Verse-by-Verse Commentary
The Book of Psalms
The Psalms are the prayer and praise book of the Bible, 150 songs that give words to every cry of the human heart before God. They run from the two ways of Psalm 1 to the closing hallelujahs, teaching us to worship, to lament, to repent, and to hope. This commentary walks through them one psalm at a time.
About This Commentary
The Book of Psalms is the hymnal and prayer book of God's people, a collection of 150 inspired songs written across centuries. David composed the largest share, with others by Asaph, the sons of Korah, Solomon, Moses, and anonymous writers. The Psalms give voice to the full range of life with God: soaring praise, honest lament, deep repentance, and unshakable hope. They have been the church's prayer book from the beginning.
This commentary covers the Psalms one psalm at a time, with the Hebrew words that sharpen the meaning, verified background, and an Apostolic reading. Again and again the Psalms point beyond David to great David's greater Son: the suffering of Psalm 22, the risen King of Psalm 16, the reigning Lord of Psalm 110. References are given at the foot of each psalm.
We are building this book one psalm at a time. Psalms 1 through 114 are complete, the whole of Books One through Four and the opening of Book Five; the remaining psalms are on the way.
Author
David and others: Asaph, the sons of Korah, Solomon, Moses.
Setting
Written across centuries as the worship book of Israel.
Key Themes
Praise, lament, repentance, trust, and the coming King.
Structure
Five books of psalms, 150 in all, each ending in praise.
Translation
King James Version (KJV) throughout.
The Chapters
Psalms Commentary
The chapters below are available now. The rest are being written and will open here as they are finished and verified.
Psalm 1:1-6
The Two Ways
The gateway psalm sets two ways before every reader: the blessed man who delights in God's word and is like a tree by the water, and the ungodly who are like chaff.
Read Chapter 1 →Psalm 2:1-12
Thou Art My Son
The first great messianic psalm. The nations rage against the LORD and His anointed, but God has already set His King on Zion and declares, Thou art my Son. Fulfilled in Jesus Christ, the rejected and enthroned King, it ends with the only refuge in a raging world: kiss the Son, blessed are all they that put their trust in him.
Read Chapter 2 →Psalm 3:1-8
Thou, O LORD, Art a Shield for Me
David, fleeing from Absalom and surrounded by enemies who sneer that even God will not help him, turns terror into trust. The LORD is his shield, his glory, and the lifter up of his head; so secure is he that he lies down and sleeps in danger, and confesses that salvation belongeth unto the LORD, the very name of Jesus, in whom the LORD saves.
Read Chapter 3 →Psalm 4:1-8
I Will Both Lay Me Down in Peace
The evening psalm. Pressed by those who turn his glory into shame, David rests in the God who sets apart the godly for Himself and hears their prayer. While the world chases empty things, he has found gladness of heart greater than corn and wine, and so lies down in peace to sleep in safety, fulfilled in Christ our peace, our joy, and our only safety.
Read Chapter 4 →Psalm 5:1-12
In the Morning Will I Direct My Prayer
David's morning prayer. Before the day's battles, he orders his prayer to God and looks up, comes into God's house only in the multitude of His mercy and worships in reverent fear, and rests in the promise that crowns the day: the LORD blesses the righteous and compasses him with favour as with a shield, ours in Christ, in whom we are accepted in the beloved.
Read Chapter 5 →Psalm 6:1-10
The LORD Hath Heard the Voice of My Weeping
The first penitential psalm. Weak and weary, David cries for mercy and healing on the ground of his weakness, waters his couch with tears through sleepless nights, and asks, O LORD, how long? Then the psalm turns to confidence: the LORD hath heard the voice of my weeping. Faith weeps and is heard, fulfilled in the Physician who comes for the weak and the Intercessor through whom we are always heard.
Read Chapter 6 →Psalm 7:1-17
My Defence Is of God
Falsely accused, David takes refuge rather than revenge, in thee do I put my trust, and commits his cause to the righteous Judge who tries the hearts. His defence is of God, who saveth the upright in heart, and the wicked fall into the pit they dug. Fulfilled in Christ, who reviled not again but committed Himself to the Father, and whose enemies' plot at the cross became their own defeat.
Read Chapter 7 →Psalm 8:1-9
What Is Man, That Thou Art Mindful of Him?
A hymn of wonder framed by worship: how excellent is thy name in all the earth! Beneath the stars, David marvels that the God of such majesty should be mindful of frail man, and recalls the dominion God gave man, all things under his feet. Fulfilled in the true Son of Man, Jesus Christ, in whom God became man to save man, and who now reigns with all things under His feet.
Read Chapter 8 →Psalm 9:1-20
They That Know Thy Name Will Put Their Trust in Thee
A thanksgiving for God's righteous judgment. David praises God with his whole heart, rests in the truth that those who know God's name put their trust in Him for He never forsakes those who seek Him, and rejoices that the needy shall not always be forgotten. Fulfilled in Christ, in whom God's name is revealed, who was forsaken that we might never be, and who came to preach good news to the poor.
Read Chapter 9 →Psalm 10:1-18
Thou Art the Helper of the Fatherless
An honest lament: why standest thou afar off, O LORD, while the wicked prosper and boast that God has forgotten? But faith answers arrogance with certainty: thou hast seen it; God is the helper of the fatherless; the LORD is King for ever; thou hast heard the desire of the humble. Fulfilled in Christ, who bore God's true distance, came near as helper of the fatherless, and hears the humble.
Read Chapter 10 →Psalm 11:1-7
The LORD Is in His Holy Temple
Faith's answer to the counsel of fear. When friends urge David to flee as a bird to his mountain, he refuses: in the LORD put I my trust. Where fear sees crumbling foundations, faith looks higher, the LORD is in his holy temple, the LORD'S throne is in heaven, and the righteous LORD loveth righteousness. Fulfilled in Christ, enthroned over a kingdom that cannot be shaken, whose favourable face beholds the upright.
Read Chapter 11 →Psalm 12:1-8
The Words of the LORD Are Pure Words
In a generation of flattery and falsehood where the godly seem to vanish, David cries Help, LORD. God promises, now will I arise, saith the LORD, to defend the oppressed. And against the vain words of men stand the words of the LORD, pure words, as silver refined seven times, preserved for ever. Fulfilled in Christ, the faithful Witness, who arose to save, and the Word made flesh whose word never passes away.
Read Chapter 12 →Psalm 13:1-6
But I Have Trusted in Thy Mercy
The psalm of how long. Four times David asks how long, feeling forgotten and hidden from, wrestling with sorrow in his heart daily. He prays that God would lighten his eyes lest he sleep the sleep of death. Then, on nothing but the mercy of God, faith turns the corner: but I have trusted in thy mercy; my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation. Fulfilled in Christ, in whom God's steadfast mercy is poured out, so that every how long may end in a song.
Read Chapter 13 →Psalm 14:1-7
The Fool Hath Said in His Heart
The mirror of the fallen race. The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God, a practical atheism from which springs universal corruption: there is none that doeth good, no, not one, the verdict Paul lifts to prove all the world guilty before God. Yet the psalm ends in longing hope, Oh that the salvation of Israel were come out of Zion, answered in Jesus Christ, the salvation of God whose very name means the LORD saves.
