation at His judgment seat.

What will happen to people if they do not repent? (vs. 12-13)

Everything is already prepared for the destruction of the wicked. The arrow is bent on the bow, the sword is sharpened, and the flaming arrows have been lit on fire. Everything is readied for judgment. But God waits, because there are more people still to be saved.

“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 Pet. 3:9). God’s patience is toward us who will be saved—and He will wait, until everyone He has chosen comes to Him.

In verse 14, what are the three stages of the wicked man?

This verse paints a vivid picture of the laboring woman, sweating and pushing in her effort to deliver. “Behold, the wicked man conceives evil and is pregnant with mischief and gives birth to lies” (ESV).

Who will suffer because of the wicked man’s sin? (vs. 15-16)

The wicked man envisions his victim’s terror at being sucked down by the earth into a pit below. He digs cruelly, never knowing that it will be he who becomes trapped in very pit he’s digging. The sin he so enjoys will boomerang back at him, hitting him on his own head. The gun he shoots will kill him also. He will suffer most for his violence.

After focusing on the destruction of the wicked, David turns to praise God. Because of God’s own righteousness, He is worthy of eternal praise. And David was set on giving it to Him. Using singing as the means, David will praise God because His righteousness deserves it. Psalm 145:7 says, “They shall pour forth the fame of your abundant goodness and shall sing aloud of your righteousness.”

Psalm 8—Standing in Awe of God

Read Psalm 8:1-9

A Psalm of David, according to Gittith. Though the word gittith typically means “a wine-press,” the exact meaning of the word Gittith in this Psalm title is unknown. It is commonly speculated that this word refers to the type of music sung or played during the Psalm. Since the word Gittith also occurs in Psalms 81 and 84, which are both joyous Psalms, possibly this term means the Psalm is to be sung with joy and delight.

During the wee hours or September 30, 1995, it was the greatness of the sky and the stars and the universe caused me to stand in awe of the God Who made them. Jesus told a parable about one hundred sheep, and in the parable one of the sheep goes missing. The shepherd leaves the ninety-nine to find the lost sheep. I was this lost sheep.

Though I had walked with God and understood His goodness, still I had wandered away and gotten caught up in sin. At that time, I still called myself a Christian and believed Jesus was the only way to heaven—I just wasn’t living as if I believed it.

But as I stood outside on that September night and looked at the stars, so far away and filling up galaxies I will never see in this lifetime, I couldn’t help but stand in awe of the God Who filled those galaxies. And as I looked out at the dark night surrounded by pin drops of lights representing constellations and planets bigger and far more magnificent than any human has ever imagined, I thought of how God, who made the heavens that were greater than I could understand, was even bigger and greater and more awesome.

And He knows me. Somehow, He is mindful that I exist, that I breath and walk around on some small planet called earth, a speck of dirt compared to the wonder existing beyond what we can see with the most powerful telescopes. And He loves me. And like David I wonder, “What is man, that you are mindful of him?” Who are we that you are aware of us, and even care what is going on down here?

That day I decided it was time to “put my hand to the plow,” to commit fully to the Lord and never look back, to walk with God and live only for Him. I left my life of sin behind that day and began to live to please Jesus. I still sin, but I don’t willingly, consciously, unrepentantly live in sin.

Just like David, it was considering the universe and all that lies beyond, the galaxies and realms that scientists and astronomers haven’t even discovered or can completely understand, made me realize my smallness before a very amazing God. We have no idea if or where the heavens end. We don’t really know how many galaxies exist. We can’t even mentally process how gigantic the heavens are. And I’m not even talking about the heavens in a spiritual sense. Just the material heavens and the planets and stars are greater and grander than our understanding. The heavens and the stars also remind us of both our own smallness and the triviality of our earthly cares and obsessions. Even the size of our earth is microscopic compared to the size of the known universe. And God has set His glory above all this!

What do we learn about God’s glory and the heavens from the following verses?

Psalm 8:1

Psalm 148:13

1 Kings 8:27

We can conclude that David likely penned this Psalm at night as he stood in awe of the God who made the heavens because he mentions the moon and the stars and omits the sun.

What are the first four words of verse one?

What makes the greatness of God’s majesty even better is that He is not only the great God who made the heavens, not only the lofty God who’s name is majestic in all the earth, the God who can do anything and knows everything, but He is our God and He is our Lord.

From whose mouth has God established strength (or taught praise)? (vs. 2)

Why did God use infants to establish His strength? (vs. 2)

Four categories of people are included in this verse:

First, Christians must become as little children to enter the kingdom of heaven (Matt. 18:3). God chose lowly instruments to declare His praise and tell the world about Him. By this gospel, people are transferred from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light and the enemy, Satan and all his hosts, are stilled and laid powerless at the salvation of men.
Second, David himself was only a younger child when chosen by God to fight the Philistine giant Goliath and conquer the Philistine enemy. God strengthened David to fight the enemies of God.
Third, our Lord Jesus, who was born a helpless babe, yet who is Lord of all and from whose mouth proceeds a sharp two-edged sword, will one day destroy his enemies. “From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty” (Rev. 19:15).
Fourth, the children who cried Hosanna to Jesus in the temple. Matthew 21:15-16 says “But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying out in the temple, ‘Hosanna to the Son of David!’ they were indignant, and they said to him, ‘Do you hear what these are saying?’ And Jesus said to them, ‘Yes; have you never read, “‘Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babies you have prepared praise’?’”

In verse 3, what examples does David give that point to God’s majesty?

What does looking at the greatness of God’s creation cause David to contemplate? (vs. 3-4)

Our earth is microscopic compared to the galaxy in which we are located, and our galaxy is small compared to all the galaxies that exist, and we dwell on this small, insignificant earth—yet God’s glory cannot be contained by all the galaxies that exist. Who are we that God cares about us? Who are we that God would love us? What are humans that the great and eternal God even gives us a fleeting glance? It is astonishing that God even bothers to know I exist, let alone think about me.

“How great must that Being be who produced these immense globes out of nothing, who regulates their courses, and whose mighty hand directs and supports them all! What is the clod of earth which we inhabit, with all the magnificent scenes it presents to us, in comparison of those innumerable worlds? Were this earth annihilated, its absence would no more be observed than that of a grain of sand from the sea shore. What then are provinces and kingdoms when compared with those worlds? They are but atoms dancing in the air, which are discovered to us by the sunbeams. What then am I, when reckoned among the infinite number of God's creatures? I am lost in mine own nothingness!”

According to verses 5-8, what position have humans been given by God?

Read Hebrews 2:5-9 and answer the following questions:

What are verses 5-8 in our Psalm speaking of according to Hebrews 2:5?

Do we presently see all things in subjection to humans?

God made the earth and all the animals that live on it, but we manage the earth in part, though at this time, all things are not in complete subjection to humans. But in the world to come, humans will rule everything on the earth.

According to 1 Corinthians 15:22-28, what will the ruling order be in eternity?

What else do we learn about Jesus’ authority from the following verses:

Matthew 28:18

Ephesians 1:22

1 Peter 3:22

God the Father has given Jesus the Son all authority in heaven and in earth. He ultimately reigns over all things. Jesus has the power to do whatever He wants.

God also gives humans authority on earth. Under the authority of Jesus, we will rule over all created earthly things. The Psalmist then wonders, “What is man?” Who are we as humans—in comparison with the great heavens and stars—that God would give us authority to rule over all His creation?

According to the following verses, what does man have authority over?

Genesis 1:28

Genesis 9:2

Psalm 8:6-8

Throughout the Psalms, David considers the high place God gave man in creation. He ponders the smallness of humans in comparison with the greatness of the heavens. He wonders why God would care for and consider people.

What is David’s fitting conclusion at the end of this Psalm? (vs. 9)

Wherever you live, whether on an isolated island or in the middle of a big city, you can look up at the sky at night and realize that there is so much more to life than humans understand. The night sky points us to God’s glory as we see some of the greatness of what He has made. And all these thoughts move David to proclaim that God’s name is majestic, excellent, famous, and glorious throughout the whole world!

Christopher Christian Sturm's "Reflections", 1750-1786 from Treasury of David

Psalm 9—Recounting God’s Wondrous Deeds

Read Psalm 9:1-20. Underline the verses that most connect with you.

Depending on your Bible translation, the introduction to this Psalm may be one of the following: “[[To the chief Musician upon Muthlabben, A Psalm of David.]]”(KJV) or “For the director of music. To the tune of “The Death of the Son.” A psalm of David.” (NIV). “For the choir director; on Muth-labben. A Psalm of David.” (NASB).

The word Muthlabben is from two Hebrew words. Muwth means death, and is also found at the end of Psalm 48:14. Added to the end of the word Muwth is the word ben, meaning son, grandson, child, male child. It is commonly thought that this word should be properly translated, “the death of a son,” though some people suppose that Muthlabben refers to an unknown musical instrument. In the context of this Psalm, the son is thought to be Goliath or another Philistine enemy. So most likely a death of an enemy provoked the writing of this Psalm.

Another interesting fact is this Psalm, when joined together with Psalm 10, forms an acrostic in the Hebrew language.1 Also, did you notice how the beginning of today’s Psalm seems to make reference to the ending of the previous psalm.

Read the last verse of Psalm 8. What is exalted in this verse?

Read Psalm 9:1-2. To what will David sing praise?

What else do we learn about God’s name from the following verses?

Exodus 34:5-7

Psalm 5:11

Psalm 9:10

Psalm 83:18

Psalm 91:14

Proverbs 18:10

Are you surprised by some of the interesting things the Bible says about God’s name? For instance, how does a person “run into God’s name”? (Prov. 18:10). And what does it mean to “know God’s name” in a way that is different from the way everybody else knows it? (Ps. 91:14).

Matthew Henry says, “The name of the Lord is all that whereby he has made himself known as God, and our God, not only his titles and attributes, but his covenant and all the promises of it; these make up a tower, a strong tower, impenetrable, impregnable, for all God’s people.”

So to know God’s name means to know the character of God. We cannot fully know His nature or understand all the mysteries of God. But what God has revealed to us—His titles, character, promises, attributes, covenant, works, creation, Word—by these we can know God. When we are in a deep, abiding relationship with Him—we receive the promises for those who know His name.

In yesterday’s study, David praised God’s greatness as He looked at outer space, the stars, and the vast expanse of the cosmos—all things pointing to a God who is more majestic than we can understand.

Today we will turn our gaze from the heavens to the earth, and look together at God’s greatness as displayed in His works here on earth.

List all the action words and phrases used by David in the first two verses of today’s psalm.

I think one cause of depression is when a person feels discouraged about themselves, disappointed from a lack of success or achievement, and they’ve given up. In verse two, David says he will exult in God. The source of his excitement, achievement, and success is his relationship with God. That’s the only thing about us we should boast in as well.

What did Paul say about boasting in Galatians 6:14?

In other words, are greatest source of “pride”, of boasting, of feeling accomplished and confident and successful is that we have a relationship with the living God. In worldly terms, knowing Him is our Grammy, our Oscar, our New York Times Bestseller, our doctorate, our Nobel Prize, our house on the beach, or whatever else we may think is success here on earth. Knowing Him is a far more valuable, worthwhile, lasting “achievement.”

