Psalms 85:1

Psalms 85:1 says, To the chief Musician, A Psalm for the sons of Korah.  After the introduction and dedication, verse one says, LORD, thou hast been favourable unto thy land: thou hast brought back the captivity of Jacob.  The psalmist begins by stating that God had been favorable to His land and had brought Jacob, or God's chosen people, back from captivity.  God will always be favorable to those who put their faith in Him and has brought them out of the captivity of sin through their faith in Jesus Christ.  Verse two adds, Thou hast forgiven the iniquity of thy people, thou hast covered all their sin. Selah.  Just as was stated then, God has forgiven the sins of those who accept Jesus Christ and has covered their iniquities with His blood.  Verse three continues, Thou hast taken away all thy wrath: thou hast turned thyself from the fierceness of thine anger.  When we accept salvation that comes only through faith in Jesus Christ, then God turns His wrath, which He has toward sin, away from us.  Verse four states, Turn us, O God of our salvation, and cause thine anger toward us to cease.  When we turn to God by salvation, His anger toward us does cease.  Still, if we turn away from His will for us, we may feel His chastisement once again.  Verse five asks, Wilt thou be angry with us for ever? wilt thou draw out thine anger to all generations?  God's anger toward sin and those who refuse to accept His salvation will last throughout the generations.  There will never come a time when sin is okay.  Verse six adds, Wilt thou not revive us again: that thy people may rejoice in thee?  We often ask that God revive us again, but revival only comes when individual Christians begin to truly put God first.  God stands ready to revive His people at all times, and this will happen if we as followers of Christ begin to follow Him in all that we do.  Verse seven declares, Shew us thy mercy, O LORD, and grant us thy salvation.  God did this once and for all time when He sent Jesus Christ to die on the cross as an atonement of all sin for all time.  Many people will go to hell with their sins forgiven since the refuse to accept the salvation that Christ died to give them.  Verse eight adds, I will hear what God the LORD will speak: for he will speak peace unto his people, and to his saints: but let them not turn again to folly.  We likewise need to hear what God says to us as followers of Christ, because following Him and listening to His words brings us peace.  Verse nine says, Surely his salvation is nigh them that fear him; that glory may dwell in our land.  The salvation of Christ is always just a prayer away.  We don't have to perform great deeds or go on great journeys to find salvation.  We only have to open up when Christ knocks on our heart’s door.  Verse ten adds, Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other. God's mercy is found when we accept His truth, and once we do, we should live in righteousness which brings us peace. Verse eleven continues, Truth shall spring out of the earth; and righteousness shall look down from heaven.  Truth can only come from God, and righteousness only comes from putting our faith in Jesus Christ.  Verse twelve states, Yea, the LORD shall give that which is good; and our land shall yield her increase.  If we want true success in the world today, it will only come once we have accepted Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord.  Verse thirteen adds, Righteousness shall go before him; and shall set us in the way of his steps.  Righteousness does indeed go before God, and therefore should go before His people as well.

Psalms 84:1

Psalms 84:1 says, To the chief Musician upon Gittith, A Psalm for the sons of Korah.  Once more we have the introduction, then verse one says, How amiable are thy tabernacles, O LORD of hosts!  God's tabernacles should always be amiable, since we as followers of Christ are the tabernacles of the Holy Spirit.  Of course, the buildings where we meet as a congregation of believers should also be amiable.  Verse two adds, My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the LORD: my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God.  Asaph said that his soul longed for the LORD, and his heart and soul cried out for the living God.  We should feel the same way today, and not just at times, but all the time.  Verse three states, Yea, the sparrow hath found an house, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, even thine altars, O LORD of hosts, my King, and my God.  Asaph said that the birds had found a home in God's house.  Of course, even if they were there, they were not there to worship God.  Verse four adds, Blessed are they that dwell in thy house: they will be still praising thee. Selah.  Asaph then says that those who dwell in God's house are blessed and praising God.  We are blessed as Christians today and should praise God for it every day, but especially when we are gathered in His name.  Verse five declares, Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee; in whose heart are the ways of them.  This applies to us today as followers of Christ.  Our strength comes from God as we follow the way He leads us.  Verse six adds, Who passing through the valley of Baca make it a well; the rain also filleth the pools.  Asaph said those who waited on God in difficult times were blessed by having their needs met, and we still are today as followers of Christ.  Verse seven continues, They go from strength to strength, every one of them in Zion appeareth before God.  If we put our faith in God, we go from our strength to His, and no matter how strong we may be, without God's strength we are powerless.  Verse eight says, O LORD God of hosts, hear my prayer: give ear, O God of Jacob. Selah.  Asaph asked God to hear his prayers, acknowledging Him as the only God, Who was the God of Jacob.  If we expect God to hear our prayers, we mist first acknowledge Who He is, the only God.  Verse nine adds, Behold, O God our shield, and look upon the face of thine anointed.  Asaph acknowledged God as the shield of Israel and asked Him to look upon His anointed.   God is our shield in the world today if we have put our faith in Jesus Christ, and He always looks upon us.  Verse ten declares, For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.  Like Asaph, we should know that one day with God is worth more than a thousand without Him.  It is better to be a doorkeeper in God's house than to live in any place without Him.  Verse eleven adds, For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.  God is indeed the source of all good things, and He has not withheld the greatest gift of all, everlasting life with Him, from those who put their faith in Jesus Christ.  Verse twelve continues, O LORD of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in thee.  The only way for someone to be truly blessed is to put their faith in God. 

