Devotionals

Psalm 26:8

David's prayer for protection while enduring mistreatment didn't merely ask God for help; the king's song included a commitment on his part.

    1. Resolved: I will be faithful in public worship (v. 8)

O LORD, I love the habitation of Your house
And the place where Your glory dwells.

Psalm 26:4–7

King David knew the sting of unjust treatment as keenly as anyone in history. To keep mistreatment from undermining his relationship with God, he put some resolutions into a song. Having committed to remaining open before the Lord and to remembering His love, David committed to letting God be the judge of others' sin.

    1. Resolved: I will refuse the temptation to get even (vv. 4–5)

Psalm 26:2-3

As David endured unfair treatment despite his doing what was right, He cried out to God in the verses of Psalm 26. As we read his anguished lyrics, we will uncover some resolutions David made which kept him (and will keep us) from slipping into bitterness and resentment during times of mistreatment.

Psalm 26:1

If I were asked to give a popular title to Psalm 26, it would be: "How to Do Right When You've Been Done Wrong."

Psalm 23:6

As David brings his song of the sheep to a close, having reflected on the Lord's faithful care throughout his life, he then considers his future.

Psalm 23:5

As David's song of the sheep concludes, he suddenly drops the analogy to consider his own experience of God, both as a simple man in need of a Saviour and as a king in need of divine guidance.

Psalm 23:3–4

As a former shepherd keeping watch over flocks in the wilderness, the composer of Psalm 23 understood the nature of sheep, including their bad habit of wandering. When one is attracted to a clump of grass away from the flock, off it goes, and sometimes it's followed by several other woolly wanderers. Soon, night falls. Lurking in the darkness are hungry wolves, four-legged savages, looking for a supper of mutton! The shepherd counts his sheep, calling them by name.

Psalm 23:1–2

Like many of the songs found in the Bible, Psalm 23 states its case in the first verse and simply verifies it in the remainder of the song. The key thought is this: Because the Lord is my Shepherd, I shall lack nothing! No uncertainty should frighten me. Here is the way the theme of Psalm 23 is played out in the balance of David's famous song:

I shall not lack rest or provision—why? He makes me lie down in green pastures.

I shall not lack peace—why? He leads me beside quiet waters.

Psalm 23:1–6

Psalm 19:14

David sums up his feelings in Psalm 19 with a brief prayer. In fact, these three lines are some of the most familiar in the entire book of Psalms.

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
Be acceptable in Your sight,
O LORD, my rock and my Redeemer. (v. 14)