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 123 A song for pilgrims ascending to Jerusalem. 1 I lift my eyes to you, O God, enthroned in heaven. 2 We keep looking to the LORD our God for his mercy, just as servants keep their eyes on their master, as a slave girl watches her mistress for the slightest signal. 3 Have mercy on us, LORD, have mercy, for we have had our fill of contempt. 4 We have had more than our fill of the scoffing of the proud and the contempt of the arrogant. Psalm 123:1-4 If you are here because you love Jesus and you want to serve Him, you've come to the right place. I’m one of those people too. But maybe you feel like you’ve reached your limit because friends, family, a partner, your colleagues are not supportive of your faith in and love for Jesus. Or you are acutely aware that in this world, society does not share your world view and they think you are nuts for believing the Bible. They are offended at your moral stance and they feel threatened that you would consider anything they approve as ...

  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 107 Have you ever played a game like Civilization, Sim City or Settlers of Catan? Psalm 107 is a bit like that. Not that it is a game but that it is the ups and downs of humankind. And the heights and depths of the human experience are summarised by this account of our ups and downs. And each time you see the same scenario.  6 "LORD, help!" they cried in their trouble, and he rescued them from their distress. ...  13 "LORD, help!" they cried in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress. ...  19 "LORD, help!" they cried in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress. ...  28 "LORD, help!" they cried in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress. Psalm 107:6, 13, 19, 28 NLT Main Point: The godly response to ups and downs of human history is to be moved to praise because you can see how God sends the Lord Jesus to help those who call for His help. Psalm 107 encourages you to view things from God’s perspective. I...