What reason does David give in verses 3 and 4 about why he is so eagerly praising God?

What is the order of God’s judgment in verse 5?

What happens to the wicked in verse 6?

It is our nature as humans to want recognition and be remembered. We all have a strange desire to be “famous,” to be exalted, great, glorified. We strive to accomplish noteworthy objectives so we might make a name for ourselves.

But God gives the wicked a punishment they deserve—He makes them utterly forgettable. No one remembers them or what they’ve accomplished. All their rewards, achievements, and successes are forgotten forever.

Those who reject God will be unimportant, forgotten, unremembered forever. Their names will be erased and no one will even know they existed as they suffer eternally in hell.

In contrast, what do the following verses tell us about what God does for the righteous:

Hebrews 6:10

1 Peter 1:4

Romans 9:23

2 Thessalonians 2:14

1 Peter 5:10

While the punishment for wicked people includes their eternal insignificance, our reward includes eternal glory.

According to verse 8, how will God judge the world?

God cannot be bribed with money. He will not be moved by a person’s status or fame or beauty or influence on earth. Tears and pleading will not sway His judgment. All who continue in their sin and do not repent and trust in Jesus while they have time now will soon face the One whose throne is ready, prepared, established for judgment.

What do the following verses say about the coming judgment?

Acts 17:30-31

Romans 2:16

Revelation 20:12-13

Matthew 12:36-37

James 2:13

Hell is not “One Size Fits All.” It is not one equal punishment for all people. God will give each person exactly and only what they deserve. And from what the Bible suggests, the greatest determining factor in the severity of a person’s punishment is not what they did but how much they knew.

List what God does for the following people: (vs. 9-12)

The oppressed:

Those who seek God:

The afflicted:

We read in verse 8 that God will execute judgment for the people, and in verses 9-12 God reaffirms this. He will not forget the cry of the afflicted on the day of judgment! When their tormentors come before God’s throne—the one He has established for judgment—He will remember the cry of those who were afflicted and judge with righteousness and equity.

When the afflicted cry out, they may not always see complete deliverance in their lifetime. But their passing does not mean their cry has stopped. From a wicked person behind closed doors to the leader of an organization that does great harm, complete justice will be accomplished.

Fill in the blanks. (vs. 13) David says God lifts him up from

_______________________________________________________.

Have you ever felt like you were “at the gates of death”? Has suffering or sin or sorrow or some other event caused you to need God’s gracious hand to lift you like an elevator up from the gates of death?

How did God deliver you from that trial?

What reason does David give in verse 14 for the request he made in verse 13?

In verse 13, David uses the term “the gates of death.” What gates does he refer to in verse 14?

Just as the gates of death are associated with affliction, what are the gates in verse 14 associated with?

While God will judge the wicked for their sin and rebellion, their punishment comes as a direct result of their sin.

Who actually punishes the wicked on earth according to verses 15 and 16?

The King James translates verse 17 as, “The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.” The picture I’ve had in my mind about this verse is like a baking sheet. There have been times when I’ve put my garlic bread in the oven under the broiler and a few accidental minutes later smoke has filled the house. So I take the burnt bread out of the oven and run outside with the baking sheet. As soon as the smoke is gone, I tilt the pan and all the crumbs and ashes and what’s left of the bread into the trashcan. There is nothing left to be saved. No chance of redeeming any of the bread because it is totally ruined.

And in the same way, nations of people who forget God are like that burned bread. They are totally ruined by their sin. Because they have forgotten God, they have not feared Him or served Him or loved Him. Their forgetfulness of God and the evil they commit is intricately connected.
God loves, LOVES, LOVES, LOVES His own. The next verse says, “The needy will not always be forgotten.” God will comfort and help those who remember Him, who look to Him. But there is a distinction. Those who forget God, who have no interest in obedience or knowing Him, will be turned into hell.

Throughout all the Psalms we’ve studied so far, this distinction is made again and again. God loves His own. He rescues them. He calls them by name. He makes them joint-heirs with His own Son. He puts His Spirit in them.

But those who forget God, they are turned into hell. Nameless and forgotten. Poured headlong like useless burnt bread.

God makes a distinction between those who are His and those who are not His. We are God’s children. But those who are not His, they are God’s enemies. God the Father sent Christ to die while we were still His enemies, and those who are still enemies may be really be His children, though they are presently unconverted. And so the matter is not settled yet. We don’t yet fully know who will be saved and who won’t be.

But this we can know. Those who are saved or will be saved are loved by God and will be loved by Him forever.

Now, we must remember that those who are judged by God and turned into hell have that consequence wholly as a result of their own actions. God does not send them to hell because they are not His, but because they have rightfully earned hell through directly disobeying and forgetting Him all their lives.

I can think of several times when I’ve asked one of my kids to do something. For example, “Please go put your laundry into the washer.” And a few hours go by and I check the washer and the dryer and realize they are empty. So I ask, “Why didn’t you put your clothes into the washer?” And they will say, “Oh, I forgot,” as if this excuse completely excused their disobedience.

Now in this case, I might also excuse their forgetfulness and say, “Then go do it now.” But there have been times when this “I forgot” excuse is used and I’ve had to choose a consequence and emphasize, “Forgetfulness is disobedience.” When they are told to do something important and they forget, the actions are the same as if they purposefully disobeyed. And the more important the forgotten request, the more seriously I must deal with it.

And when entire nations forget God, they have forgotten the most serious and important duty of people is to love God and serve Him. And thus their forgetfulness is disobedience. We also learn in Romans that those who forget God do so purposefully. They “suppress the truth in unrighteousness” (Romans 1:18c).

If they remember God, they must make a decision to either follow Him or rebel against Him. But if they forget Him by suppressing the truth, they can ease the burden on their conscience and live anyway they want. So they purposefully forget and they actively suppress their knowledge of God.

I personally forget things so easily. I ruin food when I forget it in the oven. I ruin clothes when I forget they are in the dryer. But thankfully these are not the most important things in life. Following Jesus and loving Him is most important, and those who forget Him will be judged completely on their actions.

They will be caught in the nets they themselves make. They will be judged according to the exact deeds they themselves did. Their judgment will be perfectly accurate according to what they’ve done.

The severity of God’s judgment is shown to emphasize His awareness of those who have suffered because of the wicked. We see God’s compassion toward the needy and the oppressed in His judgment of the oppressors and the unkind. Verse 18 says, “For the needy will not always be forgotten, nor the hope of the afflicted perish forever.”

Then in verse 19, we are told again that God will one day judge the nations. And in these two verses, we are reminded of the theme of this chapter: God will comfort the oppressed, the needy, and the afflicted. Though they may not yet see justice, the day will come.

What does David pray in verse 20?

When disaster strikes, then people are reminded that life is fragile and never guaranteed. David asks God to put the nations in fear, to remind them now that God is God and they are only people. That they might repent now before it is too late and put their trust in God so they would be delivered from the judgment to come.

Psalm 10—God Will Vindicate the Afflicted

Read Psalm 10:1-18

One problem the Psalmist faces is the earthly success of those who curse God. Writing this Psalm with both an earthly and an eternal eye, the Psalmist asks the Lord, “Why do you hide when I need you the most?” and then in the same train of thought he remembers that the wicked are blind to their coming judgment by God—revealing that God is not hiding but rather waiting.

This Psalm reveals an inside view into what the wicked person does and thinks. We see the wicked heart and thoughts of those who revile our Lord, while God’s deliverance for those who are oppressed by these wicked men is emphasized.

This theme is consistent with the previous psalm, and in some places, such as the Septuagint and Vulgate translations of the Bible, these two psalms are treated as one.

Additionally, Psalms 9 and 10 are written with an alphabetic acrostic, which is: “The initials of Psalms 9:1,3,5 are respectively 'aleph, beth, gimel; of Psalms 9:9,11,13,15,17 waw, zayin, cheth, Teth and yodh. Psalms 10:1 begins with lamedh and Psalms 10:12,14-15,17 with qoph, resh, shin and taw. Four lines seem to have been allotted to each letter in the original form of the poem.”

There are quite a few Psalms that echo the sentiment in verse 1. Each of the following verses mentions that God has hidden His face. But what does it mean to say, “God hid His face”?

Let’s look at some of those verses and write any clues we find about what the Psalmists feel or what God is doing when He hides His face:

Psalm 13:1-3

Psalm 27:9

Psalm 30:7

Psalm 44:23-26

Psalm 88:13-14

When God hides His face, we feel like He is far away. Our prayers don’t seem to be heard, our heart is heavy, and the trials seem far more intense. It seems as though God is looking away, not answering, and ignoring our situation. We may feel rejected and alone.

These feelings caused David to ask, “Why do You stand afar off, O LORD? Why do You hide Yourself in times of trouble? In pride the wicked hotly pursue the afflicted” (Psalm 10:1-2a). When David looks at all the evil some people get away with, he wonders what God is doing.

Looking at verses 2-18, list the things that wicked people…

Feel:

Think:

Do:

This is a pretty long list of bad things, but there seem to be four main categories: pride, the tongue, greed, and hurting the innocent. This study will cover each of these four items.

First, pride. Pride is one of the defining traits of wicked people. Because of pride, they pursue the afflicted, curse the LORD, and do whatever they want.

The poor man is humbled by his circumstances while the wicked man is puffed up with pride from his success. Instead of helping the poor, the arrogant man persecutes him. He sees no need to seek God, but rather he pursues the afflicted, persecutes the poor, and oppresses the needy.

He is so prideful that pride is visible in his expression. He even “puffs” at his enemies. When I recently read the last part of verse 5, it was first in the ESV, “as for all his foes, he puffs at them.” I read what the commentators had to say about it, but still I could not recall seeing anyone puff in anger.

Then yesterday I was playing ping pong with my son Austin while my daughter was taking gymnastics. While beating Austin, in frustration he puffed out his cheeks and blew air out threw his nose. I thought, “Ah-ha!” That’s what puffing and snorting in anger look like! The expression reminds me of angry frustration. This prideful man is frustrated to even have enemies. He thinks so highly of himself that he’s filled with anger and frustration at anyone who gets in his way.

He also does not seek God. But why would a prideful man seek God? In his mind, he has all he needs. He believes he is the cause of everything good in his life. If he were religious, he would even say he earned his salvation through his good works.

What caused the people in the following verses to be deceived?

Obadiah 1:3

Jeremiah 49:16

Being deceived is one of the ultimate dangers of pride. Pride speaks lies confidently and boldly. It tells a wicked man that he is good. It tells the wicked man that he does not need God.

The prideful person says, “I will never be in adversity. Nothing bad will ever happen to me.” Not only in this life does he assume everything will be well for him, but he entirely forgets the coming judgment of God in the life to come. I cannot imagine anything worse than being this man and standing before God at the judgment. Here is the man who most thinks things will work out well for him, and he above all people has the most fearful end coming to him. “It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Hebrews 10:31).

