Category: Book 1

Psalm 41 describes God’s attitude. God loves the poor, and he loves the righteous who love the poor. This psalm, the last in “Book One” of the Psalms, encourages us to care for the poor because it reflects God’s love for the poor, and to take heart that God will see it even if we…

Psalm 40 speaks very personally of the support that David received from God in his life. The first part of the psalm rejoices in God’s support and deliverance in past days. The second part of the psalm switches to a present time of distress, where David calls on God in confidence that he will again…

In Psalm 39, King David, perhaps approaching older age, reflects on how short life is. Acknowledging his silent suffering, David speaks out in prayer, asking God to make him aware of his life’s brevity, and appealing for deliverance from his sins and suffering.

Psalm 38 is a song of lament for the suffering caused by sin. The psalmist, David, suffers under God’s discipline for his sins, affecting his own personal health and his relationship to others. Yet despite God’s discipline so keenly felt, he turns to God for forgiveness of sins and rescue.

We live in a time in the Western World where it appears that the wicked prosper and the righteous suffer. The vulnerable and oppressed are walked over, God and his Church are marginalised and mocked, and immoral thoughts and deeds are celebrated by the cultural elites and media. Faced with this appearance, it seems tempting…

The Bible teaches that fear of God is the true source of wisdom. In Psalm 36, King David picks up this theme and merges it with a description of God’s unchangeable loving kindness for his people. By describing the character of the wicked and the character of God, he encourages us to seek the love…

Psalm 35 once again cries out in lament at the unjust evils visited on God’s people. But it also encourages us to give thanks to God as well. There are three clear stanzas in the psalm, each ending on a note of praise. From this we can see that this Psalm encourages us to ask…

In Psalm 34. David encourages us to see God’s goodness to his people, and respond accordingly by blessing God, fearing God, and trusting God as a way of life.

Psalm 33 calls us to praise God, our help and shield. As we celebrate Christmas this year, Psalm 33 reminds us to praise God because of his Word, because his will comes to pass, and because God sees all things. Therefore we trust in God, who sent Jesus to help us from our sins in…

Psalm 32 speaks of the free and rich grace of God to forgive us of our sin. The psalm speaks of the blessing of forgiveness with a personal testimony. It then encourages God’s people to seek God’s forgiveness and follow his teaching, rejoicing in their forgiveness.