Psalm 66

The sub heading on this psalm is " Praise To God For His Awesome Works " In this rather long psalm of 20 verses, We see the psalmist start by talking about the great things God has done for the whole earth. Then slowly transitions to what he has done in an individuals life. As an example in verse one it says, " Make a joyful shout to God, all the earth !"  By verse nine  he says ," Who keeps our soul among the living, and does not allow our feet to be moved."

Another awesome spiritual truth is revealed here when in verse 12 it says,"You have caused men to ride over our heads;" That hardly sounds like giving praise to God ! But the psalmist reveals the truth when he wraps it up in verse twelve by saying," But you brought us out to rich fulfillment." In other words in order for souls to be rich and fulfilled we must go through fire WITH Jesus !

The last thing I want to show here is the answer to "Why are my prayers not being answered ?"  According to Gods word there are many reasons, but here in verse eighteen we see one reason. " If I regard inequity in my heart, the Lord will not hear." Which means if you have sin in your heart, that will cause God to not hear your prayer. That does NOT mean you must be sinless. It means you must be saved and not harbor the sinful nature of man in your heart.

Psalm 65

The title of this psalm is, "Praise to God for His Salvation and Providence".  This is a beautiful psalm written by David giving praise and glory to God for His salvation. One thing to notice and learn from David is this: when we want to praise God we should be specific ! As an example instead of saying thank You for all you do, say thank you for saving me from dying in my sin and saving me from hell ! In this psalm we see David being very specific in thanking God for the things He has done for the Jews and for David. I count 25 times the words You or Your is used in reference to God in a total of 13 verses. "You water it's ridges abundantly, You settle it's furrows,You make it soft with showers,You bless it's growth." (Verse 10)  Another thing to notice is that in this psalm of thanks and praise there is NO complaining, NO cursing of his enemies, and NO asking for his enemies to be punished. We should go therefore and do likewise.

Psalm 64

The ungodly call it karma .....Psalm 64 calls it God's arrow will shoot them.  God is in charge !  In this psalm David is describing all of the unrighteous behavior of his enemies. It is interesting to note that most of the unrighteous behavior he talks about is the words. In verses 5 and 6 there are 6 different references to words ! Talk of, They say, They devise, They encourage, inward thought, heart of man. There might be a message here!  The last verse tells us," The righteous shall be glad in the Lord, and trust in him" . Unrighteous behavior, in God's eyes' is NOT only behavior but also is in words and in thought ! Which explains why we need to be saved because God says that the heart is evil above all things. Even in secret we must watch our words and try to have them to match our actions. Since it is humanly impossible to do that, that is the job of the Holy Spirit. He can only do that when we surrender and allow Him into every area of our life !

Psalm 63

In this beautiful psalm of love and worship by David of God, we can notice all the things that he does and thinks by looking at the "My's"  and "I's" . "my soul thirsts", "my flesh longs", "my lips shall praise", "my soul shall be satisfied", "my mouth shall praise", "my soul follows close behind you." Sometimes when we feel like we want to show our love to Jesus but do not know how ... David gives us 6 ways that he showed love and worship to God !

"will I seek you", "I have looked for you", "I will bless you", "I will lift up my hands in Your name", "I remember You  on my bed", "I meditate on you", "I will rejoice."  This psalm is only 11 verses long and yet we see 13 different things David is doing to show his love and worship of God !   How about you ?  Do not just skim over this list. Think about each action that David is doing and TODAY try just one to show your love and worship to Jesus !!!

Psalm 62

The sub title for this psalm is " A calm resolve to wait for the salvation of God" .  It starts by telling how strong he is waiting on God, then goes quickly to all the temptation and outcomes of the people who are against God ! He then comes back to tell of his strength in waiting on God for his salvation. From there he goes back to telling about those who do not trust in God and how they are all nothing without God's salvation ! Then closes by telling of God's mercy.

Verse 1 says, "Truly my soul silently waits for God; From Him comes my salvation." This is where the psalm starts by David telling us of his silent wait and faith is his salvation from God.  Verse 3 says,"How long will you attack a man ? You shall be slain,all of you, like a leaning wall and a tottering fence." This verse speaks to what will happen to all those who are not waiting for their salvation but are trying to prosper themselves at their own expense !  In verse 5 he returns to his waiting on God," My soul, wait silently for God alone,For my expectation is from Him." He returns to those who are against God in verse 9 when he says,"Surely men of low degree are a vapor,men of high degree are a lie;" Here we can see that in God's eye we are only vapor and status on the earth means nothing in the heavenly realm !  He then closes with verse 12 where he says," Also to you, O Lord, belongs mercy; For you render to each one according to his work." Here, David puts his finger right on the issue at hand: God's grace vs. mans works ! God will always render to each according to his works EXCEPT where he chooses to show mercy. How can we receive God's mercy ? Only through God's salvation !

Psalm 61

Psalm 61 was most likely written when King David was on the run from his own son, Absalom, who was trying to take over the kingdom. Once again, David follows the pattern of dividing his psalm into three distinct parts: 1) David cries out to God, 2) David's confidence in God, 3) Davids commitment to God.

The very first verse shows Davids cry to God," Hear my cry, O God; attend to my prayer. From the end of the earth I will cry to you..."  This announces his intention and wish and prayer that he intends for this psalm !  He intends on crying out to God from any where in the world.  Davids confidence in God can be seen in verse 4 where he says, " I will abide in Your tabernacle forever; I will trust in the shelter of Your wings." David uses phrases that are familiar to us that show his intention. "Abide in your tabernacle" tells us that David will live by Gods every word and live in Gods house. "trust in the shelter of Your wings" tells us that no matter what the outcome is for David...He will trust that God is in charge and David will abide by what ever Gods decision is ! Lastly, Davids commitment to God can be seen in in the very last verse," So I will sing praise to Your name forever, that I may daily perform my vows." David is telling God that no matter what His answer is to his cry, David will spend every day for the rest of his life praising God and living out his life for and according to Gods will.

Psalm 60

Although David was King when he wrote this psalm, he is remembering a time when Saul came to kill him before he was King. We see in the title that Saul's men watched the house and David escaped only with the help of his wife (Saul's daughter !)

This is another example of the psalmist begging for God's help. This psalm can be loosely be divided into 3 parts. Verses 1 - 7, verses 8 - 15, and verses 16 - 17. The first 7 verses is Davids lament about David needing protection from his enemies. Verse 4....."They run and prepare themselves through no fault of mine." This is a key part because it establishes that David was NOT at fault and his enemies were many and wanted to kill him ! God always hears this type of prayer from His people.  As we look at the second part of this psalm we should look at verse 11," Do not slay them, lest my people forget;" This second part is where David is putting all his hope and faith in God coming to his rescue. As he is waiting on God he does not want his enemies destroyed too quickly !?  Why ? Because he wants his people (and also God's people) to not forget the power and mercy of God. The last two verses are David thanking God for his help and salvation. Do we do this ? Verse 16," ... For you have been my defense and refuge in the day of my trouble." When God comes through for you, do you take the time to say thank you ? Do you tell everyone about his mercy? We are to be witnesses !