Psalms 83:9

Psalms 83:9 says, Do unto them as unto the Midianites; as to Sisera, as to Jabin, at the brook of Kison: After speaking about the way their enemies had mistreated them, Asaph now asks God to destroy them as He had destroyed Isreals enemies in the past.  God's enemies will one day all be destroyed, when He says the time is right, and until then we need to pray for their salvation.  Verse ten adds, Which perished at Endor: they became as dung for the earth.  Asaph said that God had totally destroyed the enemies of Israel in the past. What we need to remember is that God defeated all our enemies when we accepted Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, and He will do so forever if we continue to put our faith in Him.  Verse eleven states, Make their nobles like Oreb, and like Zeeb: yea, all their princes as Zebah, and as Zalmunna:  Then verse twelve adds, Who said, Let us take to ourselves the houses of God in possession.  Asaph then asked that the princes of the enemies of Israel, those that led them in their fight against Israel, be destroyed as they had in the past.  Some people may only fight against Christianity today because their leaders tell them to, so we should especially pray that the attitude of the leaders be changed.  Verse thirteen declares, O my God, make them like a wheel; as the stubble before the wind.  Asaph asked that God make those leaders and those that they commanded no more than stubble.   No matter how powerful our enemies may be in the world today, they are no more powerful than the stubble of grass before God, and we simply need to remember that.  Verse fourteen adds, As the fire burneth a wood, and as the flame setteth the mountains on fire;  Asaph asked that God move among the enemies of Israel like a purifying fire.  Verse fifteen continues, So persecute them with thy tempest, and make them afraid with thy storm.  Asaph then asked God to send His storms to make the enemies of God afraid.  God does not need an army to defeat His enemies, but can do so by His own power over the universe.  God has given us everlasting salvation if we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, and we need to put our faith in Him alone, and not on any force in this world.  Verse sixteen says, Fill their faces with shame; that they may seek thy name, O LORD.  Asaph then asked God to fill the enemies of Israel with shame, so that they might seek His face.  This should be our prayer for the enemies of God and His people today.  We should pray that they come to salvation by putting their faith in Jesus Christ.  Verse seventeen adds, Let them be confounded and troubled for ever; yea, let them be put to shame, and perish:  Then, Asaph asked that if they didn't come to God that the enemies of Isreal be destroyed forever.  Everlasting destruction is the fate of everyone who refuses to accept God's salvation, but we should not pray that this happens to anyone.  Verse eighteen concludes, That men may know that thou, whose name alone is JEHOVAH, art the most high over all the earth. Asaph asked that God do this so that people might know that God alone was God and that His sovereignty covered the whole world.  God has given us the sign of the cross, the death of Jesus Christ to defeat sin and death for all time, and we don't need another.  Some countries may believe that by simply denying God that they have defeated Him, but He is still sovereign over all the earth.

