Psalm 146 is one of the Hallel Psalms–praising God in all circumstances.

King David, the most powerful, talented, and famous person in Israel writes in Psalm 131 that he is not arrogant or ambitious–he is not trying to play God. But he is calmed and quieted in his soul, like a just fed infant resting on his mother. How is this so? Because he looks to God, not to others (in comparison), nor even to himself, to assure him. And he calls Israel, and us, to do the same.

The basis for what we believe, how we interpret the world around, and how we live is our “Authority.” Every person, and every culture, has authorities–and for each one of us something is the ultimate foundation of our lives. The modern world says to look inside yourself, you are the determiner of your life. But the psalmist in Psalm 119 calls us to look to God as revealed in his Word written. A life under the authority of God, grounded in his Word, is the life of wisdom, that allows us to walk in God’s ways, transforming our wants and loves.

In Psalm 118, the psalmist deals with his own affliction and troubles by reflecting on the faithfulness of the Lord in his, and Israel’s past, and by running to God in his times of greatest fear. His secure attachment is to the God and nothing else.

God’s faithfulness to Israel in the Exodus serves as their constant reminder of God’s faithfulness in the present and future–a reality they rehearse and pray and into which we are invited to live in Psalm 105.

Everybody worships something. The worship found in Psalm 95, however, is the only true worship that can satisfy. Using the psalmist’s descriptions as a guide, Johnny walks through how Christians can better conduct our worship. The psalm calls us to shout with joy, bow down, and kneel- make worship more than merely intellectual.

Psalm 84 is a “Pilgrimage Psalm” encouraging the faithful as they travel to Jerusalem to celebrate the prescribed Feasts. The psalmist describes his powerful longing to be in the Temple, in the presence of Yahweh, the God of Israel. He is passionate in his love for God’s house and the whole direction of his life, not just his pilgrim journey, is aimed godward. He knows, as we all are encouraged to remember, that God meets us in physical time and space, in locations, like the Temple, in a person–Jesus, and as we gather as his people in the local church.

In lament and confidence, the psalmist in Psalm 71 complains about the challenges he is facing but leans into a confidence in God who has been faithful. From his youth to old age, he remembers God’s goodness and will not give up hope.

In Psalm 59, David recounts when he is wrongly attacked by enemies. The injustice drives him to the Lord. What will you do when attacked? According to the Psalm, we are to ask: to who and what do I turn when attacked; on what am I waiting for? And we are to “remember” what God has done for us and “sing” his praises even when we are not in a place to give thanks.

Psalm 39 is a Lament psalm: the psalmist cries out in the midst of suffering, the sinfulness of his life and the world, and the heavy hand of God upon him. It is a dark psalm of a man in desperation–even ending with the plea for the Lord to look away from him that he may again have gladness in his life before he dies (v.13). And yet in the middle he declares: “my hope is in you” (v.7).

The people of God have to confront evil often, but they shouldn’t lose trust in God. Through the lens of Psalm 37, Dean Miller guides us to an understanding of justice that focuses on pursuing good rather than just avoiding evil.

In Psalm 25, the psalmist uses a Hebrew alphabetic acrostic to begin each verse and tell the reader that Yahweh, the God of Israel, hears the prayers of his people from A to Z. There is nothing in life that cannot be brought to this God. Including, as the Psalmist assures, the hardest of seasons and circumstances: Let me not be put to shame, for I have put my trust in you! he cries twice in the Psalm. He is inviting all of us to trust in God and make our cry to him in our darkest and desperate days.

The nations rage and the peoples device a vain thing against the Lord and his anointed. But the Psalmist assures his readers that the Lord is in control–he laughs at the nations. He is judge. He has set his anointed on the throne–who will rule and judge–and all are warned to serve him and be blessed or reject him and perish. The “Royal Psalm” written for the coronation of an Israelite king looks ahead to the true and eternal “anointed one”–Jesus, the Christ, who established his Kingdom through his death and resurrection and who will come again as ruler and judge.

Psalm 1 is the Introduction to the Psalter: the book of Psalms (1-150). It presents as a Wisdom poem contrasting the Righteous and the Wicked, inviting the reader deeper into the Psalms. Blessed is the one who delights in God’s law and meditates on it day in and day out–who is transformed by a lifetime of dwelling in God’s word.

Friend and guest preacher Matt Hensley gives a powerful message on the journey of forgiveness.