Here is the full transcript of Zac Poonen’s teaching on ‘Book Of Psalms (Part 1)’ which is part of the popular series called Through The Bible.
Listen to the audio version here:
TRANSCRIPT:
Zac Poonen – Bible Teacher
We want to turn to the Book of Psalms. The Book of Psalms is more quoted in the New Testament than any other Old Testament book. Many people in the New Testament quote from the Book of Psalms. Jesus quoted from it. And at least out of the 150 Psalms here, at least 50 of them — 50 of them are quoted in the New Testament.
Some of these Psalms, we don’t know their authors. At least 70 of them were written by David, some by Asaph, some by the sons of Korah, a few by Solomon, one by Moses, one by a man called Ethan, and most of the others are unknown.
And now the Book of Psalms is divided actually into five books.
The first book is Psalm 1 to 41. The second book is Psalm 42 to 72. The third book is Psalm 73 to 89. The fourth book is from Psalm 90 to Psalm 106. And the fifth one is Psalm 107 to Psalm 150.
Now, we cannot say that each book has got a different subject. There are a number of subjects in each of the books, but many who have studied the Psalms often compare these five books of the Psalms to the first five books of Moses. And there is a certain amount of similarity, we could say, between the first book of Psalms and Genesis and the second book of Psalms and Exodus, and the third one with Leviticus, the fourth one with Numbers, and the fifth one with Deuteronomy.
For example, in the first book, you read about creation in Psalm 8, and Psalm 19 about the sun and the moon and the stars.
And the second book has a similarity to Exodus in the sense that there are a number of cases of an oppressed people mourning — Psalm 42 to 44, crying out for deliverance and the deliverance coming through Christ, the bridegroom and the king, Psalm 45 and Psalm 72.
The third book, beginning with Psalm 73, lot of Psalms from 73 to 89 deals with the temple. Asaph was one of the people appointed as a singer in the temple. And therefore it is very similar to Leviticus, which has also got to do with the temple ordinances and the laws of God.
The fourth one begins itself with Psalm 90, written by Moses in the wilderness, and therefore has some connection with the wanderings of Israel mentioned in Numbers, and about Christ reigning in Psalm 99 to 106 when the wanderings will cease.
And the last book has Deuteronomy, we can say is the second law, and the last book of the Bible has got Psalm 119, for example, which is all about the law of God and finally ending in the songs of ascent that lead up to Jerusalem, the promised land for us. Deuteronomy prepared the way for the children of Israel entering into the promised land for them, which was Canaan.
So there in a broad way you’ve got a little outline of the whole book of Psalms, but we can’t say that every Psalm deals with this, just a broad guideline. So we want to look at this and see, obviously we won’t have time to go through all the 150 Psalms, but I’ll try and point out to you some of the important Psalms in each section. We’ll try and cover Book 1 and 2 in the first session, and 3, 4 and 5 in the next session.
PSALM 1 is of course a very well-known Psalm. It talks about how our life can become prosperous if we meditate on the word of God. That’s basically the theme: the godly and the ungodly. That’s the theme of Psalm 1: a godly person does not stand in the council of the ungodly, but in contrast he doesn’t just sit and do nothing.
You see a lot of godly people, they avoid evil, but there’s nothing good in them. It’s like the demon that was cast out and the heart is clean and empty, so that demon goes and brings seven other demons and occupies it. So it’s not enough to say, verse 1, I don’t stand in the way of sinners, I don’t sit in the seat of the scornful, I don’t walk in the council of the ungodly.
What do you do then? I fill my heart with the word of God. I meditate on the law of the Lord day and night, and then I’ll be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, and this wonderful verse, the last part of verse 3: whatever he does, he will prosper. What a verse. I’d like to live a life like that, that whatever I do, even in my secular profession, there will be the blessing of God upon the work of my hands. There will be the blessing of God upon the words of my mouth. This is the way God wants us to live.
And if you want to live like that, meditate on the word of God every day. Take it seriously. Think about it, think about it, let it become part of your life. We don’t have to read it all the time, you know, you eat breakfast in the morning and your body is digesting it, digesting it, digesting it, and then you eat lunch and then your body is digesting it, digesting it. The actual time you spend eating is very little. But the digesting process, and it’s not just digestion, so many things happen in the body which convert that food into blood and flesh and bones. Something like that has to happen with the word of God.
We read the Word of God maybe for a very short time, but we meditate on it even when we are not kneeling down or having the Bible in front of us, till finally that becomes a part of our system and our life and guides everything we do in life, just like the food we eat.
PSALM 2 speaks of, this is a Messianic Psalm, there are a number of Psalm 2 verses 4 to 7, especially it’s quoted by, you know, Peter in the Acts of the Apostles. He who sits in the heavens will laugh.
‘Kiss the Son’, it says in verse 12, it’s a Messianic Psalm of the king that was rejected.
‘The kings of the earth verse 2 have set themselves against the LORD and His Anointed.’ His Anointed as the Messiah, Jesus.
