Psalms 54:1

 Psalms 54:1 says, To the chief Musician on Neginoth, Maschil, A Psalm of David, when the Ziphims came and said to Saul, Doth not David hide himself with us?  David said this psalm was written when people were asking if David hid himself from Saul, who was still king at that time.  Then verse one adds, Save me, O God, by thy name, and judge me by thy strength.  David asked God to save him by His name and to judge him by God's strength.  We will all be saved by God based on one name, Jesus Christ, and our acceptance of rejection of Him as our Savior and Lord.  Then, it will be by the strength of God that we are kept as a part of His people forever.  Verse two adds, Hear my prayer, O God; give ear to the words of my mouth.  David asked God to hear his prayers, and we know that as Christians if we sincerely pray seeking God's will that He will hear our prayers.  Verse three continues, For strangers are risen up against me, and oppressors seek after my soul: they have not set God before them. Selah.  David said that even strangers who did not obey God's word had risen up against him.  We should not be surprised if people who do not put their faith in God today rise up against Christians.  This is nothing new, but just as God was with David in times of trouble, whether David realized it or not, God is always with the followers of Christ today, since the Holy Spirit lives within us.  Verse four states, Behold, God is mine helper: the Lord is with them that uphold my soul.  David said that God was his helper and that He was with those who upheld his soul.  God is always our help in times of trouble, and hopefully our fellow Christians will be there to help us as well.  Verse five adds, He shall reward evil unto mine enemies: cut them off in thy truth.  David said God would punish his enemies and cut them off by His truth.  One day, God will punish all who do not put their faith in Jesus Christ, and He will cut them off from His truth.  In this life alone can we claim the truth of God and accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord.  Verse six declares, I will freely sacrifice unto thee: I will praise thy name, O LORD; for it is good.  David said he would freely sacrifice to God and praise His name, because God was good.  God was, is and always will be good, and for this reason we as Christians should always praise His name.  Verse seven adds, For he hath delivered me out of all trouble: and mine eye hath seen his desire upon mine enemies. David said that God had delivered him out of his trouble, and so has He today for Christians. Through our faith in Jesus Christ, God has already given us an everlasting victory.  We should live in such a way that we show the lost people of the world that we believe this.

Psalms 53:1

Psalms 53:1 says,To the chief Musician upon Mahalath, Maschil, A Psalm of David.  After the introduction, verse one says, The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. Corrupt are they, and have done abominable iniquity: there is none that doeth good.  David said that the fool said in his heart that there was no God and that he was corrupt, full of iniquity, and did no good.  There are many people today who claim that there is no God, or claim that even if there is that He does not exist as far as they are concerned.  As David said, this makes them fools.  Those who do not believe in God are full of sin and do no good in God's view, no matter how the world may view them.  Verse two declares, God looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, that did seek God.  As David said then, even now God is looking down on the world to see if anyone understands and seeks Him.  God is not some far away being Who only occasionally looks down on the earth, but He is an ever present God Who knows what each individual is doing.  Verse three adds, Every one of them is gone back: they are altogether become filthy; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.  David said that at that time, when God looked down on mankind, that all of them had gone back from God and had become filthy.  When God looks down on mankind today, until people accept Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord they are all guilty of sin and spiritually filthy in the eyes of God.  Still, then as now, there are some who had been made clean by faith, either in the coming Messiah, Jesus Christ, or in Him after He came and lived and died to wash away the sins of all who believe in Him.  Verse four asks, Have the workers of iniquity no knowledge? who eat up my people as they eat bread: they have not called upon God.  David said God asked if the workers of iniquity had no knowledge.  When Christians look at all the things that are going on in the world today that are opposed to God's will and teachings in the Bible, we have to ask if most people have lost all knowledge of God.  Then, there are those who profess to believe in God who say that what He says doesn't really matter at all times and in all cases.  Verse five adds, There were they in great fear, where no fear was: for God hath scattered the bones of him that encampeth against thee: thou hast put them to shame, because God hath despised them.  David said many of those who denied God lived in great fear where there was nothing to fear.  We as followers of Christ should not live in fear, because as God's people He has already assured us of everlasting victory.  We are secure in God's protective hands, so we should live without fear of anything the world can do to us.  Verse six declares, Oh that the salvation of Israel were come out of Zion! When God bringeth back the captivity of his people, Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel shall be glad.  David said that when salvation came out of Zion that God would bring back His people who had been captive and that they would rejoice and be glad.  Redemption came out of Zion when Jesus Christ came to live and die for the sins of everyone and to be resurrected to give those who put their faith in Him everlasting life.  We are no longer held captive by sin but are restored to a right relationship with God if we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord.  If we have done so, then we should rejoice and be glad, no matter what is going on in the world. 

