Psalms 4

Here David offers a prayer proclaiming his trust in the Lord. He says the Lord has taken care of him in the past and will continue to do so in the future. He advises us not to be a part of the world and of sin but to put our trust in the Lord.

A plea to the Lord:
1 Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness: thou hast enlarged me when I was in distress; have mercy upon me, and hear my prayer.

David's advise to us:
2 O ye sons of men, how long will ye turn my glory into shame? how long will ye love vanity, and seek after leasing? 

(Selah.)

The Lord hears the prayers of those who love him and strive to be like him:

3 But know that the Lord hath set apart him that is godly for himself: the Lord will hear when I call unto him.

In verse 4 David is telling us to turn from our sins. Repent means to turn away. At night, think about the things you have done during the day and then repent of those things that you are not proud of and turn away from them:

4 Stand in awe, and sin not: commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still. 

(Selah.)

Offer to the Lord the best of what you have, give him your best effort:

5 Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and put your trust in the Lord.

Some will wonder and doubt if anything good will come to them, but we need to trust in the Lord:
6 There be many that say, Who will shew us any good? Lord, lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us.

Greater happiness comes from the Lord than from a bumper crop:

7 Thou hast put gladness in my heart, more than in the time that their corn and their wine increased.

Those who trust in the Lord sleep in peace:

8 I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, Lord, only makest me dwell in safety.

Psalm 3

A Psalm written by David when he fled from his son Absalom ( in 2 Samuel 15 - 18).

This is also a Psalm for a good and righteous man who, though he is going through difficult times, still looks to the Lord for security and salvation.

Verses 1 & 2 tell us that David is facing many challenges including trouble with the King, bad friends who think he is doomed and will soon be killed and all because God has forsaken him (so they say).

1. Lord, how are they increased that trouble me! many are they that rise up against me.
2. Many there be which say of my soul, There is no help for him in God.

David's answer is quick and sure. He still trusts in the Lord no matter what people say and no matter how bad things seem to be.

3. But thou, O Lord, art a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of mine head.
4. I cried unto the Lord with my voice, and he heard me out of his holy hill.
5. I laid me down and slept; I awaked; for the Lord sustained me.
6. I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people, that have set themselves against me round about.

Here David then asks the Lord to save him and deal with his enemies.

7. Arise, O Lord; save me, O my God: for thou hast smitten all mine enemies upon the cheek bone; thou hast broken the teeth of the ungodly.
8. Salvation belongeth unto the Lord: thy blessing is upon thy people.

I also like verse 8 as the New English Bible puts it:

8. Thine is the victory, O Lord, and may thy blessing rest upon they people.

Psalm 2

The second Psalm is a military prayer telling us that those who fight against the Lord will not succeed. In fact, the Lord will destroy them. It is, however, also a Messianic Psalm, speaking of the son whom the Lord has begotten (referring to the coming of the Messiah).

Four of the twelve verses in this Psalm are quoted in the New Testament.

Verses 1 and 2

1 Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?
2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord, and against his anointed...

These two verses are quoted in Acts 4:25-26
Here Peter and John, after healing a lame man from birth, are preaching to the people when the captain of the temple with the Chief Priests take them into custody. The Jewish leaders are trying to figure out how to stop them from preaching and healing in the name of Jesus. Since the people believe in them they can't figure out a way to punish them so they reprimand them and let them go. When Peter and John return to their friends and tell them all that happened they say a prayer of thanks and praise that the Lord has shown his power through them. Within that prayer they include a quote of these 2 verses of David's prayer in Psalms 2 as they are learning that those who appose the Lord will not succeed.

Acts 4:24-26
24 And when they heard that, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and said, Lord, thou art God, which hast made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is:25 Who by the mouth of thy servant David hast said, Why did the heathen rage, and the people imagine vain things?
26 The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ.