And He says to His Son, verse 7, ‘Thou art My Son; this day I have begotten Thee. Ask of Me and I will give You the heathen for Your inheritance, the uttermost parts of the earth for Your possession, and You shall break them with a rod of iron.’ One day He is going to rule.
So before that happens, ‘Kiss the Son, lest He be angry with you. Blessed are those who put their trust in Him.’
PSALM 3 is a Psalm of a person who is struggling, suffering: ‘How are they increased, Lord, that trouble me.’ I have so many enemies, many are rising up against me. This is a constant theme. You know, many of these Psalms were written by David when he was running away from Saul. This particular one was written when he was running away from Absalom, his son.
Lord, how they have increased who are troubling me?
But You are my glory, verse 3, and the lifter of my head. We sing that in a chorus, ‘my glory and the lifter of my head’. Do you know that David sang that when he was running away from Absalom? It is one thing to sit comfortably in a chair and say my glory and the lifter of my head, but see the context in which he said it. When he was running away from Absalom with all his enemies against, so many enemies, people like Ahithophel, a Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him, he says, ‘Lord, You are my glory and the lifter of my head.’ To say that in a time of trial, wonderful.
So many of these Psalms were not written in easy chairs or lying down in comfort. A lot of these Psalms were written under pressure when David was running from cave to cave, hiding from Saul, hiding from Absalom through pressure. One Psalm was written when he was almost killed by the Achish the king of Gath, and he had to pretend to be a madman, and God saved his life.
So what we learned from that is that this inspired Scripture did not come out of people sitting in comfortable circumstances writing a song. Today there are people who write songs, sit somewhere in comfortable situations and write songs, but these were not written like that. They were written under pressure, and it is under pressure that the best comes forth from our life.
Some of these wonderful Psalms would never have been written — would never have been written if David had not faced pressure.
Are you afraid of pressure? I have found that some of the greatest lessons God has taught me has been in times of pressure. So don’t be afraid of pressure. It is through that pressure that God brings forth a ministry from you. It is like the squeezing of the toothpaste tube. If you want something to come out, you have got to squeeze it, otherwise nothing comes out. And God squeezes us and presses us through other people so that His word comes forth from our lives.
And the more you squeeze the toothpaste tube, what happens? More comes out. So the more the pressure and trial upon your life, the more your ministry can become rich in the words that come out of your lips.
PSALM 4, here he says a wonderful word, verse 3, the Lord has set apart the godly for Himself. It is a wonderful verse. If you are godly, God has set you apart for Himself. You are not for the world, my brother, sister. Let all the other believers live for the world, but those who are godly have been set apart by God for Himself; He says you’re Mine. You are not for the world.
And here is a wonderful verse also. (Psalm 4:4): Stand in awe and sin not. This is the verse quoted in Ephesians 4. Be angry and sin not. That could be another translation of this verse. Be angry. When you are angry, don’t sin. But the rest of the verse, unfortunately, is not quoted in Ephesians 4.
But here is some good advice for you. What you should do when you are angry? What should you do? It says in verse 4, go and lie down on your bed and be still for a little while. Isn’t that wonderful practical advice?
The next time you are angry, remember this very easy reference. Okay? Psalm 4:4. The Bible says when you are angry, go and lie down on your bed and just commune with God for a little while and be still. Don’t toss around on the bed. Just be still for a little while. It’s the best advice for angry people. If you can’t overcome it by the grace of God, next best is lie down on the bed till you learn to get grace to overcome it without lying down on your bed.
And there, when you are lying down on the bed, offer the sacrifices of righteousness. Praise the Lord because He is on the throne and put your trust in the Lord. Don’t be angry with people.
And you will get up from that bed and you will say, verse 7, ‘Lord, You have put gladness in my heart.’ There was anger in my heart till now, but there is gladness in my heart now more than in the time when all their people, their corn and their wine increased.
Okay. PSALM 5. We’ve got to rush through this. I wish we could spend longer, but we’d have to spend many, many more hours if we go too slowly.
PSALM 5. It’s a wonderful verse in verse 3 which says, ‘My voice shall Thou hear in the morning, O Lord.’ If you can make that a practice in your life, Lord, every morning You will hear my voice. In the morning I will direct my prayer unto Thee and I will not look down. I will not look around. I will look up. Begin your mornings like that.
For Thou art a God who has no pleasure in wickedness, neither shall evil dwell with Thee.
And verse 7, the last part, in reverence I will worship toward Your holy temple.
Verse 11, let those who put their trust in Thee rejoice because Thou defendest them. You defend them, Lord.
PSALM 6. He says, Lord, don’t rebuke me, chasten me in Your hot displeasure, have mercy upon me.
And he tells the workers of iniquity, verse 8, Depart from me, you workers of iniquity, for the Lord has heard my voice. He will receive my prayer.
Verse 10, let my enemies be ashamed.
Many times you see this in the Psalms of enemies and prayer and God answering.