Psalms 52:1

 Psalms 52:1 says, To the chief Musician, Maschil, A Psalm of David, when Doeg the Edomite came and told Saul, and said unto him, David is come to the house of Ahimelech.  There is a long and specific introduction to this psalm, then verse one says, Why boastest thou thyself in mischief, O mighty man? the goodness of God endureth continually.  This was addressed to Doeg, but it applies to any ungodly powerful person.  David asked why the mighty men boasted in their mischief.  He then said that the goodness of God was what endured forever, and not their worldly might ans riches.  This will never change.  Verse two adds, Thy tongue deviseth mischiefs; like a sharp rasor, working deceitfully.  David said this mighty man spoke words of mischief and deceit, as do many today.  We don't have to look to hard today to find powerful men who speak words of deceit, but we should never be caught up in their lies.  Verse three continues, Thou lovest evil more than good; and lying rather than to speak righteousness. Selah.  David said that people had started to like evil more than good and lying more than righteousness.  There are so many evil things in the world today that too many people who like evil things and even promote them as being the truth believe and promote.  We as Christians need to make sure that we are not the same way.  Verse four states, Thou lovest all devouring words, O thou deceitful tongue.  David said that Doeg loved all devouring words.  He had rather do a person harm for his own benefit than to treat a person well.  Many people today are so self-centered that they would rather do something that harms others if it benefits themselves than to do them good if it somehow costs them something.  Verse five declares, God shall likewise destroy thee for ever, he shall take thee away, and pluck thee out of thy dwelling place, and root thee out of the land of the living. Selah.  David said God would destroy Doeg forever, and we know that those who do not put their faith in Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and Lord will be destroyed forever in hell.  Verse six adds, The righteous also shall see, and fear, and shall laugh at him:  David said that the righteous would see what happened to Doeg and fear, or as Matthew Henry stated reverence the justice of God and stand in awe of Him.  We must acknowledge the justice of God while acknowledging His mercy to us.  We are made just by faith in Christ.  Verse seven continues, Lo, this is the man that made not God his strength; but trusted in the abundance of his riches, and strengthened himself in his wickedness.  David said people would laugh at Doeg because he put his faith in worldly power instead of God.   I don't believe that we are to laugh at people who do this, but we are to acknowledge how foolish they are.  Verse eight says, But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God: I trust in the mercy of God for ever and ever.  David said that he was like a green olive tree in the house of God.  God sustained him and kept him productive.  David also said that he would trust in the mercy of God forever and ever.  As Christians, God renews us daily and keeps us productive for Him if we put our faith in Jesus Christ and live by the guidance of the Holy Spirit.  For this reason, we should praise God forever and ever.  Verse nine adds, I will praise thee for ever, because thou hast done it: and I will wait on thy name; for it is good before thy saints.  We like David must praise God because He has given us everlasting salvation if we accept it.  

Psalms 51:10

Psalms 51:10 says, Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.  Like David, we need to ask God to create a clean heart and to renew a right spirit within us.  We cannot do this on our own, but can only be cleansed of sin and be spiritually renewed by faith in God through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross.  Verse eleven adds, Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.  David asked God to not cast him out of His presence nor remove His holy spirit from him.  As Christians, we never have to be afraid that God will cast us out of His presence, and the Holy Spirit will always indwell us.  Our salvation is sealed by God.  Verse twelve asks, Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.  David evidently felt that he had lost the joy of his salvation, and so may we if we begin to focus on the things of the world instead of on God.  David also asked that God uphold the free spirit of God in him.  I believe that when David referred to the spirit of God that he was referring more to an attitude than to the Holy Spirit.  Verse thirteen adds, Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.  David said that when he was made right with God, then He could teach transgressors about God and sinners could be converted.  We as followers of Christ have been made right with God, and it is our responsibility to reach out to a lost and sinful world with the gospel.  Verse fourteen declares, Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness.  David said when God delivered him from his guilt of sin, then he would sing aloud of God's righteousness, and so should we as sinners saved by grace.  Verse fifteen adds, O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise.  As David asked of God then, we need to ask God to open our lips with praise for Him.  As Christians we should praise God no matter what is going on in life.  Verse sixteen states, For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering.  David said that God did not desire the rituals of sacrifice.  God instituted the sacrificial system not because this was something He needed, but to show the obedience of His people.  The only sacrifice that God needs from anyone today is the sacrifice of themself to Him.  All our tithes and offerings are just to show our obedience to Him.  Verse seventeen adds, The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.  As David said then, the only sacrifice we can give God is our broken and contrite heart as we accept His gift of salvation.  Everything else is already God's.  Verse eighteen says, Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion: build thou the walls of Jerusalem.  David asked God to do His good pleasure to God and for Him to build the walls of Jerusalem.  It is only when we are obedient to God through faith in Jesus Christ that we can expect Him to show His good pleasure to us, and even then that does not mean that He is going to make us materially rich.  Verse nineteen adds, Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt offering and whole burnt offering: then shall they offer bullocks upon thine altar.  David said that after the people of Israel were made right with God that then He would accept their offerings and sacrifices.  We can give everything we have to God, but unless we have been made right with God by faith in Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord, what we offer will never be acceptable to God. 

