Psalms 108:1

Psalms 108:1 says, A Song or Psalm of David.  After being identified as a psalm of David, verse one says, O God, my heart is fixed; I will sing and give praise, even with my glory.  David said his heart was fixed on God and he would sing praises to Him, even with his own glory.  Men may have glorified David, but David gave all the glory to God. We must likewise fix our heart on God as followers of Christ and give Him the glory in everything.  Verse two adds, Awake, psaltery and harp: I myself will awake early.  David said he would wake early to praise God.  Whatever time we do awake, we should awake praising God.  Verse three continues, I will praise thee, O LORD, among the people: and I will sing praises unto thee among the nations.  David said he would praise God, singing praises to Him not only to the people of Israel but to all nations.  We cannot sing praises to God only when we are with others Christians, but must sing praises to Him to all people.  Verse four states states, For thy mercy is great above the heavens: and thy truth reacheth unto the clouds.  David said he would sing praises to God because of His great mercy and truth.  We sing praises to God not because of who we are, but because of Who He is.  Verse five adds, Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens: and thy glory above all the earth;  As David said,  God is to be exalted above the heavens and the earth, because He created them all.  Verse six continues, That thy beloved may be delivered: save with thy right hand, and answer me.  David may have been referring to himself as God's beloved, but we know that Jesus Christ was the beloved Son of God, and that because of His sacrifice on the cross, if we accept Him by faith, we too can become one of the beloved of God.  Verse seven declares, God hath spoken in his holiness; I will rejoice, I will divide Shechem, and mete out the valley of Succoth.  David said that God had spoken and he would follow His guidance in ruling Israel.  We need rulers today who follow God's guidance in all that they do, and we certainly need to do so as individual Christians.  Verse eight adds, Gilead is mine; Manasseh is mine; Ephraim also is the strength of mine head; Judah is my lawgiver;  Verse nine continues, Moab is my washpot; over Edom will I cast out my shoe; over Philistia will I triumph.  David said that all of the people of Isreal were his to rule, and he would do so under the guidance of God.  Verse ten asks, Who will bring me into the strong city? who will lead me into Edom?  David asked Who would give him victory.  If we as Christians today find ourselves in a challenging situation, we need to ask ourselves Who we will look to for victory.  Verse eleven adds, Wilt not thou, O God, who hast cast us off? and wilt not thou, O God, go forth with our hosts?  David asked if God would not give him success and we know that if we put our faith in God today that He will give us spiritual success over all our enemies.  Verse twelve states, Give us help from trouble: for vain is the help of man.  We like David must call on God for His help, because as David stated the help of people is vain.  We as followers of Christ should never look to anyone or anything else to deliver us from times of trouble, because He alone can give us an everlasting victory.  Verse thirteen adds, Through God we shall do valiantly: for he it is that shall tread down our enemies.  David said God alone could tread down his enemies, and this is still true today.  People may have looked to David as a powerful leader, but David gave all the praise and glory to God, and so should we in everything we do.

Psalms 109:1

Psalms 109:1 says, To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. This is identified as a psalm of Davd, then verse one says,  Hold not thy peace, O God of my praise;  David was not asking God to keep His peace, but to no longer hold on to it toward his enemies.  Verse two adds, For the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of the deceitful are opened against me: they have spoken against me with a lying tongue.  David said he asked this of God because of how the wicked were treating him.  We may at times have an attitude of wanting God to destroy those who are wicked and especially if they seem to be determined to harm us, but I don't believe this is the attitude God expects from us today. Verse three continues, They compassed me about also with words of hatred; and fought against me without a cause.  David said his enemies hated him without cause, and if people hate us today as followers of Christ, we need to do our best to make sure that it is without cause.  Verse four states, For  my love they are my adversaries: but I give myself unto prayer.  David said that even when he showed his love for them, they hated him, but he still continued to pray.  This is how Jesus was treated on His way to the cross, and He continued to pray for the forgiveness of those who were beating and who crucified Him.  As Christians, we are to follow His example.  Verse five adds, And they have rewarded me evil for good, and hatred for my love.  Verse six continues, Set thou a wicked man over him: and let Satan stand at his right hand.  David asked God to set a wicked man ruled by Satan over his enemies.  Though there may be may people today who are ruled by someone who is under the power of Satan, we should not pray that this happens.  Verse seven declares, When he shall be judged, let him be condemned: and let his prayer become sin.  David asked that God condemn the wicked when they were judged, because among other things their prayers had become hypocritical.  We have to remember that if it were not for our faith in Jesus Christ we would be condemned as well, and we certainly need to keep our prayers from becoming hypocritical.  Verse eight adds, Let his days be few; and let another take his office.  David asked that the wicked rulers days be few, and that another take his place.  Verse nine continues, Let his children be fatherless, and his wife a widow.  David asked not only that they be removed from office, but that they die.  We as Christians should not pray for the death of anyone, even those that hate us, but for their salvation.  Verse ten states, Let his children be continually vagabonds, and beg: let them seek their bread also out of their desolate places.  We certainly should not pray that the children of those who are wicked suffer throughout life.  Verse eleven adds, Let the extortioner catch all that he hath; and let the strangers spoil his labour. Again, David asks for the loss of all that the wicked have.  It is not the material things that we should be concerned with, but the spiritual, and we should never want anyone to lose everything spiritually, no matter how wicked they may be.  Rather, we should pray for their salvation. 

