DBG - June 21 - Psalms 26-31

This psalm is by David.  It is about strength against unfounded slander.

vs. 1-2 – David asks God to search him out for sin.  He has been accused of wrongdoing and is appealing his case before the Omniscient God.

vs. 3-5 – David submits that he has faithfully followed the way of the righteous as commanded in Psalm 1.  Compare the claims of David against the description of the righteous in that psalm.

vs. 6-8 – After vindication from God, of which David is sure, he will praise and honor Him.

vs. 9-12 – David calls on God to deliver him from the fate of the wicked as he is on the path of righteousness.

This psalm is by David and is a call for deliverance. 

vs. 1 – David declares his faith in God who upholds him.

vs. 2-3 – The wicked are described as vainly attacking the righteous.

vs. 4-5 – David desires for closer communion with God, hinting at his deliverance.

vs. 6 – Praise for deliverance.

vs. 7-10 – David calls on the Lord for deliverance.

vs. 11-12 – David prays for deliverance and safety from his enemies.

vs. 13-14 – David’s sure faith is observed as he commends others to trust in the Lord who delivers from trouble. 

This psalm is by David is the cry of one oppressed by the wicked.

vs. 1-2 – David asks God to hear his desperate cry.

vs. 3 – David prays he is not caught up in the doom of the wicked.

vs. 4 – A prayer that the wicked receive their just reward.

vs. 5 – Why do the wicked deserve judgment?  Because they do not consider the Lord.

vs 6-9 – A burst of praise toward the God who delivers His own.

This psalm is by David and shows God’s majesty and might in the illustration of a thunderstorm. 

vs. 1-2 – A call to worship and glorify the Lord Almighty. 

vs. 3-9 – The might of God is seen here through the imagery of a thunderstorm.  He controls the storm and His voice is thunder.  The fury of the storm shakes the world beneath it.  We can also trace its pass southward:  it begins over the Mediterranean Sea, breaks forth on Lebanon in the north, then goes south to the wilderness of Kadesh.  The effects of the storm on the natural world are noted, including how it causes animals to give birth.

vs. 10-11 – God’s power is seen in the flood that the storm brings.  Also interesting here is that the Hebrew word for flood in vs. 10 is mabbul (Strong’s H3999) which is only used 12 other times in the Bible, all of these in Genesis speaking in Noah’s Flood. 

This psalm is by David for the dedication of his house.  This is his personal house built in II Samuel 5:11 and not the Temple.  He was no longer on the run hiding in caves but was firmly established in Jerusalem. 

vs. 1-3 – David acknowledges and praises God for lifting him up and delivering him from trouble.

vs. 4-5 – A call for all of God’s children to praise the one Who delivers and turns weeping into joy.

vs. 6-7 – David makes a mistake in lifting himself up when God had done the actual lifting.  He had to be humbled again to rightly proclaim that all He had was because of God.

vs. 8-10 – David recalls God’s salvation.  He was in a deadly position, but God delivered him, so now he knows to trust in God.

vs. 11-12 – Who else but God can radically change things?  David moves from grieving his state to glorifying his Savior.  The God who changes things for the better deserves eternal praise.

This psalm is by David and was intended for use in the Temple.  This is a cry for deliverance and song of praise for it.

vs. 1-5 – David trusts in God’s strong hand to deliver him from his troubles.

vs. 6-8 – David praises God for saving him from the wicked and placing him in a safe and secure place.

vs. 9-13 – David describes the place of torment that God delivered him from.  He was an outcast and alienated from any support.  His enemies sought his life.

vs. 14-18 – David calls on the Lord to deliver him.  He pleads for justice to be done, so that his enemies fall and he be saved. 

vs. 19-20 – David describes the place of blessing that the Lord has for the righteous. 

 vs. 21-24 – A burst of praise to God and call for the faithful to join in it. 

Note how so many of these psalms begin in cries for aid and end in outbursts of praise.  Never neglect giving God the glory that He deserves for His mercy and grace in your life.

Our hymn today is “Give to the Lord, Ye Sons of Fame”.  It is a metrical adaption of Psalm 29 by Isaac Watts.  It appears in his hymnal under the heading “Storm and Thunder”.

Give to the LORD, ye sons of fame,
give to the LORD renown and pow'r;
ascribe due honors to His name,
and His eternal might adore.

The LORD proclaims His pow'r aloud
o'er the vast ocean and the land;
His voice divides the wat'ry cloud,
and lightnings blaze at His command.

He speaks, and howling tempests rise,
and lay the forest bare around:
the fiercest beast, with piteous cries,
confess the terror of the sound.

His thunders rend the vaulted skies,
and palaces and temples shake.
The mountains tremble at the noise,
the valleys roar, the deserts quake.

The LORD sits sov'reign o'er the flood;
the Thund’rer reigns forever King;
but makes His temple His abode,
where we His awful glories sing.

We see no terrors in His name,
but in our God a Father find.
The voice that shakes all nature's frame,
speaks comfort to the pious mind.