THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD

Psalm 23:1-6 / Keywords 23:1

The LORD is my shepherd, I lack nothing.

 

Psalm 23

A psalm of David.

23:1 The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.

2     He makes me lie down in green pastures,

he leads me beside quiet waters,

3     he refreshes my soul.

He guides me along the right paths

    for his name’s sake.

4 Even though I walk

    through the darkest valley,[a]

I will fear no evil,

    for you are with me;

your rod and your staff,

    they comfort me.

5 You prepare a table before me

    in the presence of my enemies.

You anoint my head with oil;

    my cup overflows.

6 Surely your goodness and love will follow me

    all the days of my life,

and I will dwell in the house of the Lord

    forever.

Footnotes

a. Psalm 23:4 Or the valley of the shadow of death

 

1. In humility, David professed, “The Lord is my Shepherd; I lack nothing.” It meant that he was a sheep to the Lord God, his Shepherd. Sheep are dumb and blind. They easily get lost and in dangerous situations like falling off a cliff. They are helpless without the shepherd guiding them. Likewise, we are helpless in this world of sin and against the devil. We need Jesus as our Good Shepherd who guides us to the green pastures and still waters, where we can find true rest and life.

 

2. Moreover, the Lord leads us in paths of righteousness to correct our sinful ways. He trains us in the right way to go. And no matter how dark the valley of the shadow of death is, the Lord is with us, and we are not alone, nor afraid. His rod of encouragement and staff of comfort enable us to pass through the hardest circumstances.

 

3. And then, we find that he has lifted us up to the place of honor before our enemies and prepared a table overflowing with good things for us. We are anointed as his chosen people, and our cup of blessing overflows. We can praise God, thanking him for his goodness and mercy all the days of our lives, with confidence that we will dwell in the house of the Lord in his kingdom forever!

 

Prayer Father, thank you for Jesus my Shepherd.

One Word The Lord is my Shepherd; I lack nothing

RESCUE ME FROM EVILDOERS

 Psalm 140:1-13 / Keywords 140:12

I know that the LORD secures justice for the poor and upholds the cause of the needy.

 

Psalm 140[a]

For the director of music. A psalm of David.

140:1 Rescue me, Lord, from evildoers;

    protect me from the violent,

2 who devise evil plans in their hearts

    and stir up war every day.

3 They make their tongues as sharp as a serpent’s;

    the poison of vipers is on their lips.[b]

4 Keep me safe, Lord, from the hands of the wicked;

    protect me from the violent,

    who devise ways to trip my feet.

5 The arrogant have hidden a snare for me;

    they have spread out the cords of their net

    and have set traps for me along my path.

6 I say to the Lord, “You are my God.”

    Hear, Lord, my cry for mercy.

7 Sovereign Lord, my strong deliverer,

    you shield my head in the day of battle.

8 Do not grant the wicked their desires, Lord;

    do not let their plans succeed.

9 Those who surround me proudly rear their heads;

    may the mischief of their lips engulf them.

10 May burning coals fall on them;

    may they be thrown into the fire,

    into miry pits, never to rise.

11 May slanderers not be established in the land;

    may disaster hunt down the violent.

12 I know that the Lord secures justice for the poor

    and upholds the cause of the needy.

13 Surely the righteous will praise your name,

    and the upright will live in your presence.

Footnotes

a. Psalm 140:1 In Hebrew texts 140:1-13 is numbered 140:2-14.

b. Psalm 140:3 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here and at the end of verses 5 and 8.

 

1. The Psalmist expresses to God the details of how the wicked are devising evil plans against him. In this world, there are people who devise and carry out violent plans to destroy others for their own gain (1-2), then cover it up with lies (3). We are shocked when we see this presence of such evil in the world, but it is real.

 

2. When we see that evil plans have been laid out against us, we can pray earnestly and see God as our deliverer and shield (7). We can also pray on behalf of others who are suffering due to evil attacks. It is right to pray that the plans of the wicked may not succeed (8). God’s justice returns the plans of evildoers back on their own heads (9-11). The Psalm ends with an expression of faith that God is a God of justice who fights for the cause of the needy (12-13).

 

Prayer Father, thank you that you are against wicked and evil plans. Help me to be spiritually awake and be a prayer warrior so that your justice may prevail. May your kingdom come.

One Word Lord, don’t let evil plans succeed

GOD KNOWS US COMPLETELY

Psalm 139:1-24 / Keywords 139:14

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

 

Psalm 139

For the director of music. Of David. A psalm.

1 You have searched me, Lord,

    and you know me.