Psalms 51:1

 Psalms 51:1 says,To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came unto him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.  After a long introduction, where David said this was written after Nathan pointed out David's sin with Bathsheba, verse one says, Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.  David asked God to have mercy on him and according to God's great mercy to blot out his transgressions.  Faith in Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, made possible by the great mercy of God is the only way to salvation, and we must ask for Him to blot out our transgressions by putting our faith in Jesus Christ.  There is no other way to salvation, and it is because of God's mercy in spite of our transgressions.  We never merit or earn salvation.  Verse two adds, Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.  David asked God to throughly wash him and cleanse him from his sin with Bathsheba.  As Christians, God has thoroughly washed us clean of all our sins by His blood shed on the cross, but if we give in to sin once more we still need to acknowledge it and ask God's forgiveness.  Verse three declares, For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.  David acknowledged his sins and transgressions before God, and so must we if we are to be forgiven for them.  We can never just ignore our sins and believe that God has to forgive them whether we acknowledge them or not.  Salvation is not a license to sin because we know that God has already forgiven us.  Verse four adds, Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.  David said that it was against God alone that he had sinned, and that God was justified in His judgment of David.  Even if we are just angry at our neighbor as followers of Christ, or whatever the thought or action may be that is not in accordance with God's word, our ultimate sin is against God because we have not obeyed Him.  Verse five continues, Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.  David said he was born in iniquity.  I believe that more accurate statement would be that he was born with free will that could lead him to sin.  David was not guilty of sin because of his birth, but because of the choices he knowingly made, and so is every person ever born.  Verse six states, Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.  David said God wanted truth in the hidden parts of man, in their heart and mind.  If we have not accepted God's truth in our heart and mind, it is impossible to truly follow His will for our life.  Verse seven adds, Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.  David said that when God washed him that he would be whiter than snow.  When we are washed in the blood of Christ, we are made spiritually clean, without any mark of sin left on us.  Verse eight declares, Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.  David asked that God would make him hear joy and gladness.  We need that same joy and gladness in our life today if we are Christians.  As David said, even our broken bones, or those things that might be physically wrong with us, should rejoice.   Even in times of trouble we are to rejoice in the Lord if we are truly followers of Christ.  Verse nine adds, Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities.  David asked God to no longer look on His sins and to blot out his iniquities.  As Christians, God has already done this for us.  He does not look back at forgiven sins, and neither should we.

