Psalms Intro

Here we have 150 psalms which are songs, prayers, etc. which is much like our church hymnals. In these psalms we see a wide range of human emotions. Here you will find expressions of anger, fear, doubt, joy, anguish, etc. Do these emotions sound familiar to you? Mankind has always had to deal with strong emotions which run the full spectrum, from love to hate, joy to sadness, etc. Some of these Psalms sound as if they could have been written by Job or Habakkuk as both puzzlement as to why bad things were happening and apparently tolerated by God. 

Here are a few:

Ps. 1:1 “Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked.” The word “blessed” can be translated to mean “happy.” 

Ps. 6:6 “I am worn out from groaning all night long I flood my bed with weeping and drench my couch with tears.”

Does this sound like you at times? Are you a worrier? Have you every stayed up most of the night worrying about what might happen tomorrow? Mark Twain once said, “I have known many troubles in my life. Most of which never occurred.” I wish there was a switch that I could flip to turn off worry.

Ps. 8:3 “Then I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him?”

David had time to sit and look up at the stars and think. Today, there is so much light pollution; you can hardly see the stars anymore. When I am in Tanzania you can go outside late at night and see the stars as you have never seen them before. He also had time to think without all of the noise that surrounds us. Sometimes I think we have to have the TV, radio, etc. on just to distract ourselves from having to be alone with our thoughts.

Ps. 10 This passage reminds me of Habakkuk where he asked God, “Why do you allow the evil to continue? Why don’t you answer our prayers? I think we can all relate to this passage and the concerns of Habakkuk.

Ps. 12 reminds me of the time Elijah fled Queen Jezebel in I Kings 19 and became despondent, thinking that he was the only one left who really worshipped God and wished that he was dead. Fatigue will do that to us. He was suffering from what we called Battle Fatigue in the military. A little R & R helped Elijah and helps our soldiers today.

Ps. 13:1 “How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide our face from me? How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and every day have sorrow in my heart?”

Ps. 14:1 “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’” Atheists do have a holiday . . . April Fool’s Day.

Ps. 19:7 “The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple.”

Ps. 22:14 “I am poured out like water and all my bones are out of joint.” The Apostle Paul used a similar expression in II Tim 4:6.

Ps. 28:2 “Hear my cry for mercy as I call to you for help, as I lift up my hands toward your Most Holy Place.” Lifting one’s hands in prayer is also mentioned in I Tim 2:8. But keep in mind; this is a description, not a prescription.

Ps. 30:4 “Sing to the Lord, you saints of his.” The term “sing” refers more to a chant than singing. This is good, since it chanting requires less musical talent.

Ps. 34:8 “Taste and see that the Lord is good.”

Ps. 37:1 “Do not fret because of evil men or be envious of those who do wrong; for like the grass they will soon wither.”

Ps. 37:4 “Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.”

Ps. 37:16 “Better the little that the righteous have than the wealth of many wicked.”

Ps. 51:16-17 “You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.”

Ps. 60:8 “Moab is my washbasin, upon Edom I toss my sandal; over Philistia I shout in triumph.” In the middle-east, to toss a shoe at someone is to insult them.

Ps. 71:20 “Though you have made me see troubles, many and bitter, you will restore my life again; from the depths of the earth you will again bring me up.”

Ps. 101:7 “No one who practices deceit will dwell in my house; no one who speaks falsely will stand in my presence.” Paul says something very similar in I Cor 6:9.

Ps. 105:15 “Do not touch my anointed ones; do my prophets no harm.” I heard a prosperity preacher misuse this verse to teach that no one should even question his teachings. We are to examine Scripture and question what is being taught (Acts 17:11).

Ps. 139:16 “All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.”

Ps. 145:18 “The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them.”