2 You know when I sit and when I rise;

    you perceive my thoughts from afar.

3 You discern my going out and my lying down;

    you are familiar with all my ways.

4 Before a word is on my tongue

    you, Lord, know it completely.

5 You hem me in behind and before,

    and you lay your hand upon me.

6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,

    too lofty for me to attain.

7 Where can I go from your Spirit?

    Where can I flee from your presence?

8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there;

    if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.

9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn,

    if I settle on the far side of the sea,

10 even there your hand will guide me,

    your right hand will hold me fast.

11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me

    and the light become night around me,”

12 even the darkness will not be dark to you;

    the night will shine like the day,

    for darkness is as light to you.

13 For you created my inmost being;

    you knit me together in my mother’s womb.

14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

    your works are wonderful,

    I know that full well.

15 My frame was not hidden from you

    when I was made in the secret place,

    when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.

16 Your eyes saw my unformed body;

    all the days ordained for me were written in your book

    before one of them came to be.

17 How precious to me are your thoughts,[a] God!

    How vast is the sum of them!

18 Were I to count them,

    they would outnumber the grains of sand—

    when I awake, I am still with you.

19 If only you, God, would slay the wicked!

    Away from me, you who are bloodthirsty!

20 They speak of you with evil intent;

    your adversaries misuse your name.

21 Do I not hate those who hate you, Lord,

    and abhor those who are in rebellion against you?

22 I have nothing but hatred for them;

    I count them my enemies.

23 Search me, God, and know my heart;

    test me and know my anxious thoughts.

24 See if there is any offensive way in me,

    and lead me in the way everlasting.

Footnotes

a. Psalm 139:17 Or How amazing are your thoughts concerning me

1. When we meditate on God’s complete knowledge of us as this Psalmist did, we are filled with wonder (6). No human being fully knows our actions, habits, and thoughts, but God knows them inside and out (2-5). He understands exactly why we do everything we do. God’s knowledge surrounds us continually, and there is no place we can flee from it (7-9).

 

2. This may sound frightening, but in truth it is a source of great reassurance. When we are in trouble or deep personal distress, we can feel we are totally isolated in a dark place (11). But even then, we are not alone. God knows every detail of our situation and we are upheld and guided by him (10). He has been doing so since he created us wonderfully in our mother’s womb (13-16). The Psalmist ends by asking God for protection from powerful enemies, and by asking God to show him his own sins so he may walk in the holy way of salvation. Today, let’s meditate on God’s complete and personal knowledge of us and let it fill us with amazement, reassurance, and conviction.

 

Prayer Father, thank you for creating me with perfect knowledge. Thank you that your knowledge always surrounds and protects me.

One Word God’s perfect knowledge guides me

GOD’S WORD GIVES CONFIDENCE

Psalm 138:1-8 / Keywords 138:3

When I called, you answered me; you made me bold and stouthearted.

 

Psalm 138

Of David.

1 I will praise you, Lord, with all my heart;

    before the “gods” I will sing your praise.

2 I will bow down toward your holy temple

    and will praise your name

    for your unfailing love and your faithfulness,

for you have so exalted your solemn decree

    that it surpasses your fame.

3 When I called, you answered me;

    you greatly emboldened me.

4 May all the kings of the earth praise you, Lord,

    when they hear what you have decreed.

5 May they sing of the ways of the Lord,

    for the glory of the Lord is great.

6 Though the Lord is exalted, he looks kindly on the lowly;

    though lofty, he sees them from afar.

7 Though I walk in the midst of trouble,

    you preserve my life.

You stretch out your hand against the anger of my foes;

    with your right hand you save me.

8 The Lord will vindicate me;

    your love, Lord, endures forever—

    do not abandon the works of your hands.

1. Unlike other so-called “gods”, who cannot do or say anything, our God has given us his word his “solemn decree” (2) so we may know his heart and will. God’s word teaches us his unfailing love and faithfulness. Most of all, he revealed himself in Jesus, the living Word. Because we have God’s word of promise, and because he answers our prayer, we can be confident, even bold (3). We can know his compassion on the lowly (6) and be abundantly comforted in times of trouble (7).

 

2. David was in serious trouble when he wrote this Psalm, with powerful and angry foes opposing him (7). But he was determined not to let it stop him from praising God (1). He believed God would not only preserve his life (7), but rebuke his enemies and grant him vindication after his suffering (8). May we also take such a “dose” of confidence from God’s word today, remembering God’s goodness no matter what kind of trouble we are in.

 

Prayer Heavenly Father, thank you for exalting your word so we may gain confidence in your promise. Help me be confident and bold in Jesus.

