Imagine you are a Jewish pilgrim, 3000 years ago, heading up to Jerusalem for the Passover. Up ahead, upon the mount called ‘Zion,’ towers the ancient and mighty fortress city of Jerusalem. The sight is inspiring and the stories of the scores of armies that had tried unsuccessfully to penetrate its great walls immediately come … Continued

Psalm 123 is a communal lament in a particularly desperate tone. This is not just a pious expression of humility but the cry of a man on behalf of a people who are feeling humiliated, possibly in some military context. He says that they have been ridiculed continuously by arrogant men and have been completely … Continued

Psalm 121 is a psalm of ascents. This group of psalms were traditionally sung by pilgrims in the regular ‘ascent’ to Jerusalem for the sacred feasts. It celebrates the covenant relationship with God. The hills being spoken of here are specifically those of mount Zion (Jerusalem). Jerusalem, with the temple in its midst, was the … Continued

Psalm 117 rings forth the universal imperative for all people to live the way human beings were made to live: as vessels of praise to God. Here is the great vision to which the worship of the psalms naturally looks: that one day all the peoples and nations of the earth would bow the knee … Continued

Psalm 116, the first half of which appeared on our album, ‘Light of Life,’ is a thanksgiving psalm. It is the type of psalm that was itself present as an offering alongside some kind of formal thank offering in the temple. The psalm was presented as a testimony to declare to the congregation gathered what … Continued

Psalm 116 is a testimonial and thanksgiving psalm. It is a psalm of public edification and it is also a psalm of self-edification. The psalmist is not only seeking to glorify God before others but he is seeking to bolster his own love for God and trust in God by recalling what God has done. … Continued

This Psalm is a celebration of the exodus event. One of the roles of the psalms, and this is the case also with this one, was to help generation after generation remember and reflect on the acts of God in the past. God speaks through what God does and therefore he repeatedly tells his people … Continued

Psalm 99 picks up a theme that was important to the Jews particularly during and after the Babylonian exile (586-537 BC). It speak about God’s sovereignty over all the nations. In this period the Jews were a very small and seemingly insignificant people group in the midst of vast and powerful empires at war with … Continued

Psalm 96 is a call to praise God and celebrate his victorious reign over the earth in anticipation of his coming to judge the world. This psalm appears to have been part of David’s song of celebration during the bringing up of the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem. David’s song recorded in 1 Chronicles … Continued

The movement of Psalm 95 is interesting in the sense that it moves from a mood of exuberant praise to one of solemn warning. The first part of the psalm is a call to reverent joyful worship. Reverence is a key factor here since what is being highlighted is the greatness of God. The appeal … Continued

Psalm 93 is the first of a group of psalms (up to Psalm 99) that celebrate the sovereign rule of God over the earth. Like the rest of these psalms this is a psalm that expresses an attitude of reverence and awe. It brings us toward the kind of experience that Job came to by … Continued

Psalm 91 is a psalm of blessing that articulates, in the most beautiful poetic way, the covenant blessings promised in Deuteronomy 28. The blessings are pronounced upon those who bring themselves under the authority of Yahweh. This authority provides a sure covering that makes the child of God invulnerable. The question is, invulnerable to what? … Continued

Psalm 80 is a communal lament probably occasioned in its original setting by the destruction of the northern kingdom of Israel in 722 BC (2 Kings 17). The Assyrian capture of Samaria and the deportation of the people of Israel left the two small tribes of Judah in the south shocked and alone. Their brothers … Continued

Psalm 77 is one of those remarkable psalms that begins in a place of felt alienation from God and moves to a place of triumphant praise. It is probably a cry representing the distress of the nation as a whole. It is a great example of a characteristic aspect of biblical spirituality that I address … Continued

Psalm 73 represents possibly one of the most important spiritual breakthroughs portrayed in the psalms. The writer has an experience which is similar to that of Job and Habakkuk. If we can understand this movement, if we can grasp the point where the writer arrives by the last section of this psalm (which is the … Continued

The imagery used in this lament is graphic and yet deeply satisfying as a description of a common experience for us all at some time. The picture is of someone swirling around and sinking fast in deep muddy waters. It portrays the disorientation of life whether from the inward deceits of our own hearts or … Continued

Psalm 67 is a psalm of benediction, that is, a blessing psalm. It moves from the blessing of God’s people to the blessing of the whole earth which is a deliberate reflection of the structure of the original simple form of the covenant in Genesis 12:1-3. In this sense it is, like all blessings must … Continued

This psalm was evidently composed by David to fulfil a vow of praise made during times of hardship. Many lament psalms use the appeal that if God delivers the person from trouble then he will declare the goodness of God openly before the assembly of God’s people (e.g. Psalm 22:22). The individual thanksgiving psalms were … Continued

Psalm 63 is a psalm of intense devotion to God. Written by David, king of Israel, most probably when he was a fugitive from the rebellious Absalom (circa. 980 BC ‘ the history of this period is recorded in II Samuel 15-18 ‘ it is a large section though worth being familiar with for a … Continued

