Psalm 70
Lamentation / Imprecatory
I Must Magnify God in My Distress
4 Let all who seek You rejoice and be glad in You;
And let those who love Your salvation say continually,
“Let God be magnified.”
· Sometimes God delays his answers that he may raise our estimate of his mercies and increase our longings after them.
· If we are poor and needy, sad and afflicted, so have others been before us; and if our trials make us meek and lowly, we cannot have too many of them, as long as we may come and tell God the worst of our case.
· “Poverty and necessity are very good pleas in prayer to a God of infinite mercy.” (Henry)
Psalm 69
Lamentation / Imprecatory
Save Me, O God, In Your Lovingkindness
13 But as for me, my prayer is to You, O LORD, at an acceptable time;
O God, in the greatness of Your lovingkindness,
Answer me with Your saving truth.
· None of us have sufferings peculiar to ourselves. No temptation has befallen us but such as is common to men. Let us neither faint, nor rebel, neither be soured by discontent, nor sink into despair. Answers to earnest, hearty, believing prayer may, for wise and holy purposes be long delayed. The Father answered the Son in the best time and in the best way; but not till reproach had broken his heart, not till his followers were nonplused with his sufferings and humiliation, not till he had lain in the sepulcher of Joseph.
· In the worst case that we can be in, let us hold fast the privilege of prayer. Of this none can deprive us.
· There is a time accepted, acceptable to God, a time fit for our respective duties. God will not bless the farmer, who plants corn in mid-winter, nor the man, who defers prayer till life is gone.
· All our hope is not merely in the fact that God is merciful, but that his mercy abounds. In God we find “mercy, a multitude of mercies, all kinds of mercy, inexhaustible mercy, mercy enough for all, enough for each.”
Psalm 68
Praise
Rejoice and Sing Praise to God!
3 But let the righteous be glad; let them exult before God;
Yes, let them rejoice with gladness.
· As it is a privilege, so it is a duty to be glad, to rejoice, yea, exceedingly to rejoice. He, who knows and loves and receives little, may rejoice little. But surely he, who has experienced the saving grace of God, ought not to be tame and torpid in his exultations. If we duly rejoiced in God, we should not so often seek a portion here below. When the heart is full of joy in God, the trifles and vanities of time lose their enchantments.
· The depth from which, and the height to which God raises those on whom he sets his love, must both be brought into the estimate, if we would judge aright of the divine mercy.
· Not in our wit or wisdom, not in our experience or ability, not in great captains nor heavy battalions, not in the patronage of kings and governments, not in funds or estates, but in the Lord Jehovah is all our hope and all our salvation.
· Let us never forget that God is exalted. Nothing more infallibly marks worship as base than lack of profound reverence for the divine majesty.
Psalm 67
Praise
May God’s Face Shine Upon Me!
1 God be gracious to us and bless us,
And cause His face to shine upon us.
· We shall have need to pray for mercy as long as we live.
· Without God’s blessing we are nothing. Why are we so careless to secure it? “God’s speaking well to us amounts to his doing well for us.” (Henry)
· “We need desire no more to make us happy, than to have God’s face shine upon us, to have God love us, and let us know that he loves us.” (Henry)
· ”The great work which is performed by [the gospel] is in destroying the power, pardoning the guilt, cleansing from the infection of all sin; and filling the soul with holiness, with the mind that was in Christ.” (Clarke)
· True piety is never separate from the fear of God.
Psalm 66
Praise / Thanksgiving (individual, community)
Shout Joyfully to God!
1 Shout joyfully to God, all the earth;
2 Sing the glory of His name;
Make His praise glorious.
· How glorious will be the day when the fullness of the Gentiles shall be brought in, and all the earth shall serve Jehovah and his Christ.
· The whole of life is a test, a trial of what is in us, so arranged by God himself, and it is of great importance that we so regard it.
· However long and sharp the trials of God’s people may be, they shall have a happy issue out of them, and a blessed enlargement, which none but God can give.
· Especially should we feel and confess that we are miserable sinners, and so must ever come with a deep sense of unworthiness, and with a lively faith in the great sacrifice of the one Mediator.
· “The prayer which is heard is the prayer of the penitent, heartily grieved and wearied with sin, hating and longing to be delivered from it.” (Horne)
· “If I have favorable thoughts of iniquity, if I love it, indulge it, allow myself in it, if I treat it as a friend, and bid it welcome, make provision for it, and am loath to part with it, if I roll it under my tongue as a sweet morsel, though it be but a heart-sin that is thus countenanced and made much of, if I delight in it after the inward man, God will not hear my prayer.” (Henry)
· “The feeblest petition of the repenting sinner, coming from a broken heart, will by no means be despised.” (Scott)
Psalm 65
Praise / Thanksgiving (community)
Be Satisfied with God
4 How blessed is the one whom You choose and bring near to You
To dwell in Your courts.
We will be satisfied with the goodness of Your house,
Your holy temple.