One Word God will answer when I call

SING THE LORD’S SONG

Psalm 137:1-9 / Keywords 137:4

How can we sing the songs of the LORD while in a foreign land?

 

Psalm 137

1 By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept

    when we remembered Zion.

2 There on the poplars

    we hung our harps,

3 for there our captors asked us for songs,

    our tormentors demanded songs of joy;

    they said, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”

4 How can we sing the songs of the Lord

    while in a foreign land?

5 If I forget you, Jerusalem,

    may my right hand forget its skill.

6 May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth

    if I do not remember you,

if I do not consider Jerusalem

    my highest joy.

7 Remember, Lord, what the Edomites did

    on the day Jerusalem fell.

“Tear it down,” they cried,

    “tear it down to its foundations!”

8 Daughter Babylon, doomed to destruction,

    happy is the one who repays you

    according to what you have done to us.

9 Happy is the one who seizes your infants

    and dashes them against the rocks.

1. The people of Israel were in Babylon because God was punishing their sin. They were unfaithful to the LORD and would be in exile for seventy years. Meanwhile, the people remembered Zion. Though they were tormented by their uncaring captors, they could not forget Jerusalem. The Babylonians enjoyed listening to the songs the Israelites sang, but they could never know the depth of pain they experienced, being cut off from their land and cut off from their God. The Israelites were in a foreign land, but they still considered Jerusalem their highest joy. They still considered the LORD as worthy of their songs of praise.

 

2. The exiles remembered how they were despised and humiliated, not only by the Babylonians, but also by the neighboring countries. The Israelites were powerless to do anything, but they could pray. They entrusted to the LORD all of their deepest agonies. They put their hope in God and prayed that he would avenge himself on their enemies in his way and his time.

 

Prayer Lord, heal my sinful heart. Help me to remember your beauty and sing with hope in your faithfulness.

One Word Sing the LORD's song

HIS LOVE ENDURES FOREVER

Psalm 136:1-26 / Keywords 136:26

Give thanks to the God of heaven. His love endures forever.

 

Psalm 136

136:1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.

His love endures forever.

2 Give thanks to the God of gods.

His love endures forever.

3 Give thanks to the Lord of lords:

His love endures forever.

4 to him who alone does great wonders,

His love endures forever.

5 who by his understanding made the heavens,

His love endures forever.

6 who spread out the earth upon the waters,

His love endures forever.

7 who made the great lights—

His love endures forever.

8 the sun to govern the day,

His love endures forever.

9 the moon and stars to govern the night;

His love endures forever.

10 to him who struck down the firstborn of Egypt

His love endures forever.

11 and brought Israel out from among them

His love endures forever.

12 with a mighty hand and outstretched arm;

His love endures forever.

13 to him who divided the Red Sea[a] asunder

His love endures forever.

14 and brought Israel through the midst of it,

His love endures forever.

15 but swept Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea;

His love endures forever.

16 to him who led his people through the wilderness;

His love endures forever.

17 to him who struck down great kings,

His love endures forever.

18 and killed mighty kings—

His love endures forever.

19 Sihon king of the Amorites

His love endures forever.

20 and Og king of Bashan—

His love endures forever.

21 and gave their land as an inheritance,

His love endures forever.

22 an inheritance to his servant Israel.

His love endures forever.

23 He remembered us in our low estate

His love endures forever.

24 and freed us from our enemies.

His love endures forever.

25 He gives food to every creature.

His love endures forever.

26 Give thanks to the God of heaven.

His love endures forever.

Footnotes

a. Psalm 136:13 Or the Sea of Reeds; also in verse 15

1. In this Psalm the writer encourages God’s people to give thanks to God for his love. The nature of God’s love is that it is eternal and unfailing. By his love, God rules all things. God is the creator and ruler of heaven and earth. Genesis 1 reveals God who created everything out of nothing. He is unfathomable in his almighty power, but he is not an impersonal God. He is a God of love, and his love endures forever.

 

2. Although God demonstrated his power often, he also revealed his merciful love. God expressed his love to the people of Israel by delivering them from Egypt and from Pharaoh. Then for forty years, he was with his people in the desert, bearing their rejection on himself. God’s love endured while overcoming their sin. He did not fail to lead them to the land he had promised them; he gave it to them as their inheritance. He is the God of heaven and the God who sustains his people in love.

 

Prayer Lord, you are the almighty ruler of all things. Thank you for loving a sinner like me. Make me a testimony of your enduring love.

One Word Give thanks for God’s enduring love