Psalms 50:12

 Psalms 50:12 says, If I were hungry, I would not tell thee: for the world is mine, and the fulness thereof.  God said that if He were hungry He would not tell people this, because they had nothing to offer Him that was not already His.  Of course, this does not mean that at times God is hungry,  but was only a hypothetical statement of if He were.  No matter what we give to God today, it is already His.  Verse thirteen adds, Will I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats?  God asked if the people of Israel thought God was actually going to eat the things offered to Him on the altar.  We need to understand that God does not use our tithes and offerings to satisfy His own needs.  We offer them to show Him our obedience to Him and to do our part in carrying out His work.  Verse fourteen states, Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the most High:  David called on the people of Israel to offer thanksgiving to God, at all times I believe, and to pay, or fulfill, their vows. As followers of Christ, we should always be faithful to God and fulfill our vows to Him.  We are His at all times, and should live in obedience to that fact.  Verse fifteen adds, And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.  David said God told the people of Israel to call on Him in the day of trouble and He would deliver them.  We need to understand that as Christians there will always be the possibility of trouble in our lives, but also that God has already delivered us from them forever.  Verse sixteen asks, But unto the wicked God saith, What hast thou to do to declare my statutes, or that thou shouldest take my covenant in thy mouth?  God asked the wicked why they declared His statutes and proclaimed His covenant when they didn't believe it.  This applies today to those who have a hypocritical worship of God.  They do and say the right things, but they really do not believe in God in their heart.  Verse seventeen adds, Seeing thou hatest instruction, and castest my words behind thee.  God said these hypocritical worshippers really hated His instruction and cast off His word.  Too many people today come to worship God on Sunday and then do not allow Him to guide them the rest of the week.  We must be obedient to God and live by His instruction continually as followers of Christ.  Verse eighteen continues, When thou sawest a thief, then thou consentedst with him, and hast been partaker with adulterers.  God said that instead of condemning those that broke His laws that the people of Israel had started joining them in doing so.  We cannot overlook or join in the actions of those who go against the teachings of God.  Verse nineteen declares, Thou givest thy mouth to evil, and thy tongue frameth deceit.  God said that the people of Israel had begun to speak evil and lies.  Too often today those who profess to believe in God speak the evil ideas of the world and speak lies about God.  Verse twenty adds, Thou sittest and speakest against thy brother; thou slanderest thine own mother’s son.  God said not only did they speak evil and lies about Him, but they did the same against their fellow Israelites, even their own brother.  We as Christians should never be guilty of doing this.  We are called on to share the gospel and God's word with the world, and need to be careful that we do not begin to proclaim the lies of the world instead.  Verse twenty-one says, These things hast thou done, and I kept silence; thou thoughtest that I was altogether such an one as thyself: but I will reprove thee, and set them in order before thine eyes.  God said that He had allowed the people of Israel to do this, but that now He was going to reprove them and set them straight.  Since God gives us free will, even as Christians, He may allow us to do things that are not in accordance with His word or His will, but He will reprove us and one day He will set us straight if we do.  Verse twenty-two adds, Now consider this, ye that forget God, lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver.  God called on the people of Israel to consider what they were doing before He had to tear them apart and they were left with no one to deliver them from the evil of the world.  We need consider our relationship with God before it is too late to accept His deliverance through faith in Jesus Christ.  There is no other Deliverer but Him.  Verse twenty-three states, Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me: and to him that ordereth his conversation aright will I shew the salvation of God.  God said that those who sincerely worshipped Him would be shown His salvation.  God has shown us His salvation through the life, death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and it up to each individual to either accept or reject God's salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. 

Psalms 50:1

Psalms 50:1 says, This is not identified as a psalm of David, but of Asaph, who Matthew Henry says was the chief musician, then verse one says, The mighty God, even the LORD, hath spoken, and called the earth from the rising of the sun unto the going down thereof.  Asaph said that the mighty God, the LORD, had spoken.  God has always spoken to His people, but too often they have not listened.  If we can truly comprehend how mighty God is, then we should never fail to listen to Him as Christians.  Verse two adds, Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God hath shined.  Out of Zion, the mountain of God, His beauty shined forth in the world.  Out of faith in Jesus Christ, the Light of the world, God's beauty shines forth today.  Verse three declares, Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence: a fire shall devour before him, and it shall be very tempestuous round about him.  The people of Israel who had become hypocritical were warned that God's judgment was coming like a fire to destroy all who did not put their faith in Him.  One day, all those who do not accept Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord will be sent away into the everlasting fires of hell.  Verse four adds, He shall call to the heavens from above, and to the earth, that he may judge his people. The people of Israel were told that God would call to earth from heaven above to judge His people.  One day, God is going to judge all people, and the only way to forgiveness is through faith in Jesus Christ.  Verse five states, Gather my saints together unto me; those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice.  God called on the saints, those who had entered into a covenant relationship with Him and had tried to live true to it, to be gathered together.  We as Christians gather together today to worship and praise God, and we need to make sure that we do so in accordance with His guidance.  What we sacrifice to God is our self will.  Verse six adds, And the heavens shall declare his righteousness: for God is judge himself. Selah.  We are told that the heavens will declare the righteousness of God, and that God is the judge of Himself.  No one is qualified to judge God but God Himself.   Verse seven declares, Hear, O my people, and I will speak; O Israel, and I will testify against thee: I am God, even thy God.  The people of Israel were called on to hear God, Who they called their God, and were told that He would judge them.  As Christians, we must be true to our faith in God, but He is ultimately the One Who will judge whether we have been or not.  Verse eight adds, I will not reprove thee for thy sacrifices or thy burnt offerings, to have been continually before me.  God's judgment of the people of Israel as having broken their covenant with Him was not in their not offering sacrifices, but in their attitude behind doing so.  We may go through all the motions to show ourselves to be Christians, but if we do not truly put our faith in Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, it will do us no good.  Verse nine continues, I will take no bullock out of thy house, nor he goats out of thy folds.  God said He had no need for their cattle or goats.  They all belonged to Him anyway.   There is nothing that we can offer God that is not already His, except for ourselves.  Though we may be His by creation, He gives us the choice of whether or not to be His spiritually.  Verse ten says, For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills.  As just stated, since everything belongs to God already, He really needs nothing from us.  Sacrifices and offerings were just signs of obedience to Him.  Verse eleven adds, I know all the fowls of the mountains: and the wild beasts of the field are mine. God knows that it is all His, and so should we.