Read Chapter 14 →Psalm 15:1-5
Who Shall Abide in Thy Tabernacle?
The great question of fellowship with God: LORD, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? The answer is not a rite but a character, one who walketh uprightly, worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart, keeping his word even to his own hurt and never wronging the innocent. A portrait that measures us and drives us to Christ, the one who did no sin and tabernacled among us, in whom we shall never be moved.
Read Chapter 15 →Psalm 16:1-11
Thou Wilt Not Leave My Soul in Hell
The psalm of contentment that rises to prophecy. David finds the LORD Himself to be the portion of his inheritance and cup, sets the LORD always before him and so shall not be moved, and then sings words that were fulfilled not in him but in Christ: thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. As Peter declared at Pentecost, David spake of the resurrection of Christ, and the path of life into fulness of joy.
Read Chapter 16 →Psalm 17:1-15
Keep Me as the Apple of the Eye
A prayer of David under pressure from ruthless enemies. He submits his heart to God's searching, pleads to be kept as the apple of the eye and hidden under the shadow of God's wings, and refuses to envy the men of the world whose portion is only in this life. The psalm ends beyond the grave in resurrection hope: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness, fulfilled in Christ, in whom we shall see God's face and be made like Him.
Read Chapter 17 →Psalm 18:1-50
The LORD Is My Rock and My Deliverer
David's great song of deliverance. He heaps up name after name for God, rock, fortress, deliverer, buckler, horn of salvation, high tower, and pictures God bowing the heavens to save him: he sent from above, he drew me out of many waters, he delivered me, because he delighted in me. It closes past David to his greater Son, great deliverance giveth he to his king, to David and to his seed for evermore, fulfilled in the risen Christ, the Anointed Son of David.
Read Chapter 18 →Psalm 19:1-14
The Heavens Declare the Glory of God
A hymn to God's two books. The book of creation, the heavens declare the glory of God, a wordless sermon to every nation; and the book of Scripture, the law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul, more precious than gold and sweeter than honey. Its light exposes the psalmist's sin and drives him to prayer: let the words of my mouth be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer. Both books lead to Christ, the Maker, the living Word, and our kinsman-Redeemer.
Read Chapter 19 →Psalm 20:1-9
Some Trust in Chariots
The people's prayer for their king in the day of trouble: the name of the God of Jacob defend thee. Prayer rises into confidence, now know I that the LORD saveth his anointed, and reaches the great contrast, some trust in chariots, and some in horses, but we will remember the name of the LORD our God. Fulfilled in Christ the Anointed, heard in His day of trouble and raised by God's right hand, the one name under heaven whereby we must be saved.
Read Chapter 20 →Psalm 21:1-13
The King Shall Joy in Thy Strength
The thanksgiving companion to Psalm 20. After the victory the king rejoices not in himself but in God, the king shall joy in thy strength, O LORD. God grants his heart's desire, crowns him with pure gold, and gives him life, even length of days for ever and ever, and the secret of it all is trust: the king trusteth in the LORD, and he shall not be moved. Fulfilled in Christ, who asked life and received it in resurrection, alive for evermore.
Read Chapter 21 →Psalm 22:1-31
My God, My God, Why Hast Thou Forsaken Me?
The great psalm of the cross, written a thousand years before Calvary. Jesus made its opening cry His own as He died, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? It describes the crucifixion with startling exactness, they pierced my hands and my feet, they part my garments among them, before crucifixion was known. Then it turns from suffering to triumph, ending in a worldwide harvest, all the ends of the world shall turn unto the LORD, and the finished-work cry, he hath done this.
Read Chapter 22 →Psalm 23:1-6
The LORD Is My Shepherd
The best-loved psalm in the world. The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want, the helpless sheep resting in the all-sufficient Shepherd who leads through green pastures, still waters, and the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me. Goodness and mercy pursue the sheep all the days of life, and the house of the LORD is home for ever. Fulfilled in Jesus, the Good Shepherd who laid down His life for the sheep and leads us home.
Read Chapter 23 →Psalm 24:1-10
The King of Glory Shall Come In
From creation to the gates of glory. The earth is the LORD'S, and the fulness thereof, for He made it; who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? he that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; and the triumphant fanfare, lift up your heads, O ye gates, and the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts, fulfilled in Christ, the only one with clean hands and a pure heart, who conquered, ascended, and shall come again.
Read Chapter 24 →Psalm 25:1-22
Shew Me Thy Ways, O LORD
A prayer of the seeking soul for guidance, pardon, and fellowship. Shew me thy ways, O LORD, the cry of a teachable heart; remember not the sins of my youth, casting itself wholly on God's mercy, even pardon mine iniquity, for it is great; and the precious promise, the secret of the LORD is with them that fear him. Fulfilled in Christ, who is the Way, whose blood remembers our sins no more, and who calls His people friends.
Read Chapter 25 →Psalm 26:1-12
Examine Me, O LORD, and Prove Me
A psalm of integrity. Falsely accused, David invites God's searching, examine me, O LORD, and prove me; try my reins and my heart. He roots his holiness in love for God's presence, LORD, I have loved the habitation of thy house, and holds together what only grace can join: I will walk in mine integrity: redeem me, and be merciful unto me. Fulfilled in Christ, who searches the heart, is the temple where God's honour dwells, and redeems us to walk uprightly.
Read Chapter 26 →Psalm 27:1-14
The LORD Is My Light and My Salvation
A psalm of fearless faith and single-hearted longing. The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? Though an army encamp against him, David's heart will not fear. His whole desire narrows to one: one thing have I desired of the LORD, to behold the beauty of the LORD. And it ends with a charge for every waiting soul: wait on the LORD: be of good courage. Fulfilled in Christ, the Light of the world, whose face is the beauty of the LORD.
Read Chapter 27 →Psalm 28:1-9
The LORD Is My Strength and My Shield
From cry to praise to intercession. David pleads with God not to be silent, unto thee will I cry, O LORD my rock, for a silent God would leave him as hopeless as the dead. Heard at last, he breaks into song, the LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped. Then he widens his heart to all God's people: save thy people, feed them, and lift them up for ever. Fulfilled in Christ, who endured God's silence and shepherds His flock.
Read Chapter 28 →Psalm 29:1-11
The Voice of the LORD Is Powerful
The great storm psalm. Seven times David cries the voice of the LORD, tracing a tempest that breaks the cedars of Lebanon and shakes the wilderness, worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness. Behind the thunder sits the God of glory, King for ever above the flood. Yet it ends in tenderness: the LORD will give strength unto his people; the LORD will bless his people with peace. Fulfilled in Christ, the Word whose voice stills storms and raises the dead, and who is Himself our peace.
Read Chapter 29 →Psalm 30:1-12
Joy Cometh in the Morning
A thanksgiving from a man brought back from the grave. Thou hast brought up my soul from the grave, David sings, drawing out the comfort of every grieving saint: his anger endureth but a moment, weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. He celebrates the great reversal, thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing. Fulfilled in Christ, the risen Lord whose resurrection morning turns all our weeping to joy.
