Psalm 30: Give Thanks to God Forever!

Exodus 19-20, Psalm 30, Matthew 13:1-23, Acts 18:18-28 Psalm 30: David is praising God. We are often told that we should do likewise, that we are to praise and worship God. We are not equally often told why. But here in this psalm, there is not only an example of David praising, there is also a lesson about…

Read More

Psalm 29: Even with Peace

Exodus 16-18, Psalm 29, Matthew 12:38-50, Acts 18:1-17 Psalm 29: Worship has unfortunately been mired in controversy down through church history. Worship in the form of the Orthodox, the Roman Catholic, the Protestant? Worship as high church, low church? Worship as traditional or as contemporary? Real biblical worship at least starts with this proposition: it is to “worship…

Read More

Psalm 28: Call on Him

Exodus 13-15, Psalm 28, Matthew 12:22-37, Acts 17:16-34 Psalm 28: What do you do when you need strength and protection? Perhaps you are in such a situation this morning. As you look ahead through the day, there are challenges that you are likely to face which appear beyond your resources. There are enemies who are likely to attack…

Read More

Psalm 27: Wait for the Lord

Exodus 10-12, Psalm 27, Matthew 12:1-21, Acts 17:1-15 Psalm 27: With God as your light and salvation, what is there to fear? When God is the stronghold of your life, of whom is there to be afraid? One of the great marks of a truly godly person is that they do not fear people. When you spend time…

Read More

Psalm 26: Vindicate Me

Exodus 7-9, Psalm 26, Matthew 11:20-30, Acts 16:16-40 Psalm 26: David is asking for help. In particular, “vindication.” His record has been sullied by some slander. He is being accused in some way or other. He does what the godly do in such situations: he asks God for vindication. “It is mine to avenge, I will repay,” says…

Read More

Psalm 25: The Refuge You Need

Exodus 4-6, Psalm 25, Matthew 11:1-19, Acts 16:1-15 Psalm 25: David lifts up his soul; that is, he trusts in God, asking that his enemies would not triumph over him. Perhaps you need to do that this morning. Perhaps you are surrounded by enemies seeking to prevent you from following God. Would you lift up your soul to…

Read More

Psalm 24: Lift Up Your Heads

Exodus 1-3, Psalm 24, Matthew 10:21-42, Acts 15:22-41 Psalm 24: People compete for the resources of this world—its energy, its oil, its land. But “the earth is the LORD’s and the fullness thereof” (24:1). The one who owns it all is God. Easy to say, but harder to put into practice. What it means is that we are…

Read More

Psalm 23: The Lord Is My Shepherd

Genesis 50, Psalm 23, Matthew 10:1-20, Acts 15:1-21    Psalm 23: The story goes of two people who recited this famous psalm publicly. One was a well-trained actor. He delivered the beautiful words with all the right intonation and emphasis, pausing at exactly the correct moments to deliver maximum impact. Those who listened beamed with pleasure as he…

Read More

Psalm 22:12-31: All the Ends of the Earth

Genesis 49, Psalm 22:12-31, Matthew 9:27-38, Acts 14   Psalm 22:12-31: At this point in the psalm, it becomes crystal clear what the great Matthew Henry says about it: “The Spirit of Christ, which was in the prophets, testifies in this psalm, as clearly and fully as any where in all the Old Testament, “the sufferings of Christ…

Read More

Psalm 22:1-11: Be Not Far from Me

Genesis 48, Psalm 22:1-11, Matthew 9:14-26, Acts 13:26-52 Psalm 22:1-11: From the glory and confidence of the previous psalm comes the low of this psalm. David comes back down to earth with a bump. Here he is not feeling as if he could climb every mountain and beat every giant; here he is feeling as if God had…

Read More