PSALM 7, there’s a verse here which says, Lord, verse 3, if there is sin in my hands, if I have returned evil to those who were at peace with me, then let my enemy persecute me. I have not done evil to others. It’s a very serious thing to do evil to others.
I mentioned the other day that there are two types of sins: sins where you harm yourself and sins where you harm other people. For example, most Christians think, as I said the other day, that smoking is more serious than gossiping. It is not. In smoking, it’s a sin in which you destroy yourself. In gossiping, you not only destroy yourself, you destroy another person.
How many people believe that gossiping, speaking evil about others, is more serious than smoking or getting drunk? See, we don’t understand how the seriousness of doing evil to others.
Okay, God is angry, verse 11, with a wicked person every day.
PSALM 8, here is another Messianic Psalm when it says in verse 4, What is man, that Thou art mindful of him? That is quoted in Hebrews, Thou has made him a little lower than the angels, that Jesus took the place of being a little lower than angels and Hebrews, it explains it as because He died. Angels don’t die.
How did Jesus become a little lower than the angels? Because He died. Angels don’t die.
But today You have crowned him with glory and honor and You have put everything under his feet, verse 6. And in Hebrews it says, that is referring to Jesus, who has got everything under His feet and we are His body. We can have everything under our feet too.
And verse 2 is what Jesus quoted in the temple when the children were praising the Lord and the Pharisees were all upset with all the noise in the temple. See, some people don’t like noisy praise and worship, but Jesus enjoyed it because heaven is full of noisy praise and worship. And Jesus enjoyed it when He saw those children shouting and praising God. It reminded Him of heaven. It made Him homesick for heaven. But the Pharisees were long faced and they thought children should not praise the Lord.
And Jesus said, ‘Haven’t you read in the Scripture that out of the mouth of babes you have ordained strength?
Why? He was referring to praising God. When you start praising God, you have strength to shut up the mouth of the enemy and the avenger. Psalm 8:2. Wonderful verse.
The way you shut the mouth of the devil is by doing what those children did in the temple. Praising God, opening your mouth. That’s the thing the devil hates. Sincere praise that comes from the heart is what the devil hates. Just praise the Lord.
Say verse 9. Oh LORD, our Lord, how excellent is Thy name in all the earth!
PSALM 9, this is speaking about the godly remnant, the wicked one and his follower.
When my enemies are turned back, they shall fall, verse 3, in Thy presence. Because verse 4, Thou has maintained my cause.
Verse 9, the Lord will be a refuge for the oppressed.
And verse 10, those who know the name of Jesus will put their trust in Thee because Thou has not forsaken them.
And here is a picture of resurrection in verse 13, the last part. Thou that liftest me up from the gates of death. A prophecy of the resurrection.
PSALM 10 is again about the wicked one and the vision of the man of faith.
The wicked one verse 4 through the pride of his face will not seek after God.
But God is the one who verse 18 cares for the fatherless and the oppressed people of earth so that the evil men in the world may not oppress them or terrify them anymore.
PSALM 11 is again about the wicked and the righteous. And it says in verse 5, a very interesting verse, that the Lord tests the righteous people. But the wicked and the one who loves violence, His soul hates.
Now he is contrasting the righteous and the wicked. So when it says that God hates the wicked, what he should say is He loves the righteous. That is the opposite. That verse should read like this. The Lord loves the righteous but He hates the wicked.
But what does it say? He hates the wicked but He tests the righteous. Testing is a mark of His love. When God tests you, it is like a child having a test, an examination. What is the purpose of the examination? To give him a promotion, to put him into the next standard next year. Why does God test you? To give you a promotion.
Okay. PSALM 12 is again about wicked people and deliverance.
He says, Help, Lord, because godly people are ceasing. It is very difficult to find a godly man on the earth nowadays. I believe that is a Psalm which has great relevance for the time in which we live.
Help, Lord, godly people are getting reduced day by day. Faithful people are not found among the children of men. Everybody speaks vanity. They speak with flattering hearts and hypocritical hearts.
See, it is their speech. Notice the emphasis here on when it says the godly people are not found is because the speech of everybody is ungodly. The mark of a godly man is his speech.
They speak emptiness. Verse 2, they speak flattery. They speak with a double heart, hypocrisy. The Lord will cut off flattery. The Lord will cut off the proud tongue.
And the ungodly man says, verse 4, our lips are our own; we will speak what we like. That is the mark of an ungodly man. He has got no control over his tongue. James says the man who can control his tongue is a perfect man.
Who have said ‘With our tongue we will prevail.’ We will overcome with our tongue.
No. In contrast to that, a godly man remembers, verse 6, that the words of the Lord are pure words, like silver tested in a furnace seven times.
That means I read it like this: The ungodly man says ‘My lips are my own; I will just speak whatever I like.’ The godly man, when he thinks of saying something, he throws it back into the furnace. Should I say it or not? Takes it out. Should I say it like this? No. Throw it back again. And throws it back seven times into the furnace and then decides how to speak. He rewrites his letters perhaps seven times before he sends out that letter, particularly if it is a strong letter of rebuke or something like that. That is how a godly man does things.
