Ps 42

Ps 42:1 As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for You, O God.

:2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God?

:3 My tears have been my food day and night, while they continually say to me, “Where is your God?”

:4 When I remember these things, I pour out my soul within me. For I used to go with the multitude; I went with them to the house of God, with the voice of joy and praise, with a multitude that kept a pilgrim feast.

:5 Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me?

Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him for the help of His countenance.

:6 O my God, my soul is cast down within me; therefore I will remember You from the land of the Jordan, and from the heights of Hermon, from the Hill Mizar.

:7 Deep calls unto deep at the noise of Your waterfalls; all Your waves and billows have gone over me.

:8 The Lord will command His lovingkindness in the daytime, and in the night His song shall be with me – a prayer to the God of my life.

:9 I will say to God my Rock, “why have You forgotten me? Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?”

:10 As with a breaking of my bones, my enemies reproach me, while they say to me all day long, “Where is your God?”

:11 Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; for I shall yet praise Him, the help of my countenance and my God.

This is listed as Yearning for God in the Midst of Distresses.

This is the first psalm to designate someone other than David as the author.

How long has it been since you were thirsty for God? Maybe as you read this you feel far from the Lord. You might be discouraged or depressed. You might be exhausted from pursuing success or financial security. You might realize as you stop for a minute and really think about it, that you are the one who has put so much distance between yourself and God. Let the Holy Spirit use the words of this psalm to stir a longing for God in your heart. Pursue a restored relationship with the Lord as if your spiritual life depended on it, because it does!

PS 41

Ps 41:1 Blessed is he who considers the poor; the Lord will deliver him in time of trouble.

:2 The Lord will preserve him and keep him alive, and he will be blessed on the earth; You will not deliver him to the will of his enemies.

:3 The Lord will strengthen him on his bed of illness; You will sustain him on his sickbed.

:4 I said, “ Lord, be merciful to me; heal my soul, for I have sinned against You.”

:5 My enemies speak evil of me: “When will he die, and his name perish?”

:6 And if he comes to see me, he speaks lies; his heart gathers iniquity to itself; when he goes out, he tells it.

:7 All who hate me whisper together against me; against me they devise my hurt.

:8 “An evil disease,” they say, “cling to him. And now that he lies down, he will rise up no more.”

:9 Even my own familiar friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, as lifted up his heel against me.

:10 But You, O Lord, be merciful to me, and raise me up, that I may repay them.

:11 By this I know that You are well pleased with me, because my enemy does not triumph over me.

:12 As for me, You uphold me in my integrity, and set me before Your face forever.

:13 Blessed be the Lord God of Israel from everlasting to everlasting! Amen and Amen.

This is headed as the Blessing and Suffering of the Godly.

Sounds like David is seriously ill and his enemies are hoping he dies.

This psalm kinda reads like a review of the first 40.

1. Sin that needs forgiving. (ps 32 and 38)
2. Sickness that needs healing (ps 6 and 38)
3. A cry for help is heard and a new song emerges (ps 40)
4. A whole lot of enemies hoping something bad happens to him

We don't really know the actual circumstance of when this was written. But it doesn't really matter. It applies to a lot of situations.

1. When we are sick.
2. When we need God's forgiveness.
3. When we are attacked or betrayed.

As you read through this psalm underline or circle everything the Lord does.

1. He delivers
2. He preserves
3. He blesses
4. He strengthens
5. He restores us to health
6. He has mercy on us
7. He upholds us

It is easy in the tough times to focus on the problems; David challenges us to focus on the Lord.

David knew what it was like to have a close friend turn against him. (verse 9)

If you've had a trusted friend, spouse or child turn against you, you know how David felt. His son and his friend turned against him. You also know how Jesus felt. One of Jesus' closest followers betrayed Him. In John 13:18 Jesus quoted from Psalm 41:9 as a prediction of His own betrayal by a close friend. He never took revenge on His betrayer. He just kept reaching out to him in grace and Judas turned away from Jesus' love forever. Jesus can help you respond in grace to your betrayer too. Easy to say, hard to do. I have been betrayed by close friends a couple of times. It is much easier being attacked no matter how wrongly by someone who doesn't really know you isn't it?

Ps 40

Ps 40:1 I waited patiently for the Lord; and He inclined to me, and heard my cry,

:2 He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my steps.