He believes nothing bad will happen and forgets how easily we are destroyed. A rushing tsunami, a heat enraged fire, an earthquake that levels buildings, a life-threatening disease, wild beasts that might rip apart his flesh, body dissolving starvation, or any other disaster that may come upon him—he cannot even resist it to keep himself alive.

He is completely at the mercy of God and yet he glories in his atheism, when his glory is truly his shame. He receives the praise of man and thinks himself to be something great, but what is the honor of thousands of men compared to the billions of people on earth? And what is the honor of the whole earth compared to the unknown amounts of suns and moons and planets that exist in the greatness of the heavens?

If we were to remove ourselves from the drama of the earth and step outside of our solar system, and possibly be able to see the speck that is earth, and journey through the enormous expanse of the stars with the angels who sing the praises of God, what would all the things we so strive after matter? Oh that our hearts would be set on fearing and glorifying God alone! As we consider the greatness of the heavens, humility should set in.

Another trademark of these wicked people are the vile words that come out of their mouths.

What type of words do wicked people speak, according to verse 7?

Their mouths are full of curses, lies, fraud, and threats. As believers, our tongues are still capable of the same words as unbelievers, so God has told us how He wants us to talk.

What does James 1:26 tell us to do with our tongues?

What are some of the things we should speak according to the following verses?

Psalm 71:15-18

Proverbs 22:11

Ecclesiastes 5:2

Colossians 3:9, 16

Colossians 4:3-4, 6

Ephesians 4:29

God calls us to be marked by honesty, speaking with grace according to the moment, and telling of His wonderful deeds. This is a sharp contract to the lies and curses that come from the mouth of those who are wicked.

We are also called to be generous and give, but the wicked are marked by greed.

Fill in the blanks using the end of Psalm 10:3 as a guide.

The ____________ man ________________________ and ____________ the LORD.

Unfortunately, in our culture greed is often praised. We are sympathetic to greed. Who was ever excommunicated from their church for greed? People usually don’t condemn greed like they condemn murder or even gossip. But while the church as a whole often overlooks covetousness, afraid of offending or misjudging, God does not overlook greed. It is a serious sin in His sight. Greed is closely linked with spurning the Lord.

When I am anything less than content with what I already possess—I am walking a fine rope high above a dangerous descent into cursing and spurning the Lord. Not with my words, but with my heart.

When God is not enough to us, our desire for things—the health products and supplements, the clothes, the fresh foods, the books, the toys for the kids, the spending money, the luxuries, the matching dishes, the appliances, a diet—is greed, covetousness.

That last one cracks me up. Most of us are over-blessed. We have such abundance that people spend money on diets. We have so much that we actually pay money to have less. We have extra money to buy extra food, and then we spend more money to eat less food. Thirty-five billion dollars a year in just the United States alone. That is an average of $115 per person, including every man, woman, and child. Yikes!

About six years ago my husband was between jobs for four months. I had very little money for food, and when you can’t afford food, weight loss is super easy. I weighed my lowest amount as an adult. It’s our abundance that makes weight loss hard. Now we are in a place of blessing, I’m at my highest adult weight (outside of pregnancy). My point is, “needing a diet” is a sign of blessing. (Although it may not feel like that at the time. )

But covetousness seems to be an easy sin to commit. I know what it’s like to want things I don’t have, to feel sorry for myself when my grocery budget wasn’t what I wanted or my house wasn’t big enough or I couldn’t afford a book I thought I needed. I’m probably way too sympathetic to those who have little and long for more. Especially those who follow the Lord and work hard and just don’t have it easy—and so they long for what they don’t have. My heart breaks for them. I know how hard it is to feel content when you have little.

Even the LORD is tender-hearted to those who are in this position.

What do verses 14, 17 and 18 say about the poor (also translated unfortunate, helpless, or victims)?

Though God has compassion on those who have little, and though He will soon rescue them and have great mercy on them, in the meantime, He requires them to be content with what they have, however little it may be.

What do the following verses call “covetousness” or wanting what we don’t have?

Colossians 3:5

Ephesians 5:5

Wanting something is the first step of worshipping something. When we covet, wanting what we don’t have or intensely wishing for what someone else has, we’ve moved one step in the direction of idolatry, and according to the Bible, one step is far too many. It is idolatry.

Greed causes people to step on people, to mistreat them or lack compassion, to look out only for our own gain. Which bring us to our fourth category of sin in this Psalm, which is hurting the innocent.

In verses 8-10, how does the wicked person commit their violence?

These phrases put in my mind a picture of the lowest of criminals. One late night I was driving with my dad and we were listening to one of those late night stories on the radio. It must have been sometime during my teen years but I can’t quite remember the circumstances.

Anyway, the man speaks in a deep, booming voice and tells a story. You really never know what you’re going to get when you start listening to the story, and the story this night was creepy. It was told by a man on trial for murdering his wife.

First, he described the others he killed before his wife. He talked about the excitement of waiting in the dark shadows until a victim would pass by. He didn’t plan his victims, but took the life of whoever happened to be walking by the place where he was hiding. He would sit for hours, if no victim came, hiding and waiting.

Then one night his wife had gone down that alley, and without knowing who he was murdering, he pounced on the helpless victim and killed her, only to realize it was his own wife whom he actually loved. I couldn’t stop thinking about that story for days, the reverberating voice of the narrator echoing in my head. And now when I read these verses in Psalm 10, this story always comes to mind.

Looking again at verses 8-10, who are the victims of this horrible violence?

His eyes stealthily watch for the unfortunate, searching for a helpless victim. Then he secretly kills the innocent. He is not killing for any noble cause. He is not even killing for revenge or a cheating spouse or any other reason that might actually make sense, even though those would be wrong. But this is a description of ultimate depravity. He waits and watches just to kill those who have done nothing wrong.

And though we are all ultimately depraved, in this person we see how utterly depraved the human heart really is. He waits, he is patient, he will crouch uncomfortably—just to kill, just to attack. He longs for wickedness. He desires it so much that he lurks and waits for the opportunity to kill. He also catches the afflicted by trapping him. In other words, he kidnaps the helpless with the intention of murdering them.

The wicked person thinks it’s okay if he tricks others, steals from them, hurts them, or even murders them. What does he tell himself? (vs. 4, 11, 13)

The violent criminal believes that God isn’t watching him and won’t punish him, but God sees all he does and He will vindicate the oppressed and humble.

I read a horrible story in the news yesterday about a person who committed violent crimes against another person and though he was guilty, received no punishment for his actions. And I can easily think of so many heartbreaking stories of abuse that people have commitment or endured, and it is sadly true that many people commit crimes and never get caught, or when they do get caught, the slap on the wrist they receive never teaches them the monstrosity of their sins. And because they have no punishment now, they live with the false idea that they will never be punished.

Solomon says the same thing in Ecclesiastes 8:11 “Because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed quickly, therefore the hearts of the sons of men among them are given fully to do evil.” When people think they will get away with their sins, they have no restraint. Nothing stops them from utter wickedness.

Both the question and answer are given in verse 13. The question is: “Why has the wicked spurned God?” What is the answer?

If a wicked person acknowledged God, he must acknowledge God’s justice, and therefore judgment. But if God is not real, the wicked man has nothing to fear. So he tries in vain to convince himself that God does not exist. I say “in vain,” because in just a few verses the wicked man is saying that God doesn’t see. At first he tries to deny God even exists, but then in futility says God isn’t paying attention to him.

Both the question and answer are given in verse 13. The question is: “Why has the wicked spurned God?” What is the answer?

Why should the wicked person be terrified? (vs. 14)

What is said about each of these people?

The unfortunate (vs. 14):

The orphan (vs. 14, 18):

The humble (vs. 17):

The oppressed (vs. 18):

While it may seem that God has hidden His face from all the wickedness on earth, we are reminded that God sees, that He will judge, and the day is coming when God will vindicate all those who suffer at the hands of evildoers.

In yesterday’s Psalm we looked at how the memory of the wicked will be wiped out forever and how our good works will be remembered. In today’s Psalm we talked about both the difference between the righteous and the wicked and the importance of our words. A great passage in the Old Testament brings all these thoughts together perfectly.

Write a summary of Malachi 3:16-18.

Psalms 11-15

 
 
Psalm 11—The Only Secure Refuge

Read Psalm 11:1-7

Have you ever played an imaginary conversation in your mind? As you are awaiting some future event, have you ever rehearsed in your thoughts how you’d like the dialog to go? Or after an occasion was over, have you ever thought about what you wish you would have said?

I remember once when I was getting hired at a new job. When it came time to discuss my pay, I got so nervous that I accepted the pay I was offered, though it was a couple dollars an hour less than what I had been told it would be. Later, I kicked myself for not saying something about the pay when I had the appropriate chance. Years later, when I no longer worked for that company and it didn’t matter anyway, I remember rehearsing in my mind what I would have said if I could have done it over again.

I’ve also had the imaginary conversation where someone accuses me of something and I defend myself—even though it practically never happens the way I imagine it will. In this Psalm, David records for us his answer to those people who think he should flee from a dangerous predicament.

It is highly likely that David wrote this Psalm during the time he ministered to King Saul. Before we dig into Psalm 11, let’s first look at 1 Samuel 18 to examine why this Psalm was most likely written.

Read 1 Samuel 18:1-16 and answer the following questions.

Who did David work for and what was his job? (vs. 5)

What happened that turned Saul’s heart toward David from love to hatred? (vs. 7-9)

In a double attempt at killing David, what did Saul do? (vs. 11)

Though David’s life was in danger because of King Saul’s jealousy, why do you think David continued to work for Saul? (vs. 12-16)

Though David risked losing his life, he did not immediately run away from the situation, but trusted that God would protect him. (Later on in the story, David does run away and go into hiding.)
David begins our Psalm by saying, “In the Lord I take refuge; how can you say to my soul.” In other words, “My refuge is in God, why are you tempting me to trust in anything else? How can you give me any other advice?”

In verses 1-3 (of Psalm 11), what is the advice given to David?

David is being told to flee, to get away from Saul, and fly like a bird to a mountain. The people giving David advice fear he is about to be killed.

In their final piece of advice (vs. 3), the foundations seem to refer to the uprightness of the governmental structure. If, and since, the morality of the land was apparently ruined under the leadership of King Saul, what could those who were righteous do? What could David do about the demise of his land? A modern day question would be: “If the government becomes corrupt and the laws support and favor evildoers, what can the Christians do?” But what can we do in times of corruption? The rest of today’s Psalm gives us David’s answer to this question.

Looking at David’s confident response, what points does he make? (vs. 4)

God has more authority and power than any government. So though righteous humans may have very little power if the government is corrupt, God is not restrained by a corrupt government. He is still ruling over the earth from heaven. Why should David be afraid of Saul if God is still sovereignly in control of the earth? David doesn’t need to flee, as if he had no defense. Not only is God ruling over the earth from heaven, God is also inspecting every thought and action of the people on earth. David asserts that God is both in control and aware of the situation.

What could be the reason why David is in this predicament, according to Psalm 11:5?