Okay, PSALM 13. Lord, how long will You forget me? He is talking about the enemy again and the victory of faith.
I will sing to the Lord because He has dealt bountifully with me.
‘The fool has said in his heart PSALM 14, ‘There is no God.’ And this is the Psalm which is quoted in Romans 3 as a description of the ungodly person, verse 3. They are all gone aside. They have all become filthy. There is no good, not one.
PSALM 15 is in contrast to this evil person, is the godly remnant.
Who shall abide in Thy holy tabernacle, O Lord? The one who walks uprightly, the one who works righteousness, speaks the truth in his heart, and many, many things. And one who honors those who fear God.
We do not honor a person because he is rich or famous, verse 4: we honor a man because he fears God. I want to spend my life not honoring the great people of the earth, but honoring those who fear God.
Those who live like this, the last part of verse 5, they will never be shaken. There are many things that are going to be shaken in the world, but such a man will not be shaken.
PSALM 16 is another Messianic Psalm about Christ.
I have set the Lord always before me, verse 8; Because He is at my right hand, I will never be moved. This is what Peter quoted in Acts chapter 2.
Verse 5: The Lord is the portion of my inheritance and of my cup.
And in verse 3 is a wonderful verse where the Psalmist says, my delight is in God’s people on the earth. My delight is in God’s people on the earth.
Psalm 16:11, in Thy presence is fullness of joy. There is only one place where you can get fullness of joy that is God’s presence. There is only one place where you can get perfect pleasure. Perfect pleasure is not from sexual activity. It is not from eating good food.
Verse 11, perfect pleasure is at God’s right hand. If you want perfect pleasure, perfect joy, you find it in God’s presence.
PSALM 17, there is a wonderful verse here in verse 15: ‘As for me, I will behold Your face in righteousness; and Lord, when I wake up in the resurrection, I will be satisfied with Your likeness.’ I will be satisfied when I awake and I am like You, or I behold Your likeness. It can mean both. That is my glory.
PSALM 18 is another wonderful picture of salvation. If you read through that whole Psalm, we found it also quoted in 2 Samuel 22. It is almost identical words. It is the Psalm of David, verse 16: The Savior sent, the sinner saved, and the saved are separated.
In verse 16, He sent from above, He took me, and He drew me out of the many waters of this world.
And now, verse 28, He will enlighten my darkness, and He will make verse 32 my way perfect.
PSALM 19 speaks about the heavens, creation, how it gives a silent testimony to the existence of God, and it speaks about the word of God, verse 7.
There are two testimonies to God on earth. One is verse 1 to 5, the heavens, and the other is the written word, verse 7 onwards. God has given two witnesses, both are mentioned here, and David says, Lord, keep me from many, many types of sins. Many types of sins are described in verse 12 and 13: errors, secret sins, presumptuous sins, and the great transgression, verse 13. I do not have time to explain all that.
But here is one sin we can keep ourselves from, the words of our mouth, verse 14. Lord, let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight.
PSALM 20, I will pick out one verse, verse 7. Some trust in chariots, some in horses — some in money, some in this, that, and the other — but we will trust and remember the name of the Lord, our God.
PSALM 21, one verse, verse 2: Thou hast given him his heart’s desire, and not withholden the request of his lips.
He asked, verse 4, life of Thee, and You gave him eternal life. Praise God.
PSALM 22 is another Messianic Psalm. We can take Psalm 22, 23, and 24 together. Psalm 22 speaks of the cross, the past. Psalm 23 speaks about the present. The Lord is my Shepherd today. I shall not want anything.
Psalm 24 speaks about the future, when the King of glory, Ps 24:7, is going to come and open the gates and going to reign upon the earth.
These three Psalms go together. It speaks of the past, present, and future. Psalm 22 speaks of the cross: My God, my God, why have You forsaken Me?
Verse 6, Jesus was like a worm, and He was poured out like water verse 14; and they parted His garments Verse 18; dogs surrounded Him verse 16, but there’s a resurrection there, which is quoted in Hebrews. Verse 22, I will declare Your name to my brothers. That is quoted in Hebrews, He is not ashamed to call us brothers.
And you who fear the Lord, this is the testimony, praise and testimony. I will praise You in the midst of the congregation. Jesus says that, and we follow Him, praising God in the midst of the church.
And all you who fear the Lord, praise Him. Who are the ones who should be praising Him? Those who fear God. If you don’t fear Him, keep quiet. But if you fear Him, praise, praise.
And the result of the cross is, verse 22, praise. Verse 23, praise. Verse 25, praise. Verse 26, praise. Verse 27, worship. Verse 29, worship.
And then, verse 30, a seed shall serve Him.
So you see, it’s praise, praise, praise, worship, worship, worship, worship. And then, one verse, okay, serve Him after that. How little we praise and worship Him.
