PSALMS

 

 

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Psalms 7:1-2

 

BIBLE TEXT: "O Lord my God, in thee do I put my trust: save me from all them that persecute me, and deliver me: Lest he tear my soul like a lion, rending it in pieces, while there is none to deliver." (Psalms 7:1-2 KJV)

 

BIBLE TWEET: Like David, we too should pray for God to acquit us from the accusations of our accuser, lest he rip our souls to shreds like a lion.

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: However, unlike David, our accuser is not Cush the Benjamite, but Satan, the accuser of the brethren, who walks about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. (Revelation 12:10; 1 Peter 5:8)

 

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Psalms 11:4

 

BIBLE TEXT: "The Lord is in his holy temple, the Lord's throne is in heaven: his eyes behold, his eyelids try, the children of men." (Psalms 11:4 KJV)

 

BIBLE TWEET: Assurance of the divine presence—knowing “the Lord is in his holy temple”—and of divine providence—knowing “the Lord’s throne is in heaven”—is all we ever need to know, in order to know that we never need to panic.

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: The Lord squints His all-seeing eyes to sees us all so intricately that He even has the hairs on our heads number. (Matthew 10:30)

 

Psalms 11:5-7

 

BIBLE TEXT: "The Lord trieth the righteous: but the wicked and him that loveth violence his soul hateth. Upon the wicked he shall rain snares, fire and brimstone, and an horrible tempest: this shall be the portion of their cup. For the righteous Lord loveth righteousness; his countenance doth behold the upright." (Psalms 11:5-7 KJV)

 

BIBLE TWEET: Though a righteous Lord tries the righteous, who He loves and smiles upon, the righteous are never caught, like the wicked, whose wickedness the Lord hates, in the horrible tempest of the Lord’s wrath. (1 Thessalonians 5:9)

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: Whereas it is under the smile of God that the righteous are tried, it is under the frown of God that the wicked are tempest-tossed.

 

Psalms 12:1

 

BIBLE TEXT: "Help, Lord; for the godly man ceaseth; for the faithful fail from among the children of men." (Psalms 12:1 KJV)

 

BIBLE TWEET: “Help, Lord” is both an adequate and appropriate prayer when the godly are almost all gone and the faithful are almost all finished off.

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: A pastor called upon an old prayer warrior to lead the church in a “word of prayer.” As the congregation bowed their heads, the old prayer warrior bellowed out, “Help!”

 

Psalms 12:2

 

BIBLE TEXT: "They speak vanity every one with his neighbour: with flattering lips and with a double heart do they speak." (Psalms 12:2 KJV)

 

BIBLE TWEET: It’s more dangerous to find oneself in a pack of liars than in a pack of lions, for flattering lips and double hearts are more perilous to the soul than predatory beasts of prey.

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: It makes no sense to loosen your tongue to speak nonsense to your neighbors nor to lend your ear to listen to your neighbors speak nonsense to you.

 

Psalms 12:3

 

BIBLE TEXT: "The Lord shall cut off all flattering lips, and the tongue that speaketh proud things." (Psalms 12:3 KJV)

 

BIBLE TWEET: Flattering lips—buttering up others—and a proud tongue—boasting about oneself—are both self-serving. The flatterer feeds others’ egos for his own ends and the boaster brags about himself for his own exaltation.

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: Both the cajoler and the conceited will be cut off by the Lord.

 

Psalms 12:4

 

BIBLE TEXT: "Who have said, With our tongue will we prevail; our lips are our own: who is lord over us?" (Psalms 12:4 KJV)

 

BIBLE TWEET: Many mistakingly believe that they can prevail and triumphant in life by the power of their tongue. In other words, they trust themselves to be able to talk their way into or out of anything.

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: A slick tongue is a slippery slope that sooner or later slides one into trouble rather than triumphant.

 

Psalms 12:5

 

BIBLE TEXT: "For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, now will I arise, saith the Lord; I will set him in safety from him that puffeth at him." (Psalms 12:5 KJV)

 

BIBLE TWEET: To God, the slightest sigh of His abused saints is a stirring scream for Him to arise.

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: The people of God need neither be perturbed nor petrified when puffed at by puffed up persecutors.

 

Psalms 12:6-7

 

BIBLE TEXT: "The words of the Lord are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt keep them, O Lord, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever." (Psalms 12:6-7 KJV)

 

BIBLE TWEET: The Word of the Lord is pure from error and will be preserved forever.

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: “This is the Word of God. Come, search, ye critics, and find a flaw; examine it from its Genesis to its Revelation and find error. This is a vein of pure gold, unalloyed by quartz or any earthly substance. This is a star without a speck; a sun without a blot; a light without darkness; a moon without paleness; a glory without dimness. O Bible! It cannot be said of any other book, that it is perfect and pure; but of [the Bible] we can declare all wisdom is gathered up in you, without a particle of folly. This is the judge that ends the strife, where wit and reason fail. This is the Book untainted by error, pure, unalloyed, and perfect truth.” (Charles Spurgeon)

 

Psalms 12:8

 

BIBLE TEXT: "The wicked wander everywhere, and what is worthless is exalted by the human race." (Psalms 12:8 HCSB)

 

BIBLE TWEET: To worship vain things is to vainly wander through life. In the end, you will have lived your life for nothing and have nothing to show for the life you’ve lived.

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: Those who lift up worthless things wander through life witlessly.

 

HCSB - Holman Christian Standard Bible

 

Psalms 13:1-2

 

BIBLE TEXT: "How long wilt thou forget me, O Lord? for ever? how long wilt thou hide thy face from me? How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart daily? how long shall mine enemy be exalted over me?" (Psalms 13:1-2 KJV)

 

BIBLE TWEET: This song is called the “How Long Psalm,” for four times in its opening two verses David asks the question we are all prone to ask in life’s prolonged times of trouble—“How long?”

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: It is not only when we fear God has forgotten us and hidden His face from us, but also when we fear anguish is overwhelming us and our adversary overcoming us, that we holler to Heaven, “How long?”

 

Psalms 13:3

 

BIBLE TEXT: "Consider and hear me, O Lord my God: lighten mine eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death." (Psalms 13:3 KJV)

 

BIBLE TWEET: In the dark and fear of death, we must pray for God to lighten the eyes of our faith.

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: Overcoming faith is always easily discernible in the dark by its shining face and sparkling eyes.

 

Psalms 13:4

 

BIBLE TEXT: "Lest mine enemy say, I have prevailed against him; and those that trouble me rejoice when I am moved." (Psalms 13:4 KJV)

 

BIBLE TWEET: The saints should not only pray to be spared from a shameful death, but also from a Satan straddled and spit on grave.

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: The graves of the godly should glorify God, not be gloated over by the god of this world. (2 Corinthians 4:4)

 

Psalms 13:5-6

 

BIBLE TEXT: "But I have trusted in thy mercy; my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation. I will sing unto the Lord, because he hath dealt bountifully with me." (Psalms 13:5-6 KJV)

 

BIBLE TWEET: Our sighing is turned into singing when we stop our moaning and mumbling and seek the Lord’s mercy.

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: In the joy of our salvation, our heavy burdens are eclipsed by Heaven’s bounty.

 

Psalms 14:1

 

BIBLE TEXT: "The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good." (Psalms 14:1 KJV)

 

BIBLE TWEET: Atheism is not the conclusion of a clever mind, but of a corrupt heart. It is not spawned by scholarship nor science, but by sin. (Psalm 53:1; Romans 1:18-22)

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: Atheism is not born in the intelligent mind of a brilliant genius, but in the iniquitous heart of a blasphemous fool.

 

It’s iniquitous ignoramuses, not intelligent intellectuals, who say, “There is no God.”

 

Psalms 14:1-3

 

BIBLE TEXT: "The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good. The Lord looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God. They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one." (Psalms 14:1-3 KJV)

 

BIBLE TWEET: To foolishly deny God is to be flat-out devoid of good.

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: It is the practical atheism of fallen humanity that sinks it to the depths of total depravity.

 

As Jesus taught, God alone is good (Mark 10:18). Therefore, apart from God, who is the only good, there is no good. This means that if God isn’t in it, there is nothing good about it. Although the saying, “There’s good in everyone,” is popular, it is not Biblical. The truth is; if Jesus isn’t in you, there is nothing good about you (Romans 7:18).

