Seeing Jesus in the Psalms

  Psalm 131 A song for pilgrims ascending to Jerusalem. A psalm of David. 1 Lord, my heart is not proud;     my eyes are not haughty. I don’t concern myself with matters too great     or too awesome for me to grasp. 2 Instead, I have calmed and quieted myself,     like a weaned child who no longer cries for its mother’s milk.     Yes, like a weaned child is my soul within me . 3 O Israel, put your hope in the Lord—     now and always. MAIN POINT: We can trust Jesus with our future because we have trusted Him with our past and found Him to be trustworthy. David says he comes to the Lord in humility and simplicity. He says he is content. David tells us he has grown up enough he knows he will be cared for by the Lord. And he ends with hope. The past, the present and the future are covered by David’s hope in the Lord.  Let’s look back as David did. David tells us he is now like a we...

  Psalm 122 A song for pilgrims ascending to Jerusalem. A psalm of David. 1 I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord.” 2 And now here we are, standing inside your gates, O Jerusalem. 3 Jerusalem is a well-built city; its seamless walls cannot be breached. 4 All the tribes of Israel—the Lord’s people—make their pilgrimage here. They come to give thanks to the name of the Lord, as the law requires of Israel. 5 Here stand the thrones where judgment is given, the thrones of the dynasty of David. 6 Pray for peace in Jerusalem. May all who love this city prosper. 7 O Jerusalem, may there be peace within your walls and prosperity in your palaces. 8 For the sake of my family and friends, I will say, “May you have peace.” 9 For the sake of the house of the Lord our God, I will seek what is best for you, O Jerusalem. MAIN POINT: Jesus is our happy place of peace where we safely worship with god’s people in God’s presence. I will confess that I actually avoid comme...

  Psalm 109 “But I will give repeated thanks to the LORD, praising him to everyone.  For he stands beside the needy, ready to save them from those who condemn them. ” Psalms 109:30-31 NLT Jesus is the advocate who defends us and is ready to save us from our accusers. “My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father . He is Jesus Christ , the one who is truly righteous.” 1 John 2:1 NLT  David’s Psalm is heartbreaking. It tells us a story of a family and a people that are torn apart with hate and cursing. Could this Psalm be the response of David to his son Absolam’s schemes and coup or is this a Psalm about Saul’s murderous betrayal that set David on the run for years? Whatever it was, we see David finds comfort in God. And we learn generations later that the God who defends the weak is Jesus. David and Jesus both emphasise the importance of defending and helping the need...

  Psalm 108 “...Judah, my scepter, will produce my kings.” Psalm 108:8 There can be confidence and simplicity to life if we want it. I set out by the grace of God 108 days ago to find Jesus in every Psalm. Was I confident? I was mostly confident and if I didn’t find Jesus I knew I was not too many steps away from Him. Still I was less confident that I could get up each day, copy the chapter by hand, and have something to say. But I was willing to fail. And I was praying God would give me daily manna. I also knew I did not have to understand it all. I did not have to explain it all. I did not have to deal with all the questions or language, history, or context. I had given myself a simple task, find Jesus. Everyday it has been like a Where’s Waldo (Wally) puzzle page. But it hasn’t turned out to be difficult. My emotions have been all over the place and my body and mind have offered every distraction possible. But I have four simple steps to accomplish the goal each day.  Make ...

  Psalm 82 “God presides over heaven’s court; he pronounces judgment on the heavenly beings:” Psalm 82:1 MAIN POINT: Jesus sits above everyone and He determines the priorities of the universe. And His priorities are the care of the poor, the widow, the foreigner, the orphan and the oppressed. We know this is Jesus in Psalm 82 sitting in judgement over all things because Jesus has position but He also has the priorities of God’s heavenly court. How do I know I have the heart of God? How do I know if I am singing off the same song sheet as Jesus? Imagine for a moment I have been called into the office to have a conversation with Jesus. There we are saying hi, getting comfortable and Jesus asks if I want a coffee and I say, yes please. And then after a little bit of small talk. Jesus askes, well how do you like your position in my kingdom? And I say, “Oh Jesus it’s great, thanks, I love it.” And then He says, then I am just wondering, William, do you know what my kingdom priorities ...