PSALM 23, the Lord is my shepherd, I shall lack nothing. It’s a beautiful Psalm, I don’t need to go through it. You know, He makes me to lie down. It’s all what He does. So often we emphasize what we do. I do this and I do that. This is Him. He makes me to lie down. He leads me. He restores my soul. I will fear no evil because He is with me. He prepares a table for me. He anoints my head and my cup runs over.
What is the result? When I stop doing things myself, when He does everything, goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life.
PSALM 24, the earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof. Who will dwell in the holy hill of the Lord? Somewhat similar to Psalm 15.
He who has clean hands, verse 4, and a pure heart. Two things, our hands and our heart. James says, cleanse your hands, purify your hearts, you double-minded.
PSALM 25, a beautiful Psalm about guidance.
Verse 4, the prayer is, Lord, show me Your ways, teach me Your paths.
Answer. First, verse 8, the Lord will show sinners His way. First of all, acknowledge you are a sinner.
Number two, God will show His way, verse 9, to the humble.
Number three, verse 10, God will show His paths to those who obey His testimonies.
Number four, God will show His way to those who fear Him. Verse 12
And verse 15, God will show His way to those who look to Him. Mine eyes are towards Thee.
PSALM 26, ‘Judge me, O Lord.’ A man is asking the Lord to judge him. Because I’ve walked before You in integrity.
Examine me, O Lord. Verse 2, very good prayer to pray.
Verse 8, I have loved the habitation of Your house.
PSALM 27, verse 4, One thing I have desired of the Lord that will I seek after all the days of my life, I just want to see the beauty of the Lord.
PSALM 28, verse 7, the Lord is my strength and my shield.
PSALM 29 speaks of the voice of the Lord. Many times in that Psalm it comes. Seven times, verse 3 to 9, the voice of the Lord, the voice of the Lord, the voice of the Lord… The importance of hearing God’s voice like in Genesis 1.
And when you listen to that, verse 11, you will get strength and peace.
PSALM 30, verse 11, Thou hast turned my mourning into dancing. To this end that my tongue, verse 12, may sing praise to You and never be silent.
PSALM 31, verse 11, I was a reproach among my enemies, but I trusted in You, verse 14.
And verse 19 is a beautiful verse. How great is God’s goodness to those who fear Him, who trust in God publicly before the sons of men.
You will hide them, verse 20, from the strife of so many people speaking against them, the wagging of tongues. You will hide them and keep them secretly in Your pavilion from all the people who wag their tongues at them.
PSALM 32 is the Psalm of the person whose sin is covered, not cleansed. There’s no cleansing of sin in the Old Covenant.
Blessed is the man whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. There’s forgiveness and covering. Cleansing came only after Jesus died. The blood of Jesus cleanses us. The blood of bulls and goats could only cover it. It’s like a blackboard where your sins are covered with a sheet and a blackboard where everything is cleansed away with a wet sponge. There’s a lot of difference between Old Testament and New Testament.
But till I acknowledged my sin, Your hand was heavy on me, verse 4, but when I acknowledged my sin, I was forgiven.
And now that I’m forgiven, verse 8, the Lord says, I will instruct you and teach you. I will guide you with My eye. Don’t be stubborn anymore for the rest of your life.
PSALM 33, verse 12, ‘Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people whom He has chosen for His own inheritance.’
PSALM 34, I will bless the Lord not once in a while, but at all times.
This poor man cried, verse 6, and the Lord heard him.
Verse 7, the angel of the Lord surrounds those who fear Him and delivers them.
Taste and see, verse 8, that the Lord is good.
Verse 15, the eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and His ears are always open to their cry.
Verse 19, many are the afflictions of the righteous. Don’t think that if you are righteous, you won’t have problems. But the Lord delivers out of all of them.
Verse 20, messianic, He keeps all his bones, not one of them will be broken.
PSALM 35 is a request to God to be my advocate.
Plead my case, O Lord. You be my advocate with those who strive against me. Let me not reply to those who criticize me. You speak on my behalf to them, a very good example to follow.
False witnesses, verse 11, have risen up against me, but I have not treated them the way they treated me.
PSALM 36 is again a contrast between the wicked person, about whom it says in verse 1, there is no fear of God before his eyes. In contrast, you see what God is like. He is, verse 5, full of mercy, faithfulness, righteousness, lovingkindness, verse 7, and so on.
And those who trust in Him, verse 8, will be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of your house. You will make them drink the river of Thy pleasures.
And here is a wonderful verse, verse 9. We don’t look inside ourselves. In Thy light, we will see light. That means it is only as you come into God’s light, you can see your true condition.
PSALM 37 is another wonderful psalm.
Verse 4, if you delight yourself in the Lord, He will give you all the desires of your heart.
If you commit your way to Him, verse 5, He will bring it to pass.
Verse 7, if you rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him and don’t get upset with what is happening around you, He will work out His purposes for you.
What Jesus said, verse 11, the meek will inherit the earth. Jesus knew Psalm 37.
Verse 21, people who borrow things and don’t return it are wicked people.
Verse 23, the steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord. And one godly man said, the stops of a good man are also ordered by the Lord. God leads His people on and sometimes tells them to stop.