 

Psalms 14:4

 

BIBLE TEXT: "Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge? who eat up my people as they eat bread, and call not upon the Lord." (Psalms 14:4 KJV)

 

BIBLE TWEET: To prey upon God’s people rather than to pray to God is to prove oneself a spiritual nincompoop.

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: All iniquity is insanity, since it inevitably leads to accountability to God in eternity.

 

Psalms 14:5-6

 

BIBLE TEXT: "There were they in great fear: for God is in the generation of the righteous. Ye have shamed the counsel of the poor, because the Lord is his refuge." (Psalms 14:5-6 KJV)

 

BIBLE TWEET: It is a foolish exercise in futility to war against those whom God is with and to oppress those God oversees.

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: In Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin, the evil Simon Legree rides away cursing Tom’s God, because his back-lacing whip can never touch Tom’s unconquerable soul.

 

Psalms 14:7

 

BIBLE TEXT: "Oh that the salvation of Israel were come out of Zion! when the Lord bringeth back the captivity of his people, Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel shall be glad." (Psalms 14:7 KJV)

 

BIBLE TWEET: These words of King David remind us of the words of the Apostle John: “Even so, come, Lord Jesus” (Revelation 22:20). For both the psalmist and the revelator were calling for the same thing, the ending of the saints’ captivity by the coming of God’s salvation.

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY:    There is coming a day

When no heartaches shall come

No more clouds in the sky

No more tears to dim the eye

All is peace forevermore

On that happy golden shore

What a day, glorious day that will be

 

 They’ll be no sorrow there

 No more burdens to bear

 No more sickness and no more pain

 No more parting over there.

 And forever I will be

 With the One who died for me

 Oh what a day, glorious day that will be

 

 What a day that will be

 When my Jesus I shall see

 When I look upon His face

 The One who saved me by His grace 

 Then He’ll take me by the hand

 And lead me through the Promise Land 

 Oh what a day, glorious day that will be

 

Psalms 15:1

 

BIBLE TEXT: "Lord, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill?" (Psalms 15:1 KJV)

 

BIBLE TWEET: The question asked by this psalm is not who may approach God’s tabernacle, but who may abide in it; it’s not who may climb up God’s holy hill, but who may dwell on it.

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: It’s one thing to come into God’s presence, but another thing altogether to continue in it.

 

Psalms 15:2

 

BIBLE TEXT: "He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart." (Psalms 15:2 KJV)

 

BIBLE TWEET: To inhabit God’s holy hill one must be holy in their walk, work and word.

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: To stay on God’s holy hill you must continuously speak the truth to your heart, for the instant you entertained a lie in your heart, you will be ejected from God’s holy hill.

 

Psalms 15:3

 

BIBLE TEXT: "He that backbiteth not with his tongue, nor doeth evil to his neighbour, nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbour." (Psalms 15:3 KJV)

 

BIBLE TWEET: Evicted from God’s tabernacle and ejected from God’s holy hill are all backbiters, backstabbers, and busybodies.

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: It is not the sharp point of the backbiter’s tongue to your face that wounds, but the long blade of the backbiter’s tongue behind your back.

 

Psalms 15:4a

 

BIBLE TEXT: "In whose eyes a vile person is contemned; but he honoureth them that fear the Lord." (Psalms 15:4a KJV)

 

BIBLE TWEET: Those who abide in God’s tabernacle and atop God’s holy hill give all men their dues—contempt to whom contempt is due and honor to whom honor is due.

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: In God’s tabernacle and on God’s holy hill the God-forsaking are appalling and the God-fearing are appealing.

 

Psalms 15:4b

 

BIBLE TEXT: "He that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not." (Psalms 15:4b KJV)

 

BIBLE TWEET: Those who abide in God’s tabernacle and atop God’s holy hill must be as good as their word, even if keeping it is more hurtful than helpful.

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: “Among the things you can give and still keep is your word.” (Zig Ziglar)

 

Psalms 15:5

 

BIBLE TEXT: "He that putteth not out his money to usury, nor taketh reward against the innocent. He that doeth these things shall never be moved." (Psalms 15:5 KJV)

 

BIBLE TWEET: To never be moved out of God’s tabernacle or off of God’s holy hill one must put away both usury and bribery.

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: Charity reverts to chiseling when benevolent largesse is replaced with interest bearing loans.

 

Psalm 16

According to the Apostle Peter, in his sermon on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:25-31), and the Apostle Paul, in his sermon in Antioch of Pisidia (Acts 13:35-38), David is speaking about Christ in Psalm 16, which has been called both a "Jewell of the Psalms" and a "Golden Psalm." 

 

The best commentary on the Bible is the Bible. What the Bible says in one place it explains in other places. 

 

Psalms 16:1

 

BIBLE TEXT: "Preserve me, O God: for in thee do I put my trust." (Psalms 16:1 KJV)

 

BIBLE TWEET: In his mortal body, Jesus had to trust His Heavenly Father to protect His life and preserve Him until He could carry out and achieve our salvation by His atoning death upon the cross.

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: Although the Father did not spare His Son from the cross, but delivered Him up for our salvation (Romans 8:32), He did preserve Him until then, by sparing Him from premature death at the hands of His enemies (Matthew 2:13-22; 12:14-15; Mark 12:12; Luke 4:28-30; 19:45-48; John 5:16-18; 8:59; 10:31-39; 11:47-54).

 

Psalms 16:2-5

 

BIBLE TEXT: "O my soul, thou hast said unto the Lord, Thou art my Lord: my goodness extendeth not to thee; But to the saints that are in the earth, and to the excellent, in whom is all my delight. Their sorrows shall be multiplied that hasten after another god: their drink offerings of blood will I not offer, nor take up their names into my lips. The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup: thou maintainest my lot." (Psalms 16:2-5 KJV)

 

BIBLE TWEET: During His earthly sojourn, our Lord lived under the Lordship of His Father, even to the point of drinking the full cup of His Father’s wrath upon all the sins of all the sinners of all time. Yet, He did not do so for His or His Father’s good, but for ours.

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: Christ's obedience to His Father, even to the point of death on the cross, was so that He could gain an inheritance, not one comprised of sinners, who hasten to other gods for their salvation, but one comprised of saints, who hasten only to Him for their salvation.

 

Like their Lord, in His earthly sojourn, the true saints of God are those who say “Lord, Lord” with their lives and in their souls, not just with their lips and in their speech. (Matthew 7:21)

 

Psalms 16:6

 

BIBLE TEXT: "The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage." (Psalms 16:6 KJV)

 

BIBLE TWEET: Despite being a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, Christ gladly lived His earthly life in “pleasant places”; that is, always where He most delighted to be—smack dab in the center of His Father’s will. (Psalm 40:7; Hebrews 10:5-7)

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: If I may be permitted to paraphrase Jesus’ words in John 4:32-34 with a phrase from our present-day vernacular, Jesus is telling His disciples here that He would rather do the will of His Father than eat.

 

The true disciple of Christ should know no discontentment in the will of God, regardless of whether he or she is in a prison or a palace.

 

Psalms 16:7

 

BIBLE TEXT: "I will bless the Lord, who hath given me counsel: my reins also instruct me in the night seasons." (Psalms 16:7 KJV)

 

BIBLE TWEET: Christ lived out His earthly life in complete conformity to the counsel of His Father, as all Christians should live out their earthly lives in complete conformity to the counsel of Christ.

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: If we handover the reins of our lives to Christ, our Counselor, we will be safely steered through all of life’s night seasons.

 

Psalms 16:8-11

 

BIBLE TEXT: "I have set the Lord always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope. For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore." (Psalms 16:8-11 KJV)

 

BIBLE TWEET: Christ lived unmoved by the cross, thanks to His Father being ever before and beside Him, undaunted by the cross, thanks to the hope of His glorious resurrection to gladden Him, and undeterred from the cross, thanks to the eternal joys and pleasures awaiting Him.

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: Christ, who endured the cross and its shame to forever sit down at His Father’s right hand, is—through His death, burial, and resurrection—our Trailblazer, who has blazed the path of eternal life for us all.

 

Since Jesus is mine, I’ll not fear undressing,

But gladly put off these garments of clay;
For to die in the Lord is actually a blessing,
Since Jesus to glory through death has led for me the way!

