Introduction If you're looking at an NIV, the footnote at the beginning of this psalm tells you that it's an acrostic poem. That means each verse begins with successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet. So, if it were following the English alphabet, the first word of the first verse would begin with A; and the … Continue reading Psalm 025 →

Introduction We come this evening to what is probably the most well-known psalm. It's a psalm of confidence in which the psalmist expresses his confidence in the Lord who is depicted as a shepherd and a host. He's described as a shepherd in verses 1 to 4 who looks after and cares for his sheep; … Continue reading Psalm 023 →

Introduction Psalm 22 is both a lamentation and a thanksgiving. Verses 1 to 21 contain the lamentation, where the psalmist cries to the Lord because of the trouble he's in. And verses 22 to 31 contain the thanksgiving, where the psalmist gives thanks the Lord for delivering him from his trouble. And he anticipates a … Continue reading Psalm 022 →

Introduction Psalm 21 is about a battle won and a battle yet to be won. Verses 1 to 7 are directed to the Lord and the psalmist gives thanks to the Lord for giving victory to the king in the past. Then verses 8 to 13 are directed to the king and the psalmist looks … Continue reading Psalm 021 →

Introduction There are two voices speaking in this royal psalm. The first voice is the voice of the people. And the people are praying to God on behalf of their king. And the second voice is the voice of the king himself. And the king expresses his confidence in the Lord, his God. The people … Continue reading Psalm 020 →

Introduction Psalm 19 is a wisdom psalm. Wisdom psalms are to do with the contrast between the righteous and the wicked; the righteous follow the way of the Lord and are blessed by God; whereas the wicked go astray and, in the end, they will perish. And, of course, the way of the Lord is … Continue reading Psalm 019 →

Introduction We come today to Psalm 18, which -- like many of the other psalms which we've already studied -- is a psalm of David. However, it's unlike many of the other psalms we've studied so far in the fact that it's a psalm of thanksgiving. Most of the psalms we've already studied have been … Continue reading Psalm 018 →

Verses 1 and 2 Psalm 17 begins with the psalmist crying out to the Lord to hear his plea and to listen to his cry and to give ear to his prayer. This threefold petition to hear to listen and to give ear conveys a sense of urgency. He is pleading with the Lord for … Continue reading Psalm 017 →

Introduction Psalm 16 begins with a prayer for safety. That might suggest to us that this psalm -- like many of the others we've studied -- is a psalm of lament. In the psalms of lament, the psalmist cries out to the Lord for help because of the trouble he's in. However, it's more likely … Continue reading Psalm 016 →

Introduction Most of the psalms up to now -- though not all of them -- have been psalms of lament where the psalmist cries out to the Lord for help because he's in trouble. Some Bible commentators consider Psalm 15 to be a wisdom psalm. Wisdom psalms are about how we ought to live; what's … Continue reading Psalm 015 →