Psalms 83:1

Psalms 83:1 says, A Song or Psalm of Asaph. After being identified as a psalm of Asaph, verse one says, Keep not thou silence, O God: hold not thy peace, and be not still, O God.  Asaph called on God to not remain silent.  If we feel that God is being silent in our life today, we need to ask what we have allowed to come between Him and us.  Verse two adds, For, lo, thine enemies make a tumult: and they that hate thee have lifted up the head.  Asaph said that God needed to speak because His enemies were making a tumult and killing His people.  The world may be making a lot of noise in speaking out against God and those of us who follow Him today, even killing them at times, but God has not deserted us.  Even if we don't feel that God is still active in the world, He always has been and always will be.  Verse three continues, They have taken crafty counsel against thy people, and consulted against thy hidden ones.  Just as those who did not believe in and follow God's law then were crafty, so are those who stand against Him today.  They attempt to make sin the normal standard, by any method available.  Verse four states, They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance.  Asaph said the enemies of God sought to destroy Israel to the point that it, and therefore the God of Israel, would no longer be remembered.  Some countries today attempt to destroy God's people with the hope that He will no longer be remembered, but they will never be successful.  Verse five adds, For they have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against thee:  Those who oppose God may not speak with each other, but they are still united in purpose today, and that is to destroy God and all those who put their faith in Him.  Verse six says, The tabernacles of Edom, and the Ishmaelites; of Moab, and the Hagarenes;  Verse seven adds, Gebal, and Ammon, and Amalek; the Philistines with the inhabitants of Tyre;  Verse eight continues, Assur also is joined with them: they have holpen the children of Lot. Selah.  Asaph then listed many of the nations that were against God's people.  We could list many nations today who are against us as followers of Christ, but we could also list many groups who are a part of our nation who are out to do the same thing. 

Psalms 82:1

 Psalms 82:1 says, A Psalm of Asaph.  This is identified as another psalm of Asaph, then verse one says, God standeth in the congregation of the mighty; he judgeth among the gods.  Matthew Henry says this psalm was written to the magistrates, especially those of Israel.  God stood and still stands in the congregation of the mighty, the ultimate authority over all.  Anyone else is a false god, and the one true God judges them.  Matthew Henry says the magistrates were sometimes referred to by the word for a god, but whoever these gods were, God judged them.  We must acknowledge that God is the ultimate authority over everything.  Verse two asks, How long will ye judge unjustly, and accept the persons of the wicked? Selah.  Asaph asked how long these magistrates would judge unjustly and accept, or even delight in, those who were wicked over those who were just.  The courts today often seem to side with the wicked, and we as Christians may wonder how long God will allow this to continue, but we know that one day God will judge everyone by His righteousness.  Verse three, Defend the poor and fatherless: do justice to the afflicted and needy.  The magistrates were called on to defend the poor and fatherless and to do justice to the afflicted and needy.  In courts today, the poor and needy are often likely be punished more severely instead of being treated with compassion.  Verse four adds, Deliver the poor and needy: rid them out of the hand of the wicked. God called on the magistrates to deliver the poor and needy from the hand of the wicked.  We need impartial judgement in the courts today, so that even the poorest can receive the same justice as the richest, all guided by God's righteousness.  Verse five states, They know not, neither will they understand; they walk on in darkness: all the foundations of the earth are out of course.  God said that the partiality of the magistrates toward the rich and even the wicked threw all of the earth out of course.  The people in power are expected to judge impartially, and when they don't, all of God's creation is affected.   Verse six adds, I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High.  When referred to as gods, the magistrates were to act as representative of God and stand in His place.  They were His children by creation and were to act like it by following His guidance in the courts.  Verse seven says, But ye shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes.  These magistrates were just mortal men and would die like anyone else.  No matter how powerful rulers or justices may feel today, they are but mortal men who one day will die.  Verse eight adds, Arise, O God, judge the earth: for thou shalt inherit all nations.  Asaph calls on God to arise and judge the earth, and one day His final judgment will come. 