 

Psalm 17

This psalm is simply entitled: A Prayer of David. According to Charles Spurgeon, “David would not have been a man after God’s own heart, if he had not been a man of prayer…[and] a master in the sacred art of supplication.”

 

Psalms 17:1

 

BIBLE TEXT: "Hear the right, O Lord, attend unto my cry, give ear unto my prayer, that goeth not out of feigned lips." (Psalms 17:1 KJV)

 

BIBLE TWEET: God hears and heeds the scrupulous and sincere prayers of His saints.

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: To pray incorrectly or insincerely is to pray ineffectively, if not inauthentically.

 

Psalms 17:2

 

BIBLE TEXT: "Let my sentence come forth from thy presence; let thine eyes behold the things that are equal." (Psalms 17:2 KJV)

 

BIBLE TWEET: It is before the divine bar that all men will be justly and equitably sentenced.

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: The saints can confidently await the day of judgment, because they will appear before the heavenly bar in the righteousness of Christ and with Christ as their Advocate. On the other hand, sinners have every reason to anticipate the day of judgment with great trepidation, because they will be forced to appear before the heavenly bar as their own advocate and in the filthy rags of their own righteousness. (1 John 4:17; 1 Corinthians 1:30; Philippians 3:9; 1 John 2:1; Isaiah 64:6)

 

Psalms 17:3a

 

BIBLE TEXT: "Thou hast proved mine heart; thou hast visited me in the night; thou hast tried me, and shalt find nothing…" (Psalms 17:3a KJV)

 

BIBLE TWEET: It takes the confidence of a clean conscience to call upon an omniscient God to search your heart and an omnipresent God to search your home. (1 John 3:21)

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: Every saint should not only be able to pray, like David, “Lord, prove my heart,” but also to proclaim, like Peter, “Lord, you know that I love you.” (John 21:15-17)

 

Psalms 17:3b

 

BIBLE TEXT: "…I am purposed that my mouth shall not transgress." (Psalms 17:3b KJV)

 

BIBLE TWEET: To resolve to bridle your tongue is a far more formidable task than to take up lion-taming or snake-charming.

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: If we could keep our tongue from transgressing, we would eliminate the lion’s share of our sins and transgressions.

 

Psalms 17:4-5

 

BIBLE TEXT: "Concerning the works of men, by the word of thy lips I have kept me from the paths of the destroyer. Hold up my goings in thy paths, that my footsteps slip not." (Psalms 17:4-5 KJV)

 

BIBLE TWEET: It is the Word of God that keeps us on the paths of God and off the paths of the destroyer, which are all paved with the works of men.

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: It is taking a sure stand on Scripture that keeps our steps from slipping.

 

Psalms 17:6

 

BIBLE TEXT: "I have called upon thee, for thou wilt hear me, O God: incline thine ear unto me, and hear my speech." (Psalms 17:6 KJV)

 

BIBLE TWEET: God’s hearing of past prayers proves God hears present prayers.

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: We’re not just heard because we pray, but we pray because we’re heard.

 

Psalms 17:7

 

BIBLE TEXT: "Shew thy marvellous lovingkindness, O thou that savest by thy right hand them which put their trust in thee from those that rise up against them." (Psalms 17:7 KJV)

 

BIBLE TWEET: In His marvelous lovingkindness toward all who trust Him to save them, God backhands with His mighty right hand all who lift up their hand against Him or His.

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: Lovingkindness is an Old Testament word for grace. However, it not only speaks of God’s unmerited favor, but also of His unconditional love, which not only explains why David calls it “marvelous,” but also why some modern translations translate it “steadfast love.”

 

Psalms 17:8-9

 

BIBLE TEXT: "Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me under the shadow of thy wings, From the wicked that oppress me, from my deadly enemies, who compass me about." (Psalms 17:8-9 KJV)

 

BIBLE TWEET: God protects the apples of His eye under the shadow of His wings from all who oppress and compass them.

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: The apples of God’s eye are always guarded against their adversaries in the arms of the Almighty.

 

Psalms 17:10

 

BIBLE TEXT: "They are inclosed in their own fat: with their mouth they speak proudly." (Psalms 17:10 KJV)

 

BIBLE TWEET: The wicked imprison themselves in their own prosperity and pomposity.

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: You don’t really have things, but things have you, since you have to live your life protecting and preserving them.

 

Psalms 17:11-12

 

BIBLE TEXT: "They have now compassed us in our steps: they have set their eyes bowing down to the earth; Like as a lion that is greedy of his prey, and as it were a young lion lurking in secret places." (Psalms 17:11-12 KJV)

 

BIBLE TWEET: The persecutors of God’s people not only block us and put their heads down, like a bull, to charge us, but they also lurk, like a lion, to pounce from their secret places on our every step.

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: It just takes a single misstep for the saint to be maligned by malicious sinners.

 

Psalms 17:13-14a

 

BIBLE TEXT: "Arise, O Lord, disappoint him, cast him down: deliver my soul from the wicked, which is thy sword: From men which are thy hand…" (Psalms 17:13-14a KJV)

 

BIBLE TWEET: The Psalmist prays for God to rise up and deliver him, by casting down and disappointing his enemies.

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: Although most modern translations translate David’s prayer to be for God to deliver him from the wicked by both God’s sword and hand, I find the King James translation of the prayer, as being for David’s deliverance from the wicked who are God’s sword and hand, most illuminating. After all, the wicked cannot do anything outside the parameters of Divine Providence. God uses them, just like He does everyone and everything, to bring to pass His divine plans and purposes. For instance, as the Bible clearly teaches, the hand of God wields the wicked like a sword to both chasten and judge His people.

 

Psalms 17:14b

 

BIBLE TEXT: "…O Lord, from men of the world, which have their portion in this life, and whose belly thou fillest with thy hid treasure: they are full of children, and leave the rest of their substance to their babes." (Psalms 17:14b KJV)

 

BIBLE TWEET: Worldly people not only live for this world’s momentary pleasures, but also for its temporary possessions, all of which are transferred at their passing into the possession of their posterity.

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: Like Passion in Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress, the worldly demand their goods now and revel in their brief earthly moment.

 

Psalms 17:15

 

BIBLE TEXT: "As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness." (Psalms 17:15 KJV)

 

BIBLE TWEET: The saints, unlike sinners, who are satisfied with fleeting worldly things, will never be satisfied until they finally look into their Lord’s face and are forever formed and fashioned into His likeness.

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: The Christian’s blessed hope is the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, when we shall at long last behold Him and become like Him! (Titus 2:13; 1 John 3:2)

 

Psalm 18

 

This is a long psalm, only three psalms are longer, Psalms 78, 89, and 119. It also has a long title; only the title of Psalm 60 is longer. Its length is understandable, however, as well as its divinely inspired duplication in Scripture, if one takes to heart its lengthy title. According to its title, this Davidic psalm is both a declaration of love for God and a song of praise to God, for God’s lifelong deliverance of David from all of his enemies. David did not just sing this love song to God early in his life (2 Samuel 22), but throughout his life, and right up till the end of his life, as is attested to by his singing of it here in Scripture’s songbook.

 

Psalms 18:1

 

BIBLE TEXT: "I will love thee, O Lord, my strength." (Psalms 18:1 KJV)

 

BIBLE TWEET: Like David, the supreme love of our life should be for Him who is the strength of our life.

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: If the greatest commandment is to love the Lord thy God with all your heart, soul, and mind, is disobeying this commandment not the greatest sin? (Matthew 22:35-38)

 

Although absent from 2 Samuel 22, this verse serves as the pinnacle and apex of Psalm 18.

 

Psalms 18:2

 

BIBLE TEXT: "The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower." (Psalms 18:2 KJV)

 

BIBLE TWEET: To trust God for your safety and salvation is to triumphant in God’s strength..

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: It’s not the measure of our faith, but the might of its object, which determines the strength of our faith.

 

Psalms 18:3

 

BIBLE TEXT: "I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies." (Psalms 18:3 KJV)

 

BIBLE TWEET: It is praying to God and the praising of God that enables the people of God to prevail over their enemies.

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: There are no better ways to battle the devil than to bow in prayer and to breakout in praise.