One thing I didn’t anticipate when I committed my life to Christ were all the trials and hard times that would follow. It just seem counterintuitive to what we often think about God—“Follow the God who can do anything and your life will be free from pain, sickness, financial stress, or problems. Since He can do anything, He will make your life perfect.”

But what we learn instead is that God is more concerned with our holiness than our happiness, with our character than our comfort, with our soul than our surroundings, and with our passion for Him than our popularity on earth.

This next verse makes my heart light up with excitement. It is another confirmation and answer to the question, “Why have I had such hard times in my life?”

What happened to the Moabites in Jeremiah 48:11 who continually lived in comfort and ease?

God emptied me from vessel to vessel to rid me of character qualities that didn’t reflect Himself. He wants to make me more like Jesus, to purify me. God wanted to change my “taste” and my “scent” from Katie to Jesus.

What was another result of this lack of trials for the Moabites according to Jeremiah 48:29 and Isaiah 16:6?

While we are on the subject of those who are prideful, self-exalting, and arrogant—who does verse 5 say that God hates?

God tests the heart of both the righteous and the wicked. God does not blindly hate, but we learn that before God hates those who love violence, He knows exactly what is in their heart.

This does not mean God hates war. David even said that God teaches him to fight. (Psalm 144:1) But when a person LOVES violence, loves to hurt and inflict pain and suffering on others, purposefully tortures others and watches them suffer, those are the ones whom God hates. When we hear in the news about the mom who locked her young daughter in a closet, starved her, chained her, beat her, abused her, allowed her to be raped—we are mistaken if we think that we feel angry but God feels only love. We are not more righteous than God. We do not have a higher standard of justice than God.

God knows who will ultimately repent and who will ultimately be His. This mother may one day repent and her sins will be forgiven as completely as a person who only disobeyed their parents a few times as a child. And then we would see God’s unfathomable love and compassion and mercy.

But she may not repent. And God knows that also. He knows who will never repent: Those who will never turn from their sin and the evil that is in their heart; who will go to their grave loving violence and hurting others and hating Him. And for those people, verse 5 tells us how God feels in return.

In contrast with God’s hatred of evildoers, God loves those who are His. He loves righteousness and justice. He cares for those who suffer, who are the victims of the violent.

And what will God do to those who are wicked? (vs. 6)

Snares, fire, sulfur, and scorching wind—these are all judgments of God that speak of both judgment on this earth and future judgment. The word snare refers to a calamity or trap, like a bird trap. Brimstone, also called sulfur, has a flammable nature and is used today in matches, gunpowder, and fireworks. Sulfur is an element that can sustain a fire. The sulfur comes down from heaven burning with flames. God could have chosen wood or any other flammable substance to accompany the fire. But God choose sulfur.

I was very curious as to why God choose sulfur above all the other elements. As I researched this verse, I learned the following things about sulfur:

Sulfur dust suspended in air ignites easily and can explode in confined areas. It may be ignited by friction, static electricity, heat, sparks, or flames. Toxic gases will form upon combustion. Solid forms burn only at moderate rate, whereas dust burns with explosive violence.
Gas masks approved for acid gases would not provide adequate protection in a serious sulfur fire.
Breathing ignited sulfur vapors or smoke are extremely irritating.
A sulfur fire is deep blue at night with short flames. Except for smoke & heat, a sulfur fire is invisible by daylight.

How interesting! Sulfur is most dangerous when exposed to fire and wind—the very things God pairs it with! Sulfur ignites easily, and wind increases the explosiveness of sulfur. In addition to increased flammability, when wind blows the burning sulfur gas (called sulfur dioxide), it causes respiratory problems, coughing, skin irritation, eye pain, and other types of physical distress.

The word horrible (KJV) or scorching (ESV) is the Hebrew word zal`aphah, meaning burning heat or raging heat. I remember visiting Las Vegas in the summer. When the burning 120 degree winds blew on me, the wind intensified the scorching heat rather than relieving it.

Imagine with me what this judgment will be like. God rains down from heaven a horrible storm. But not a comforting storm of water which would bring food and refreshment to the earth, but a storm of fire. The sulfur fires would be invisible in the daytime, with only the smoke as evidence. The heat of the fires will scorch those on the earth while the burning wind will blow the hazardous gases into the eyes and mouth of the people. Yikes!

What do each of the following verses says about fire and/or brimstone:

Genesis 19:24

Exodus 9:23-24

Ezekiel 38:22

Revelation 8:7

Another environmental result of sulfur and rain is acid rain, which is harmful to plants and aquatic animals. It corrodes metal, steel, paint, stone, sidewalks, and buildings. Acid rain is caused by the combination of sulfur dioxide (sulfur) and nitrogen oxide (a result of lightning) and water molecules.

Throughout history, God used fire and brimstone as an earthly judgment. The old fashioned words “fire and brimstone” are now called “lightning and sulfur dioxide.”

The day of the God-haters is coming, and they will get what they deserve—they will receive from God the portion of their cup. This references guests at a banquet, each of them receiving the amount of food due them. This punishment from God is for those who justly deserve it. They will receive the exact punishment their particular sins and situation deserves.

While a severe consequence is justly laid upon the wicked, an enormous blessing is given to the upright.

What awesome privilege is reserved for the upright? (vs. 7)

Why flee like a bird to the mountains when God sits as King in the heavens? The wicked who seek to shoot at the upright in heart will receive their due portion. But the upright will be protected by God; they will see His face. Instead of focusing on the vengeance of the wicked, David reminds himself that God sees what is happening and He will righteously repay the wicked for their iniquity.

Read Psalm 11 again and underline a verse that impacted you.

Psalm 12—Lying Lips Vs. Pure Words

Read Psalm 12:1-8

What is the theme of David’s complaint in this Psalm?

This Psalm starts with the words: “Help Lord”—the common cry of my heart! I cry out for help when I feel overwhelmed, sad, in need of grace, unsure of what to do and so much more.

And David cries out for help because it seems as though there are no godly people left on earth, no one left who is truthful and faithful to God. I can imagine how difficult this would be. Elijah was in a similar state.

What did Elijah pray in Romans 11:3?

What was God’s response? (Romans 11:4)

Elijah could not see what God saw. Elijah saw only himself. God knew there were 7,000 others besides Elijah who were faithful. When we are in distresses, often we can see only our own predicament and nothing beyond that.

I’ve found that I’m usually most distressed by whatever trial I am in presently in. I hear the sounds that are closest to me. I more easily hear the whisper of my daughter when she is next to me than the loudest explosion across the world. Our anxiety prone hearts focus on what we can see and hear, when God has the whole picture in view, beginning to end.

Is there a situation in your life that maybe feels more overwhelming to you than it really is?

Today’s events always seem less overwhelming tomorrow. Have you ever looked at a to-do list from several months before? Whenever I find an old to-do list and I read it, I am always struck by how much pressure I felt at the time to accomplish the things on that list, and now in retrospect—most of them were not as important as they felt at that time.

Elijah could not see those who also followed the Lord as he did, and so he felt alone. David also felt as though the faithful had disappeared. In this time of distress, David could have grabbed his sword and gone killing all those who were ungodly and faithless. But instead he simply turned his heart in believing prayer to God: “Help Lord.” And truly, when we believe God hears and will answer, simple prayer is all we need.

According to verse 2, what do the people speak?

The conversations among the people have become utterly worthless. I used a Yahoo! email address for a long time and when I would close my email, the Yahoo! headlines would show up. Some were intriguing and I’d read the articles and then the comments.

After a while, I would begin to think “What a waste of my time!” The subjects were usually so empty. Things like, who the next spokesperson for a certain brand would be. There is nothing about a subject like this that I really need to know about, and yet I’ve been sucked into reading these articles on unimportant subjects.

When the people David writes about “speak vanity” to their neighbors, they speak what is lacking any worth or importance, without any value, words that either add nothing to life or worse, cause damage in some way.

In addition to their empty words, they don’t tell each other the truth but replace it with flattery. Flattery is condemned in the Bible and encouragement is commanded. Let’s examine the difference between flattery and encouragement.

What do we learn about flattery from the following verses?

Proverbs 2:16-19

Proverbs 5:3-5

Proverbs 7:21

Proverbs 28:23

Proverbs 29:5

1 Thessalonians 2:5

In the Old Testament, the word for flatter (used in Proverbs 2:16 and many of the other verses above) is chalaq. It means “a portion, a parcel, smoothness.” To make portions of something, it must first be divided. I think of a person who divides himself. He says one thing with his mouth and thinks something else in his heart. It is a form of lying. This word flattery also refers to smoothness of speech—a person that knows exactly what to say and how to say it—but instead of using that skill for good, they use it to deceive.

Have you ever been lied to? How did it feel to discover you’d been deceived?

After I speak, women will come to me and say very kind things. “Oh, that was wonderful!” “You are so funny!” “That was really good.” Etc. And maybe it’s just me, but I always wonder if some of the praise is simply flattery. A woman gets stuck with me in an elevator right after I’ve spoken at an event. What else does she say but tell me she liked my message? And if she means it, I’m so blessed she is telling me. But what if she thought there was a way I could make the message better? Or improve in some way? In that case, I’d much rather have the truth than a hollow compliment.

Sometimes I feel like getting positive criticism is one of the hardest things on earth to draw out of people. And in some sense, I’m blessed by that. I’ve realized that most of the time, if you really want the truth, you’ve got to make someone angry first. Once they are mad, they’ll tell you what they really think. But when they like someone, they don’t want to say anything negative, even if they have things to say, because they want to protect the feelings of the person they like. And in that sense, it is being polite.

But at the same time, I have shared David’s frustration with words that are less than honest. Now, some flattery is done with an evil intent, a divided heart, a self seeking interest for the flatterers own gain, and the emphasis is on the divided lying tongue and the degree of harm the person wants to do. It seems it is this dangerous flattery mentioned in our Psalm.

What does the Bible say is happening inside the heart of the person who flatters outwardly?

Jeremiah 9:8

Psalm 28:3

Psalm 62:4

Flattery is not meant to help someone grow or improve. In the best sense of the word, flattery is an insincere compliment. It is saying something you don’t really believe to get your way. In the worse sense, it is smooth and persuasive words that are meant to make the hearer believe they are safe, while the words are ultimately laced with poison.

But, encouragement can include truthful compliments for the growth of the person being given the praise.

One is false and selfish. The other is true and generous. Flattery is driven by an evil intent. Encouragement is driven by love.

Flattery is not simply giving a compliment. The smooth words of the flatterer are used to advance the flatterers own evil agenda. In the case of the adulterous woman, flattery is used to seduce a man, to take his heart away from his own wife and family.

Now, encouragement is a completely different subject than flattery. But these two are often confused. Sometimes a situation determines whether the words are encouragement or flattery. For instance, a woman’s excessive praise of her pastor may look like encouragement, though it is really flattery. Or a wife may neglect giving her husband the encouragement he desperately needs, fearful she may accidentally flatter him. Maybe the woman who flatters her pastor does so because she wants more of his attention, more of his time. And she is not maliciously trying to draw him toward her, but she is unknowingly causing harm. Or the wife who neglects to encourage her husband doesn’t want him to become prideful, but he needs to know his wife supports him and admires him.

