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 →

Introduction Psalm 14 is hard to classify. In some ways, it's like a lamentation, because the psalmist is lamenting the state of the world and how all have turned aside and have become corrupt and there's no one who does good. He's lamenting the state of the world. However, unlike a regular lamentation, he's not … Continue reading Psalm 014 →

Introduction Once again we have a psalm of lament in which the psalmist cries out to the Lord for help and for relief. Isn't it interesting that so many of these early psalms are psalms of lament? Psalm 3 is a lament. Psalm 4 is a lament. Psalm 5 is a lament. So is Psalm … Continue reading Psalm 013 →

Introduction Psalm 12 is once again a psalm of David and it's a lamentation, because once again the psalmist is crying out to the Lord for help because of his enemies. This time, David is crying to the Lord because it seems to him that the world is full of liars. However, even though the … Continue reading Psalm 012 →

Introduction Psalm 11 is yet another lamentation, although it's not so much the psalmist who is lamenting before the Lord, but his companions, who despair because of the evil in the world. As you see from the title, this is a psalm of David. And the psalm can be divided into two parts. In verses … Continue reading Psalm 011 →