 

Psalms 18:4-6

 

BIBLE TEXT: "The sorrows of death compassed me, and the floods of ungodly men made me afraid. The sorrows of hell compassed me about: the snares of death prevented me. In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried unto my God: he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears." (Psalms 18:4-6 KJV)

 

BIBLE TWEET: In the scariest and most worrisome perils the saint can resort to the wings and song of prayer.

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: “Be like the bird who, pausing in her flight awhile on boughs too slight, feels them give way beneath her, and yet sings, knowing she hath wings.” (Victor Hugo)

 

Psalms 18:7

 

BIBLE TEXT: "Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations also of the hills moved and were shaken, because he was wroth." (Psalms 18:7 KJV)

 

BIBLE TWEET: Prayer has earthshaking power.

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: Whenever you’re shaken up, remember you can pray to an earthshaking God.

 

Psalms 18:8

 

BIBLE TEXT: "There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of his mouth devoured: coals were kindled by it." (Psalms 18:7 KJV)

 

BIBLE TWEET: When God is beseeched by His persecuted people, He breaths fire against their persecutors.

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: “Smoke from His heated nostrils came,

       And from his mouth devouring flame;

       Hot burning coals announced His ire,

       And flashes of careering fire.” (Richard Mant)

 

Psalms 18:9-10

 

BIBLE TEXT: "He bowed the heavens also, and came down: and darkness was under his feet. And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly: yea, he did fly upon the wings of the wind." (Psalms 18:9-10 KJV)

 

BIBLE TWEET: God’s persecuted people can pray up a storm against their persecutors.

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: “I fear the prayers of John Knox more than all the assembled armies of Europe.” (Mary, Queen of Scott’s)

 

Psalms 18:11

 

BIBLE TEXT: "He made darkness his secret place; his pavilion round about him were dark waters and thick clouds of the skies." (Psalms 18:11 KJV)

 

BIBLE TWEET: Though sometimes shrouded in darkness, God is never at a distance.

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: The eyes of faith, unlike the eyes of doubt, which loose sight of God in the dark, can see God as clearly at dusk as at dawn.

 

Psalms 18:12-14

 

BIBLE TEXT: "At the brightness that was before him his thick clouds passed, hail stones and coals of fire. The Lord also thundered in the heavens, and the Highest gave his voice; hail stones and coals of fire. Yea, he sent out his arrows, and scattered them; and he shot out lightnings, and discomfited them." (Psalms 18:12-14 KJV)

 

BIBLE TWEET: At the prayers of His people, God storms out against their persecutors.

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: To tangle with those whose Defender throws thunderbolts is to take on those you can never triumphant over.

 

Psalms 18:15

 

BIBLE TEXT: "Then the channels of waters were seen, and the foundations of the world were discovered at thy rebuke, O Lord, at the blast of the breath of thy nostrils." (Psalms 18:15 KJV)

 

BIBLE TWEET: If the blast of the breath from God’s nostrils shakes the earth to its very foundations and exposes the floor of the sea beneath its fathomless depths, what will the full brunt of His furious wrath be like on the forthcoming day of the Lord? (Zephaniah 1:14-18)

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: If we waste life, which God breathed into our nostrils, God’s nostrils will breath out His wrath upon us. (Genesis 2:7)

 

Psalms 18:16-19

 

BIBLE TEXT: "He sent from above, he took me, he drew me out of many waters. He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them which hated me: for they were too strong for me. They prevented me in the day of my calamity: but the Lord was my stay. He brought me forth also into a large place; he delivered me, because he delighted in me." (Psalms 18:16-19 KJV)

 

BIBLE TWEET: Heaven not only reached down and rescued David from Saul, his strong enemy, but also sustained David in the cave of Adullam and finally seated David on the throne of Israel. (1 Samuel 22:1)

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: Although the children of God may presently find themselves in earthly caves, they may rest assured that it’s just Heaven’s way of getting them an eternal crown. (2 Timothy 2:12; Revelation 5:10; 20:4)

 

Psalms 18:20-22

 

BIBLE TEXT: "The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed me. For I have kept the ways of the Lord, and have not wickedly departed from my God. For all his judgments were before me, and I did not put away his statutes from me." (Psalms 18:20-22 KJV)

 

BIBLE TWEET: It is repeatedly keeping God’s Word that keeps us right with God.

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: Dusty Bibles are never found in clean hands.

 

Psalms 18:23

 

BIBLE TEXT: "I was also upright before him, and I kept myself from mine iniquity." (Psalms 18:23 KJV)

 

BIBLE TWEET: To keep yourself upright with God you must keep yourself outright from sin.

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: It is on “mine iniquity,” the besetting sin of your life (Hebrews 12:1), that the biggest “Keep Out” sign you have should be hung.

 

Psalms 18:24

 

BIBLE TEXT: "Therefore hath the Lord recompensed me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his eyesight." (Psalms 18:24 KJV)

 

BIBLE TWEET: God does not recompense those who see themselves righteous in their own eyes, but only those who He sees as righteous in His eyes.

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: Only God can see whether or not your hands are truly clean and sanitized from sin.

 

Psalms 18:25-26

 

BIBLE TEXT: "With the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful; with an upright man thou wilt shew thyself upright; With the pure thou wilt shew thyself pure; and with the froward thou wilt shew thyself froward." (Psalms 18:25-26 KJV)

 

BIBLE TWEET: God shows His mercy to the merciful, His uprightness to the upright, and His purity to the pure, but God shows His canniness to the crooked.

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: The more godly you are the more clearly you’ll see God.

 

Psalms 18:27

 

BIBLE TEXT: "For thou wilt save the afflicted people; but wilt bring down high looks." (Psalms 18:27 KJV)

 

BIBLE TWEET: The Lord lifts up the downtrodden and brings down the highfalutin.

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: What right do lowly humans have to “high looks”?

 

Psalms 18:28

 

BIBLE TEXT: "For thou wilt light my candle: the Lord my God will enlighten my darkness." (Psalms 18:28 KJV)

 

BIBLE TWEET: The Lord is our Lamplighter, who enlightens our way through encroaching and enveloping darkness.

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: A lone lamp can light the safest way through the scariest darkness.

 

Psalms 18:29

 

BIBLE TEXT: "For by thee I have run through a troop; and by my God have I leaped over a wall." (Psalms 18:29 KJV)

 

BIBLE TWEET: David did not credit his military victories to himself nor to his army, but to the glory of His God.

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: “I tremble for my country when I hear of confidence expressed in me. I know too well my weakness, that our only hope is in God.” (General Robert E. Lee)

 

Psalms 18:30

 

BIBLE TEXT: "As for God, his way is perfect: the word of the Lord is tried: he is a buckler to all those that trust in him." (Psalms 18:30 KJV)

 

BIBLE TWEET: It is within the safe parameters of God’s perfect Word and will that the people of God find perfect and impregnable protection.

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: God is a Buckler to all who believe and obey the Bible.

 

Psalms 18:31

 

BIBLE TEXT: "For who is God save the Lord? or who is a rock save our God?" (Psalms 18:31 KJV)

 

BIBLE TWEET: The only existent God is the Lord; all other gods are imaginary and nonexistent.

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: The Lord is a “nonesuch”; that is, incomparable and without equal.

 

Psalms 18:32

 

BIBLE TEXT: "It is God that girdeth me with strength, and maketh my way perfect." (Psalms 18:32 KJV)

 

BIBLE TWEET: It is God who girds the garments of His army, so they are arrayed for absolute action.

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: “So let it be in God’s own might that we are girded for the coming fight.” (John Greenleaf Whittier)

 

Psalms 18:33

 

BIBLE TEXT: "He maketh my feet like hinds' feet, and setteth me upon my high places." (Psalms 18:33 KJV)

 

BIBLE TWEET: The feet of God’s army are shod with Scripture, to provide sure footing for scaling the steepest summits. (Ephesians 6:15)

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: To stand its ground, God’s army must take its stand on the sure footing of Scripture.

 

Psalms 18:34

 

BIBLE TEXT: "He teacheth my hands to war, so that a bow of steel is broken by mine arms." (Psalms 18:34 KJV)

 

BIBLE TWEET: The army of God should always attribute its prevailing strategy, military prowess, and strength in battle to its Almighty Commander-in-Chief.

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: David never signed his name G.G.K.—Great Giant Killer—but always attributed his great military victories to the glory of his great God.