Read Chapter 30 →Psalm 31:1-24
Into Thine Hand I Commit My Spirit
A prayer of trust that gave the world the dying words of Jesus. Into thine hand I commit my spirit, the very words the Lord breathed out on the cross. David commits his whole life's course to God, my times are in thy hand, and marvels at the treasure God keeps for His own, oh how great is thy goodness, which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee. Fulfilled in Christ, who commended His spirit to the Father and rose again.
Read Chapter 31 →Psalm 32:1-11
Blessed Is He Whose Transgression Is Forgiven
A great charter of the gospel. Blessed is the man unto whom the LORD imputeth not iniquity, the very verses Paul uses to prove justification by faith. David tells of the torment of hidden sin and the sweet relief of confession, I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and thou forgavest. Because he would not cover his sin, God covered it, and made Himself his hiding place, compassing him with songs of deliverance. Fulfilled in Christ, to whom our sin was imputed that it might never be counted to us.
Read Chapter 32 →Psalm 33:1-22
By the Word of the LORD Were the Heavens Made
A hymn to the Creator and Ruler of all. By the word of the LORD were the heavens made, for he spake, and it was done. He rules the nations and brings their counsels to nothing, so the blessed nation is the one whose God is the LORD. Against kings, armies, and horses stands the one true safety: behold, the eye of the LORD is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy. Fulfilled in Christ, the living Word by whom all things were made.
Read Chapter 33 →Psalm 34:1-22
O Taste and See That the LORD Is Good
A song of thanksgiving and instruction. Out of his rescue David issues an open invitation: O taste and see that the LORD is good, blessed is the man that trusteth in him. He gives the broken one of the tenderest promises in Scripture, the LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart, and, in a line the Holy Ghost reserved for the cross, he keepeth all his bones, not one of them is broken, fulfilled when the soldiers brake not a bone of the crucified Christ, the true Passover Lamb.
Read Chapter 34 →Psalm 35:1-28
Say Unto My Soul, I Am Thy Salvation
The cry of a wronged man who commits his cause to God rather than avenge himself. Plead my cause, O LORD, and above all outward rescue, say unto my soul, I am thy salvation. He marvels at the God who champions the helpless, LORD, who is like unto thee, which deliverest the poor from him that is too strong for him. And hated without a cause, he foreshadows Christ, who took those very words as fulfilled in Himself (John 15:25).
Read Chapter 35 →Psalm 36:1-12
In Thy Light Shall We See Light
The smallness of sin set against the vastness of God's mercy. The wicked have no fear of God before their eyes, the line Paul makes the climax of his indictment of all mankind. Then the psalm floods with light: God's mercy fills the heavens, love too vast to measure yet small enough to hide under the shadow of thy wings. With thee is the fountain of life; in thy light shall we see light. Fulfilled in Christ, the fountain of living water and the Light of the world, in whom lost Eden is regained.
Read Chapter 36 →Psalm 37:1-40
Delight Thyself Also in the LORD
Quiet wisdom for hearts troubled by the prospering of the wicked. Fret not, for their day is short. A staircase of gentle commands, trust, delight thyself also in the LORD, commit thy way, rest, wait, and the promise Jesus took up in His first sermon, the meek shall inherit the earth. It steadies the stumbling saint: the steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD, though he fall he shall not be utterly cast down. Fulfilled in Christ, the meek and lowly heir of all things, whose hand holds His own.
Read Chapter 37 →Psalm 38:1-22
I Will Be Sorry for My Sin
The third penitential psalm, a man crushed under the double weight of sin and suffering. His iniquities are gone over mine head like a flood, too heavy a burden to bear. Worn past words, he rests that all my desire is before thee, and my groaning is not hid from thee, and chooses the one path to relief: I will declare mine iniquity; I will be sorry for my sin. Fulfilled in Christ, who bids the heavy laden come to Him and bore the crushing load Himself.
Read Chapter 38 →Psalm 39:1-13
My Hope Is in Thee
A searching meditation on the brevity of life. When David's bridled silence breaks, out comes a prayer to know his own frailty: LORD, make me to know mine end. He measures his days against eternity, a handbreadth, a breath, every man at his best state is altogether vanity. Yet it ends not in despair but in hope: and now, Lord, what wait I for? my hope is in thee. Fulfilled in Christ, who abolished death and is Himself our sure and stedfast hope.
Read Chapter 39 →Psalm 40:1-17
Lo, I Come to Do Thy Will
From a pit to the obedience that saves the world. He brought me up out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock; and he hath put a new song in my mouth that draws many to trust. Then the psalm climbs to words the New Testament places on Christ's lips: sacrifice thou didst not desire, Lo, I come, I delight to do thy will. Fulfilled in Jesus (Hebrews 10), the willing Servant whose self-offering takes away sin once for all.
Read Chapter 40 →Psalm 41:1-13
Blessed Is He That Considereth the Poor
The close of Book One of the Psalter, from a sickbed and a broken friendship. Blessed is he that considereth the poor, a beatitude David had lived before he needed it, now claiming the mercy he once showed. At its heart is the wound of betrayal, mine own familiar friend, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me, which Jesus quoted over Judas at the Last Supper. It ends in the first great doxology that seals the Psalter: Blessed be the LORD God of Israel from everlasting, and to everlasting. Amen, and Amen.
Read Chapter 41 →Psalm 42:1-11
As the Hart Panteth After the Water Brooks
The opening of Book Two, the thirst of the soul for God. Cut off from God's house and taunted with Where is thy God?, the psalmist pants like a parched deer for the living God. It refuses to lie down under depression, preaching three times to its own soul: why art thou cast down, O my soul? hope thou in God. It knows both drought and flood, all thy waves and thy billows are gone over me. Fulfilled in Christ, the living water who Himself thirsted, and went under the deepest flood for us.
Read Chapter 42 →Psalm 43:1-5
O Send Out Thy Light and Thy Truth
The second half of the poem begun in Psalm 42, turning thirst into prayer. Judge me, O God, and plead my cause, the wronged soul appealing from a crooked court to the just Judge. It asks for two heavenly guides to lead the exile home, O send out thy light and thy truth, and ends with the refrain a third time, why art thou cast down, O my soul? hope in God. Fulfilled in Christ, our Advocate, and the Light and the Truth sent out to lead us home to the Father.
Read Chapter 43 →Psalm 44:1-26
For Thy Sake Are We Killed All the Day Long
The bold lament of a faithful people suffering not for sin but for loyalty. They remember the land was won not by their own sword but by God's right hand, yet now are defeated. They voice the hardest protest, for thy sake are we killed all the day long, quoted by Paul in Romans 8:36, and dare to cry, Awake, why sleepest thou, O Lord? Fulfilled in Christ, the Lamb led to the slaughter, in whom the suffering are more than conquerors, and who slept in the boat and the tomb and rose to save.