Psalms 107;31

Psalms 107;31 says, Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!  This is once more a call for people to praise God for His goodness and wonderful works.  We should praise God for Who He is, the Creator and Sustainer of everything, and not for what He can do for us materially.  Verse thirty-two adds, Let them exalt him also in the congregation of the people, and praise him in the assembly of the elders.  The people of Israel were called on to praise God when they assembled together, and so should we as followers of Christ.  Verse thirty-three states, He turneth rivers into a wilderness, and the watersprings into dry ground;  God can dry up the rivers and springs if He chooses to do so.  Verse thirty-four adds, A fruitful land into barrenness, for the wickedness of them that dwell therein.  God can slowly make a fruitful land barren, if the people there become to wicked.  We should keep that in mind today.  Verse thirty-five states, He turneth the wilderness into a standing water, and dry ground into watersprings.  Just as God can turn the water into a wilderness and watersprings to dry ground, He can do the opposite.  Just because we are blessed today and others aren't doesn't mean that it will always be that way.  It ultimately depends on our relationship with God, individually and as a nation.  Verse thirty-six adds, And there he maketh the hungry to dwell, that they may prepare a city for habitation;  God can bring the hungry to dwell in a city fit for habitation.  We as Christians are brought into God's kingdom, which is a place that is spiritually fit for habitation.  Verse thirty-seven continues, And sow the fields, and plant vineyards, which may yield fruits of increase.  Though God brings the hungry into this land, they are still expected to work.  We should never expect to just sit back and have God bless us as followers of Christ.  We have a purpose and work to do that is about more than just material things.  Verse thirty-eight declares, He blesseth them also, so that they are multiplied greatly; and suffereth not their cattle to decrease. The psalmist said that God blessed those that put their faith in Him with more than enough to just survive, but once more I don't believe that we should expect God to make us rich materially.  Even if we are faithful, we may still struggle financially.  Verse thirty-nine adds, Again, they are minished and brought low through oppression, affliction, and sorrow.  I believe this is what happens when those who are supposed to be God's people turn away from Him.  Verse forty continues, He poureth contempt upon princes, and causeth them to wander in the wilderness, where there is no way.  God pours His contempt on those rulers of His people who have turned away from Him, and allows them to be defeated.  Verse forty-one states, Yet setteth he the poor on high from affliction, and maketh him families like a flock.  As I have stated before, I don't believe that being poor itself brings a person blessings from God nor salvation itself, but if a person has accepted Jesus Christ as his or her Savior and Lord and are made poor because of their faith, then God will one day richly bless them.  Verse forty-two adds,The righteous shall see it, and rejoice: and all iniquity shall stop her mouth.  When the righteous see what God is doing, they will rejoice.  This is not the self righteous, but those who are made righteous the only way a person can be made righteous, and that is through faith in Jesus Christ.  Verse forty-three continues, Whoso is wise, and will observe these things, even they shall understand the lovingkindness of the LORD.  If we are wise, we will understand these things as they are revealed to us by God.