:3 He has put a new song in my mouth – praise to our God; many will see it and fear, and will trust in the Lord.

:4 Blessed is that man who makes the Lord his trust, and does not respect the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies.

:5 Many, O Lord my God are Your wonderful works which You have done; and Your thoughts toward us cannot be recounted to You in order; if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered.

:6 Sacrifice and offering You did not desire; my ears You have opened, Burnt offering and sin offering You did not require.

:7 Then I said, “Behold, I come; in the scroll of the book it is written of me,

:8 I delight to do Your will, O my God, and Your law is within my heart.”

:9 I have proclaimed the good news of righteousness in the great assembly; indeed, I do not restrain my lips, O Lord, You Yourself know.

:10 I have not hidden Your righteousness within my heart; I have declared Your faithfulness and Your truth from the great assembly.

:11 Do not withhold Your tender mercies from me, O Lord; let Your lovingkindness and Your truth continually preserve me.

:12 For innumerable evils have surrounded me; my iniquities have overtaken me, so that I am not able to look up; they are more than the hairs of my head; therefore my heart fails me

:13 Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me; O Lord, make haste to help me!

:14 Let them be ashamed and brought to mutual confusion who seek to destroy my life; let them be driven backward and brought to dishonor who wish me evil.

:15 Let them be confounded because of their shame, who say to me, “Aha, aha!”

:16 Let all those who seek You rejoice and be glad in You; let such as love Your salvation say continually, “The Lord be magnified!”

:17 Bur I am poor and needy; yet the Lord thinks upon me. You are my help and my deliverer; do not delay, O my God.

This is headed as Faith Persevering in Trial.

This psalm shows God bringing David through a trial and another one starting. Isn't that the way life is? It may not have been in the timing or way David wanted or expected but He came through. He will always come if we are faithful.

Until God comes we must wait, not the angry pacing back and forth kind of waiting. Not the impatient why isn't this drive through line moving. Not the sleepy when will this sermon end waiting,. David waited expectantly. He knew that God had heard his cry and would come to his aid.

Think back to your last crisis. Was your first impulse to call out to God for help and deliverance> Once you prayed did you trust God to be actively working for your good in the situation? Did you wait expectantly? That's the response of a faith filled heart.

Ps 39

Ps 39:1 I said, “I will guard my ways, lest I sin with my tongue; I will restrain my mouth with a muzzle, while the wicked are before me,”

:2 I was mute with silence, I held my peace even from good; and my sorrow was stirred up.

:3 My heart was hot within me; while I was musing, the fire burned. Then I spoke with my tongue:

:4”Lord, make me to know my end, and what is the measure of my days, that I may know how frail I am.

:5 Indeed, You have made my days as handbreadths, and my age is as nothing before You; certainly every man at his best state is but vapor. Selah.

:6 Surely every man walks about like a shadow; surely they busy themselves in vain; he heaps up riches, and does not know who will gather them.

:7 “And now, Lord, what do I wait for? My hope is in You.

:8 Deliver me from all my transgressions; do not make me the reproach of the foolish.

:9 I was mute, I did not open my mouth, because it was You who did it.

:10 Remove Your plague from me; I am consumed by the blow of Your hand.

:11 When with rebukes You correct man for iniquity, You make his beauty melt away like a moth; surely every man is vapor. Selah

:12 “Hear my prayer, O Lord, and give ear to my cry; do not be silent at my tears; for I am a stranger with You, a sojourner, as all my fathers were.

:13 Remove Your gaze from me, that I may regain strength before I go away and am no more.”

This is headed as Prayer for Wisdom and Forgiveness

David had a lot of questions. But he also had answers. His question, Lord, what do I wait for? Answer, my hope is in Your. David was under the discipline and rebuke of the Lord as he wrote, but he knew that eventually God would bring him out into a place of joy and peace. That's what we need to keep in mind when life seems empty and meaningless. When God is involved, nothing is wasted, no act is worthless. The problem is we don't always see the impact we have. Most of our influence for good and for God won't be revealed until we stand before Christ.

Sin erects a wall between us and God. In the last verses of this psalm David says he feels like a stranger in God's presence. Like someone who doesn't belong or who doesn't have the right to come close to God. If you feel far away from God, He hasn't moved, you feel that way because of disobedience. The good news is when we turn back to God in repentance and confession, we find He is willing to restore us to a close relationship with Him. We may still suffer the consequences of our sinful choices, but God walks through those difficult times with us.  