Read Chapter 44 →Psalm 45:1-17
Thy Throne, O God, Is For Ever and Ever
A royal wedding song whose praise soars above any earthly king. The Bridegroom is fairer than the children of men, with grace poured into His lips; He is addressed as God, thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever, quoted of the Son in Hebrews 1:8, yet has God who anointed Him. And the bride, called to forget her father's house, is greatly desired and adorned by the King. Fulfilled in Christ, the divine Bridegroom, and the church His glorious bride.
Read Chapter 45 →Psalm 46:1-11
God Is Our Refuge and Strength
The church's great song of confidence in the God who is with her, the psalm behind Luther's A Mighty Fortress. Though the earth be removed and the mountains carried into the sea, His people will not fear, for God is a very present help in trouble. At the centre of the shaking world stands the city of God, gladdened by a quiet river, unmoved because God is in the midst of her. And to the raging nations comes the command that stills every storm, Be still, and know that I am God. Twice it rests on its refrain, the LORD of hosts is with us, the very name spoken in flesh: Immanuel, God with us in Jesus Christ.
Read Chapter 46 →Psalm 47:1-9
God Is Gone Up With a Shout
A coronation shout for the God who is King of all the earth. It summons not Israel only but all ye people to clap their hands and cry aloud, for the LORD most high is a great King over all the earth. At its centre it sings, God is gone up with a shout, the LORD with the sound of a trumpet, long read by the church as Christ's ascension, and answers with a fivefold command to sing praises. And it ends with the nations gathering, the Gentile princes counted even the people of the God of Abraham. Fulfilled in Jesus Christ, ascended, exalted, King of all the earth.
Read Chapter 47 →Psalm 48:1-14
The City of the Great King
A song of Zion, the city of God, whose praise belongs to the God who dwells in her. She is beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, but only because great is the LORD in her midst. When hostile kings gathered, they saw, marvelled, and fled, and the worshippers testified, As we have heard, so have we seen. The psalm ends with a walk about the city, counting her towers to tell the next generation the one thing worth passing down: This God is our God for ever and ever, he will be our guide even unto death. Fulfilled in Christ, who called Jerusalem the city of the great King.
Read Chapter 48 →Psalm 49:1-20
God Will Redeem My Soul From the Grave
A wisdom psalm to all people, rich and poor, on the one great leveller: death. No wealth can buy back a soul, None of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him; the rich die like the beasts and carry nothing away. But against that darkness the psalm flings its great But God: God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave, for he shall receive me, one of the Old Testament's clearest hopes of resurrection. Fulfilled in Jesus Christ, the ransom no man could pay, who broke the power of the grave.
Read Chapter 49 →Psalm 50:1-23
Our God Shall Come, and Shall Not Keep Silence
The first psalm of Asaph summons the whole earth to a courtroom, where the mighty God comes to judge His own people. But the charge is a religion of ritual without a heart: sacrifices without gratitude, covenant words on lips that love sin. God owns the cattle upon a thousand hills; He needs no bullock. What He desires is Offer unto God thanksgiving, and call upon me in the day of trouble. It ends with the promise, to him that ordereth his conversation aright will I shew the salvation of God. Fulfilled in Christ, the true sacrifice and the salvation of God.
Read Chapter 50 →Psalm 51:1-19
Create in Me a Clean Heart, O God
The greatest confession of sin in the Bible, David's prayer after Nathan confronted him over Bathsheba and Uriah. He hides nothing and pleads nothing but mercy: Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness. He asks to be washed whiter than snow, and not merely reformed but re-made, Create in me a clean heart, O God, using the very verb of Genesis. And he learns the sacrifice God will not despise: a broken and a contrite heart. Fulfilled in Christ, whose blood washes whiter than snow and whose broken body receives the broken sinner.
Read Chapter 51 →Psalm 52:1-9
Like a Green Olive Tree in the House of God
Written when Doeg the Edomite betrayed David and slaughtered the priests of Nob, a psalm of two men and two ends. David confronts the tyrant's pride, Why boastest thou thyself in mischief, O mighty man?, and exposes a tongue like a sharp razor, whose triumph is brief, for the goodness of God endureth continually. He reads the wicked man's epitaph, made not God his strength, but trusted in the abundance of his riches. And he sets his own quiet But I: like a green olive tree in the house of God, trusting in the mercy of God for ever. Fulfilled in Christ, the true Vine in whom the righteous flourish.
Read Chapter 52 →Psalm 53:1-6
The Fool Hath Said in His Heart, There Is No God
A near-twin of Psalm 14, the great diagnosis of the human heart repeated a second time for emphasis. The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God, an atheism of the heart, not the head. Heaven looks down and returns a total verdict: there is none that doeth good, no, not one, the words Paul uses in Romans 3 to prove all the world guilty. Its own note is the wicked seized with great fear, where no fear was, their army scattered by God. It ends in hope: Oh that the salvation of Israel were come out of Zion! Fulfilled in Christ, the one righteous Man and the Deliverer come out of Zion.
Read Chapter 53 →Psalm 54:1-7
Save Me, O God, by Thy Name
Written when the men of Ziph betrayed David to Saul. Handed over by informers, David flees to the one refuge no traitor can reveal, the name of God: Save me, O God, by thy name, and judge me by thy strength. He sets against his enemies a single steadying Behold, God is mine helper, seeing they made one fatal miscalculation, they have not set God before them. And so sure of rescue is he that he praises in faith's past tense: he hath delivered me out of all trouble. Fulfilled in the name that is above every name, Jesus, in whom alone is salvation.
Read Chapter 54 →Psalm 55:1-23
Cast Thy Burden Upon the LORD
The cry of a heart sore pained and overwhelmed by the terrors of death. David longs simply to escape, Oh that I had wings like a dove! for then would I fly away, and be at rest. But his deepest wound is betrayal by a trusted friend, a man mine equal, my guide, with whom he walked unto the house of God, a sorrow pointing to Christ betrayed by Judas. Yet the psalm ends not in flight but faith: Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee. Fulfilled in the caring Lord upon whom Peter bids us cast all our care.
Read Chapter 55 →Psalm 56:1-13
What Time I Am Afraid, I Will Trust in Thee
Written when the Philistines seized David in Gath, a psalm of fear turned to faith. David does not hide his fear but answers it: What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee, laying hold not of a feeling but of God's word, I will not fear what flesh can do unto me. At its heart is one of the tenderest verses in Scripture: Thou tellest my wanderings, put thou my tears into thy bottle, are they not in thy book? A God who counts every wandering and keeps every tear. Fulfilled in the Saviour who wept and treasures our tears.
Read Chapter 56 →Psalm 57:1-11
My Heart Is Fixed, O God
A song sung in a cave, written when David fled from Saul, yet rising to some of the Psalter's highest praise. He shelters in the shadow of thy wings, until these calamities be overpast, a bird under God's feathers. Surrounded by lions whose teeth are spears, he steadies himself: My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed: I will sing and give praise, and awake early to wake the dawn. And twice, from the lowest place, he lifts God to the highest: Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens. Fulfilled in Christ, who went from the lowest place to the highest.