Psalms 81:1

Psalms 81:1 says,To the chief Musician upon Gittith, A Psalm of Asaph. This is identified as another psalm of Asaph, then verse one says, Sing aloud unto God our strength: make a joyful noise unto the God of Jacob.  Once again, the people of Israel are called on to sing praises to God.  We as followers of Christ today should do the same thing.  Verse two adds, Take a psalm, and bring hither the timbrel, the pleasant harp with the psaltery.  Verse three continues, Blow up the trumpet in the new moon, in the time appointed, on our solemn feast day.  Several musical instruments were called for to be used in the worship of God along with the singing.  Music, and musical instruments, has always been a part of the worship of God. Verse four states, For this was a statute for Israel, and a law of the God of Jacob.  Asaph said God ordained this type worship, so we should not think that it is wrong today.  Verse five adds, This he ordained in Joseph for a testimony, when he went out through the land of Egypt: where I heard a language that I understood not.  In Egypt, the people of Israel were under the power of a people whose language they did not understand, even though they had gone there at the invitation of Joseph.  If we go out into the world, we may at times find ourselves under the power of people who do not speak the language of God, even if they start out friendly to us.  Verse six continues, I removed his shoulder from the burden: his hands were delivered from the pots.  Just as God removed the burden of physical slavery from the people then, He removes us from the burden of spiritual slavery today, if we put our faith in Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord.  Verse seven declares, Thou calledst in trouble, and I delivered thee; I answered thee in the secret place of thunder: I proved thee at the waters of Meribah. Selah.  Asaph said that God had heard His people when they called on Him in times of trouble and provided for their needs, which He still does for Christians today.  That is why we should always sing praises to Him.  Verse eight adds, Hear, O my people, and I will testify unto thee: O Israel, if thou wilt hearken unto me;  God said if the people of Israel would listen to Him that He would testify, or speak the truth, to them.  It is always our choice, even as Christians, whether we listen to the voice of God or not.  Verse nine says, There shall no strange god be in thee; neither shalt thou worship any strange god.  Like the people of Israel then, as followers of Christ today we are to allow no false gods in our lives, and anything that becomes more important than God becomes a false god.  Verse ten adds, I am the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt: open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it.  God reminded the people of Israel that He was the God Who had delivered them out of Egypt and that He had and would meet their needs as long as they remained faithful to Him. As Christians, God is the God Who had delivered us out from under the power of the sinful world, and He will meet our needs as long as we put our faith in Him.  Verse eleven adds, But my people would not hearken to my voice; and Israel would none of me.  God then said that the people of Israel, His chosen people, would not listen to His voice.  We need to always listen to God and follow His leadership if we are to live successful Christian lives today.  Verse twelve continues, So I gave them up unto their own hearts’ lust: and they walked in their own counsels.  God said that when the people of Israel refused to listen to Him, He gave them up to their own lusts and they followed their own ways instead of God's ways.  As followers of Christ, we need to make sure that we don't get so far away from God that He just leaves us to our own understanding.  Verse thirteen declares, Oh that my people had hearkened unto me, and Israel had walked in my ways!  God said that it would have been great if His people had listened to Him and walked in His ways.  As Christians, we must do the same thing today.  Verse fourteen adds, I should soon have subdued their enemies, and turned my hand against their adversaries.  God said that if the people of Israel had followed Him in faith that He would have soon subdued their enemies, and He will still do so for the followers of Christ today spiritually.  Verse fifteen continues, The haters of the LORD should have submitted themselves unto him: but their time should have endured for ever.  Asaph said those who hated God should have submitted themselves to Him instead of fighting against Him, and if they had their time of power would have lasted forever.  God can easily destroy all those who deny or fight against Him,  but He reaches out to them with the gospel of Christ instead.  Verse sixteen concludes, He should have fed them also with the finest of the wheat: and with honey out of the rock should I have satisfied thee.  God still stands ready to meet the needs of all who will put their faith in Jesus Christ today and live under the direction of the Holy Spirit. 

Psalms 80:12

Psalms 80:12 asks, Why hast thou then broken down her hedges, so that all they which pass by the way do pluck her?  Asaph asked why God had broken down His protective hedge from around Israel.  He should have known the reason, and that was because of the rebellion of the people of Israel against God's laws.  If we feel that we have lost God's protection, we need to see if we have become rebellious to His laws and His will for our life.  Verse thirteen says, The boar out of the wood doth waste it, and the wild beast of the field doth devour it.  Asaph said the vine of Israel as they had been referred to was being destroyed by the boar and the wild beast.  The people of Israel were being attacked by more than one group.  If we lose God's protective hand today, we may be attacked by more than one group of people who oppose Him, which is why it is so important that we as followers of Christ remain faithful to Him.  Verse fourteen adds, Return, we beseech thee, O God of hosts: look down from heaven, and behold, and visit this vine;  The psalmist asked for God to look down from heaven and behold and visit the vine of Israel. We know that God never leaves His people, even if they fail to live up to their part of the covenant, but we may have to at times call on Him to help us out of a bad situation that we have gotten our self into.  Verse fifteen continues, And the vineyard which thy right hand hath planted, and the branch that thou madest strong for thyself.  Asaph gave God credit for building the vineyard, the nation of Israel, and we must give God the credit for our salvation today.  It can come from nowhere else.  Verse sixteen concludes, It is burned with fire, it is cut down: they perish at the rebuke of thy countenance.  Asaph said the nation of Israel was in very bad shape, but God already knew this and it was because of their rebellion against Him that they were in this condition.  Verse seventeen states, Let thy hand be upon the man of thy right hand, upon the son of man whom thou madest strong for thyself.  Though this could apply to God restoring an earthly king to power in Israel, we know that it ultimately refers to Jesus Christ, the One Who God made the source of salvation forever.  Verse eighteen adds, So will not we go back from thee: quicken us, and we will call upon thy name.  God does quicken us, or make us spiritually alive, if we put our faith in Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord.  Verse nineteen continues, Turn us again, O LORD God of hosts, cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved.  If we are to be saved, we must turn to God through faith in Jesus Christ.