Psalms 2:7

As Paul and Barnabas were going from city to city to preach the gospel they came to Antioch and on the Sabath (Saturday) they went into the synagogue during the meeting. After the reading of the scriptures they were told that if they had any word of exhortation they were permitted to speak. Paul then stood to speak. He told his fellow Jews that God had chosen their people (the House of Israel over the gentiles) and brought them out of Egypt with power. Paul then recounts the history of the people, how the Lord destroyed seven nations so they could move into their land, then about the people first having judges and then kings. Paul quotes from the scriptures six times during this speech to support what he is saying. Two are from Psalms 89:20 and 1 Samuel 13:14 to talk about how the Lord chose David as a king and that a Savior, even Jesus, would come from his seed as was promised. He then talks about John the Baptist whom many thought to be the Messiah and how John told the people that there was another coming after him. Then comes the difficult part of his speech. He says that the person John was talking about did come but even though the rulers read the scriptures that talk about him every Sabbath they didn't recognize him and so they fulfilled all of the scriptures that said they would condemn him and have him put to death. Fortunately God raised him from the dead and he was seen for many days by his disciples who came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem (Jerusalem was considered the high place both physically and spiritually so the disciples came up spiritually with Jesus to Jerusalem as well as literally up the hill). So here Paul declares glad tidings that the promise that was made to the fathers has been fulfilled to them as the children in that he has raised Jesus up again. He then quotes verse 7 of Psalms 2 in verse 33 of Acts 13.

Psalms 2:7 I will declare the decree: the Lord hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.

As quoted in Acts 13:33

33 God hath fulfilled the same unto us their [the fathers] children, in that he hath raised up Jesus again; as it is also written in the second psalm, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee.

(Though  the rest of Acts 13 has nothing to do with Psalms 2 here is a brief summery of what happens to finish the story.) Paul continues to quote from Isaiah 55:3 about the "Sure mercies of David" referring to Christ. And Psalms 16:10 about Christ not seeing corruption (since David died and was buried with his fathers this scripture could not be referring to him). He also quotes from Habakkuk 1:5 which tells them (the Jews) they will not believe. Of course Paul and Barnabas are rejected by the Jews but the Gentiles accept them and ask them to come preach to them. This is the famous turning point when Paul, through instructions from the scriptures in Isaiah 49:6 (see verse 47 of Acts 13), begins his full time efforts to preach to the gentiles.

Psalms 2:9 -

9 Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.

Is quoted in Revelation 2:27

In chapter 2 of Revelation, John tells the church at Ephesus that they are doing some things right but need correction in some areas. He goes on to tell of both good and bad and finally towards the end of the chapter he quotes from Psalms 2 verse 9 by saying that if the church keeps the commandments they will rule over the nations.

Revelation 2:26-27
26 And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations:
27 And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father.

Psalm 1

Psalm 1
The first Psalm starts as a Beatitude. Blessed are... or blessed is.

1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.

This Psalm begins with a command to avoid the negative, you are blessed if you avoid evil. Stay away from people who don't believe in God or follow his ways. People who deliberately go against God's commandments and love to sin. Stay away from those who make fun of or mock God. They are negative and are controlled by darkness and should be avoided.

Then, on the positive side, he tells us that the blessed person delights in the Law (law of Moses meaning the written law or the scriptures) of the Lord.

2. But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.

Here we learn to enjoy the scriptures, study them, learn lessons for life from their pages, memorize them and think on them both day and night. One translation says "...they find happiness in the teachings of the Lord." Memorizing scriptures was much more common before the printing press when books were hand written and hard to come by. However, now that scriptures are in every home, it is all too easy to leave them sitting on the shelf while we pursue other, more pleasurable activities. We must take care not to let them gather dust but to study them, and though they are always nearby, we should still memorize important verses to make them part of our thought process. For it is through these positive thoughts the Lord can guide us and protect us through our lives.

3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

In verse 3 we are reminded that we receive our nourishment from the Lord, the source of living water. We are also reminded of the 23rd Psalm, "He leadeth me beside the still waters." Verse three tells us that those who receive nourishment from the Lord bring forth fruit, it is only natural that those blessed by the Lord produce something good to share with those around them who may be in need. Perhaps it would be good to take a moment when reading this Psalm to write a list of the fruit that we have brought forth because of our desire to be near living water and because of our desire to live the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

4 The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.
5 Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
6 For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.

Verses 4-6 tell us that the ungodly do not take root in a beautiful place with the righteous but are blown like chaff, unwanted and useless, only some day to be burned and perish. Of course chaff in the wind is a very common image in early days as chaff is the dry husk around most common grains and in those days farmers would toss the newly harvested grain into the air on a windy day so the lighter chaff would blow away and the heavier usable grain would fall to the ground. This made the wind a convenient way of separating the unusable chaff from the grain.