Read Chapter 57 →Psalm 58:1-11
He Is a God That Judgeth in the Earth
A hard psalm that confronts corrupt judges and answers them with the certainty of God's judgment. It arraigns the mighty ones who are only sons of men, weighing the violence of their hands where they should weigh justice. It looks unflinchingly at the root of evil, the wicked are estranged from the womb, deaf by choice like the deaf adder that stoppeth her ear. And it ends in doubled certainty: Verily there is a reward for the righteous: verily he is a God that judgeth in the earth. Fulfilled in Christ, the righteous Judge who was Himself unjustly judged in our place.
Read Chapter 58 →Psalm 59:1-17
I Will Sing of Thy Power in the Morning
Written when Saul sent men to watch David's house and kill him. Trapped, David cries Deliver me from mine enemies, O my God, pressing that they hate him not for my transgression, nor for my sin. He pictures his foes as snarling dogs prowling the city at evening, yet sets against their strength a refrain, God is my defence, waiting on God rather than fearing. And when the night is over he greets the dawn with song: I will sing of thy power, yea, I will sing aloud of thy mercy in the morning. Fulfilled in Christ, the innocent One hated without a cause, and the great morning of the resurrection.
Read Chapter 59 →Psalm 60:1-12
Through God We Shall Do Valiantly
A national prayer after a painful defeat. It does not flinch from tracing the setback to God's hand, thou hast cast us off, thou hast made us to drink the wine of astonishment, yet draws its hope from that very truth, for the God who broke can heal the breaches thereof. God has given a banner to them that fear him, a rallying-point of His truth. And it rests on the great lesson of every setback: Give us help from trouble, for vain is the help of man. Through God we shall do valiantly. Fulfilled in Christ, the banner lifted up, in whom we do valiantly and He treads down every enemy.
Read Chapter 60 →Psalm 61:1-8
Lead Me to the Rock That Is Higher Than I
A prayer of an overwhelmed heart crying from the end of the earth, far off and faint. David does not ask to feel stronger but to be lifted higher than himself: Lead me to the rock that is higher than I. He longs for a permanent home in God, I will abide in thy tabernacle for ever, I will trust in the covert of thy wings, at once the grand house of God and the intimate shelter of a bird. And the prayer for the king's endless years reaches past David to the King who truly shall abide before God for ever. Fulfilled in Christ, our higher Rock and eternal King.
Read Chapter 61 →Psalm 62:1-12
He Only Is My Rock and My Salvation
A psalm of quiet, waiting trust, anchored by one word: only. Truly my soul waiteth upon God; he only is my rock and my salvation. Faith here is trusting God alone, and as David waits his confidence firms from not greatly moved to not moved. He preaches to his own soul, My soul, wait thou only upon God, and calls all to Trust in him at all times, pour out your heart before him. He ends on the two truths a troubled soul needs together: power belongeth unto God, and mercy. Fulfilled in Christ, the one Rock, where the power and mercy of God meet at the cross.
Read Chapter 62 →Psalm 63:1-11
My Soul Thirsteth for Thee
Written in the wilderness of Judah, where the desert's thirst teaches a deeper one: O God, thou art my God, early will I seek thee; my soul thirsteth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is. Out of that longing rises one of Scripture's boldest valuations: thy lovingkindness is better than life. And its secret is a twofold motion of grace, My soul followeth hard after thee: thy right hand upholdeth me, the soul clinging and God already holding. Fulfilled in Christ, the living water who thirsted on the cross, and whose hand none can pluck us from.
Read Chapter 63 →Psalm 64:1-10
But God Shall Shoot at Them
A psalm exposing the secret warfare of the tongue and the God who turns it back on itself. David prays to be hidden from men who whet their tongue like a sword and shoot bitter words from the dark. But the psalm pivots on two words, But God: But God shall shoot at them with an arrow, and the reversal is exact, they shall make their own tongue to fall upon themselves. And the plot's collapse becomes a public sermon: all men shall fear, and shall declare the work of God. Fulfilled in Christ, the perfect One slandered and slain, and the great But God of the resurrection.
Read Chapter 64 →Psalm 65:1-13
Thou Crownest the Year With Thy Goodness
A great song of praise moving from the altar to the ocean to the harvest. It begins with the hearer of prayer, tracing the gospel's order: iniquities purged by God's own act, and the guilty chosen, drawn near, and made to dwell in thy courts. It rises to the God who stilleth the noise of the seas and the tumult of the people with one hand. And it overflows into the God who visitest the earth, and waterest it, who crownest the year with thy goodness, until the valleys shout for joy. Fulfilled in Christ, our access to God, who stilled the storm and is Himself the Bread of life.
Read Chapter 65 →Psalm 66:1-20
Come and Hear What He Hath Done for My Soul
A call to worldwide praise that ends in personal testimony. It summons all ye lands to make his praise glorious, and to come and see the works of God, who turned the sea into dry land. It reads hard providence rightly, thou hast tried us, as silver is tried; we went through fire and through water, but thou broughtest us out into a wealthy place. Then it turns personal: Come and hear what he hath done for my soul, naming the searching condition, if I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me, before the glad, But verily God hath heard me. Fulfilled in Christ, through whom the cleansed heart has open access to the Father.
Read Chapter 66 →Psalm 67:1-7
That Thy Way May Be Known Upon Earth
The Old Testament's great missionary psalm. It prays the priestly blessing, God be merciful unto us, and bless us, but hangs on one word: that thy way may be known upon earth, thy saving health among all nations. God blesses His people not to hoard the blessing but to be a channel of it. It longs for universal praise, and gives a surprising reason for the nations' gladness, for thou shalt judge the people righteously. And it closes with a widening circle: God shall bless us, and all the ends of the earth shall fear him. Fulfilled in Christ, in whom the saving health of God has come to all nations.
Read Chapter 67 →Psalm 68:1-35
Thou Hast Ascended on High
A great triumphal song of the God who arises to scatter His enemies. Yet the majestic God that rideth upon the heavens is a father of the fatherless, and a judge of the widows, who setteth the solitary in families, high enough to help and low enough to care. At its summit stands the verse Paul applies to Christ's ascension: Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive, thou hast received gifts for men (Ephesians 4:8). And it overflows: Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits. Fulfilled in Christ, the ascended Victor who gave gifts to men and holds the issues from death.
Read Chapter 68 →Psalm 69:1-36
They Gave Me Vinegar to Drink
One of the most quoted psalms in the New Testament, a psalm of overwhelming, undeserved suffering reaching beyond David to the passion of Christ. It opens in drowning distress, the waters are come in unto my soul, and describes One hated without a cause, consumed by zeal for God's house, bearing the reproaches aimed at God. At its darkest it foretells the cross to the letter: reproach hath broken my heart; they gave me gall for my meat, and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink. Fulfilled in Jesus (John 2:17; 15:25; Matthew 27:34; John 19:28-29), the suffering Saviour who drank our cup.
Read Chapter 69 →Psalm 70:1-5
Make Haste, O God, to Deliver Me
A short, urgent cry for help, almost word for word the close of Psalm 40. It dares to ask God to hurry, Make haste, O God, to deliver me, and its very urgency is a form of faith. Even in his crisis David turns outward and upward, praying that all who seek God may rejoice and that God be magnified. And he grounds his appeal not on his worthiness but his need: But I am poor and needy; thou art my help and my deliverer. Fulfilled in Christ, the ever-present help who came for the poor and needy.
