Seeing Jesus in the Psalms

  Psalm 142 A psalm of David, regarding his experience in the cave. A prayer. 1 I cry out to the Lord;     I plead for the Lord’s mercy. 2 I pour out my complaints before him     and tell him all my troubles. 3 When I am overwhelmed,     you alone know the way I should turn. Wherever I go,     my enemies have set traps for me. 4 I look for someone to come and help me,     but no one gives me a passing thought! No one will help me;     no one cares a bit what happens to me. 5 Then I pray to you, O Lord.     I say, “You are my place of refuge.     You are all I really want in life. 6 Hear my cry,     for I am very low. Rescue me from my persecutors,     for they are too strong for me. 7 Bring me out of prison     so I can thank you. The godly will crowd around me, ...

  Psalm 141 A psalm of David. 1 O Lord, I am calling to you. Please hurry!     Listen when I cry to you for help! 2 Accept my prayer as incense offered to you, and my upraised hands as an evening offering. 3 Take control of what I say, O Lord,     and guard my lips. 4 Don’t let me drift toward evil     or take part in acts of wickedness. Don’t let me share in the delicacies     of those who do wrong. 5 Let the godly strike me!     It will be a kindness! If they correct me, it is soothing medicine.     Don’t let me refuse it. But I pray constantly     against the wicked and their deeds. 6 When their leaders are thrown down from a cliff, the wicked will listen to my words and find them true. 7 Like rocks brought up by a plow,     the bones of the wicked will lie scattered without burial. 8 I look to you for help, O Sovereign L...

  Psalm 42 Please always read the Psalm before you read these notes. Maybe you should read it a couple of times with as few distractions as possible and good concentration.  "Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again—my Savior and my God!" (Psalm 42:5 NLT) There are things that should discourage you or you shouldn’t be surprised when they discourage you. If you are not saddened by these things then it is a symptom of a cold heart towards God. Main Point: Being filled with the love of God will regularly take you on a journey of emotional rediscovery of your love for God. Some things will discourage the person who is filled with the love of God. Recognising you have wandered away from God. Being discouraged in your love of God by unbelievers’ actions and words.  When people “cheat” God’s laws and look like they are getting away with it. When people mock our love for God and our need for God. v.3, 9-10 Observing how many...

  Psalm 41 I think you tend to see what you are looking for. It may be a confirmation bias result but it may also be that you are more aware of things you seek. Seek God. It is honestly not always easy to keep your focus on God. That’s because you and I are naturally focused on ourselves and our problems. David was no different. I’m struggling recently with too much focus on myself. So I immediately related to David’s fears and complaints and in my first reading I ignored God and only saw David’s problems. That would be a very imbalanced view of Psalm 41. Further I have been so keen to find Jesus everywhere I missed God. There is no competition in the trinity. Let’s go back and look for God. v.1 “The Lord rescues them” v.2  “The Lord protects them” “(The Lord) keeps them alive ” v.2 “(The Lord) gives them prosperity in the land” “(The Lord) rescues them from their enemies.” v.3 “The Lord nurses them” “(The Lord) restores them “ v.4 “O Lord,” I prayed” ...