Ps 38

PS 38:1 O Lord, do not rebuke me in Your wrath, nor chasten me in Your hot displeasure!

:2 For Your arrows pierce me deeply, and Your hand presses me down.

:3 There is no soundness in my flesh because of Your anger, nor any health in my bones because of my sin.

:4 For m iniquities have gone over my head; like a heavy burden they are too heavy for me.

:5 My wounds are foul and festering because of my foolishness.

:6 I am troubled, I am bowed down greatly; I go mourning all the day long.

:7 For my loins are full of inflammation and there is no soundness in my flesh.

:8 I am feeble and severely broken; I groan because of the turmoil of my heart.

:9 Lord, all my desire is before You; and my sighing is not hidden from You.

:10 My heart pants, my strength fails me; as for the light of my eyes, it also has gone from me.

:11 My loved ones and my friends stand aloof from my plague, and my relatives stand afar off.

:12 Those also who seek my life lay snares for me; thoe who seek my hurt speak of destruction, and plan deception all the day long.

:13 But I, like a deaf man, do not hear; and I am like a mute who does not open his mouth.

:14 Thus I am like a man who does not hear and in whose mouth is no response.

:15 For in You, O Lord, I hope; You will hear, O Lord my God.

:16 For I said, “Hear me, lest they rejoice over me, lest, when my foot slips, they exalt themselves against me.”

:17 For I am ready to fall, and my sorrow is continually before me.

:18 For I will declare my iniquity; I will be in anguish over my sin.

:19 But my enemies are vigorous, and they are strong; and those who hate me wrongfully have multiplied.

:20 Those also who render evil for good, they are my adversaries, because I follow what is good.

:21 Do not forsake me, O Lord; O my God, be not far from me!

:22 Make haste to help me, O Lord, my salvation!

This is headed as Prayer in Time of Chastening.

Sometimes sickness is just sickness. An attack of the enemy. Sometimes it is the chastening of God.

The next time you get sick, ask God to heal you. Take full advantage of the good things God has provided to help restore you to health – doctors, medication, surgery, therapy, rest. If the sickness persists, however, give quiet consideration to your spiritual health. Be open to God's Spirit. He won't play games. If there is a sin issue, He will make it very clear. Then pray David's prayer in Psalm 38, The Lord will come quickly to help,

Mt 7:7 “Ask, and it will be gien to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.

:8 For everyone who ask receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.

:9 Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread will give him a stone?

Ever have unanswered prayer? Wonder why? Honestly all prayers are answered but sometimes the answer is no. Ever feel like God isn't hearing your prayer?

The example here is a good child asking for a good thing. What parent will reward bad behavior by giving a child what they are asking for? Our Father God is no different. Have I been asking God for money for something when I have not taken care of something that I had/have the money to take care of? Have I not forgiven someone for something I think they did or that they did do that hurt me? Have I been unkind to someone? Would you give your child something they want if they acted in this way? Then why are you surprised if you are acting this way that God isn't giving you what you ask for?

The evil one uses three D's to keep you from finding God. Distractions, deception, and discouragement.

PS 37

PS 37:1 Do not fret because of evildoers, nor be envious of the workers of iniquity.

:2 For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb.

:3 Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.

:4 Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart.

:5 Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass.

:6 He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday.

:7 Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him; do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, because of the the man who brings wicked schemes to pass.

:8 Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; do not fret – it only causes harm.

:9 For evildoers shall be cut off; but those who wait on the Lord, they shall inherit the earth.

:10 For yet a little while and the wicked shall be no more; indeed, you will look carefully for his place, but it shall be no more.

:11 But the meek shall inherit the earth, and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.

:12 The wicked plots against the just, and gnashes at him with his teeth.

:13 The Lord laughs at him, for he sees that his day is coming.

:14 The wicked have drawn the sword and have bent their bow, to cast down the poor and needy, to slay those who are of upright conduct.

:15 Their sword shall enter their own heart, and their bows shall be broken.

:16 A little that a righteous man has is better than the riches of many wicked.

:17 For the arms of the wicked shall be broken, but the Lord upholds the righteous.