Read Chapter 70 →Psalm 71:1-24
Cast Me Not Off in the Time of Old Age
The prayer of an aging saint. He rests on a lifetime of God's care, thou art my trust from my youth; by thee have I been holden up from the womb, reasoning that the God who carried him from birth will hold him to the end. He voices the tender fear of the aged, Cast me not off in the time of old age; forsake me not when my strength faileth. And he prays to be spared for a purpose: until I have shewed thy strength unto this generation. Fulfilled in Christ, who holds His own from the womb to the grave and never casts them off.
Read Chapter 71 →Psalm 72:1-20
His Name Shall Endure For Ever
The last psalm of Book Two, a royal song for Solomon that soars beyond him to the Messiah. It prays for a reign of righteousness where the King will judge the poor of the people and break in pieces the oppressor. It describes a dominion no son of David held, from sea to sea, where all kings shall fall down before him, with the kings of Sheba bringing gifts. And it crowns Him with an everlasting name in whom all nations shall be blessed. It closes Book Two with the doxology, let the whole earth be filled with his glory; Amen, and Amen. Fulfilled in Christ, the King of kings and Seed of Abraham.
Read Chapter 72 →Psalm 73:1-28
God Is the Strength of My Heart
The psalm that opens Book Three, one of Scripture's most honest, the record of a believer who nearly lost his faith over the prosperity of the wicked. My feet were almost gone, Asaph confesses, envious when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. The riddle was too painful for me, until I went into the sanctuary of God; then understood I their end. And there he found the cure for envy, not the world's riches but God Himself: Whom have I in heaven but thee? God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever. Fulfilled in Christ, our access to God and everlasting inheritance.
Read Chapter 73 →Psalm 74:1-23
God Is My King of Old
A heartbroken lament over the destruction of God's sanctuary. It cries the raw why, O God, why hast thou cast us off for ever?, yet clings to God's ownership, the sheep of thy pasture, thy congregation which thou hast redeemed. Its deepest wound is not the ruined stones but the silence, there is no more any prophet, neither is there among us any that knoweth how long. Then it pivots to remember: For God is my King of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth. Fulfilled in Christ, the flock He purchased with His blood, who broke the long silence and crushed the dragon's head.
Read Chapter 74 →Psalm 75:1-10
God Is the Judge
A song of confidence in God the righteous Judge, who rules the rise and fall of every power. It gives thanks that thy name is near, and hears God promise to bear up the pillars of a dissolving world. It strips away every human explanation for who rises and who falls: promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south, but God is the judge, he putteth down one, and setteth up another. And it holds up the cup of God's wrath, which the wicked must drink to the dregs, a cup Christ drank in our place, that we might drink the cup of salvation.
Read Chapter 75 →Psalm 76:1-12
The Wrath of Man Shall Praise Thee
God is known by His victories, shattering the weapons of war at His dwelling: In Judah is God known; there brake he the arrows of the bow. His fearsome judgment has a merciful aim, He arose to judgment, to save all the meek of the earth. And He rules even human rage: Surely the wrath of man shall praise thee; the remainder of wrath shalt thou restrain. Fulfilled in Christ, our peace, at whose cross the worst wrath of man accomplished the salvation of the world.
Read Chapter 76 →Psalm 77:1-20
I Will Remember the Works of the LORD
A window into a believer's dark night, and the way out. Asaph sinks into the most frightening questions: Will the Lord cast off for ever? Hath God forgotten to be gracious? Then comes the turn, naming despair for what it is: This is my infirmity; but I will remember the works of the LORD, fighting feeling with the deliberate memory of God's deeds. Above all he remembers the Red Sea: thy way is in the sea, thy footsteps are not known, yet thou leddest thy people like a flock. Fulfilled in the unchanging Christ, the Good Shepherd who leads His flock through the deep waters.
Read Chapter 77 →Psalm 78:1-72
Shewing to the Generation to Come
A long teaching song retelling Israel's rescues and rebellions for the next generation. It opens with a charge to pass the faith on, We will not hide them from their children, aimed that they might set their hope in God. Through repeated unbelief it reveals a God whose patience astonishes: he, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity, for he remembered that they were but flesh. And it ends not in judgment but a gift: God gave His wayward people a shepherd, He chose David from the sheepfolds to feed Jacob his people. Fulfilled in Christ, the Good Shepherd, great David's greater Son.
Read Chapter 78 →Psalm 79:1-13
Help Us, for the Glory of Thy Name
A lament over the ruin of Jerusalem: O God, the heathen are come into thine inheritance; thy holy temple have they defiled. It lays the horror before God as His own loss, pressing thy inheritance, thy temple, thy saints. And it rests its plea not on merit but on God's honour: Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of thy name, and purge away our sins, for thy name's sake. It ends in a vow of praise from a rescued flock. Fulfilled in Christ, who saves and cleanses His people for His name's sake.
Read Chapter 79 →Psalm 80:1-19
Turn Us Again, O God
A prayer for restoration marked by a rising refrain: Turn us again, O God, and cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved. It cries to the Shepherd of Israel to shine forth and save His flock, and grieves over Israel as a vine God brought out of Egypt and planted, now ravaged. Its hope narrows to one figure, the man of thy right hand, the son of man whom thou madest strong for thyself. Fulfilled in Christ, the Good Shepherd, the true Vine, and the Son of Man at God's right hand.
Read Chapter 80 →Psalm 81:1-16
Open Thy Mouth Wide
A festal psalm that turns to lament. It summons loud worship, Sing aloud unto God our strength, then God speaks, grounding His command in grace, I am the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, and making the widest promise: open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it. But His people would not hearken, and it closes on the sigh of a grieving God, Oh that my people had hearkened unto me, and honey out of the rock refused. Fulfilled in Christ, the bread of life and the smitten Rock.
Read Chapter 81 →Psalm 82:1-8
God Judgeth Among the Gods
God arraigns the unjust judges of the earth: God standeth in the congregation of the mighty; he judgeth among the gods. He measures rulers by their care for the weak, defend the poor and fatherless, and pronounces their doom, I have said, Ye are gods; but ye shall die like men, the very words Jesus took up to defend His deity. It ends crying for the one Judge who will not fail: Arise, O God, judge the earth: for thou shalt inherit all nations. Fulfilled in Christ, to whom all judgment is committed.
Read Chapter 82 →Psalm 83:1-18
Whose Name Alone Is JEHOVAH
Asaph's last psalm, a prayer against a confederacy of nations sworn to blot out God's people: keep not thou silence, O God. God names them His hidden ones, His treasure, and the psalm asks that the proud be scattered like chaff, yet aimed at mercy, fill their faces with shame, that they may seek thy name. It rises to a grand confession of the one God: that men may know that thou, whose name alone is JEHOVAH, art the most high over all the earth. Fulfilled in Christ, JEHOVAH become our salvation.
