Author: Ash Clarkson

  • Psalm 25 – Teach Me Your Paths

    Psalm 25 focuses on the importance of teaching, of learning to follow God’s ways. It is an acrostic psalm in Hebrew, focusing on a request for preservation and learning from God. It neatly forms into three sections, where David (the author) pleads for God’s help, proclaims God’s goodness, and prays for deliverance and protection. Threaded…

  • Psalm 24 – The King of Glory

    Psalm 24, a “temple entry” psalm, talks of the standard needed to meet the King of Glory. It teaches us that Christ as our representative gives us the clean hands and pure hearts to enter the Creator-King’s presence. This Psalm reminds us of the King of Glory’s wonder, the King of Glory’s dress standard, and…

  • Psalm 23 – The Divine Shepherd

    David’s Psalm 23 is so appealing because we connect with the imagery of a shepherd taking care of his flock, even those of us who have spent too little time in the country! In Psalm 23, we see a picture of God, the Divine Shepherd, protecting and sustaining his flock. We see God’s tender guidance,…

  • Psalm 22 (Part 2) – Praise of the great congregation

    The first part of Psalm 22 spoke of the suffering which Christ experienced on the Cross for our sins, from his perspective (as expressed by King David one thousand years prior). In the second part of Psalm 22 (verses 22 to 31), all are encouraged to offer praise to God. This praise should be offered…

  • Psalm 22 (Part 1) – Why have you forsaken me?

    Psalm 22 clearly divides into two parts. In the first twenty-one verses, King David cries for help and laments his present suffering, fulfilled most perfectly in Christ’s own suffering on the Cross. We see in this psalm a trusting cry for help, lament at his state, and lament at his suffering. In these verses, we…

  • Psalm 21 – Victory in God’s Strength

    Psalm 21 expresses the praise of God’s people for their victory in God’s strength. God provides the requested help to their king (Psalm 20), and provides the victory. So God’s people praise God for his victories of old, the victories they trust will come, and for God’s power.

  • Psalm 20 – Trust God in the Battle

    Psalm 20 appears to be a psalm written for singing (in prayer) before battle by God’s people. The psalm splits into prayer before battle, praise for God’s anticipated victory, and petition for God’s king. In this psalm, we see a reminder that as we do battle with sin it is God we must ask for…

  • Psalm 19 – The Precious Revelation of God

    Though the distance between God and us, the creature, is so great that we could never know of the blessings found in him unless he revealed himself to us, we are not left to wonder of God’s existence. God has revealed himself to all men as Creator, and to his people as their Covenant Lord.…

  • Psalm 18 (Part 2) – Praise for God

    In the second half of Psalm 18, King David heaps more praise on God. He offers praise for what God has done for him, the King, on behalf of his people. He praises God for his grace, his victory, and his conquering. He completes the Psalm with a concluding praise to God always, for his…

  • Psalm 18 (Part 1) – My God is a Rock

    Psalm 18, a Royal Psalm of David, celebrates the deliverance of God’s people from their enemies, inspired by David’s deliverance from his enemies (1 Samuel 22). The psalm is structured around God as a rock, a refuge for his people. In the first part of Psalm 18 (vv.1-30), God is praised for his deliverance, his…