:18 The Lord knows the days of the upright, and their inheritance shall be forever.

:19 They shall not be ashamed in the evil time, and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied.

:20 But the wicked shall perish; and the enemies of the Lord, like the splendor of the meadows, shall vanish. Into smoke they shall vanish away.

:21 The wicked borrows and does not repay, but the righteou shows mercy and gives.

:22 For those blessed by Him shall inherit the earth, but those cursed by Him shall be cut off.

:23 The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and He deligths in his way.

:24 Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; for the Lord upholds him with His hand.

:25 I have been young, and now am old; yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his descendants begging bread.

:26 He is ever merciful, and lends; and his descendants are blessed.

:27 Depart from evil, and do good; and dwell forevermore.

:28 For the Lord loves justice, and does not forsake His saints; they are preserved forever, but the descendants of the wicked shall be cut off.

:29 The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell in it forever.

:30 The mouth of the righteous speaks wisdom, and his tongue talks of justice.

:31 The law of his God is in his heart; none of his steps shall slide.

:32 The wicked watches the righteous, and seeks to slay him.

:33 The Lord will not leave him in his hand, nor condemn him when he is judged.

:34 Wait on the Lord, and keep His way, and He shall exalt you to inherit the land; when the wicked are cut off, you shall see it.

:35 I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like a native green tree.

:36 Yet he passed away, and behold, he was no more; indeed I sought him, but he could not be found.

:37 Mark the blameless man, and observe the upright; for the future of that man is peace.

:38 But the transgressors shall be destroyed together; the future of the wicked shall be cut off.

:39 But the salvation of the righteous is from the Lord; He is their strength in the time of trouble.

:40 And the Lord shall help them and deliver them; He shall deliver them from the wicked, and save them, because they trust in Him.

This is headed as the Heritage of the Righteous and the Calamity of the Wicked .

It sorta reads like a chapter in Proverbs. Short wise sayings of how to live or not live for God.

If you want to get the most out of it, underline every command as you read: Do not fret, trust in the Lord, do good, delight yourself also in the Lord, commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him. That is just the first 5 verses! Most of us don't like being told what to do. We didn't like it when we were children and our parents told us what to do, and we don't like it when as children of God, He tells us what to do sometimes. However, we need to take these words to heart if we are going to live successfully in a corrupt and corrupting world.

It seems unfair that ungodly people prosper while some children of God struggle. That's where this psalm helps out. How do we respond when life seems so unfair? Not by fretting over it, and not by getting angry at life's injustices. The proper response is to refuse to play the game the wicked play. What God calls us to do first is to have confidence in Him, trust Him, delight in Him, commit to Him.

Life isn't fair. Sometimes the wicked seem to prosper and the godly suffer. In the end, God will set everything straight. Until then we must live faithfully and trust in God.  

Ps 36

Ps 36:1 An oracle within my heart concerning the transgression of the wicked: there is no fear of God before his eyes.

:2 For he flatters himself in his own eyes, when he finds out his iniquity and when he hates.
:3 The words of his mouth are wickedness and deceit; he has ceased to be wise and to do good.

:4 He devises wickedness on his bed; he sets himself in a way that is not good; he does not abhor evil.

:5 Your mercy, O Lord, is in the heavens; Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.

:6 Your righteousness is like the great mountains; Your judgments are a great deep; O Lord, You preserve man and beast.

:7 How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God! Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Your wings.

:8 They are abundantly satisfied with the fullness of Your house, and You give them drink from the river of Your pleasures.

:9 For with You is the fountain of life; in Your light we see light.

:10 Oh, continue Your lovingkindness to those who know You. And Your righteousness to the upright in heart.

:11 Let not the foot of pride come against me, and let not the hand of the wicked drive me away.

:12 There the workers of iniquity have fallen; they have been cast down and are not able to rise.

The heading on this is Man's Wickedness and God's Perfections.

Our day is full of choices. Whether it is at the grocery, movies, channels on tv, we are overwhelmed with options all day. The bible gives us two choices. Life or death, light or darkness, truth or error, God's way or our way. That's it. No other choice. We can live a life that ignores God, or a life that embraces God. The choice is ours. It isn't a choice we make just once. We make it constantly in the things we choose to do or say. Every choice we make shows where our heart is really.