Psalms 107:21

Psalms 107:21 says, Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!  We should wonder as David did then why people today, especially those who believe in Jesus Christ, do not praise God for His goodness instead of often complaining about problems in life.  Verse twenty-two adds, And let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare his works with rejoicing.  A sacrifice is something given to God, and David said people should offer the sacrifice of thanksgiving to God and declare His works by rejoicing.  We should be sacrificing, or offer up to God, a sacrifice to thanksgiving as we declare His works to the world.  Verse twenty-three states, They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters;  Verse twenty-four adds, These see the works of the LORD, and his wonders in the deep.  Sailors see the works of God as the go about their everyday life.  The vastness of the sea shows them the need for divine protection, even if they die not openingly professing a belief in the one true God.  Verse twenty-five continues, For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof.  While out on the sea conducting their business of transporting goods, storms can quickly rise up and leave the ships and sailors at their mercy, and that is a good time to acknowledge the power of God.  Verse twenty-six says, They mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths: their soul is melted because of trouble.  The waves come from the depths and lift the ships up to heaven at God's command.  When this happens, the soul of the sailor melts within.  There is a real fear, and there needs to be a real faith God to overcome that fear.  Verse twenty-seven adds, They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wits’ end.  While being tossed about by the sea, sailors are at their wits end as to what to do.  We may often be at our wits end when tossed about by life.  Verse twenty-eight continues, Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses. If we are tossed about by storms on the sea of life and are at our wits end as to what to do, we need to call out to God.  He will always be there with us in our time of trouble and answer our prayers if we call out to Him in faith.  Verse twenty-nine declares, He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still.  Just as God can calm the seas for the sailors when they call out to Him, He can calm the storms in our life today if we call out to Him.  Verse thirty adds, Then are they glad because they be quiet; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven.  The sailors are glad when God calms the seas and brings them into their desired haven.  We should be glad always, even in the midst of the storms of life as followers of Christ, because God has already brought us spiritually into our safe haven.

Psalms 107:10

Psalms 107:10 says, Such as sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, being bound in affliction and iron;  We can either live in the light of God's word with freedom from sin and death, or we will be bound in the darkness.  Verse eleven adds, Because they rebelled against the words of God, and contemned the counsel of the most High:  The people who were imprisoned by the darkness were those who had rebelled against God.  Anytime people rebel against God, then they live in spiritual darkness.  Verse twelve states, Therefore he brought down their heart with labour; they fell down, and there was none to help.  Instead of living with the blessings of God, the people of Isreal were brought down to labor with no one to help them. When we turn away from God, we lose His protection and blessings spiritually, no matter what is happening in our life.  We should always obey God as followers of Christ, and then we will always have His protection and His blessings.  Verse thirteen adds, Then they cried unto the LORD in their trouble, and he saved them out of their distresses.  This was a cycle with the people of Isreal.  God would deliver them, they would obey Him for awhile and be a blessed and powerful nation, then they would turn away from Him, be defeated and downtrodden, then call out to Him again and He would deliver them once more.  As Christians, God has delivered us once and for all time, so we need to avoid times when we are not faithful to Him.  Verse fourteen continues, He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and brake their bands in sunder.  God had delivered them from the darkness of sin and the shadow of death, just as He has us today as followers of Christ.  Verse fifteen declares, Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!  This is what we as Christians should do every day.  We are to tell the world of the goodness of God as we praise His holy name.  Verse sixteen adds, For he hath broken the gates of brass, and cut the bars of iron in sunder.  Just as God had removed the physical restraints from the people of Israel then, He has removed the spiritual restraints from us today as followers of Christ.  Verse seventeen says, Fools because of their transgression, and because of their iniquities, are afflicted.  Fools, those who do not believe in God, are afflicted spiritually because of their sin.  Verse eighteen adds, Their soul abhorreth all manner of meat; and they draw near unto the gates of death.  I believe that the meat referred to is the meat of God's word, which the lost of the world abhor, and this leads them to a spiritual death if they do not change and accept the salvation made available by Christ.  Verse nineteen continues, Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and he saveth them out of their distresses.  If people quit being foolish and honestly cry out to God in their distress, He has already made  salvation available.  All anyone has to do to be saved is to put their faith in Jesus Christ.  Verse twenty concludes, He sent his word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.  God's word, though it wouldn't happen until later, was Jesus Christ coming to die for the sins of everyone. All we have to do is put our faith in Him as our personal Savior and Lord. 

