Please read Psalm 60 (12 verses)

The Lord has turned His face from His people and allowed them to fall into sin and debauchery that they might face trouble and call on Him. He lets them stagger with wine and be overrun by their enemies. The psalmist is asking the Lord to turn His face away from punishment and turn the hearts of his people back to Him again. The Lord has troubled the whole land and the writer calls on the Lord to heal up the breaches in the nation and renew its people, socially and politically.

God has given a banner of love over those who fear Him and are walking in his ways. The Lord will deliver His people with His power because He loves them and the truth about God’s unfailing love will be displayed.

God has spoken in His voice of holiness. We are to rejoice in the holiness of the Lord and to seek it for ourselves. The Lord has not helped His people when they have indulged their sin and rebellion and has allowed them defeat at the hand of the enemy, but the help of humankind is useless, so the Lord must rescue His people and tread down their enemies.

God is the God of the promised land to His people, and He is in charge of what happens to it. He will measure out the land and apportion it to the peoples. The physical land will be divided to the people of God and we are reminded that the land outside the promised land is His also. The land of Esau, the wanderer, and the land of the enemies of God, all belong to Him alone. With the help of this God, we can tread down our enemies and be victorious.

God will also give spiritual victory to those who repent and put all their trust in Him. His attitude to us is love and we enter the reality of that love in repentance and contrition. Those who trust in the Lord and call on Him will get the victory they need.

Please read Psalm 59 (17 verses)

Words can hurt more than physical blows. The enemies of the psalmist are hunting him down and bringing disaster on him in the form of evil speaking. These words are like sharp barbs that pierce and cut and render the subject of their venom, defenceless. There is no seeming recommence, though the psalmist sees that God laughs at his enemies and will eventually deliver him.

The enemy is after his blood also. The oppression comes on every front. The psalmist has not done anything to warrant this violence or murderous intent, but his enemy still persists and hounds him like snarling dogs that prowl the city at night looking for a kill. The psalmist expresses himself as being like a hunted animal who is being hounded to the death by fierce-some foes.

The writer does not look for blood vengeance on them, but on the just recompense of a reward that will teach everyone looking on, the justice and righteousness of the Lord. This is his chief concern and not only the righteousness of his own case. He wants God to show them up, so that their words are seen to be evil and lies that only hurt. He asks God to consume them in his anger against sin and to establish holiness and a right view of the goodness of God.

Though the enemy snarl like wild dogs in the city, the Lord will be his refuge in times of trouble and he will sing praise to the Lord in the midst of his fear and trouble. The singing will lift his view from the present fearful situation and give courage to face the dangers and keep his eyes fixed on the Lord. The psalmist knows that the Lord is the only person he can rely on, so he brings all his troubles to God and not to friends.

Please read Psalm 58 (11 verses)

The questions at the beginning of this Psalm are put to the leaders of the people as to the righteousness of their mindset and the intentions of their heart. Do they seek justice for the people or are they only out for their own interests of power and glory? This is the constant question for people to ask based on the actions of leaders. It is clear in our world, that leaders are often out for their own reputation and to build empires for themselves, even leaders of spiritual concerns. It is easy to become corrupted by the machinations of our human heart and deviate towards corruption and the sullying influence of power.

The psalmist sees the wicked as synonymous with rulers and those who have authority over other people. He says they devise injustice to suit their own agenda and are quite comfortable to go to war on any issue. The venom of the love of power spreads like a snake bite and they cannot be controlled even by people above them in the chain of command. They are out for themselves utterly and the reality of justice for their people, or for the oppressed, is not on their mind. The writer asks God to intervene and make their wars come to nothing, to break up their implements of war and stop the violence. He prays that they will evaporate like water and someone with a just agenda will take over from them. He asks that they be ineffective and that their propensities for every kind of violence, will be as ineffectual in the society as if they had never been there at all.

The righteous will then be free to exercise their authority and justice, and goodness will again start to prevail. The unjust leaders with their bullying tactics will disappear like thorns burning under a pot and the light will shine brightly again in the land. The only blood that will be spilt will be the blood of the blood-thirsty and violent. The society will improve and people will again see that there is a true and good God in heaven who loves justice.

Please read Psalm 57 (11 verses)

Sometimes there is little we can do against trouble and we must batten down the hatches and wait for it to blow over. There are situations where the hurt is so grievous that the comfort is gone from our lives, and we must cast our burden on the Lord, for only He is able to comfort and keep us. This is a great position to be in, because it is an opportunity to find out just how true are the promises of God and just how close He will draw to us. The psalmist is living in fear of his life and sanity. All have rejected him and they hound him with their false accusations and the twisting of his words. The psalmist asks God if they are going to get away with what they are doing!

He reiterates his total trust in the Lord and the fact that God is sovereign and will not let him be destroyed by his enemies, or even those who call themselves friends. He asks a rhetorical question as to what power fleshly people have over him, for they are subject to the mighty God.