To get a better understanding of encouragement, let’s look at some examples in the Bible.

As you read the passages from the Bible, answer the following questions: Who was speaking? Who were they speaking to? What encouraging words did they say?

Revelation 2:19

Ephesians 1:15

2 Corinthians 8:7

Colossians 1:4

1 Thessalonians 1:3

The people in each of these passages are complimented and encouraged. This is not an exhaustive list of all compliments in the Bible, but a short sampling so we might see that it is good to notice and verbally recognize the gifts and growth that we see in others.

This type of encouragement is right, necessary, and biblical. It is sadly neglected today in some churches, where the pastor or the people have such a desire to do what is right that they error in not acknowledging and praising what the people are doing right.

What are the two sins condemned in verse 3?

What’s interesting about these two distinct sins is how alike they are. While one person boasts to others of their greatness, the next person boast to others of his own greatness. Both types of boasting are condemned by God.

What does 1 Corinthians 13:4 say about boasting?

In other words, the reason that boasting and bragging is wrong is that it is not motivated by love. It is motivated by selfish ambition. The same is true of flattery. The person who flatters is not motivated by love for the other person, but by selfish ambition, typically to gain some type of favor or relationship with the one who is being flattered.

This is the primary difference between encouragement and flattery. Encouragement is motivated by love while flattery is motivated by selfish ambition. Additionally, encouraging words are rooted in truth, while flattering words are rooted in deception.

What is God’s plan for those who say, “I can say whatever I want. Nobody can tell me what to do”? (vs. 3-4)

Vs. 5 When the needy cry, people rarely listen. We usually try not to make eye contact with the homeless man on the street corner. Some of that may be justified. “If a man doesn’t work, he should not eat.” And in America, we are more insulated from the ravenging effects of poverty, as many of the very poor are able to get food stamps and welfare and housing allowances. But at the same time, sometimes people are plunged into poverty so quickly and without warning, they don’t have time to get food stamps and other help. The eviction notice comes, the food runs out, and there is no gas in the car to even drive to a government office, and that’s if there is a car. God doesn’t say in this verse that he will deliver the needy from being poor and make them rich. That is not the promise. But God does promise to keep the needy safe—to set him in a place that is safe from those who oppress and afflict them. One of the greatest comforts of riches is safety. Of knowing you have a place to sleep, food to eat, protection from people and weather. And so, while God does not promise wealth or material abundance, He does give the needy one result of wealth, the one for which they long, which is safety. God sees when the poor groan in their poverty and need. He sees those groanings even though they may be silent and forgotten by everyone else. And that is enough for God. He is provoked to arise and to act. To defend and protect the needy person who can’t defend herself.

Vs. 6 This verse makes reference to the ancient purifying process of silver. Silver would be heated to very high temperatures, bringing the dross to the surface. The dross would be removed and the silver would cool. Again the silver would be reheated so that any additional impurities would rise to the surface. This process, repeated seven times, would guarantee the purest form of silver.

God’s Word is ever purer. There are no unintentional words in the Bible. There is nothing more than what there needs to be and there is nothing less.

Vs. 7 God will protect the oppressed and helpless until the end of these generations on earth, until they no longer need protection because the wicked are no more. Likewise, God’s people will never be destroyed by any generation, kingdom, or people.

Summarize what Gamaliel says about what happens when people try to overthrow a work of God from Acts 5:34-39.

Vs. 8 After a certain President was elected, I was walking through my neighborhood when I saw this verse on a sign in the neighbor’s front yard: “The wicked walk on every side, when the vilest men are exalted.” And I’ve seen the truth of that. When a President (actually two of them) declare June to be “Gay and Lesbian Pride Month,” the country is even less moved when the vilest of acts are performed openly and freely in the streets during “parades” and “festivals”.

The NIV for this verse reads “The wicked freely strut about when what is vile is honored among men.” When sin is not shameful—as most sin is no longer shameful in our culture—people sin openly. But even worse, when the most honored celebrities support the legalization of almost every sin imaginable, the number of wicked people seems to multiply like the bacteria on meat when it is left out overnight.

Have you ever been lied to? How did it feel to discover you’d been deceived?

What is the theme of David’s complaint in this Psalm?

Verse one reminds me of Elijah at Mt. Carmel (REF) when he said, “I alone am left, and they seek my life.” I’ve had moments of feeling, “No one takes being a Christian seriously.”

Vs. 8 We consistently moved about every 2-4 years, so the neighborhoods I walk in change also. The house we lived in about five years ago was in an older neighborhood, and I can almost smell the area as I write this. I would push James and sometimes Tyla with him in my double stroller while Austin would walk. As the kids have gotten older and our homeschooling schedule has become more rigorous, we walk less frequently—and I miss it. But back in that neighborhood, there was a street I would walk down and the occupants of that house kept a Bible verse “sign” in their front yard. They would rotate the verse in the sign every couple months. A couple times on my walks, I knocked on their front door because I really wanted to meet them, but no one ever answered the door. But of all the verses they put in that sign, it is verse 8 of today’s Psalm that I most remember. It was the months before and after the presidential election and the truth of this verse struck me like never before: “The wicked walk on every side, when the vilest men are exalted” (KJV). In other words, if we elect a leader who doesn’t fear God, who calls good evil and evil good, who does what God calls wicked—we are not only going to suffer with a bad leader, but wicked people will come out of hiding. They will feel free to flaunt their shameful sins.

C.H. Spurgeon, Treasury of David, http://grace-for-today.com/chstp12.htm

Psalm 13—Believing God’s Goodness

Day 3
Read Psalm 13:1-6
How was David feeling at the beginning of this Psalm?
Why did David say he would rejoice and sing at the end of the Psalm?

Notice how anxious and desperate David is when he begins this Psalm. Verse 1 starts with the words, “How long?” A question that he repeats four times throughout the Psalm.

When we are not in trials, we can fret at what seems like the impatience of David. “Oh, ‘how long?’, he asks. He needs to be patient and just praise God. He needs to stop doubting God.” But when we are in very hard and difficult times, are we not also impatient? When we become strained financially, or a child is out of control, or a person with whom we have a close relationship isn’t changing—do we not desire to see the situation changed quickly?

And when things are hard, the difficulty seems to take forever. Why is this happening? Why has it been so long? Why hasn’t God answered my prayer? Has God forgotten me?

Can God forget? In David’s impatience and foolishness he questions God. How David felt is not an indicator of what is true. Remember this. How you feel is not the indicator of what is true. If you feel like God isn’t listening to your prayers, or if you feel like God has forgotten you, or that he is finished using you for His glory, or that maybe He has grown weary of loving you because of your failures—remember that your feelings are not the gauge of what is true. God’s Word is.

What does Isaiah 49:14-16 say about whether God forgets His people?

In Mark 6, Jesus let the disciples abide in the storm for a while before coming to them. In the gospels, Jesus stayed asleep while the disciples feared for their lives.

Read Mark 6:45-51 and answer the following questions.

Why did Jesus send His disciples to Bethsaida on a boat?

Before Jesus joined His disciples, what did He know about how they were doing?

Now carefully read vs. 48. What is the very last phrase of this verse?

WHAT?? The first time I really noticed what this little phrase was saying, my jaw dropped. Jesus wanted to keep walking past His disciples, though He knew they were distressed in rowing. Imagine with me what was happening. The disciples were painfully rowing in the middle of a lake, fighting against a windstorm. They were having a very hard time! And then as we scan the lake, we see Jesus, completely at ease, strolling across the lake as if everything were fine. And picture the disciples stressing out, fearing for their lives in the middle of a stormy, wild lake and then seeing Jesus calmly walking past them like it’s all no big deal.

His plan was to walk past the disciples, to the other side of lake. But as the disciples are toiling, they see this figure walking by. Now they are terrified! They suppose it must a ghost and they scream out in fear. As soon as they call out in fear, Jesus comes to them and says, “Your okay. Everything is just fine. Don’t be afraid. It’s me.” Then Jesus climbs into the boat and the wind completely stops. Wow!

What does this tell you? It tells me that even when things look horrible difficult, God is completely in control. Jesus knew they would not be harmed by the difficult rowing. He knew they’d make it to the other side of the lake. And yet, notice His compassion. When they cried out in fear, Jesus came to them.

Just like Jesus walked past the distressed disciples, so it seems like God can sometimes “walk past” us in our trials.

Why would God hide His face from His child?

Let’s review some of the Biblical reasons: (Give REF. for each reason)
God knows that ultimately, everything will be okay. The trials are temporary. (REF.)
God is producing patience in us, which leads to perfection.
The trials are working a far greater and more exceeding weight of glory.
The experience causes us to know and understand God’s faithfulness in a unique and deeper way.
Our faith is being given an opportunity to grow and be strengthened.

Vs. 2 Sorrow is like a stray dog. The more attention you give it, the longer it will stick around.

David muses on how he feels and asks, “How long will I have sorrow in my heart?” Expecting to find the answers within himself, instead he finds continuing sorrow. True comfort does not come from within, but from above.

Vs. 3 Lighten my eyes—give me light to see clearly. Give me hope in this time of trials. Think about the phrase, “Her eyes lit up when you walked into the room.” The woman in this sentence did not literally have light come out of her eyes, but this idea symbolizes her happiness to see you. When God lights up our eyes, He is filling us with hope.

What did David fear his enemies would say if God did not answer him? (vs. 4)

Vs. 5-6 Suddenly David’s prayer to have his eyes lightened is answered, and his emotion changes from distress to joy. The keyword here is trust. David began believing in God’s goodness toward him. He knew God would save him. He said, “I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.” He began rejoicing in things that hadn’t even happened yet.

While driving today, I thought of the things God tells us to pray for that we already know will happen. For instance, “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem” (Psalm 122:6). Yet we know there will be peace in Jerusalem one day. In the Lord’s prayer we are told to say, “Thy kingdom come” (Matthew 6:10). But we already know God’s kingdom will come. So why should we pray for the things we already know God is going to do? Then it hit me: God wants us to pray for things knowing He will perform them. Every prayer we pray should have the faith of believing that we are asking for things God is already going to do. That’s what faith is! We must have faith to please God at all. We must have faith if we want God to hear our prayers. Faith is necessary.

What do the following verses tell us about faith?

Hebrews 11:1

Hebrews 11:6

Matthew 21:22

It seems David understood this, and so he concludes his prayer to God with assurance of God’s faithful, future answer.

What is David’s response? (vs. 5-6)

Psalm 14—Let’s Sing of the Wicked!

Day 4

Read Psalm 14:1-7

Also read Psalm 53:1-6 and Romans 3:10-12

Psalm 14 and Psalm 53 are almost the same. Today’s study will contain different study material than Psalm 53 since there is so much in these Psalms to enjoy.

This Psalm was written for the public worship of Israel: “To the choirmaster.” How fascinating that all the people of Israel sang together about wicked men! Imagine one of the popular Christian worship bands of today writing a hit song with the words: “The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God.’ They are corrupt, they have committed abominable deeds; There is no one who does good. The LORD has looked down from heaven upon the sons of men to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. They have all turned aside, together they have become corrupt; There is no one who does good, not even one.”