Psalm 59 is concerned with the enemies of God. At the time when David prayed these things it must have seemed as though everyone was an enemy of God. The setting is the night of David’s escape from Saul (1Sam. 19). David had won a decisive victory over the philistines and was no doubt in … Continued

Psalm 56 is dominated by the theme of the enemy. The writer is David. He has been anointed by Samuel and has proven his anointing in his defeat of Goliath and in many other military campaigns. But the continual success of David begins to make king Saul jealous. And so he conspires to kill David … Continued

Psalm 52 is an imprecatory psalm (cursing psalm). For a general discussion of this genre of psalm see the article provided here on this. Psalm 52 specifically declares the cursed state of those who not only do evil but who delight in and boast of evil. This is a psalm of indignation against injustice and … Continued

Psalm 51 was written by David after he had been convicted by God (through the prophet Nathan) of committing adultery with Bathsheba and organising the death of her husband Uriah. In order to understand this psalm therefore you will need to be familiar with this account as it is recorded in 2 Samuel 11-12. Psalm … Continued

Psalm 45 was originally composed on the occasion of a wedding for Solomon but it is also, significantly, a messianic psalm. It is quoted in Hebrews 1:8-9 where the words are applied to Jesus. The kingship that this psalm speaks of is not just a human kingship but a divine kingship. In fact the throne … Continued

Psalm 42, along with psalm 43 (they are really the one psalm evidently cast in two parts), was most probably written by a Levite who had crossed the Jordan with David when he fled from Absalom during the rebellion. He appears to have been accustomed to conducting pilgrim companies up to Jerusalem for the great … Continued

Psalm 40 is a song written by David, most probably before he was king and when he was a fugitive from Saul. It was common in times of distress and hardship like this to reflect upon God’s past acts of salvation. The remembrance of these things acted as the faith-foundation for the prayer that would … Continued

Psalm 37 is a wisdom psalm very much in line with the type of writing present in Proverbs. Like Proverbs there is no strict development of any one single thought here though the main topic is perhaps the idea of recompense. This psalm, in the original, is an acrostic poem (i.e. each stanza begins with … Continued

Psalm 35 is a classic imprecatory psalm which calls down curses upon the principalities and powers that curse the plans and people of God. When God made his covenant with Abraham he said that ‘whoever curses you (the covenant people) I will curse’ (Gen. 1:3). And so this is a prayer of a man who … Continued

In Psalm 32 David, King of Israel, describes the passage he took from a state of deception in which he had denied his own guilt to the acknowledgement of his sin and forgiveness. The psalm is a powerful acclamation of the blessing of forgiveness and a call for all people to not stubbornly hide from … Continued

Psalm 30 is a psalm of testimony and thanksgiving proclaimed before the assembly of God’s people. In verses 1-3 we have words of praise to God in the much used expression of being lifted up out of the depths and up from the grave. Verses 4-5 are an exhortation to the assembly in the light … Continued

This psalm of David contains one of the most beautiful expressions of what I call ‘liberated desire,’ a topic that I discuss at length in my book Deeper Places, (Baker Books, 2013). Here we find David in one of the most difficult periods of his life. It was a time when he had nothing but … Continued

Psalm 24 is a psalm written by David, King of Israel, most probably to celebrate the return of the ark from its place of storage to Jerusalem (997 BC). The ark of the covenant represented the presence of God to the people. The temple which housed the ark would later come to have the same … Continued

Psalm 19 is a celebration of the resplendent glory of God in both the creation and written word of God. The imagery of light is the key strand that connects the two halves of the psalm. In the first half, in which the psalmist calls us to recognize the greatness of God in the physical … Continued

The worst thing in life is not to have some evil thing done against you. The worst thing in life is when you are the one that does the evil. The greatest peace possible in this life does not come from being invulnerable to external evil but knowing that you yourself have been delivered from … Continued

Psalm 15 describes how a person must be prepared for worship before the holy God. The person who would come to worship God must be blameless. A person who is sinning against God does the very opposite of worship God. He rebels against God and declares in his being that he cares nothing for God. … Continued

Psalm 14 is a lament over the unbelief, the evil and the injustice in the world. David who writes the psalm is lamenting, it seems, even on behalf of God as he reflects on the divine perspective. God looks down and sees only evil in the world. The wording of the psalm is possibly intended … Continued

Psalm 6 is a typical lament psalm. Over half of all the psalms fall into this category and I think that they are the most remarkable feature of the biblical faith (see the article provided here on ‘the lament psalms’). Here there is a candidness that expresses an intimacy with God that is truly moving. … Continued

Psalm 1 is series of beatitudes and woes very much like the beatitudes and woes of Jesus which make up the opening section of the sermon on the mount (Matt. 5:1ff; Luke 6:17ff). Both of these are in different ways condensed versions, in poetic verse, of the fundamental principles of the Torah (the first five … Continued