 

Psalms 18:35a

 

BIBLE TEXT: "You have given me the shield of Your salvation; Your right hand upholds me…" (Psalms 18:35a HCSB)

 

BIBLE TWEET: We are eternally safe and secure beneath the shield of God’s salvation.

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: The Lord always upholds His own in all of lives upheavals.

 

HCSB - Holman Christian Standard Bible

 

Psalms 18:35b

 

BIBLE TEXT: "…and Your humility exalts me." (Psalms 18:35b HCSB)

 

BIBLE TWEET: God must lower Himself to reach down to raise and lift us up; therefore, for God to honor us He must humble Himself.

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: Thanks to God’s amazing grace, Jesus became poor so that we could become rich; that is, the Son of God became a man so that men could become sons of God. (2 Corinthians 8:9)

 

HCSB - Holman Christian Standard Bible

 

Psalms 18:36

 

BIBLE TEXT: "Thou hast enlarged my steps under me, that my feet did not slip." (Psalms 18:36 KJV)

 

BIBLE TWEET: Confident in Christ, the Christian need not cower in cubbyholes, but may take a courageous stand in wide-open spaces.

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: The Christian soldier should always be found courageously holding the battle line, never cowardly hiding in a bunker.

 

Psalms 18:37

 

BIBLE TEXT: "I have pursued mine enemies, and overtaken them: neither did I turn again till they were consumed." (Psalms 18:37 KJV)

 

BIBLE TWEET: The army of God should never be hunkering down against the enemy in defense, but always heroically charging the enemy on offense.

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: It’s not the gates of Hell that attack Christ’s prevailing church, but Christ’s prevailing church that attacks the gates of Hell. (Matthew 16:17)

 

Psalms 18:38-40

 

BIBLE TEXT: "I have wounded them that they were not able to rise: they are fallen under my feet. For thou hast girded me with strength unto the battle: thou hast subdued under me those that rose up against me. Thou hast also given me the necks of mine enemies; that I might destroy them that hate me." (Psalms 18:38-40 KJV)

 

BIBLE TWEET: The soldier of God is to put his foot on his enemy’s neck, never to permit his own back to be turned into a smooth highway by his enemy.

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: Why should we ever be treaded on by the devil, who our Lord has forever trodden down and trodden under? (Hebrews 2:13; 1 John 3:8)

 

Psalms 18:41

 

BIBLE TEXT: "They cried, but there was none to save them: even unto the Lord, but he answered them not." (Psalms 18:41 KJV)

 

BIBLE TWEET: The prayers of the enemies of God’s people are neither heard nor heeded..

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: Prayer is the privileged possession of the people of God alone. The only exception is the sinner’s prayer for salvation, which God always attends to and answers. (Psalm 66:18; Isaiah 59:2; Romans 10:13)

 

Psalms 18:42

 

BIBLE TEXT: "Then did I beat them small as the dust before the wind: I did cast them out as the dirt in the streets." (Psalms 18:42 KJV)

 

BIBLE TWEET: The enemies of God’s people are destined and doomed to be like dust swept away in the wind and like dirt trampled on in the street.

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: All quarrelers with God and His people will be shown no quarter.

 

Psalms 18:43-45

 

BIBLE TEXT: "Thou hast delivered me from the strivings of the people; and thou hast made me the head of the heathen: a people whom I have not known shall serve me. As soon as they hear of me, they shall obey me: the strangers shall submit themselves unto me. The strangers shall fade away, and be afraid out of their close places." (Psalms 18:43-45 KJV)

 

BIBLE TWEET: As those who strived with David eventually became subservient to David, a fallen world that joust with the saints shall someday be judged by the saints. (1 Corinthians 6:2)

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: As Jesus told His twelve apostles that they would someday judge the twelve tribes of Israel (Matthew 19:28), the Apostle Paul tells the saints that someday we will judge angels and the world (1 Corinthians 6:2-3).

 

Psalms 18:46

 

BIBLE TEXT: "The Lord liveth; and blessed be my rock; and let the God of my salvation be exalted." (Psalms 18:46 KJV)

 

BIBLE TWEET: The God of our salvation, who is both immortal and invincible, is to be ever extolled and exalted.

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: “A firm faith in the universal providence of [an imperishable] God is the solution of all earthly troubles.” (B. B. Warfield)

 

Psalms 18:47

 

BIBLE TEXT: "It is God that avengeth me, and subdueth the people under me." (Psalms 18:47 KJV)

 

BIBLE TWEET: God will avenge His people if they will leave all vengeance to Him. (Romans 12:19)

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: Living for revenge is a good way to ruin your life.

 

Psalms 18:48

 

BIBLE TEXT: "He delivereth me from mine enemies: yea, thou liftest me up above those that rise up against me: thou hast delivered me from the violent man." (Psalms 18:48 KJV)

 

BIBLE TWEET: God rescues His people and raises them up over their enemies.

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: The “violent man” David refers to in this verse was undoubtedly Saul, whose threats God spared David from and whose throne God seated David on.

 

Psalms 18:49

 

BIBLE TEXT: "Therefore will I give thanks unto thee, O Lord, among the heathen, and sing praises unto thy name." (Psalms 18:49 KJV)

 

BIBLE TWEET: That David is to be seen in this psalm as a type-of-Christ and that our Savior is to be seen in this song of David is proven by Paul’s depiction of David’s singing here to the heathen as a foreshadowing of Christ bringing salvation to the Gentiles. (Romans 15:9)

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: “The Bible is a hologram and Jesus is on every page.” (R. A. Delmonico)

 

Psalms 18:50

 

BIBLE TEXT: "Great deliverance giveth he to his king; and sheweth mercy to his anointed, to David, and to his seed for evermore." (Psalms 18:50 KJV)

 

BIBLE TWEET: This magnificent psalm concludes as it commenced, with loving praise to our and King David’s merciful and mighty Deliverer.

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: Thomas Playfere, an English theologian, once wrote that he admired David more in the choir than in the camp, more as a warbler than as a warrior, for when David soldiered he overcame his enemies, but when he sang he overcame himself.

 

Psalms 19:1-4a

 

BIBLE TEXT: "The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky proclaims the work of His hands. Day after day they pour out speech; night after night they communicate knowledge. There is no speech; there are no words; their voice is not heard. Their message has gone out to all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world." (Psalms 19:1-4a HCSB)

 

BIBLE TWEET: The sky, without saying a word, speaks, to everyone under its worldwide expanse, both day in and day out, as well as night after night, of the Creator’s wondrous work and great glory.

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: “I cannot imagine anyone looking at the sky and denying God.” (Abraham Lincoln)

 

“An undevout astronomer is mad.” (Edward Young)

 

HCSB - Holman Christian Standard Bible

 

Psalms 19:4b-6

 

BIBLE TEXT: "In [the heavens] He has set a tabernacle for the sun, Which is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, And rejoices like a strong man to run its race. Its rising is from one end of heaven, And its circuit to the other end; And there is nothing hidden from its heat." (Psalms 19:4b-6 NKJV)

 

BIBLE TWEET: The divinely inspired Scripture declared the sun to be the tabernacle (center) of our solar system centuries before human discovery ever detected it. Contrary to popular opinion, true science never contradicts the truth of Scripture, but always confirms it.

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: "My experience with science led me to God. They challenge science to prove the existence of God, but must we really light a candle to see the sun?" (Wernher von Braun)

 

NKJV - New King James Version

 

Psalms 19:7-10

 

BIBLE TEXT: "The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb." (Psalms 19:7-10 KJV)

 

BIBLE TWEET: God’s Word is infallible, soul-saving, life-giving, trustworthy, enlightening, inerrant, gratifying, unadulterated, illuminating, eye-opening, immaculate, eternal, immutable, and irrefutable. Therefore, it's to be more prized than gold and found more palatable than honey.

 

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: "This book contains the mind of God, the state of man, the way of salvation, the doom of sinners and the happiness of believers. Its doctrines are holy, its precepts are binding, its histories are true, and its decisions are immutable. Read it to be wise, believe it to be safe, and practice it to be holy.

 

It contains light to direct you, food to support you, and comfort to cheer you. It is the traveler’s map, the pilgrim’s staff, the pilot’s compass, the soldier’s sword, and the Christian’s character. Here paradise is restored, Heaven opened, and the gates of hell disclosed. Christ is its grand object, our good is its design, and the glory of God its end.

