The Psalms were written from personal experiences with God. People walked with him and watched what he did in the world. Their reports about God are reliable; we can learn from them and the Psalms we read today are full of great things to know about the Lord.

Psalm 1

This is a Psalm about contrasts — between righteous and wicked people. It all comes down to where each invests their time and what they put into their minds.

A righteous person avoids bad company. She doesn’t take a walk with the wicked, doesn’t stop and hang out with sinners, and doesn’t sit down and listen to the  conversation of mockers – people who engage in gossip and scorn. The righteous person stays on the high road and keeps moving.

A person who pleases God makes his Word a priority. She reads and meditates on it day and night and Scripture feeds her soul, like a stream of water feeds the roots of a tree planted beside it. Before long her life bears the fruit of goodness and righteousness.

That kind of fruit that comes only from a life deeply immersed in the Word.

A righteous person is rooted and grounded, but a wicked person is rootless and unstable. When winds of adversity – or God’s judgment – come the wicked person gets blown away. But God watches over the lives of the righteous. They are safe and sound, firmly connected to God through his Word.

Psalm 2

It’s not just individuals who resist God. Whole nations sometimes violate his righteousness and conspire against him. Some rulers institutionalize torture, murder, and exploitation of their citizens as their way of maintaining control. There are nations where the people are near starvation while their leaders live in luxury. In other countries people are forbidden to own Bibles, pray together, or meet to worship God.

All of these nations shake their fists at the Most High and say, “Let us break [God’s} chains and throw off [his] shackles.” Psalm 2:3

But God just laughs at them. God has already installed his king, King Jesus, as his ruler over the nations and promised him . . .

“You are my son; today I have become your father. Ask me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession. You will break them with a rod of iron; you will dash them to pieces like pottery.” Psalm 2:7-9

The rulers of the earth would be wise to make peace with Jesus Christ while they still can. They need to bow to his lordship before they see his wrath flare against them. Regardless of how they seem to have their way now, a day is coming when they will be judged by the One who has a rod of iron and is able to dash them to pieces. The time for making peace with God will have passed by then.

Psalm 10

International Justice Mission (IJM), a Christian organization that seeks to end slavery around the world, has adopted Psalm 10 as a biblical basis for their work. Psalm 10:1-11 perfectly describes the actions of human traffickers who hunt down the weak, trap them, and make them disappear into their secret, global networks.

Traffickers lie to families in order to steal their children and when they take them away, their young victims collapse under the crushing circumstances they find themselves in. The traffickers say to themselves, “God will never notice; he covers his face and never sees.” Psalm 10:11

“But you, God, see the trouble of the afflicted; you consider their grief and take it in hand. The victims commit themselves to you; you are the helper of the fatherless.” Psalm 10:14

IJM, and other organizations like them, go in God’s name to free those who have become victims of trafficking, because they believe what Psalm 10 says:

“You, Lord, hear the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them and listen to their cry, defending the fatherless and the oppressed, so that mere earthly mortals will never again strike terror.” Psalm 10:17-18

God’s people are his hands and feet on the earth. They free the slaves and the afflicted from those who oppress them . . . when they go in God’s power and in obedience to his will.

Psalm 71

This Psalm represents someone who is at the mid-point in life. He’s walked with God for a while and is now looking to the years that ahead.

“For you have been my hope, Sovereign Lord, my confidence since my youth. From birth I have relied on you; you brought me forth from my mother’s womb . . . Do not cast me away when I am old; do not forsake me when my strength is gone.” Psalm 71:5-6, 9

The past is over and done, and the future is out of his control, so what does the Psalmist pray for in the present? He wants to give God credit for the blessings in his life. He wants to tell other people how wonderful the Lord has been to him.

“My mouth will tell of your righteous deeds, of your saving acts all day long – though I know not how to relate them all. I will come and proclaim your mighty acts, Sovereign Lord; I will proclaim your righteous deeds, yours alone.” Psalm 71:15-16

Not that his life always has always gone well. Troubles came, and sometimes stayed a while, but the Psalmist learned from those experiences that the Lord could get him through anything and that gave him the gift of hope.

“Who is like you, God? Though you have made me see troubles, many and bitter, you will restore my life again; from the depths of the earth you will again bring me up.” Psalm 71:19-20

The Psalmist wanted to finish well. His highest aspiration for the rest of his life was to pass on to the next generation what he had learned from the Lord.

“Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me, my God, till I declare your power to the next generation, your mighty acts to all who are to come.” Psalm 71:18

There’s always something to look forward to when we walk with God. Even when we get old and gray, and our strength is gone, the Lord blesses us and we can still proclaim his goodness.

“My mouth will tell of your righteous deeds, of your saving acts all day long – though I know not how to relate them all.” Psalm 71:15

Psalm 91

This Psalm is full of powerful metaphors for our relationship with God. He offers us shelter, a shadow to hide in, a refuge, a fortress, a protective wing to cover us, a shield to defend us, and a rampart, or high wall, on which to safely stand.

It’s good to know God offers us places like that to run to in trouble, but he doesn’t want us to wait for trouble before we turn to him. God isn’t just a storm shelter waiting for us to show up. He wants us under his wing now; he wants us to live there.

“If you say, ‘The Lord is my refuge,’ and you make the Most High your dwelling, no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent. For he will command his angels concerning you to guard all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.” Psalm 91:9-12

When we choose the Lord, he chooses us. He gives us shelter, refuge, safety and comfort. Why not choose him everyday, not just when we are running from trouble? Live in the Lord’s presence and you can have this experience every moment:

“‘Because he loves me,’ says the Lord, ‘I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. He will call on me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.’” Psalm 91:14-16

Under God’s wing we are near his heart, and we can hear him clearly when he says,

“Because she loves me, I will protect her.”

“Because he loves me, I will answer him.”

Tomorrow we will read more Psalms about our wonderful Lord. Keep reading with belief in your heart and see how these Psalms change your life.