While I wouldn’t be shocked to hear a song like this in some churches, I would be surprised for a song like this to be sung throughout most churches to a tune like the one from the song, “I Can Only Imagine.” Yet back in David’s day, this was a song of the time.

Have you seen the witty bumper sticker that says, “National Aethist’s Day—April 1st”?
Because April 1 is called April Fools’ Day, this is a reference to Psalm 14:1.

What does the fool say in his heart? (vs. 1)

A foolish person quiets his conscience by saying, “I don’t have to watch what I say or be careful what I do because there is no God.” He tries to convince himself that God doesn’t exist. The fool must assure himself that his sin is okay and that God isn’t real, so he tells himself “There is no God.” Otherwise, if he admits that God does exist, he would be accountable for his sin and would be punished for it. If the aethist admits God is real, that there is a chance that this God sees every wicked thing that every person does. And so the fool must convince himself by whatever means he can that God does not exist. And once he has suffocated his conscience, the parade of wickedness begins.

If a fool were to admit that God exists, he would also have to admit what, according to John 3:20?

Everybody has an awareness of God put upon their hearts.

Summarize Romans 1:19-20

We see that these foolish wicked men are corrupt, but then David says there is no one who does good. At first he is talking about wicked people, and none of them do anything good.
But he goes on to let us know that he’s not speaking only of wicked men. He’s talking about everybody.

Vs. 2
Before God judges, He thoroughly examines. God knows the thoughts and actions of every individual who will be punished eternally.

This idea that all men are corrupt in their hearts apart from grace is not just David’s idea.

Who looks down from heaven to see if there are any who seek God?

What is His conclusion?

We see that on the entire earth not one person does good.

And this principle of man’s depravity is also found in the New Testament, and that these verses are not only talking about Israel at that time in History.

Look at Romans three and write the verses that follow.

Nobody has the ability to do what is good in themselves. Nobody can do good things without God’s help.

Here is something to consider. You’ve probably heard the objection to the gospel: “What happens if someone in a remote island tries to call out to God? Will they go to hell if they don’t know the name of Jesus?”

The answer is found in this verse. When God looks down from heaven, how often does He find people who are seeking Him?

If a person is actually seeking God, it is because He is drawing them, causing that person to seek Him. And if God is causing someone to seek Him, He will certainly supply the truth to them also.

When I read my daughter Tyla these verses, she said, “Maybe those people weren’t good because they didn’t know what they needed to do.”

And that’s a good objection. In Noah’s day the earth was overwhelmingly wicked, and people did not yet have God’s law. They didn’t yet have a written idea of what God required of them.

So according to this way of thinking, when the people were finally given God’s law and His standard, the level of wickedness should have decreased, right? Now that people knew what to do, they were probably behaving a lot better.

Actually, no. Even when the people knew what they needed to do, they still didn’t do those things. The law gave man God’s standard, but not the power to keep that standard. So instead of becoming more righteousness because they knew what they needed to do, they now only knew exactly what it was that they weren’t doing.

What do the following verses tell us about this subject:

Hebrews 7:19

Romans 3:20

Galatians 3:10

Romans 8:3

The law was perfect, but because no one can keep the law, the law was not able to make anyone righteous. It only exposed unrighteousness! We know the good things to do, but we don’t have the power to do those good things. So even if know exactly what God wants from us, if we don’t have that ability to do those things, then our knowledge of what God wants is only showing us is that we can’t do what He wants.

Even if you keep every law almost all the time, if you break even one law once, what happens according to James 2:10?

So first, the Bible tells us that none of us do what is good. Next, we learn that no one seeks God. No one is able to come to God on their own.

Now why would we be able to do so many things freely, to have the freedom to choose so many things (other than being able to keep God’s law), and yet not have the freedom to choose to seek God? It’s the basic idea of free will. Here is one way of explaining this:

As a human, you have free will to walk anywhere you want, right? Actually no. Yes, you can want horizontally in any direction you want. You can walk to the left or to the right, you can walk forward or backward. You can walk for miles in any direction you want pretty much whenever you want to. You have that power to choose.
But what we don’t have is power to travel vertically. If you went to the nearest sidewalk, you would physically be able to go any horizontal direction you wanted, but none of us can ever travel vertically on our own. As much as I might want to go up in the air, only Jesus was able to ascend into the clouds. The rest of us don’t have that kind of free will. We are absolutely unable to go up, no matter how hard we try.
The only kind of free will we have is free will in the physical, earthly realm. Just like none of us can ascend vertically, no one has power to seek God, to choose things in the spiritual realm. I can choose lots of things on this earth, but what I don’t have is the power to choose to follow God. We don’t have the power to choose to seek God. Nobody has that power. Nobody has that strength or ability within themselves.
Nobody was born with that ability. Why? Because death passed upon all men through Adam because of sin, and now we are all born spiritually dead. Sin is the cause of this inability to make spiritual decisions. Because we are all born as slaves of sin, we cannot pursue righteousness until we are released from the captivity of sin.

Even though we have some free will (“some free will” is more aptly called “free agency”) and the ability to choose some things, we don’t have the ability to choose all things.

Vs. 3 No one who does good. Paul quotes this in Romans 3 to prove man’s total depravity. Sometimes I feel like people are becoming increasingly wicked, but the truth is that people have always been corrupt.

According to verse 3, what percentage of people have some natural goodness in them?

No one has the power to do what is good. Now, people do have the power to do some good things, things in the physical realm, like giving money to the poor, cleaning up somebody else’s mess, being kind, etc. Those are good things in the physical realm. And there are people who are super nice and seem to be doing humanity a great service, but who don’t know God.

But no one can do good things in the spiritual realm on their own, like seeking God, putting their faith in Jesus for salvation, or being filled with the Holy Spirit.

The problem is that all the good deeds done in the physical realm are only pleasing to God after a person has a relationship with God, which is done only in the spiritual realm.

What does the Bible say about good deeds done apart from a relationship with God in Isaiah 64:6?

This is because God’s standard is perfection and the only way we achieve that standard of perfection is through faith in Jesus—through faith in Jesus we are given the perfect righteousness of Christ as a gift.

In continuing with this theme of being unable to seek God and do good, summarize Ephesians 2:1:

Imagine with me that we’ve travelled to a graveyard together. And this graveyard is filled with dead bodies. And as I’m standing there, I yell at the top of my lungs, “I’m calling all of you right now to rise from the dead! Get up and become alive again!” How many of those dead people would come back to life?

No one can come to life because neither I nor they have the power to come to life. They are all dead. They can’t even hear what I’m saying. When a person is dead, they don’t have the ability to come to life. The only way a dead person could come back to life would be if someone else makes them alive. But people don’t have the power to make anybody else live. Only God has the power to make anyone alive. When a person is dead in trespasses and sins, only God can make them alive again. Only God can make a person rise from the dead.

What does Jesus say about this in the following verses?

Ephesians 2:4-6

John 6:44, 65

John 12:37-40

John 15:16

What else does the Bible say? Summarize these verses:

Romans 10:9-13

Acts 16:31

Acts 13:38-39

So from our side of eternity, it is up to each person to follow God. Each person is responsible for whether or not they have chosen to believe in Jesus. But from the eternal side, we also know that once a person chooses God, it was not that person’s wise choice, but God who gave them that ability to choose. In other words, while man must choose God, once he has chosen, it is God alone who gets the glory for man’s choice. Because it was ultimately God who chose that man and gave him the ability to seek Him.

What causes the wicked to be in great dread? (Vs. 5)

Though wicked men may devour Christians like they devour bread, the day is coming when they will be terrified. Many times in my life I’ve been in situations where people acted uncomfortably because they knew I was a Christian.

I was at a neighbor’s garage sale a while back, and she had a group of friends sitting with her. I was talking with my neighbor as I paid for what I bought, and one of the ladies said a cuss word. Suddenly everyone stopped talking, and my neighbor quickly turned to her and said, “Shhh.” Then everyone looked at me. They all waited to see what I would do. Then the girl who cussed said quickly, “I know, I need to go to church.”But I know it wasn’t me they were worried about, but that my presence made them aware of God. “God is with the generation of the righteous.”

Add—what is a practical story that shows God is our refuge?

What does this mean?

Vs. 7
Salvation for Israel has come out of Zion, though Israel is still blinded to it—in part. Jesus the Messiah is Israel’s salvation. The Old Testament is filled with prophesies of the coming days of complete peace for Israel. Whether during the millennium or beyond, when God creates a new heavens and a new earth. “At that time Jerusalem shall be called the throne of the LORD, and all nations shall gather to it, to the presence of the LORD in Jerusalem, and they shall no more stubbornly follow their own evil heart. In those days the house of Judah shall join the house of Israel, and together they shall come from the land of the north to the land that I gave your fathers for a heritage.” Jeremiah 3:17-18.

Psalm 15—Requirements of Worshippers

Day 5

Read Psalm 15:1-5

The list of qualities a person must possess to “never be shaken,” to dwell on God’s hill.

The question of this Psalm is, “What kind of person can enter and enjoy the fellowship of God? What kind of person can come and worship in God’s sanctuary?” And at first, I want to avoid a question like this. After all, isn’t everybody welcome in church? Doesn’t grace mean that the requirements to come to God have been removed?

Many people don’t think that God would require a person to be anything to be with Him. The idea of coming to Christ just as you are has permiated our modern church—and this is good. We can come just as we are. But to dwell there, well then we need to do certain things. And as we come, God does the work in us to make us fit for dwelling with Him.

The angels who have never sinned keep even their faces covered in heaven. And yet some people think it’s not a big deal to approach God. They come pridefully, without brokenness, who refuse to repent of their sin. But those who consider just what it means to dwell in the presence of God come humbly.

The reality is that not everyone can enjoy fellowship with God, not everyone can brazenly come before Him and be heard. Truly none of us can come before God, because none of us work righteousness

This Psalm is a provocation to examine ourselves, to keep watch over how we act. To delight in grace but never abuse it.

The requirements of this Psalm are only fulfilled completely by Jesus, but He sends His Holy Spirit to all believers and they then are incompletely able to
There is a two part requirement: 1. That we be righteous through the blood of Jesus. 2. That we continually pursue uprightness of heart and walk.

The description of the man worthy to dwell in God’s sanctuary in this Psalm refer to his character, not the necessary saving work of grace performed in the heart. Like Spurgeon says, though only the fruit may be mentioned, the root is surely there.

Each of the following W’s are mentioned in this Psalm: Work, Walk, and Word. What does our vs. 2 say about each?

The Walk?

The Work?

The Words?

How a person “walks” is how he lives. Those who want to dwell in God’s sanctuary must be blameless, filled with integrity. They live knowing that God sees all they do, and He cares what they do, and they will give an account for what they do. They doesn’t mean anyone can reach sinless perfectionism while on earth. Rather, in the words of Paul, we strive to always have a conscience void of offense toward God and toward men. (REF.) What is the difference between these two?

Can we be completely free from the power of sin? What do the following verses tell us about the power of sin over a Christian?