PSALM 38 speaks of the suffering saint and confession of sin.
He says in verse 11, my lovers and my friends are far away. My relatives don’t care for me.
But verse 21, don’t forsake me, O Lord.
PSALM 39 says, the carefulness this man has over the use of his tongue.
I said, verse 1, I will take heed to my ways that I don’t sin with my tongue.
Verse 4, Lord, make me to know the measure of my days. Lord, help me to remember I’ve only got a few days on earth.
PSALM 40 is another wonderful Psalm about Jesus.
Verse 8, I delight to do Thy will, O God.
He lifted me up from the miry clay, verse 2, and put my feet on a rock.
PSALM 41 speaks about the blessing that comes upon those who care for poor people.
If you are considerate about poor people, and the poor people can be poor financially, it can be poor spiritually because they don’t have the gospel, and therefore you seek to give the gospel to them.
Blessed is he who considers the poor. What all will the Lord do for him? Seven things.
One, He’ll deliver him in trouble.
Two, He’ll preserve him.
Three, He’ll keep him alive.
Fourth, He’ll bless him upon the earth.
Fifth, He will not deliver him into the will of his enemies.
Sixth, He will strengthen him on a bed.
And seventh, He will make his bed when he is sick.
Now we come to BOOK 2, which is PSALM 42. It’s the remnant longing for deliverance.
O Lord, my soul thirsts for You, just like the deer pants after water.
If you have that type of longing after God, you can be sure that God will answer very quickly.
Deep, verse 7, calls unto deep. That means something deep in your heart reaches out to something deep in God’s heart. And if you’re like that, even though other people around you say, Where is your God, verse 10,
He says to his soul, Why are you cast down? Why are you discouraged? Hope in God, verse 11, I will still praise Him.
PSALM 43 is another of those Psalms crying against the wicked.
Here’s a wonderful verse, verse 3. Lord, send out Your light. That is Your revelation on Your truth. Lord, I need revelation on Your truth.
Send out Your truth and Your light. Let them together lead me to Your holy hill. I don’t want academic knowledge of Your truth.
PSALM 44 is quoted in Romans 8, verse 22: For Your sake we are killed all the day long. It’s speaking about the way of the cross. And we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter, quoted in Romans 8, verse 36 and 37.
PSALM 45 is another Messianic Psalm speaking about the marriage of the lamb, the bride and the bridegroom. And it says the bridegroom, the king’s daughter, is all glorious, verse 13, inside.
And verse 10. Here’s a good verse for married sisters. Verse 10, last part. Forget your own people and your father’s house and cleave to your husband. So shall the King greatly desire your beauty and He is your Lord and worship Him.
PSALM 46 is one of the Psalms of the sons of Korah. You know those people who ran away at the last minute and saved their lives?
It said, God is our refuge and strength. We will not be afraid even if the earth opens up and swallows up our parents. The earth be removed, the mountains are carried into the midst of the depths; the waters roar. We are not afraid. We will be still, verse 10, and know that He is God.
PSALM 47, there’s a wonderful verse which says in verse 4, God will choose my inheritance for me. I’m not going to choose my inheritance. God’s going to choose a wife for me. God’s going to choose a ministry for me. I’m not going to choose it. God’s going to choose what type of house I live in. God’s going to choose everything for me. Say that verse every day to God and your life will be happy.
God sits, verse 8, on the throne of His holiness.
God has gone up with a shout, verse 5.
PSALM 48 speaks about the church. Mount Zion is referring to the church and what a wonderful, beautiful church it is. I believe a true disciple of Jesus will appreciate not only the Lord Himself but the Church of the Lord, the people, Mount Zion.
Great is the Lord to be praised. Beautiful for situation is Mount Zion. The church is the most beautiful thing on earth.
And this God, verse 14, is our God. He’ll be our guide unto death.
PSALM 49, verse 6 and 7, many people trust in their wealth, but none of them can redeem their brother or give God a ransom for him.
verse 15, But God will redeem my soul.
Wonderful truths in these Old Testament Psalms.
PSALM 50 is another Psalm where God says, the cattle, verse 10, on a thousand hills is Mine.
The true servant of God also says this: I serve a God who owns the cattle on a thousand hills.
Verse 12, if I were hungry, I would not tell you. God says that, and God’s servant says that too. I don’t go telling people my needs. I’ll tell people the needs of other people, like Paul told the Corinthians about the needs in Jerusalem. But my own need, I will never tell anybody. I will tell God because I worship one who owns the cattle on a thousand hills. If I’m hungry, I’ll tell God. I won’t need to tell you.
If I need money, I’ll tell God. I won’t tell you. Follow these principles.
Because the Lord says, verse 15, when you’re in the day of trouble, call upon Me and I will deliver you. That’s a promise.
And this wonderful verse in verse 23, Whoever offers praise glorifies Me and thereby makes a way for Me to show him My deliverance.
