Psalm 23

The Lord is the stronghold of my life – of whom shall I be afraid?” I love the imagery in this verse, and the promise of shelter. I love that it reinforces that God forgives all, and will protect me from those who wish to harm me. Throughout the psalm it reflects David’s confidence in God to deliver him from his enemies, and welcome him into Heaven at the end. This promise that was fulfilled by Jesus Christ, to be forgiven and reunited with God, in His house, has been such a boon to my life. King David was a warrior who saw, and partook in, some of the worst things that humanity does to one another. How he must have loved God, and how joyful he must have felt when this psalm came upon him. This psalm brings me peace and joy every time I think of it. It is the promise of a happy ending, and so, it the gift of hope. I have been in places of imminent harm, and had Him come to my, and my

In regards to the ethical standpoint of the Psalms, it is asked how a prayer might impact a person’s ethics? Or do ethics affect how a person prays? Does the person praying connect to the Psalms, and if so, understand their importance ? The Psalms also go back and forth between speaking in 1st and 3rd person. This is believed to help the person identify what the point of the psalm, or psalmist. This book also discusses the Psalms and their connection to the law. The significance of the

These words I one day want tattooed to my skin as a daily reminder of what He does for me every day, but the many verses preceding and following them provide an even more perfect picture of who God is and what drives how I understand this world and His calling for me while I’m a participant of it. It’s a long passage, so I’ll share the portions most relevant to this post and my title. Psalms 146 opens in exalting the Lord and continues on to warn readers about the dangers of hoping in man over Him. By verse 6, we begin to learn about the many ways He blesses and cares for His people. Then, in verse 7, we read about our

Psalm 24 can easily be summed up as a Psalm that articulates the power of God, or as Kidner(2009) sums it up in the chapter of Psalm 24, the “King of Glory, The All- Creating, The All-Holy and The All-Victorious.” But to fully grasp what the Psalmist is trying to say one must

One thing without a doubt, the Psalms will enhance our otherworldly life and give us windows through which to take a look at the occasions of our lives. Through those windows, we will see the tones of another scene where our help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and

As there are so many Psalm to be read and study for clarification purposes and understandings for the reader, I have chosen only two, the two that have spoken to me the most, the ones that hit close to home. I believe that all Psalm or as I should say that the Bible in general has been written for all of us on Earth so that we may follow God’s teachings. But, in Psalms it speaks about so much because there are so many composites of writing, poetry, hymns, etc. The two I have chosen are Psalm 19 and 150.

The two Psalms that really hit home to me were Psalm 23 and Psalm 1. They both give me a new understanding about the life us Christians should be living. I can relate to these Palms the most because I feel like I have find myself in some of these situations. Psalm 23 and 1 Helped me with my relationship with God, relationship with others, and help understand who I am.

When many people think of Psalms they think of it as just a book of songs but, in reality it is so much more than just that. Yes, Psalms is mainly made of songs but, these songs have so much life, wisdom, and emotion fused into them. When a Psalm is read the emotions of the author can be felt because no matter the subject, whether it’s God’s love, mercy, justice, strength, or any other attribute of God, the Word touches a person in a way others might not. As the book progresses a person discovers more about God’s character, His everlasting love and reign. Psalms is a perfect example of how a person should praise God and glorify Him. It teaches so much truth and knowledge within its songs of praise which are sometimes overlooked. Psalms

One can say that the book of Psalms is one of the true precious jewels a Christian has today. These books have often been looked at as a source of comfort, encouragement, and instruction on how to praise God. As psalm twenty-nine is examined, one can argue that this is a key psalm of praise, and it speaks on the glory of God through nature.

Psalm 23 is a realistic hopeful passage written by David about the presence of trials in his life versus the provision and relationship the Lord has for him. This Psalm is filled with metaphors and creative imagery that is best understood through contextual knowledge. Much of David’s writing in this passage is about his struggles and trials, while the rest is essentially about the faithfulness of God.