Read Chapter 83 →Psalm 84:1-12
A Sun and Shield
A pilgrim's beloved song of longing for God's house: how amiable are thy tabernacles; my soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the LORD. Even the sparrow finds a home at God's altars. Pilgrims passing through the valley of weeping make it a well and go from strength to strength. It crowns with treasures: a day in thy courts is better than a thousand, and the LORD God is a sun and shield. Fulfilled in Christ, the true temple and the Sun of righteousness.
Read Chapter 84 →Psalm 85:1-13
Mercy and Truth Are Met Together
A prayer moving from remembered grace to revival to revelation. It rehearses God's forgiveness, thou hast covered all their sin, then pleads, wilt thou not revive us again, and turns from asking to listening, I will hear what God the LORD will speak. It rises to one of Scripture's deepest verses: mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other. Fulfilled at the cross of Christ, where justice and mercy embrace and God is just and the justifier.
Read Chapter 85 →Psalm 86:1-17
Unite My Heart to Fear Thy Name
David's prayer, leaning not on worth but need: bow down thine ear, for I am poor and needy; thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive. At its heart is the confession of the one God, thou art God alone, and the prayer that flows from it, unite my heart to fear thy name. It answers proud enemies by reciting God's name from Sinai: a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering. Fulfilled in Christ, the one God manifest, full of grace and truth.
Read Chapter 86 →Psalm 87:1-7
All My Springs Are in Thee
A short song of the city of God as the birthplace of the nations: glorious things are spoken of thee, O city of God. God calls the roll of Zion's citizens and against her old enemies, Egypt, Babylon, Philistia, writes, this man was born there. Foreigners made native-born, names entered one by one in His register. It ends at a fountain, all my springs are in thee. Fulfilled in Christ, in whom we are born again into Zion and given the living water.
Read Chapter 87 →Psalm 88:1-18
I Have Cried Day and Night
The darkest song in the Psalter, the one lament that never breaks into light. Heman cries from the edge of the grave, O LORD God of my salvation, I have cried day and night before thee, laying his suffering at God's own hand, thy wrath lieth hard upon me, and ending in its final word, darkness, with no resolution. God's gift to sufferers in the deepest pit. Fulfilled in the Man of sorrows, Christ, who went into the dark forsaken so His people never face it alone.
Read Chapter 88 →Psalm 89:1-52
I Will Sing of the Mercies of the LORD
The close of Book Three, a psalm of covenant and crisis. It sings God's oath to David, thy seed will I establish for ever, swelling to a firstborn, higher than the kings of the earth. Then the throne lies cast to the ground and the singer cries, where are thy former lovingkindnesses which thou swarest unto David? Yet it ends in worship, Blessed be the LORD for evermore. Fulfilled in Christ, the Son of David whose fallen throne God raised up for ever.
Read Chapter 89 →Psalm 90:1-17
Teach Us to Number Our Days
The prayer of Moses, opening Book Four and the oldest psalm of all. It sets God's eternity against man's frailty: Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations; from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God, while man is grass that withers. So it prays the wisest prayer a mortal can pray, teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom, and asks God to establish the work of our hands. Fulfilled in Christ, the eternal One who gives dying men everlasting life.
Read Chapter 90 →Psalm 91:1-16
The Secret Place of the Most High
The great psalm of divine protection: he that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. It pictures God as a mother bird, he shall cover thee with his feathers, promises angelic keeping in all thy ways (the phrase the devil dropped tempting Christ), and closes with God speaking seven I wills: because he hath set his love upon me, with long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation. Fulfilled in Christ, our refuge and God's salvation.
Read Chapter 91 →Psalm 92:1-15
The Righteous Shall Flourish Like the Palm Tree
The Sabbath psalm, filling the day of rest with praise: it is a good thing to give thanks unto the LORD; to shew forth thy lovingkindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night. It answers the puzzle of the prospering wicked, who spring as the grass only to be destroyed for ever, and ends with a beloved promise: the righteous, planted in the house of the LORD, shall flourish like the palm tree and still bring forth fruit in old age. Fulfilled in Christ, our Sabbath rest and the Vine of our fruit.
Read Chapter 92 →Psalm 93:1-5
The LORD Reigneth
The first enthronement psalm, steadying the world with one announcement: the LORD reigneth, he is clothed with majesty; thy throne is established of old, thou art from everlasting. The floods rise and roar, but the LORD on high is mightier than the noise of many waters. It ends turning to His word and house: thy testimonies are very sure, holiness becometh thine house. Fulfilled in Christ, King of kings, who stilled the sea and makes His house holy.
Read Chapter 93 →Psalm 94:1-23
Thy Comforts Delight My Soul
The cry of the oppressed to God the Judge: O LORD God, to whom vengeance belongeth, shew thyself. The wicked crush the widow and fatherless, saying the LORD shall not see, but the psalm answers, he that planted the ear, shall he not hear? Then it blesses the sufferer, blessed is the man whom thou chastenest, and comforts him: in the multitude of my thoughts within me thy comforts delight my soul. Fulfilled in Christ, the all-seeing Judge and God of all comfort.
Read Chapter 94 →Psalm 95:1-11
To Day If Ye Will Hear His Voice
A call to worship that ends in warning. It summons joyful song, O come, let us sing unto the LORD, the rock of our salvation, then kneeling, O come, let us worship and bow down, before our Maker and Shepherd. Then God's voice breaks in: to day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your heart, lest we forfeit His rest through unbelief as Israel did. The rest they lost is the rest that remains in Christ, entered by faith today.
Read Chapter 95 →Psalm 96:1-13
O Sing unto the LORD a New Song
The missionary psalm, Israel's praise bursting its borders: sing unto the LORD, all the earth; declare his glory among the heathen. It sets the living God against the idols, all the gods of the nations are idols, but the LORD made the heavens, and calls every family to worship in the beauty of holiness. It ends with all creation rejoicing at the coming Judge: for he cometh to judge the earth with righteousness. Fulfilled in Christ, the gospel to all nations and the coming King.
Read Chapter 96 →Psalm 97:1-12
Light Is Sown for the Righteous
An enthronement psalm: the LORD reigneth, let the earth rejoice. His reign is wrapped in mystery yet founded on justice, clouds and darkness are round about him; righteousness and judgment are the habitation of his throne. It commands worship him, all ye gods (applied to Christ), and turns to the life His reign demands: ye that love the LORD, hate evil, with the tender promise, light is sown for the righteous. Fulfilled in Christ, worshipped above all and the Light of the world.
Read Chapter 97 →Psalm 98:1-9
The Salvation of Our God
The joyful song of God's salvation seen by all the earth, the psalm behind Joy to the World. O sing unto the LORD a new song; his holy arm hath gotten him the victory, salvation won by God alone and openly shewed, so all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. All the earth is called to loud praise before the LORD, the King, and creation applauds the coming Judge: let the floods clap their hands. Fulfilled in Christ, the holy arm and salvation of God.
Read Chapter 98 →Psalm 99:1-9
For the LORD Our God Is Holy
The enthronement psalm of holiness, sounding three times, holy is he. The LORD reigneth; let the people tremble, for the King between the cherubims is holy. His strength loveth judgment; worship at his footstool. He hears prayer, answering Moses, Aaron, and Samuel, and forgives without winking at sin: thou wast a God that forgavest them, though thou tookest vengeance of their inventions. Fulfilled at the cross of Christ, where God is just and the justifier.