Psalms 107:1

Psalms 107:1 says, O give thanks unto the LORD, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.  As David told the people of Israel then, we as followers of Christ, should give thanks to God daily because His mercy endures forever.  God is not arbitrarily merciful to His people, but is merciful forever.  Verse two adds, Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy;  This could have referred to being physically redeemed from the enemy, but as Christians it has a deeper meaning of being redeemed from our spiritual enemies.  Verse three continues, And gathered them out of the lands, from the east, and from the west, from the north, and from the south.  Just as God gathered His people together then, one day Jesus Christ is going to return and gather those that have put their faith in Him from all over the world. Verse four states, They wandered in the wilderness in a solitary way; they found no city to dwell in.  The wandering in the wilderness was because of the rebellion against and lack of faith in God even after He delivered them from Egypt.  If we begin to question God or even rebel against Him, we will find ourselves wandering in a spiritual wilderness.  Just as the people of Israel were still God's chosen people in the wilderness, if we have put our faith in Jesus Christ we are still a part of God's people, but we may lose so much of the joy of our salvation if we are wandering in a spiritual wilderness.  Verse five adds, Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them.  There in the wilderness, the souls of the people fainted on them because they were hungry and thirsty because they doubted God.  We may find ourselves spiritually hungry and thirsty and ready to have our soul ready to faint if we begin to question God or defy His will. Verse six declares, Then they cried unto the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them out of their distresses.  When the people of Isreal called out to God, He delivered them from their distress.  We should not wait until we are in distress to call out to God, but should call out to Him and follow His leadership daily to avoid getting into spiritual distress.  Verse seven adds, And he led them forth by the right way, that they might go to a city of habitation.  God led the people of Isreal forth into the right way so they might go to the city of habitation.  As Christians, God leads us forth into the right way so that we may one day enter the city of habitation, our heavenly home.  Verse eight says, Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!  As David stated, it would be so wonderful if all people would praise the LORD for His goodness, but the best we can do as followers of Christ is to make sure that we praise Him.  Verse nine adds, For he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness.  If we have accepted Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord, He will satisfy the longing of our soul and fill our hungry soul with gladness as long as we are obedient to His word.

Psalms 106:39

Psalms 106:39 says, Thus were they defiled with their own works, and went a whoring with their own inventions.  The people of Isreal were defiled by their own works when they started chasing other gods.  So will we be as Christians if we do so today.  Verse forty adds, Therefore was the wrath of the LORD kindled against his people, insomuch that he abhorred his own inheritance.  God's wrath was kindled against His inheritance, Isreal, so much that He abhorred them.  They had become God's people by name only and not by faith.  As followers of Christ, we cannot do whatever we please and believe that God has to accept it.  Just because we have everlasting salvation does not mean that our actions cannot cause God to be angry with us.  Verse forty-one continues, And he gave them into the hand of the heathen; and they that hated them ruled over them.  Isreal was defeated without God's protection, and so may we be in the world today.  Verse forty-two states, Their enemies also oppressed them, and they were brought into subjection under their hand.  The people of Israel were made slaves by those who defeated them.  If we as Christians stop living in obedience to God by our faith, then we place ourselves in a position to be living under the slavery of sin once more.  Verse forty-three declares, Many times did he deliver them; but they provoked him with their counsel, and were brought low for their iniquity.  Though God delivered the people of Isreal many times and they rebelled against Him again and again, He delivers us once and for all time if we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord.  Verse forty-four adds, Nevertheless he regarded their affliction, when he heard their cry:  God allowed the people of Israel to be defeated and afflicted because of their lack of faithfulness, but He still heard them when they cried out to Him in faith.  God never leaves His people, though too often they leave Him and suffer for it.  Still, He is always but a prayer away.  Verse forty-five states, And he remembered for them his covenant, and repented according to the multitude of his mercies.  God remembered the people of Israel because of the covenant He had made with them, and He will remember us because of the covenant He makes with us when we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord.  Verse forty-six adds, He made them also to be pitied of all those that carried them captives.  God caused those who held them captive to have pity for the people of Israel.  Verse forty-seven says, Save us, O LORD our God, and gather us from among the heathen, to give thanks unto thy holy name, and to triumph in thy praise.  The people of Isreal called on God to deliver them so that they could praise His name.  Often, if we find ourselves in a bad situation of our own making, we may call out to God to deliver us with the promise that we will praise His name.  Verse forty-eight adds, Blessed be the LORD God of Israel from everlasting to everlasting: and let all the people say, Amen. Praise ye the LORD.  This should be our message to the world today as Christians.