 

It should fill the memory, rule the heart, and guide the feet. Read it slowly, frequently, and prayerfully. It is given you in life and will be opened in the judgement and will be remembered forever. It involves the highest responsibility, will reward the greatest labour, and will condemn all who trifle with its sacred contents."

 

Psalms 19:11

 

BIBLE TEXT: "Moreover by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward." (Psalms 19:11 KJV)

 

BIBLE TWEET: God’s Word warns us not to flout it, but promises great rewards to all who follow it.

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: Many who foolishly brush aside God’s commands falsely blame God for their bad circumstances.

 

Psalms 19:12

 

BIBLE TEXT: "Who can understand his errors? cleanse thou me from secret faults." (Psalms 19:12 KJV)

 

BIBLE TWEET: On fallen feet of clay we all daily stumble short of God's glory, in both conscious and unconscious ways. Still, we can be sure that our sins will be pointed out by God's Spirit and pardoned by God's Son.

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: The closer we get to the light the more conspicuous our sins become.

 

Psalms 19:12-13

 

BIBLE TEXT: "Who can understand his errors? cleanse thou me from secret faults. Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression." (Psalms 19:12-13 KJV)

 

BIBLE TWEET: Unperceived and presumptuous sins, wrongs presumed to be right, are neither guiltless nor innocuous. If committed, whether moronically or mistakenly, they will inevitably lead to greater iniquity.

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: Being ignorant of God’s law is no excuse for the infringement of God’s law, but a sure path to even greater infractions of God’s law.

 

Psalms 19:13

 

BIBLE TEXT: "Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression." (Psalms 19:13 KJV)

 

BIBLE TWEET: To presume that the grace and mercy of God grants you a license to sin is to grant sin lordship over yourself and to guarantee that you will become a most loathsome sinner.

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: If you give sin an inch it will take a mile and the least little sin can lead to the most loathsome of sins.

 

Psalms 19:14

 

BIBLE TEXT: "Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer." (Psalms 19:14 KJV)

 

BIBLE TWEET: We should daily pray that the words of our mouth and the meditation of our heart are both acceptable to our God.

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: The meditation of our heart, what we contemplate, controls the words of our mouth, what we articulate; therefore, we must never deviate in what we deliberate from any divine mandate.

 

Psalms 20:1a

 

BIBLE TEXT: "The Lord hear thee in the day of trouble…" (Psalms 20:1a KJV)

 

BIBLE TWEET: Neither the drumbeat of the approaching day of trouble nor the drumroll on the actual day of trouble can drown out our prayers to our Lord.

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: Neither his crown from God nor consecration to God kept David from days of trouble in his turbulent time.

 

Psalms 20:1b

 

BIBLE TEXT: "…the name of the God of Jacob defend thee." (Psalms 20:1a KJV)

 

BIBLE TWEET: The people of God, unlike the Athenians on Mars Hill (Acts 17:22-23), do not depend upon a false and unknown god for their deliverance, but upon the one and only true God, who they personally know by name.

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: It’s good to know that you need to call upon the name of God for deliverance, but even better when you know the name of the one and only true God upon whom you call.

 

Psalms 20:2-3

 

BIBLE TEXT: "Send thee help from the sanctuary, and strengthen thee out of Zion; Remember all thy offerings, and accept thy burnt sacrifice; Selah." (Psalms 20:2-3 KJV)

 

BIBLE TWEET: It is those who have offered themselves as a living sacrifice at God’s earthly sanctuary who may be sure of help and strength from God’s heavenly sanctuary. (Romans 12:1)

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: We cannot be sure of God’s helping hand in our life until we’ve handed over our life to God.

 

Psalms 20:4

 

BIBLE TEXT: "Grant thee according to thine own heart, and fulfil all thy counsel." (Psalms 20:4 KJV)

 

BIBLE TWEET: Prerequisites to answered prayer are to pray for God to have His heart’s desire, not for you to have yours, and to pray according to God’s counsel, not according to your own.

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: Prayer is not bringing God over to your side—persuading Him to do what you want and what you think—but you going over to God’s side—partnering with Him in what He wants and in what He thinks.

 

Psalms 20:5-6

 

BIBLE TEXT: "We will rejoice in thy salvation, and in the name of our God we will set up our banners: the Lord fulfil all thy petitions. Now know I that the Lord saveth his anointed; he will hear him from his holy heaven with the saving strength of his right hand." (Psalms 20:5-6 KJV)

 

BIBLE TWEET: We know we shall prevail before the battle begins and that our prayers shall be answered before we bow our heads.

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: In faith and without fear, the army of God not only unfurls its banners in the name of God, but also in the face of its foes.

 

Psalms 20:7

 

BIBLE TEXT: "Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the Lord our God." (Psalms 20:7 KJV)

 

BIBLE TWEET: Sinners trust in their numbered legions, such as a political movement or a parading military, but the saints trust in the name of their Lord.

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: The most impressive assembly or intimidating army is no match for the invisible Almighty.

 

Psalms 20:8

 

BIBLE TEXT: "They are brought down and fallen: but we are risen, and stand upright." (Psalms 20:8 KJV)

 

BIBLE TWEET: The fighting forces of this world will one day be forever vanquished, but those who fight for the faith will one day be forever victorious. (Jude 1:3)

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: “The first thing I have to say is this: True Christianity is a fight.” (J. C. Ryle)

 

Psalms 20:9

 

BIBLE TEXT: "Save, Lord: let the king hear us when we call." (Psalms 20:9 KJV)

 

BIBLE TWEET: This psalm, like the British national anthem, is a song for God to save the King. Though sung by Israel for King David, it will be sung forever by the New Israel of God for the King of Kings. (Galatians 6:16; Revelation 17:14)

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: During the coronation service of the King or Queen of England, when the crown is placed on the sovereign’s head, the Archbishop of Canterbury stipulates that it is his or hers to wear until He, to whom it rightfully and eternally belongs, comes back to claim it.

 

Psalms 21:1

 

BIBLE TEXT: "The king shall joy in thy strength, O Lord; and in thy salvation how greatly shall he rejoice!" (Psalms 21:1 KJV)

 

BIBLE TWEET: The greatest of all genuine joy is found in the Lord’s salvation and strengthening of our immortal souls.

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: There is no strengthening of the soul apart from the salvation of the soul, and there is the possibility of neither apart from the Lord, who is our soul’s sole Savior. (Isaiah 43:11)

 

Psalms 21:2

 

BIBLE TEXT: "Thou hast given him his heart's desire, and hast not withholden the request of his lips. Selah." (Psalms 21:2 KJV)

 

BIBLE TWEET: God literally gives us the desires of our hearts; that is, the desires themselves, so that we will desire what He desires and He can answer our prayers, because they are in perfect accordance with His will. (1 John 5:14-15)

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: Selfish prayers—praying for our own heart’s desires rather than God's—are prayers that are prayed amiss and never answered. (James 4:3)

 

Psalms 21:3

 

BIBLE TEXT: "For thou preventest him with the blessings of goodness: thou settest a crown of pure gold on his head." (Psalms 21:3 KJV)

 

BIBLE TWEET: God’s preordained blessings both precede us and go before us, thanks to His grace and mercy, not to our goodness and merit.

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: When others saw David as a shepherd boy with a crook, God already saw Him as a king wearing a crown.

 

Psalms 21:4

 

BIBLE TEXT: "He asked life of thee, and thou gavest it him, even length of days for ever and ever." (Psalms 21:4 KJV)

 

BIBLE TWEET: Here is the consummate example of God giving more than one asks for or imagines; David asked for long life, but was given eternal life. (Ephesians 3:20)

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: King David, like ourselves, could have never possessed the jewel of eternal life, if the stone that covered it had not been rolled away, when the King of Kings rose from the dead to live forevermore.

 

Psalms 21:5-6

 

BIBLE TEXT: "His glory is great in thy salvation: honour and majesty hast thou laid upon him. For thou hast made him most blessed for ever: thou hast made him exceeding glad with thy countenance." (Psalms 21:5-6 KJV)

 

BIBLE TWEET: David’s gladness and glory were great, thanks to God’s salvation of him and grinning upon him, not because of David’s own exploits and exemplariness.