Read Chapter 99 →Psalm 100:1-5
Serve the LORD with Gladness
The beloved Old Hundredth, the classic call to joyful thanksgiving: make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands; serve the LORD with gladness. It grounds worship in truth, know ye that the LORD he is God, it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves, and shows the way in, enter into his gates with thanksgiving, resting on God's changeless character: the LORD is good, his mercy is everlasting. Fulfilled in Christ, who makes glad service possible and opens the gate to God.
Read Chapter 100 →Psalm 101:1-8
I Will Set No Wicked Thing Before Mine Eyes
David's charter of integrity: I will behave myself wisely in a perfect way; I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes; I will walk within my house with a perfect heart. He refuses the secret slanderer and the proud, gathers the faithful of the land, and purges evil for the city of the LORD, yet cries in dependence, O when wilt thou come unto me? Fulfilled in Christ, the perfect King whose city admits nothing that defiles.
Read Chapter 101 →Psalm 102:1-28
But Thou Art the Same
A prayer of the afflicted when he is overwhelmed: my days are consumed like smoke; I am like a sparrow alone upon the house top. Against his fleeting days stands a mighty But: but thou, O LORD, shalt endure for ever, and hope springs for Zion, thou shalt arise, and have mercy upon Zion. It soars to the unchanging Creator, of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth... thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end, words Hebrews applies to Christ, the eternal, unchanging God.
Read Chapter 102 →Psalm 103:1-22
Bless the LORD, O My Soul
David's beloved song of mercy: bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits; who forgiveth all thine iniquities. He measures mercy against the sky and removes sin infinitely, as far as the east is from the west, reveals the Father's heart, like as a father pitieth his children, and sets the everlasting against our grass-like days: but the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting. Fulfilled in Christ, in whom our sins are carried infinitely away.
Read Chapter 103 →Psalm 104:1-35
O LORD, How Manifold Are Thy Works
The great creation psalm, a tour of the world from the light God wears as a garment to the leviathan in the sea. God is at home in His world, riding the clouds, feeding every creature: these wait all upon thee; thou openest thine hand, they are filled with good. All life hangs on His breath, thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created. It ends in lifelong praise, I will sing unto the LORD as long as I live, and the Psalter's first Hallelujah. Fulfilled in Christ, the Creator clothed in light.
Read Chapter 104 →Psalm 105:1-45
He Hath Remembered His Covenant For Ever
A psalm of remembering, retracing Israel's history from Abraham to the Exodus as proof that God keeps His word: make known his deeds among the people; seek his face evermore. Its theme is covenant faithfulness, he hath remembered his covenant for ever, and it gathers the whole story into one cause and purpose: for he remembered his holy promise, redeeming His people that they might observe his statutes. Fulfilled in Christ, the true Seed of Abraham.
Read Chapter 105 →Psalm 106:1-48
Nevertheless He Saved Them for His Name's Sake
The close of Book Four, a confession of Israel's endless failure against God's endless mercy: his mercy endureth for ever; we have sinned with our fathers. They provoked God even at the Red Sea, yet nevertheless he saved them for his name's sake. Many times did he deliver them, until he remembered for them his covenant, and it ends in doxology, blessed be the LORD God of Israel from everlasting to everlasting, Amen. Fulfilled in Christ, who saves rebels for God's own name's sake.
Read Chapter 106 →Psalm 107:1-43
Let the Redeemed of the LORD Say So
The opening of Book Five: O give thanks unto the LORD, for he is good; let the redeemed of the LORD say so. Four scenes of trouble and rescue, wanderers, prisoners, the sick, and sailors in a storm, each with the refrain, then they cried unto the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them. He satisfieth the longing soul, he sent his word and healed them, he maketh the storm a calm. Fulfilled in Christ, our Redeemer who brings us to our desired haven.
Read Chapter 107 →Psalm 108:1-13
Through God We Shall Do Valiantly
A song of settled, confident praise: O God, my heart is fixed; I will sing and give praise, rising early to wake the dawn and praise God among the nations. It rests on the sure word of God, God hath spoken in his holiness, counting victory already won, and ends with the great lesson: vain is the help of man; through God we shall do valiantly. Fulfilled in Christ, through whom we are more than conquerors.
Read Chapter 108 →Psalm 109:1-31
But I Give Myself unto Prayer
A hard cry for justice whose heart is prayer, not revenge: for my love they are my adversaries, but I give myself unto prayer. David hands his enemies to God and pleads only on God's name and mercy, but do thou for me, O GOD the Lord, for thy name's sake. It ends in praise, for he shall stand at the right hand of the poor. Fulfilled in Christ, hated without a cause, betrayed by Judas (v8, Acts 1:20), our Advocate against every accusation.
Read Chapter 109 →Psalm 110:1-7
Sit Thou at My Right Hand
The most quoted psalm in the New Testament and the crown of the messianic psalms: the LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool. The Messiah is David's Lord, enthroned at God's right hand, and King and Priest in one, thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek. It traces His path from the brook of suffering to the lifted head. Fulfilled in Christ, our reigning King and interceding High Priest.
Read Chapter 110 →Psalm 111:1-10
The Fear of the LORD Is the Beginning of Wisdom
An alphabet of praise for the great works of God, sought out of all them that have pleasure therein. God makes his works to be remembered, and his greatest is redemption: he sent redemption unto his people; holy and reverend is his name. It closes with the motto of wisdom: the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, proved by all they that do his commandments. Fulfilled in Christ, our Redemption and the wisdom of God.
Read Chapter 111 →Psalm 112:1-10
His Heart Is Fixed, Trusting in the LORD
The twin of Psalm 111: the words used of God are now used of the God-fearer, who grows to resemble Him. Blessed is the man that feareth the LORD; unto the upright there ariseth light in the darkness. His mark is generous, unshaken righteousness, and a heart proof against panic: he shall not be afraid of evil tidings, his heart is fixed, trusting in the LORD. Fulfilled in those conformed to the image of Christ.
Read Chapter 112 →Psalm 113:1-9
Who Humbleth Himself to Behold
The first Hallel psalm, holding God's height and His stooping together. Praise His name across all time and space, from the rising of the sun. He is so high, high above all nations, and his glory above the heavens, that even to behold heaven is His condescension, who humbleth himself to behold. Yet He stoops to lift the lowest, he raiseth up the poor out of the dust, to set him with princes. Fulfilled in Christ, who being in the form of God humbled Himself to raise us up.
Read Chapter 113 →Psalm 114:1-8
Tremble, Thou Earth, at the Presence of the Lord
A vivid Exodus poem: when Israel went out of Egypt, God made them his sanctuary; the sea saw it, and fled; the mountains skipped like rams. The poet questions the fleeing creation, then gives the answer: tremble, thou earth, at the presence of the Lord, who turned the rock into a standing water, the flint into a fountain. Fulfilled in Christ, the smitten Rock from whom living water flows.
Read Chapter 114 →More Chapters Coming