1, 2): "My soul panteth, thirsteth, for God, for nothing more than God, but still for more and more of him.’’ Now observe, 1. When it was that David thus expressed his vehement desire towards God. It was, (1.) When he was debarred from his outward opportunities of waiting on God, when he was banished to the land of Jordan, a great way off from the courts of God’s house. Note, Sometimes God teaches us effectually to know the worth of mercies by the want of them, and whets our appetite for the means of grace by cutting us short in those means. We are apt to loathe that manna, when we have plenty of it, which will be very precious to us if ever we come to know the scarcity of it. (2.) When he was deprived, in a great measure, of the inward comfort he used to have in God. He now went mourning, but he went on panting. Note, If God, by his grace, has wrought in us sincere and earnest desires towards him, we may take comfort from these when we want those ravishing delights we have sometimes had in God, because lamenting after God is as sure an evidence that we love him as rejoicing in God. Before the psalmist records his doubts, and fears, and griefs, which had sorely shaken him, he premises this, That he looked upon the living God as his chief good, and had set his heart upon him accordingly, and was resolved to live and die by him; and,

The grace in the psalm is witnessed in the fourth verse. “I will fear no evil, for thou art with me.” How many times have you gone through a tough situation and realized that God was with you? God may not have jumped up and down in front of you or dropped a bucket of water on

The beautiful poetry in the Psalms could simulate our imaginations, arouse our emotions, feed our intellects and address our wills, which appeals directly to the whole person. Nevertheless, poetry is difficult to interpret, especially for the poetry which is thousands of years old and written in the context of a foreign culture. Dr. Tremper Longman is an excellent old testament scholar with a longstanding reputation. He attained his M.Div. at Westminster Theological Seminary and his Ph.D. at Yale University. In this particular work, he seeks to help the readers better interpret these Hebrew poetries based on their historical context and literary genre. With this background, we will explore how the Psalms will address us today and better understand these mirrors of the soul. No matter you are a pastor, a student, or a lay person longing to understand the psalms, this book will be a helpful and accessible guide for you to read the psalms.

In the 124th Psalm, voice is given to a beautiful question about the tragic reality that would have been theirs if their “help” had come from anyone but the LORD. The “what if?” question is worth asking, and numerous moments recorded in the Hebrew Bible speak of times of strife where, in the end, “God comes through.” Dr. Toni Craven describes the whole of the Psalms as “a self-contained religious library of prayer in that it incorporates an enormously wide spectrum of issues and reflects various historical backgrounds.[footnoteRef:0]” The echoes of those moments in the narratives of the Hebrew Bible are heard behind the words of Psalm 124. Fortunately, the utter destruction the 124th Psalm alludes to doesn’t come to fruition. In spite of the power wielded by their enemies, power that is as consuming as the appetite of a devouring monster and as uncontrollably destructive as a flash flood raging, and even though the ones who are against the people of God possess a grasp that is as sure and as strong as a hunter’s well-set snare, those mortals cannot overcome the ones the LORD chooses to defend. Instead, their rescue from that trouble receives the emphasis and is celebrated as the salvific, liberating work of God. Claus Westermann aptly describes Psalm 124 thusly: “Psalm 124 is able to transport us into the hour in which Israel looked back upon a rescue from grave trouble and summed up this experience of deliverance in language of relived praise, understandable

In the 124th Psalm, the people of Israel voice a beautiful question about the tragic reality that would have been theirs if their “help” had come from anyone but the LORD. The “what if?” question it asks is a good one, and numerous moments recorded in the Hebrew Bible speak of times of strife where, in the end, “God comes through.” Dr. Toni Craven describes the whole of the Psalms as “a self-contained religious library of prayer in that it incorporates an enormously wide spectrum of issues and reflects various historical backgrounds.[footnoteRef:0]” The echoes of those moments in the narratives of the Hebrew Bible are heard behind the words of Psalm 124. Fortunately, the utter destruction the 124th Psalm alludes to doesn’t come to fruition. For all the power that is had by the enemies the people of Israel face, power that is as consuming as the appetite of a devouring monster and as uncontrollably destructive as a flash flood raging, and even though the ones who are against the people of God possess a grasp that is as sure and as strong as a hunter’s well-set snare, they cannot overcome the ones the LORD chooses to defend. Instead, their rescue from that trouble receives the emphasis and is celebrated as the salvific, liberating work of God. Claus Westermann aptly describes Psalm 124 thusly: “Psalm 124 is able to transport us into the hour in which Israel looked back upon a rescue from very grave trouble and summed up this experience of deliverance in language