You read in 2 Chronicles 20 about how Jehoshaphat, when he went out to battle, sent people in front of the army to praise the Lord. Not with bows and arrows. Praise the Lord for His mercy endureth forever. And God, as soon as they started praising Him, confounded the enemy. Because whoso offers praise glorifies God and thereby, through the praise, makes a way for God to show him His deliverance.
Verse 21 says how God is very patient with those who sin. He says, because I kept silence, you thought I ignored all your, verse 20, sitting and speaking against your brothers. It’s a very searching verse.
Verse 20, you sat and spoke against your brothers and you thought because I didn’t judge you, it was not serious, I’m going to set you straight, I’m going to tear you to pieces. It’s a very serious verse. Read that. Those who have the habit of gossiping, please meditate on verse 20 to 22.
PSALM 51 is the wonderful Psalm which David wrote when he sinned with Bathsheba. Beautiful Psalm of repentance.
And he says, wash me Lord, I shall be whiter than snow, verse 7.
Create in me a clean heart. Lord, you desire truth inside. I don’t have it, but You can do it for me. Verse 6,
And please don’t take Your Holy Spirit from me. Verse 11, that’s what he’s scared about the most. Such a longing. Don’t take your Holy Spirit from me, Lord, at any cost.
PSALM 52, this speaks about the man of sin, the Antichrist. It’s in fact, all these psalms on up to 53 is also like that, about the fool who said in his heart, why do you boast, O mighty man, the tongue that deviseth mischiefs, and so on.
But I, verse 8, am like a green olive tree in the house of my God, because I trust in the mercy of God forever.
PSALM 53, again quoted in Romans 3, verse 3, there is no one that does good, no, not one. The fool has said, verse 1, there is no God.
PSALM 54 is the prayer of the godly man, hear my prayer, O God, verse 2.
Verse 4, God is my helper.
PSALM 55 is, you know, in a time of trial and tribulation. He says, my heart is pained within me, verse 4.
And here is this, a little verse which tells us how often David prayed, verse 17. Evening and morning and noon I will pray.
You see, the Jewish day began in the evening at sunset, till sunset the next day. So he says, evening, morning and noon, the beginning of the day, middle of the day, end of the day, I’m going to pray and You will hear my voice. He was a man of prayer.
Verse 22, and when you go to God like that, cast your burden upon Him. Don’t come away from God’s presence with your burden. Cast it on Him and He will sustain you.
PSALM 56, verse 11, ‘In God I have put my trust; I will not be afraid. What man can do to me?’ Quoted in Hebrews 13, we have confidence to say, I’ve put my trust in God, I will not be afraid what any man can do unto me.
PSALM 57, an expression of praise to God twice in verse 5 and verse 11, be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens.
We sing that: Oh Lord, be thou exalted in my life. Let Your glory be above all the earth.
The cry of praise, because verse 1, in the shadow of Your wings, I will stay until all these calamities around me pass away.
I’m just picking out some good verses for you to think about and meditate on later on. You could spend many hours thinking about these verses.
Psalm 58, verse 3 tells us that people begin to tell lies from the time they are born. That’s the first sin they begin to tell. A baby begins to lie even before it can speak. It cries pretending that it is in pain. It’s not in pain. It just wants you to lift it up and carry it. It’s telling lies from the time it is born. And this is our nature. We have to get rid of lying before we leave this earth.
PSALM 59 speaks about the enmity of people against God. And perhaps we could look at this last verse. Unto Thee, O my strength, will I sing, because God is my defense. My defense is only God against all these people.
PSALM 60 is another Psalm which tells about God being with His people.
Verse 4, Thou has given a banner to those who fear Thee, that it may be displayed because of the truth. God has given us a banner, the name of Jesus. We fear Him and we are not ashamed to display it wherever we go. Unashamedly we proclaim we are disciples of Jesus Christ.
PSALM 61, verse 4, I will abide in Your tabernacle. I will stay in your church forever. I will trust in the shadow of Your wings. A person who values the tabernacle of God. And I will sing praise unto Your name, verse 8, forever.
PSALM 62, the song of a person who is waiting only upon God.
Verse 5, my soul waits only upon God. Don’t trust in anybody else. My expectation is only from Him. Do you think such a man will be disappointed? A lot of people are disappointed because their expectation is from man. Come to this place where your expectation is only from God and you’ll never be disappointed throughout your life.
Verse 8, Trust in Him at all times; Pour out your heart before Him. God is a refuge.
PSALM 63, O God, my God, early will I seek Thee. Early means when I am young. Early means early in the day. Early means as soon as I begin my ministry.
Early will I seek Thee. My flesh longs for Thee, and my soul will be satisfied.
Verse 7, Because You have been my help, in the shadow of Your wings, I will rejoice.
PSALM 64 is referring to the wicked and their end, how it is going to be. He is praying, Lord, preserve my life from the fear of the enemy. Don’t be afraid of those people who are harming you.
Verse 7, God will shoot at them with an arrow and suddenly they will be destroyed. And the righteous, verse 10, will be glad.