· In all worship a deep sense of personal unworthiness becomes us. “Our sins reach to the heavens, iniquities prevail against us, and appear so numerous, so heinous, that, when they are set in order before us, we are full of confusion, and ready to fall into despair. They prevail so against us, that we cannot pretend to balance them with any righteousness of our own; so that when we appear before God, our own consciences accuse us, and we have no replication [a defendant’s answer in a suit] to make.” (Henry)
· It is vain to expect all summer and no winter, all sunshine and no cloud, all pleasant and no terrible things. No vigorous character was ever formed under mere blandishments and indulgences. There is need for the severe as well as for the mild. “It is in no common, or ordinary manner that God has preserved his church, but with terrible majesty. It is well that this should be known, and the people of God taught to sustain their hopes in the most apparently desperate exigencies.” (Calvin)
Psalm 64
Lamentation
If Righteous, My Refuge Is in God
10 The righteous man will be glad in the LORD and will take refuge in Him;
And all the upright in heart will glory.
· In all our troubles, whether beset by “the unceasing and infinite malice of the devil, the perfidy of men, or the ingratitude of the world,” it is best to carry our cause immediately to God in prayer.
· Let every one beware of hardening his heart in sin. This he may do by refusing to think; by indulging in sin after pondering the wickedness he is about to perpetrate; but chiefly by encouraging himself in the way of transgressors, saying, “All will be well,” when God says the contrary.
Psalm 63
Lamentation (persecuted and accused)
Earnestly Seek God
1 O God, You are my God; I shall seek You earnestly;
My soul thirsts for You, my flesh yearns for You,
In a dry and weary land where there is no water.
· God’s people give up much, but they gain more. Sometimes they yield up life itself, and get eternal life.
· Whatever be our circumstances let us not forget that our duty continually calls us to bless and praise the Lord with joyful lips.
Psalm 62
Lamentation (trust) / Trust (individual)
Patiently Wait for God
1 My soul waits in silence for God only;
From Him is my salvation.
2 He only is my rock and my salvation,
My stronghold; I shall not be greatly shaken.
· Silence, unmurmuring submission to the divine will, and patient waiting on God are better than all the pragmatical efforts of any man to help himself.
· If God is for us, we shall not be greatly moved. Nay, we shall not be moved at all, in any way that will do us real damage. “As a man resolveth to believe and follow the course of sound faith, so he may assure himself of establishment and victory over all temptations, notwithstanding his own weakness.” (Dickson)
· It is a great comfort that God is our only hope, and trust, and expectation. When we find him, we need seek no further. He is all-sufficient. The more he is tried, the more he is found to be the very friend we need.
· There is no substitute for godly sincerity.
· “To induce a soul to trust in God only, it is necessary that it so look to his power, as it looks to his mercy, and lay hold on both.” (Dickson)
Psalm 61
Praise
Climb to the Highest Rock
2 From the end of the earth I call to You when my heart is faint;
Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
· “That which separates us from other comforts should drive us so much the nearer to God, the Fountain of all comfort.” (Henry)
· “When cares, fears, sorrows, or temptations, like a wild deluge, overwhelm our hearts, our cries unto God should be more fervent than ever.” (Scott) The greater the need, the louder should be the cry for help.
· Stoicism is no part of a pious character.
Psalm 60
60 Lamentation (community)
Restore Me, O God
1 O God, You have rejected us. You have broken us;
You have been angry; O, restore us.
· It is the glory of a man to pass over a transgression. [1 Peter 4:8]
· Whatever our trouble may be, let us look to God for help. When we think we can carry our own burden, it is always too heavy for us.
· “The course of life alternates between the heights and depths. Such was the experience of David, as here recorded.” (Tholuck) Let us not hope to cross the sea of life without storms.
Psalm 59
59 Imprecatory
Deliver Me, O God
1 Deliver me from my enemies, O my God;
Set me securely on high away from those who rise up against me.
· Whatever means we may adopt for our preservation, and however successful they may be, God is the sole author of deliverance, and we ought to pray, and praise, and preach accordingly.
· To God no set of circumstances creates a crisis, an emergency, or an exigency. He is eternally and infinitely calm.
Psalm 58
58 Imprecatory
Avenge Me, O God
11 And men will say, “Surely there is a reward for the righteous;
Surely there is a God who judges on earth!”
· “When we behold the effects of natural depravity in the atrocious crimes of others, we should be humbled by recollecting that the principles of them all are in our hearts also.” (Scott)
· The more you are rubbed by affliction here, the brighter you will shine hereafter.
Psalm 57
57 Lamentation (persecuted and accused)
God, Be Gracious to Me
1 Be gracious to me, O God, be gracious to me,
For my soul takes refuge in You;
And in the shadow of Your wings I will take refuge
Until destruction passes by.
· “There are seasons when we are permitted to enjoy the calm sunshine of prosperity; but there is not a day of our lives in which we may not suddenly be overtaken by storms of affliction, and it is necessary we should be persuaded that God will cover us with his wings.” (Calvin)
· One of the darkest signs in some professors of religion is want of stability. Their hearts are not fixed. Their principles are not established. They are not settled. This may be owing to ignorance of Scripture doctrine, to natural levity of mind, to evil habits long indulged, to the weakness or want of grace.