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: Although God’s gracious salvation of David brought him great gladness and glory, God’s gracious salvation of humanity has brought far greater glory to Jesus Christ, the heir to David’s throne, as well as far greater gladness to Christians, those, like David, who have also been saved and smiled upon by God.

 

Psalms 21:7

 

BIBLE TEXT: "For the king trusteth in the Lord, and through the mercy of the most High he shall not be moved." (Psalms 21:7 KJV)

 

BIBLE TWEET: It is those who trust in the mercy of the Most High, not in their own might nor in the might of other men, who shall not be moved.

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: Like David’s unmovable throne, our Lord’s mediatorial throne is also forever established on the eternal mercy of God. (Hebrews 7:25)

 

Psalms 21:8-10

 

BIBLE TEXT: "Thine hand shall find out all thine enemies: thy right hand shall find out those that hate thee. Thou shalt make them as a fiery oven in the time of thine anger: the Lord shall swallow them up in his wrath, and the fire shall devour them. Their fruit shalt thou destroy from the earth, and their seed from among the children of men." (Psalms 21:8-10 KJV)

 

BIBLE TWEET: All the foes of our Lord shall not only be found out, but they and theirs shall also be devoured in His fiery wrath.

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: Although not as popular a subject as the mercy of God, the wrath of God is every bit as prevalent, if not more so, in Scripture.

 

Psalms 21:11

 

BIBLE TEXT: "For they intended evil against thee: they imagined a mischievous device, which they are not able to perform." (Psalms 21:11 KJV)

 

BIBLE TWEET: Malice aforethought toward the Almighty is a madcap absurdity that leads to the ultimate exercise in utter futility.

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: How can impotent men destroy the indestructible Christ? If they try to drown Him, He’ll just walk on the water. If they try to burn Him, He’ll just walk around in the fire. And even if they could kill Him, He’ll just rise from the dead.

 

Psalms 21:12

 

BIBLE TEXT: "Therefore shalt thou make them turn their back, when thou shalt make ready thine arrows upon thy strings against the face of them." (Psalms 21:12 KJV)

 

BIBLE TWEET: The sacrilegious will stop their scoffing and be scared to death as soon as God strings His bow in their faces and the shafts of His wrath begin to fly.

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: “Stay with me, for God’s sake; I cannot bear to be left alone , O Lord, help me! O God, what have I done to suffer so much? What will become of me hereafter? I would give worlds if I had them, that The Age of Reason had never been published. O Lord, help me! Christ, help me! No, don’t leave; stay with me! Send even a child to stay with me; for I am on the edge of hell here alone. If ever the Devil had an agent, I have been that one.” (The dying words of Thomas Payne, the famous atheist and author of The Age of Reason)

 

Psalms 21:13

 

BIBLE TEXT: "Be thou exalted, Lord, in thine own strength: so will we sing and praise thy power." (Psalms 21:13 KJV)

 

BIBLE TWEET: When God exalts Himself in His own power, we cannot help but employ ourselves in the singing and praising of His power.

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: This psalm, Psalm 21, has taken us to the steps of Christ’s throne, the next, Psalm 22, will take us to the foot of Christ’s cross.

 

Psalm 22

 

This psalm has been fittingly entitled, The Psalm of the Cross. It is truly phenomenal in that it reads like an eyewitness account of Christ’s crucifixion, despite the fact that David, its divinely inspired penman, wrote it a thousand years before Christ was crucified. Before we proceed, we should pause to slip off our shoes, for we are stepping here onto some of Scripture's most sacred holy ground.

 

Psalms 22:1a

 

BIBLE TEXT: "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" (Psalms 22:1a KJV)

 

BIBLE TWEET: The depths of these words, especially when they were cried out by Christ on the cross of Calvary, are as profound and fathomless as any found in all of Scripture. (Matthew 27:46; Mark 15:34)

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: The “why” of this bloodcurdlingly cry of Christ on the cross of Calvary is you and I, for it was for our forgiveness that Christ was forsaken; indeed, if He had not been forsaken, you and I could have never been forgiven!

 

THE FOLLOWING EXCERPT FROM CHAPTER 5: THE SALVATION OF MAN'S SOUL FROM OUR BOOK THE KING OF HEARTS: THE SIMPLICITY OF LIVING IN THE SPIRIT PROVIDES A DEEPER DIVE INTO THE DEEP AND PROFOUND TRUTH OF PSALM 22:1.

 

Before our sins against God can be forgiven our sin debt must be paid. God, being just, can never wink at our sins or just simply overlook them. He must demand payment in full, lest He cease to be just. His justice demands that our sin debt be paid off before any pardon can be offered.

 

What is the debt of sin? According to the Bible, “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). Wages are something you earn. Every sinner in the world is sentenced to death, because we’ve earned it. It is not just physical death that is our just deserts; it is spiritual death as well. Our rebellion against God has not only earned us an end to our earthly life, but also the forfeiture of eternal life. Our sins against God have earned us an eternal separation from Him.

 

For every sin that has ever been committed someone must surely die. Not one sin can go unpunished; all must be paid for. This is why Hebrews 9:22 says, “And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without the shedding of blood is no remission.” Since “life is in the blood” (see Leviticus 17:11), blood must be shed and life poured out before any sin can be forgiven. In other words, the only hope we have of being forgiven of our sins and escaping death is if someone should shed their blood in place of ours and dare to die in our place.

 

Since you and I cannot pay the sin debt we owe God, Christ came into the world to pay it for us on the cross. By shedding His blood in place of ours and dying in our place Christ has made it possible for you and I to be forgiven of our sins and reconciled to God. That Christ paid our sin debt, as well as that of the whole world (1 John 2:2), is proven by His triumphant shout from the cross, “It is finished!” (John 19:30). This Greek word, “telelestai,” literally means “paid in full.” Papyri receipts from the time of Christ have been recovered with the word “telelestai” written across them. Before Christ “bowed His head [on the cross], and gave up the ghost,” He shouted, “Paid in full!” across the sin debt of the world.

 

Since “Jesus paid it all,” as the title of a beloved old hymn attests, all we need to do to be forgiven of our sins and reconciled to God is accept by faith Christ’s substitutionary death upon the cross. When we do, our sin is forever pardoned and our sin debt paid in full. It is as though Christ gives us from His own nail-scarred hand a receipt for our sin debt signed in His own blood “Paid in full!”

 

When Christ died on the cross He did more than just die for our sins; according to the Scripture, He actually became our sin (2 Corinthians 5:21). When Christ became our sin on the cross of Calvary God the Father poured out the full fury of His wrath on Christ for every sin that has been or ever will be committed. On the cross, Christ suffered the full punishment for all the sins of all time. This explains why Christ, already kneeling under the shadow of the cross, suffered such agony in the Garden of Gethsemane (Matthew 26:36-45, Luke 22:39-46). It was not, as is commonly believed, the physical pain and suffering of the cross that caused Christ to shrink back and His sweat to become like “great drops of blood” in the garden. Instead, it was the fact that Christ was about to become the sin of the world and suffer the full brunt of His Father’s wrath. Although the physical death Christ died on the cross would be more than enough to cause most men to sweat blood, it was the spiritual death that He was facing that caused Christ’s anguish in Gethsemane.

 

The fact that Christ experienced spiritual death—separation from God the Father—is made abundantly clear by Christ’s bloodcurdling cry from the cross, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me” (Matthew 27:46). When Christ died on the cross, becoming the sin of the world, God the Father turned His back on His Son. Since God cannot look upon sin (Habakkuk 1:13), He turned away from His Son as soon as His Son took upon Himself the sin of the world.

 

With “the Father of lights” (James 1:17) turning away and “the light of the world” (John 8:12; 9:5) doused out by the sin of the world, is there any wonder that the Scripture says the earth was suddenly shrouded in an inexplicable darkness (Matthew 27:45)? Suspended between heaven and earth and forsaken by both, Christ hung that dark day on the cruel cross of Calvary. Alone and abandoned Christ died for you and me.

 

READ THE KING OF HEARTS: THE SIMPLICITY OF LIVING IN THE SPIRIT

 

Psalms 22:1b

 

BIBLE TEXT: "Why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring?" (Psalms 22:1b KJV)

 

BIBLE TWEET: The reason God the Father was “far from helping” God the Son on the cross of Calvary was so that He could help sinners. If the Father had saved His Son from death on the tree, He could have never saved you and me from our death in trespasses and sins.