PSALM 65, verse 1 says, Lord, praise is waiting for you in your church. Is it true? Wherever you go, my dear brothers and sisters, if God gives you the grace to build a church, let it be a church where there is always praise waiting for God. Lord, like we say, like people tell us, brother, the lunch is on the table, waiting for you, please come. That God, when He comes to visit us, finds praise waiting for Him. I want to build a life where praise is always waiting. I am always waiting to give praise to God.
And what does the Lord do for such people? He visits such people, verse 9. Thou visitest the earth, and waterest it and greatly enrichest it with the river of God which is full of water. He pours out His Spirit like those disciples on the day of Pentecost. They offered praise and God poured out His Spirit on them. And the corn and the abundance came out of that as you read in the remaining verses of that Psalm.
PSALM 66, verse 10 to 12, the way to spiritual prosperity, very important verses.
You tested us, you brought us into the net, you laid affliction on our loins, that means we went through sickness. You allowed men to ride over our heads, verse 12. We went through fire, we went through water, but through it all You brought us to a wealthy place. And now I will go into your house with burnt offerings.
Another important verse there is verse 18, if I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not even hear me. He will not even pick up the phone to listen if there is sin in my heart.
PSALM 67, Lord, please be merciful to us, not just for our sake, so that Your salvation may be, verse 2, may be known to all the nations, that Your way may be proclaimed upon the earth. That is why I am asking You to cause Your face to shine upon me. Lord, I am asking You to shine upon me so that through me Your salvation can be known all over the earth. It is an evangelistic Psalm.
Thou shall judge the people righteously, verse 4. And let, look at this beautiful verse, verse 5, let the people praise Thee, let the people praise Thee.
Then, verse 6, the earth will produce its fruit.
Why is the fruit not coming? God’s people are grumbling instead of praising Him. Twice it says, praise Him, praise Him.
PSALM 68, let God arise and let His enemies be scattered.
Here is a wonderful verse for bachelors and people who are longing to get married. Verse 6 — and spinsters —God sets lonely people in families. Isn’t that good? It is God who is going to do that. God sets the lonely people in a home. Praise God, He is the one who do that.
And here is another lovely evangelistic verse, verse 11. The Lord gave the word and great was the company of those who published it. Who published it everywhere and I understand that in the original language it says, great is the company of women who proclaimed it. Sisters, that is for you. Great is the company of women who went around proclaiming the word which God gave them.
Verse 18 refers to Jesus’ ascension.
Thou has led captivity captive and Thou has received gifts for men. It is quoted in Ephesians 4 as Jesus ascended into heaven and given us gifts to serve Him.
PSALM 69 is another Messianic psalm. There are many, many verses here that refer to the cross, particularly verse 4, the last part. I restored what I had not stolen. Jesus on Calvary paid back what we had stolen. He says, I gave back to God what I had not stolen.
Reproach verse 20, has broken my heart. There are doctors who have studied the description of the cross and they say very clearly that Jesus died of a broken heart and that is why when the spear pierced His side, blood and water flowed out. It was literally true.
And the end result of resurrection, verse 29, Oh God set me on high.
I will praise the name of God, verse 30, with a song.
And verse 35, God will now save the church.
PSALM 70 is a Psalm of remembrance…
verse 4: Let all those that seek Thee rejoice and be glad.
And it is the confession of a very humble person who is saying in verse 5, Lord, I am poor and needy. A very wonderful confession to make, I am poor and needy.
PSALM 71 is a song of hope, verse 5, Thou art my hope. Let my mouth, verse 8, be filled with Your praise all day.
And he goes on to say, Lord, when I am old, this is a psalm of an old man, Lord, from my womb, verse 6, You have taken care of me from the time I was born.
And now that I am old, verse 9, don’t forsake me. Don’t give up, don’t give me up.
And Lord, verse 17, when I was young, You taught me.
Now I am old and gray-headed, verse 18, O God, don’t forsake me until to this new generation also, I have declared Your power and Your righteousness.
And what all troubles You delivered me from, verse 20, how You brought me up. You will bring me up again one day in resurrection from the depths of the earth.
My tongue all my life, verse 24, will speak of Your righteousness alone.
A beautiful psalm, especially for those who have been faithful to God from childhood to old age. And this is the last psalm we look at, PSALM 72, which is a psalm of Solomon.
He says, Lord, give Your king Your judgments.
The king should deliver the needy, verse 12. He should spare the poor, verse 13. Save the souls of the needy and care for their blood, verse 14. And many, many things like that, concluding with verse 18 to 19. Blessed be the Lord. Blessed be His glorious name, verse 19. Let the whole earth be filled with His glory. Amen and Amen.
A song of Solomon, which unfortunately he did not practice. A good warning for us. We can sing all these psalms, listen to all these wonderful things, and practice none of them. So it’s good to think about that before we close, so that we take a warning from Solomon who wrote that Psalm.
Let’s pray.
Heavenly Father, help us to take seriously the things we hear. That we can live in the spirit of praise and trust and faith. That You will overcome our enemies and You will lead us into Zion to build Your church in our land. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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