· We constantly need the guidance of the Holy Spirit in the study of the Scriptures, that we may get their true scope and meaning.
Psalm 56
56 Lamentation-Praise
Trust in God
3 When I am afraid,
I will put my trust in You.
4 In God, whose word I praise,
In God I have put my trust;
I shall not be afraid.
What can mere man do to me?
· As long as we live, and in every variety of situation we have need of mercy. If we need pardon, we must hope for it through mercy; if we seek protection against men and devils, it must all come through mercy.
· “Fear and hope may seem opposite and incompatible affections, yet it is proved by observation that the latter never comes into full exercise unless there exists some measure of the former.” (Calvin) It is therefore not uncommon for good men to have a painful sense of their own weakness, and need of help from God. Oftentimes ‘faith grows valiant in fight. Albeit it begins like a coward, and staggers in the first conflict, it grows stout and triumphant.’
· There is no comfort without trust. If we lean not on God, we are as without God. A staff not used gives no support.
· God will not be unmindful of our tears and sorrows. O no! He puts them in his bottle. He registers them in his book. Trials will bring tears. “But,” says Arnd, “here lies a powerful consolation, that God gathers up such tears, and puts them into his bottle, just as one would pour precious wine into a flagon, so precious and dear are such tears before God, and God lays them up as a treasure in the heavens; and if we think that all such tears are lost, lo! God hath preserved them for us a treasure in the heavens, with which we shall be richly consoled in that day.”
· Those who think they stand must take heed lest they fall, because the best stand no longer than God is pleased to uphold them.
Psalm 55
55 Imprecatory
Hear My Prayer, O God!
1 Give ear to my prayer, O God;
And do not hide Yourself from by supplication.
2 Give heed to me and answer me;
I am restless in my complaint and am surely distracted.
· When we are rightly disposed, and guided by God’s Spirit, we may get an instruction from the most distressing events in our history.
· When God seems to hide himself from believers and their supplications, they should regard it as a trial of faith and perseverance, and not as a discouragement to prayer.
· “Prayer is the believer’s universal medicine for all the disorders of the soul within, and his invincible shield against every enemy that can attack him from without.” (Horne)
· Rivers of sorrow may roll over us, and mountains of care rest upon us, but if we cast all on God, he will sustain us.
· Whatever comes, let us practice the duties of piety, and especially let us exercise holy trust in God, which is at the foundation of every stable Christian character.
Psalm 54
54 Lamentation-Praise
Save and Vindicate Me, O My God!
1 Save me, O God, by Your name,
And vindicate me by Your power.
2 Hear my prayer, O God;
Give ear to the words of my mouth.
· Whatever makes us feel our entire dependence on God is good for us.
· We should never have recourse to doubtful expedients, much less to confessedly wicked measures.
· He who has ordained the end has also appointed the means.
Psalm 53
53 Wisdom / Lamentation
Rescue Me, O God of My Salvation!
6 Oh, that the salvation of Israel would come out of Zion!
When God restores His captive people,
Let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad.
· All sin is folly. But some forms of it are so egregious that we hardly know how to characterize them. . . . Is not he a fool who thinks he can elude the scrutiny of omniscience, escape from the grasp of omnipotence, or succeed in setting aside the decisions of inflexible justice?
· How glorious is deliverance by Christ. It is salvation, yea, it is salvations.
Psalm 52
52 Wisdom
God, Make Me a Green Olive Tree
8 But as for me, I am like a green olive tree in the house of God;
I trust in the lovingkindness of God forever and ever.
· “It is bad to speak devouring words, but it is worse to love them, either in others or in ourselves.” (Henry)
· Every event of providence is the stroke of the sculptor’s chisel. It tends to bring out the hidden beauties of the unsightly block on which it falls.
Psalm 51
51 Lamentation-Praise
Be Gracious to Me, O God!
1 Be gracious to me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness;
According to the greatness of Your compassion blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity
And cleanse me from my sin.
· Sin awfully blinds the mind and hardens the heart. To be at ease, to cry peace, to have no fears does not prove any man innocent.
· This Psalm also gives us refreshing views of God’s grace. It tells us of mercy, of mercy to a great sinner, of loving-kindness, of the multitude of God’s tender mercies, of his blotting out transgressions, of his thoroughly washing a man that confessed he was very vile.
· “As a Christian is the most sorrowful man in the world, so there is none more glad than he. For the cause of his joy is greatest: in respect his misery was greatest, his delivery greatest, therefore his joy greatest: from death and hell is he freed, to life in heaven is he brought. What can make men more glad than this, if we believe?” (Symson)
· After a Christian hath mourned he will rejoice. He, who never sorrowed for sin, will never rejoice for grace.
· No man can prove that God is better pleased with innocence in an angel than he is with penitence in a sinner.
· Let us always give God the best of everything.
· If you would know the nature of true repentance, study this Psalm. It is full of wisdom and sound doctrine.
· God is merciful. You need no more mercy than he is fully willing to bestow. If your faults are many, he will give you double for all your sins. He will abundantly pardon. His mercy reaches to the heavens. He never cast away any that came to him through Christ Jesus.