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: We owe our salvation and redemption to God’s refusal to spare or rescue His own Son from the cross. (Romans 8:32)

 

Psalms 22:2

 

BIBLE TEXT: "O my God, I cry in the day time, but thou hearest not; and in the night season, and am not silent." (Psalms 22:2 KJV)

 

BIBLE TWEET: Christ practiced what He preached, for He neither fainted in prayer in the night of His crying in Gethsemane nor on the day of His crucifixion on Golgotha. (Luke 18:1)

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: No night is too dark nor day too nightmarish to pray in.

 

Psalms 22:3

 

BIBLE TEXT: "But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel." (Psalms 22:3 KJV)

 

BIBLE TWEET: Since God inhabits the praise of His people, there’s no better way to assure yourself of His presence than your adoration of His person.

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: To praise God sincerely in hardship and heartache we must see Him as holy, in spite of all of life’s hard to understand and horrendous hornets’ nests.

 

Psalms 22:4-5

 

BIBLE TEXT: "Our fathers trusted in thee: they trusted, and thou didst deliver them. They cried unto thee, and were delivered: they trusted in thee, and were not confounded." (Psalms 22:4-5 KJV)

 

BIBLE TWEET: Ours is the triumphant heritage of the saints, who have always trusted the Lord for deliverance through all the difficult trials of their lives.

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: Those who trust the Lord for their deliverance will never be stumped or shamed.

 

Psalms 22:6

 

BIBLE TEXT: "But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people." (Psalms 22:6 KJV)

 

BIBLE TWEET: In this startling and stunning verse of Scripture, we see how Christ emptied Himself of His glory on the cross to the last granule, in that the great “I AM” groans, “I am a worm, and no man,” but “a reproach of men.”

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: As Christ died for sinners, sinners despised the dying Christ. Truly, sin has never reared its ugly head more contemptibly than it did at Calvary!

 

Psalms 22:7-8

 

BIBLE TEXT: "All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying, He trusted on the Lord that he would deliver him: let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him." (Psalms 22:7-8 KJV)

 

BIBLE TWEET: At the cross, the creature held his Creator in contempt, the sinner scoffed at his Savior, and lowly men mocked their Lord and Master.

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: Irony of all ironies, if Christ had come down from the cross, as foul sinners taunted Him to do (Mark 15:29-32) and as He could have easily done (Matthew 26:53), it would have been the forever undoing of every sinner.

 

He could have called ten thousand angels,

To destroy the world and set Him free.

He could have called ten thousand angels,

But He died alone for you and me. (Ray Overholt)

 

Psalms 22:9-10

 

BIBLE TEXT: "But thou art he that took me out of the womb: thou didst make me hope when I was upon my mother's breasts. I was cast upon thee from the womb: thou art my God from my mother's belly." (Psalms 22:9-10 KJV)

 

BIBLE TWEET: During His mutilation on the cross, Christ thought of His miraculous Incarnation, for He was born to die and given a mortal body so that He could do so, by offering it on the cross as a sacrifice for the salvation of the world. (Hebrews 10:5)

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: If God takes us from the womb into His arms at our birth, how monstrous of a sin is abortion, which rips the unborn from the hands and arms of God?

 

Psalms 22:11

 

BIBLE TEXT: "Be not far from me; for trouble is near; for there is none to help." (Psalms 22:11 KJV)

 

BIBLE TWEET: Never is the need for God’s presence, who is our present help in time of trouble, more needed than when trouble is near.

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: When we read the woeful words “there is none to help,” how can we help but not think of our Lord being forsaken on the cross, by both Heaven—His Father—and earth—His followers?

 

Psalms 22:12-13

 

BIBLE TEXT: "Many bulls have compassed me: strong bulls of Bashan have beset me round. They gaped upon me with their mouths, as a ravening and a roaring lion." (Psalms 22:12-13 KJV)

 

BIBLE TWEET: Like the powerful bulls of Bashan, it was the powerful men of Christ’s day, both the civil rulers and religious leaders, who beset and belittled Him on the cross.

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: Our adversary, who walketh about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour, often uses the gaping mouths of the mighty, his secondhand lions, to gobble up the godly. (1 Peter 5:8)

 

Psalms 22:14-17

 

BIBLE TEXT: "I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint: my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels. My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; and thou hast brought me into the dust of death. For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet. I may tell all my bones: they look and stare upon me." (Psalms 22:14-17 KJV)

 

BIBLE TWEET: The physical suffering Christ endured for us during His crucifixion, which is the most cruel means of execution ever dreamed up in the demented mind of fallen man, is vividly described for us here in these most disturbing verses.

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: To not only see here the bloody, bruised, and battered figure of Christ dying on the cross, but also His disjointed and protruding bones, His trembling and feverish body, His dried and parched lips, His surrounding scoffers, and His pierced hands and feet, should surely tear at every heart and tear up every eye.

 

Psalms 22:16b

 

BIBLE TEXT: "…they pierced my hands and my feet." (Psalms 22:16b KJV)

 

BIBLE TWEET: These words of David clearly speak of the crucified Christ, whose hands and feet were not only pierced for our pardon, but to make propitiation for the sins of our whole world. (1 John 2:2)

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: The only manmade things in Heaven are the nail prints in the hands and feet of Jesus and the spear mark in His side. (Luke 24:39; John 20:27)

 

Psalms 22:18

 

BIBLE TEXT: "They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture." (Psalms 22:18 KJV)

 

BIBLE TWEET: Once again, this phenomenal psalm proves itself to be prewritten history, by precisely predicting the soldiers’ casting of lots at the foot of the cross for the seamless robe of our sinless Redeemer. (John 19:23-24)

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: Unfortunately, many gamble with their souls at the foot of the cross today, by wagering on whether or not to wrap themselves in the seamless robe of Christ’s perfect righteousness, which alone can make them pleasing and acceptable to God.

 

Psalms 22:19

 

BIBLE TEXT: "But be not thou far from me, O Lord: O my strength, haste thee to help me." (Psalms 22:19 KJV)

 

BIBLE TWEET: In times of distress, we can ill afford any distance between ourselves and our God, or any sinful hindrances that hinder Him from swiftly hastening to us.

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: The best way to be close to God and strengthened by Him in trying times is to commune with Him and be strong in Him all the time.

 

Psalms 22:20

 

BIBLE TEXT: "Deliver my soul from the sword; my darling from the power of the dog." (Psalms 22:20 KJV)

 

BIBLE TWEET: This is a prayer for the soul’s salvation from the hound of Hell and his hellish pack of curs, both human and demonic, such as those who circled the cross of Christ.

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: Tragically, most people call their mortal body rather than their immortal soul “my darling” today, a fact proven by the inordinate time they spend focused on their healthcare, while totally forsaking their soul-care.

 

Psalms 22:21

 

BIBLE TEXT: "Save me from the lion's mouth: for thou hast heard me from the horns of the unicorns." (Psalms 22:21 KJV)

 

BIBLE TWEET: This verse, like the previous one, is a prayer for deliverance from the devil, the roaring lion, who walks about seeking whom he may devour, and his beastly band, both human and demonic, who do his bidding by goring the godly.

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: The Hebrew word translated “unicorn” by the King James translators is translated “wild oxen” by modern-day translators. The archaic word is obviously enigmatic and the creature to which it once referred extinct.

 

Psalms 22:22

 

BIBLE TEXT: "I will declare thy name unto my brethren: in the midst of the congregation will I praise thee." (Psalms 22:22 KJV)

 

BIBLE TWEET: In this verse, we step away from the cross and into the church of the Firstborn with Christ, the Firstborn from the Dead, so that all of His born again brethren can bless His name and breakout in His praise. (Hebrews 12:23; Colossians 1:18; Romans 8:29)

 

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: Christ no longer occupies the cross or the tomb, but His church, where He is no longer impaled nor entombed, but exalted and extolled.

 

Psalms 22:23

 

BIBLE TEXT: "Ye that fear the Lord, praise him; all ye the seed of Jacob, glorify him; and fear him, all ye the seed of Israel." (Psalms 22:23 KJV)

 

BIBLE TWEET: Both the chosen and elect children of God—the physical and spiritual seed of Israel—are to fear, praise, and glorify the Lord.