Romans 7:22-23

Romans 7:25

Galatians 5:17

James 3:2

What makes us so remarkably different than unbelievers is that we have the power to not sin. What do the following verses say about our power and victory over sin?

Blameless is a description of a person’s outer character, whereas sinless is a description of the entire person, including her thoughts and motives. The rest of this Psalm expounds for us what David means by the term “blameless” (NIV, ESV). A blameless person “does what is right.” They live in such a way that they can’t be honestly accused on any sin. This doesn’t mean that such a person is sinless and perfect. A blameless person may still have moments of anxiety or unthankfulness.

The second and primary reason any one can be called blameless is because the blood of Jesus makes us so. But in this Psalm, the focus is on outward obedience. The person who wants to draw near to God must seek to obey God outwardly.

A woman in my life who claims to be a Christian also uses God’s name in vain when she gets angry. And when she is asked about this, and how she can use God’s name in vain even though she claims to love God and follow Him, she says that God understands her. In other words, she is exempt from total obedience. And this Psalm teaches us otherwise. If we want to be close with God, the prerequisite is that we desire and seek obedience.
This doesn’t mean that God doesn’t want a Christian who falls into sin to come to Him, because we know that He will leave the 99 behind just to bring back one of His sheep who strays away. But that we can’t keep on sinning purposefully, and expect that God will overlook it.

Vs. 3 The tongue may be much softer than the teeth, but it has the power to cut and devour with far greater strength and sharpness. One of my favorite phrases from the Bible is found at the beginning of Titus 3:2. I especially like the KJV, NKJV, and ESV on this phrase, which says “Speak evil of no one.”

What does the version of your Bible say at the beginning of Titus 3:2?

Let’s say you have a boss who is rude and cold. One day, as you’re sitting in a room waiting for a meeting to start, some of your coworkers begin talking about how much they hate working for your boss. You would like nothing more than to let them know how much you agree. After all, she is making your work life miserable. Some of your options would include pointing out that she a very hard worker (which is true) or telling your coworkers how you really feel about her (which would invariably mean that you speak evil of her) or saying nothing.
I have a friend named Trisha who I think lives with this rule from Titus 3:2 tied around her tongue. I think speaking evil of someone would be to her like blaspheming God. And she’s a great example of what to say when you don’t have anything nice to say, which is, she still says something nice!
This is also a personal rule of mine, that I will “speak evil of no man.” There is only one exception to this rule that I see in the Bible and that is what I would call “character warnings.” From other Scriptures, we can discern that these verses from Psalm 15:3 and Titus 3:2 do not prohibit character warnings.
What do I mean by that? Let’s look at some examples of character warnings from Scripture.

Summarize what is said about the named men in each of the following verses.

2 Timothy 4:10

2 Timothy 1:15

1 Timothy 1:19-20

2 Timothy 2:17

2 Timothy 4:14

Why do you think Paul wrote about these men to Timothy?

What things do all these men have in common?

What benefit would these character warnings have for Timothy and the churches which read Paul’s letter?

Paul speaks of men who are destroying the faith of true Christians. He also mentions previous missionaries who have fallen in love with the world and no longer serve Christ. His purpose is to warn Timothy and others to avoid those men and not be deceived by them. He is not speaking evil of his friends or harming his neighbors by his words. Rather, he is warning others to avoid men who will hurt and possibly destroy those who listen to their poisonous words.

In contrast to the type of people that Paul mentions by name, describe the man Paul mentions in 1 Corinthians 5:1-5, 9-13. What do we learn about this man?

Why do you think that Paul leaves out this man’s name even though the Corinthians would know who he was talking about?

Even though Paul writes “Remove this wicked man from among yourselves,” yet Paul does not go so far as to mention the man by name. That tells us something very significant. The identity of this man in shameful, scandalous sin is hidden, possibly because he is not leading others astray and will soon be restored. But those who teach false doctrine or have left the faith—call them out by name!

Vs. 4

According to verse 4, how does David view flagrant sinners, reprobates, and vile men?

The upright man hates what is wicked. His heart is stirred with disgust for those who engage openly and proudly in vile and loathsome sin. When I hear in the news about an event or parade where the people flaunted their sin without shame or repentance, or repeat sex offenders who violate children, or any number of other sins that vile sinners commit, I am sickened that they have no fear of God before their eyes.

However, we must again remember verse 3. Though an upright person despises those who blaspheme and oppose their Lord, yet the righteous person does not slander or malign them. He still treats sinners with kindness and respect. They are honored—not promoted or exalted—but simply treated kindly though they don’t deserve int.

How does he view those who fear the Lord and faithfully follow Him?

In contrast to honoring vile men while despising their sin, those who fear the Lord are deserving of honor and commendation. The honor given to them

When a righteous man commits to something, what course of action does he take if that commitment will hurt him?

Read Matthew 5:33-37. What does Jesus say about our oaths and vows?

Vs. 5
When the righteous man lends money to the poor, what does he not also do?

Summarize what Exodus 22:25 says about lending money to God’s people and those who are poor?

What does this verse say about bribery?

Fill in the blanks about who will never be moved, based on this Psalm.

This person:

Vs. 2 Walks ___________________________

Vs. 2 Works (Does) ______________________________

Vs. 2 Speaks _______________________________________________

Vs. 3 Does not ________________________________________ his tongue

Vs. 3 Does not ___________________________________ their neighbors

Vs. 3 Does not ___________________________________ against his friend

Vs. 4 He _________________________________ vile and reprobate people

Vs. 4 He _________________________________ those who fear the Lord

Vs. 4 Even when it hurts, he ___________________________________

Vs. 5 He does not lend money with _____________________

Vs. 5 He does not take ____________________________ against the innocent

Vs. 5 He who does these things will never be ________________________

The one who dwells in God’s holy hill will never be moved. His eternal inheritance is secure and will never be taken from him.

Psalms 16-20

Psalm 16—The Source of Righteousness

Read Psalm 16:1-11

This is a sweet Psalm of thankfulness to the Lord. David points to God as the source of his righteousness. He begins this Mikhtam, which is possibly an Epigrammatic Poem or Atonement Psalm, by praying, “Preserve me, O God, for I take refuge in You.”

In what circumstances would you want to be preserved?

For me, if I were under a lot of stress and felt like I couldn’t handle much more, or if I was dealing with a difficult person, my heart would pray, “Preserve me, O Lord. Keep me going. Help me keep following You. Please don’t let me fall apart.” Even when I look in the mirror at my aging skin, I pray—“Preserve me, O God!”

But in David’s case, he is seeking to be preserved in circumstances that are more dangerous than any I’ve encountered in my life.

In 1 Thessalonians 5:23, what is the promise to us about being preserved?

How does David take refuge in God? The answer is, by faith. David believes God will protect him. God has promised many blessings to us, but they come only by way of faith. If we have faith that God will preserve us, then we can be certain that it will be done to us according to our faith. Our faith, through prayer, is not on our own strength or willpower or skill, but completely in God.

Many times when Jesus performed His miracles of healing, He emphasized the role the faith of the receiver played in the healing.

Read the following stories of healings and note what Jesus said about faith:

Matthew 9:27-30

Matthew 8:5-13

Matthew 15:22-28

Mark 10:46-52

What does James 5:14-15 say about faith?

Faith in itself is not the key to a response from heaven, but faith in God is the source of power.
Does this mean that faith is the only thing needed to unlock God’s healing?
Summarize the following verses:
Galatians 4:13
1 Timothy 5:23

1 Peter 4:19

2 Timothy 4:20

2 Corinthians 12:7-10

Based on Paul’s continued struggle with a physical condition, is it always God’s will to heal on this earth?

When God doesn’t heal, He is still sovereign over the sickness or infirmity.

The people say to Jesus, show us your power. Heal us. But look at His response in Luke 4:23-28. He gives two examples from the Old Testament about times when God chose to heal only one person, though many people were sick.

This idea that God must heal when we have faith—like a

So there might be some confusion here. God says the prayer of faith will save the sick, and yet Paul had an ailment that God never healed. If anyone had faith, it was Paul. He himself healed others. Faith was not the issue. But rather, the issue is that Christians would learn that God’s grace is sufficient. Knowing God’s grace is sufficient is more valuable, a greater priority to God for His people, than physical healing.

Faith that leads to healing—or faith that leads to any answered request—cannot be without a heart that

Vs. 2
What goodness does David possess outside of God?

Vs. 3
What is David’s reaction to other believers?

Vs. 4

Who has great sorrow and why?

Vs. 5
What is David’s inheritance?

Vs. 6
Why is this inheritance beautiful to him?

Vs. 7-10
Read Acts 2:1-38

According to Acts 2:1, on what holiday do these events occur?

Who is David speaking about in this Psalm according to Acts 2:25?

Read Acts 13:35-38.

Pentecost was the Greek name for the Jewish holiday, the “Festival of Weeks” or the “Feast of Harvest” which celebrated God’s giving of the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai. It occurred 50 days after the Passover. According to Leviticus 23:15-16, the date of “Weeks” was to be the first day of the week after seven Sabbaths, thus 49 +1 = 50.

On this Jewish holiday, Jerusalem would be filled with people bringing their first fruit offerings to the Lord. In God’s great wisdom, this large crowd in Jerusalem from all over Israel, would be perfect for quickly carrying the news of the Gospel that Peter would be preaching.

This moment in Acts 2 also marks when God sent His Holy Spirit to the believers.

In this section of Peter’s sermon on Pentecost, he quotes verses 7-10 of our Psalm today and then us a commentary on what there verses mean.

Let’s set the scene first.

What goodness does David have apart from God? (vs. 2)

What does verse 4 say about those who pursue other gods?

Look up the following verses and record what else the Bible says about sorrow:

Psalm 32:10

Proverbs 13:21

Isaiah 57:21

It is interesting to see that the wicked are noted for both prosperity and sorrow. So while they live in comfort, they are not satisfied by it. On the other side, the righteous are noted for both afflictions and joy. So while we have trouble on this earth, our souls receive comfort and gladness. Psalm 34:19 says, “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all.”

This Psalm foretells the resurrection of Christ.

Psalm 17—What Really Satisfies?

Day 2

Read Psalm 17:1-15

Do you have a prayer that you pray more than anything else? For me in this season of my life, my most common prayers are something like, “Please help me Lord. Please give me wisdom right now. Please help me.” I pray that all day long!

Like many of the Psalms, this one is a prayer. But when I thought of this Psalm as a prayer, and imagined myself praying in this way, I realized my prayers are quite different. Knowing that God intentionally and perfectly put every word in Scripture as He wanted it, I realized that maybe there is something in this Psalm I need to imitate. Maybe I need to pray more like David.

So I took my time and really prayed this prayer to the Lord.

But before I start, I want to say that I am a bit scared because the first part of this prayer is all about David’s clean conscience. David says that God can look him over and won’t find any sin. That’s a scary thought, because I can think of times when I didn’t give thanks in everything, or when I didn’t make the best use of my time, or when I doubted God’s goodness toward me. But Paul also said he had a conscience void of offense toward God and man. I know that my righteousness comes from Jesus through faith. It’s not because I keep the Old Testament laws. But there is something about being blameless or else Paul in the New Testament wouldn’t have mentioned it. I don’t really pray like this Psalm—declaring my own innocence before making my request.

Ok, here I go… Take a moment and pray through Psalm 17 right now. Meditate on each sentence and pray it in your own words.

Were there any parts that were hard to pray?

David is confident that when God tested him, He found nothing. Where does this confidence come from? Do you have this confidence? Paul also had this confidence. What does the Bible say about being confident that you are blameless before God—especially knowing that we will never be sinless and perfect before heaven.

David continues to ask and plead that God will hear his prayer. That reminds me of my prayer, because I keep asking God to help me. There is a difference between vain repetition and honest, heartfelt pleading. God knows the difference. He always knows when we are sincere or deceitful. David says that his prayer comes from honest lips. Think of the opposite, deceitful lips. A person trying to deceive God—but they are really deceived themselves.
Vs. 3 David is not tried to look godly for people. His focus in not on an appearance of godliness, but true godliness. He wants to obey God and not sin by what he says.

In what things does David do that show his “godliness”? (vs. 1-5)

We must believe that God will hear us when we pray. What does David say in verse six that shows he is praying with faith?

I’ve seen this idea that grace—having grace toward others—somehow means accepting sin. And in accepting sin, by reason of not rejecting it, it is somehow approved.

What do the following verses says about grace and sin?

Verse 3 is tricky on the surface. “You have examined me and I am blameless. You have tested me and found nothing.” We have to look at this in light of the context of the Psalm, which is David is being accused of wrongdoing by his enemy, and in this matter, David is fully innocent. He is being wrongly accused. This doesn’t mean David is sinlessly perfect, but that he is blameless in regard to the accusation brought against him.

None of us are perfect. None of us have arrived when it comes to our own righteousness. Yet, at the same time, we who have put our faith in Jesus have total righteousness because it has been credited to us by Jesus.

What does Genesis 15:6 say that Abraham did to be righteous in God’s sight?

What does Romans 4:3-5 tell us about what it means to be righteous?

A blameless tongue –no man can tame the tongue.
David’s innocence sadly reminds us that we may be accused and hunted and hated without deserving that response. We may have kept our mouth from sinning and be without fault and still be attacked as if we had done horrific things.

Vs. 4 the word of God kept him from the paths of the destroyer. God’s Word is our sword against the enemy. It is the same Word that Jesus Himself used against Satan when tempted.

Vs. 5 this is our goal, that we would not waver in following the Lord

Guard me as you would guard your own eyes (NLT)
Of all the things we don’t “need” to stay alive, we usually consider the eyes most valuable. We guard our eyes ferociously. When danger is coming, we block our eyes. David asks God to protect him like an eye is protected.

Vs 10 enclosed in fat—meaning they are not starving. They are not needy and hungry. The deceitfulness of riches and they despise the Lord and His people.

Vs. 14 Is your portion, your fulfillment in this life? For those who don’t know Jesus as their Savior, this life is it. It’s all they will ever get. And so they want to make the most of this life, to gain the whole world. But what does it profit a man to gain the whole world…?

Logical people must realize they when they die, this life on earth is over. They must realize that money in their tomb is of no use. They must be able to understand that their accomplishments on earth will eventually be forgotten and they will become nothing but dust. And yet very few live as if they realize they will die. Very few remember that this life is only a passing moment. They live like they will live forever, like their work and their success and their riches will last forever. And many people will be lucky if they are healthy enough in retirement to enjoy all the money they spend their life saving. So little thought is given to eternity, and yet eternity is really all that will ever last. Those who have their portion in this life are consumed with this life which will quickly be gone forever and they give no thought to the life to come that will last forever.

Those who are rich, successful, famous here on earth—we should never be jealous of them, because it is all they will ever get.

The end of vs. 16 is translated quite differently in differently versions. There are two Hebrew words used to make up the phrase “they are satisfied with children” and those words mean “satisfied” and “children.” So we can conclude they are either satisfied by having children or their children are satisfied and have enough to eat. Either way, the point is that satisfaction for the wicked comes from this life.

People of this world are satisfied with children. As a mother, I have been immensely satisfied by having children. Even John writes that he has no greater joy than seeing his children walk in truth. But the ultimate satisfaction for a believer is awaking in the likeness of Jesus.

This Psalm contains one of my favorite Bible verses ever: “I shall be satisfied when I awake with thy likeness.” A beautiful truth that the more we become like Jesus, the more joyful and satisfied we will be, culminating in the day when we behold Him with our own eyes and become like Him, when we see Him like He is.

God is working on a masterpiece that will make us like Jesus. 1 john 3:2 .

All of our experience of God here on earth is by face, and yet we find life and joy in Him. But one day our experience of God will be by sight—we will see His face—and the life and joy will make us eternally satisfied.

We will be like Jesus, see His face, and be satisfied forever.

Psalm 18—When God Delivers

Day 3

Read Psalm 18:1-50

There is nothing like being delivered from a trial. The Bible has much to say about having joy in our trials, about trusting God and rejoicing when things are hard. But there is nothing like deliverance. When God rescues us, delivers us, answers a long-prayed request, there is no feeling like it. And so my heart melts when I hear David’s prayer after God delivered him from Saul and all his enemies. “I love you, O Lord.”

I know that feeling of deliverance. Of having wrestled and struggled with the same trial for so long and then to be rescued in a way that you know God delivered you. And the overwhelming gratitude, and the feelings of thankfulness, and saying to the Lord, “I love you, O Lord. I love you.”

David continues to express his gratitude to God for His deliverance. What words does David use to describe and praise God in verses 1-2?

This list of descriptive words …David is brainstorming every word he can use to praise God. Words that describe what God is to him.

What descriptive word is used twice?

Because of David’s familiarity with hiding in caves, he understood and appreciated the great safety of a rock. Even today, if you are behind and under a huge rock, a firing squad, no arrow or bullet can pierce you. A rock has two great attributes that come to mind. First, a rock is a shield, a fortress, the ultimate bullet proof vest. Second, a rock is heavy, and a large rock—the kind that contained the caves in which David hid—were unmovable by humans. Unlike soil that washes away, a rock is a secure support.

Second Samuel 22 contains this same song of praise. If you have two Bibles or you can use an online Bible, such as www.blb.org, you may enjoy comparing Psalm 18 with 2 Samuel 22 verse by verse. Commentators suggest that David sung this Psalm on multiple occasions as he remembered God’s deliverance, accounting for the variations in the two chapters.

I want us to read verse 3 as if David did not interject a comment in the middle: “I call upon the LORD and I am saved from my enemies.” This statement is a remarkable testament to God’s ability to answer our prayer. But if we have read the stories of David in 1st and 2nd Samuel, then we know that God’s deliverance didn’t always happen immediately. I have prayed for years for God to answer certain prayers, and I am familiar with waiting. But for many of those prayers, the day came and God answered. And I see how great a miracle God has accomplished on my behalf.

I love the comment that David inserts into the middle of verse 3. What does David add after saying, “I call upon the Lord”?

I love this because it’s like David is saying, “I can’t keep telling you what happened until I first give glory to God!” From my own experience, I could say, “We prayed to the Lord for a house—and He is worthy to be praised—and He answered our cries and provided us with a home.”

Vs. 4-5 David is close to death. David compares the attack from the ungodly to cords, which could refer to woven material such as ropes or chains, but also this word “cords” refers to sorrow, pain, and being in labor and about to give birth.
He also uses the words “torrents” and “snares.” Torrents are overflowing water. Being drowned. Losing everything in a flood. When the Jordan overflowed its banks. Tsunami. Etc. Snares are…

Vs. 6 David cries to the Lord.

In those times when my heart is bursting, my spirit is compelled not to just silently, gently pray as I wash dishes. But in those times—and yesterday is one example—I asked my oldest son in my urgent, desperate voice, “Please watch Geneva (who is one and a half) for a few minutes.” So I could run in my bedroom and get on my face on our cold tile floor and cry out to God.

And just as God answered David, so in this case God also answered my prayer quickly. After God answered mightily, I thought, “Well, this situation wasn’t so bad after all.” And my heart was pricked and I remembered, “No, this was as bad as I thought. This lessening of the situation was God’s gracious answer, not my wrong perception.”

And because I like to share ways that God answers prayer and speaks through His Word, I want to finish this story. After I prayed and received a text message with God’s hand all over it, I sat in my chair to read my Bible so God could “illumine my darkness” (vs. 28). And as I read through Jeremiah, these words were for me:

“The LORD of hosts has sworn by Himself…It is He who made the earth by His power, Who established the world by His wisdom, and by His understanding He stretched out the heavens. When He utters His voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens, and He causes the clouds to ascend from the end of the earth; He makes lightning for the rain and brings forth the wind from His storehouses. All mankind is stupid, devoid of knowledge…The portion of Jacob is not like these; for the Maker of all is He, and of the tribe of His inheritance; the LORD of hosts is His name” (Jeremiah 51:14a, 15-17a, 19).

Through these verses, the message for my heart was, “You’re so concerned with Katie. So worried about Katie. Look to the Lord. Be concerned with God, with His glory, with honoring Him. You’ve put too much importance on yourself. God made the world and you are simply His. What is worthy of your focus is Him, not your failures or successes or callings or insecurities or gifting or purpose or any of that.”
Sometimes I need the message “Remember your smallness.” It’s so contrary to so much of what we hear today. But I am one of seven billion people. There is only one God; only one God who made everything and stretched out the heavens by His wisdom and power. Outer space is huge. And while on one side I can remember that God loves me and I am His masterpiece and He is authoring my faith and I am precious to Him, on the other side I must remember that He isn’t doing any of this because I had something to offer or some value apart from Him.

David does not boast in his strength as in “I have strength.” But in “God is my strength.” And these verses from Jeremiah reminded me that my life is not, “I will succeed. I will be doing great things. I will add value.” But rather, “God is my success. God is my greatness. God is my value.” (Does this make sense?) These verses remind my heart to look to God’s greatness and not my own.

Vs. 7-19 God answers David’s prayer. God shows His power, His love for David, and His anger toward David’s enemies.

Vs. 20-23 David values uprightness of heart.

Vs. 24 David credits his uprightness of heart with God’s faithfulness toward him.

Vs. 25-26 God rewards people as they deserve.

Vs. 27 God helps the afflicted. He rejects the proud.

Vs. 28 God is light.

Vs. 29 David’s strength with God’s help.

Vs. 30-32 God does what is right. He is a rock. No one is like Him. He makes David blameless.

Vs. 33-40 God makes David able to defeat his enemies. God gives David skill and victory. David mightily, thoroughly defeats his enemies.

Vs. 41 God made David’s enemies fall. They even cried to the Lord, but no one would help them.

Vs. 42 David had a complete victory.

Vs. 43-45 God has promoted David to a place of great honor and authority.

Vs. 46 Praise to God.

Vs. 47-48 God delivers David from his enemies.

Vs. 49 David thanks God. Proclaims to the nations.

Vs. 50 Declares God’s love and deliverance toward him.