The writer tells us that his tears are kept by God in a bottle and recorded in God’s book. Others might forget him, but God does not. He knows he will be victorious in the Lord, for God is for him and against the oppressors. Again, he tells us that his trust is in the Lord and not in people. The psalmist has made vows to the Lord and he will keep them and render praise to the name of the Lord. His soul is safe from death, because he has been delivered from it and he knows he will be delivered always. His feet are kept from falling by the Lord so that he can walk before God on this present earth. He is not meant to die at this time, for the Lord has purposes in his life and will bring them all to pass.

Please read Psalm 56 (13 verses)

We all know people who observe others to see if they are going to fail and fall. People who listen to what other people say and then twist the meaning to the worst possible interpretation. People who expect the worst of others and who’s attitude expects failure and the negative outcomes in a life. People who do not seem to believe in grace, forgiveness and the reality of a loving God. The psalmist speaks of these kinds of people who propagate the negative attitude towards other people and use ill will and gossip as their tools to bring others down. He says that these people are in hot pursuit of his life, his physical life and emotional life too. These enemies are full of pride and are chasing after him and pressing their attack home, as they judge and pronounce those judgments at their personal whim.

The psalmist is so afraid he is weeping but the Lord counts his tears and does not let him suffer beyond what he can bear. The Lord teaches us patience and fortitude thought such experiences, even though we find them very trying. The enemy may lurk in the shadows to pounce on us and tear us apart, but the Lord is in complete control and will not allow us to be destroyed. The Lord records our misery and will not let the enemy have ultimate triumph. The writer knows God is on his side because when he calls for help, the Lord answers him.

The Lord is real and we praise him for real, and he will succour us in all the straights of our sufferings. Whatever the enemy might do, they cannot do anything that God does not allow. The Lord is making us and strengthening us for the works that he requires us to do for His sake. The psalmist has made promises to God in the suffering and he will carry them out because of the faithfulness of the Lord in keeping his feet on a straight path and rescuing him for certain death. He will walk through his life in the light of the Word of God and be obedient still.

Please read Psalm 55 (23 verses)

The psalmist is very much affected by the attitudes and bad feeling towards him from other people around him. It seems like the whole world is against him and it is affecting him deeply. He is in the grip of mind illness with extreme anxiety and depression. He cannot rest, for the horror of treachery and oppression are assaulting his mind. He wishes to get away from it and be at peace, far away into the wilderness where no one else goes. He suffers fearfulness and trembling and his mind is constructing horrors our of the paranoia that has gripped him. This Psalm is so realistic in its expression of mind illness and the attending physical suffering that accompanies it, that it is a source of great comfort for many who suffer.

The state of the social settling is severe. It is not an enemy that is attacking him, but those who are suppose to be close to him. It is friends who once walked with him and are his equal. He is appalled at their treatment of him as a person and calls down the justice of God on the situation. He says he will find consolation by calling on the Lord, evening, morning and noon, and keep himself in the love of his only Saviour. The Lord will give him peace from the battle that is going on around him and in his psyche. He again accuses his so-called companions of slander and treason against him and calls them “blood thirsty and deceitful.” Their words are smooth and slippery and treasonous, even when their outward demeanour is calm. These people once seemed to care and go with him to the house of God to worship, but they have turned and are now maliciously accusing him and bringing him down into the storm of oppressive illness.

The psalmist will now cast his burden on the Lord, for only the Lord can deal with this situation and deliver him from the physical threat of former friends, and the oppression in his mind. He reiterates his faith…

“I will trust in you.”

Please read Psalm 54 (7 verses)

At times, the thoughts of our own mind can be our worst enemy. The attitude of blame can infiltrate our thinking processes and we can find our selves sinking deep in the mire of oppression. The oppression of the enemy seems continual and relentless and the accusations of the evil one are like sharp arrows in our psyche. The psalmist is being blamed by other people and held in contempt so he asks God to vindicate his position and place in life. He is being hounded by others and oppressed in his own mind and it is causing him much pain, and his mind is sinking.

The writer knows that only God can vindicate him and only through his mighty power. Without the Lord we are helpless against the enemy and will surely falter and fall to the ravages of their opposition and oppressions. We cry out to the Lord and He hears us. The writer tells us that his foes are ruthless and arrogant and stand against him with aggression that he cannot combat. He knows that only the Lord can or will sustain him. The Lord does sustain him, for that Lord will not allow His people to be destroyed. The psalmist recoils from those who slander his name and he asks God to deal with them according to their sins. As he faces the root cause of his pain, so it is alleviated.

In the end, the psalmist sacrifices praise offerings to the Lord, for he has looked in victory over his enemies, who now languish in trouble. The Lord gives us the victory over all that oppress us, and our minds are set free from blame.

Please read Psalm 53 (6 verses)

This Psalm is a replica of Psalm 14. It reiterates the fact that all who do not believe, or who think God does not exist, are fools. The Psalm does not mince its words. It does not hide behind political correctness and the foolish subjective mindset that we have in our collective psyche today. God is not willing that anybody should perish everlastingly without Him, so He does not hide from us, or veil His words, or fudge the issue. It is clear and plain.

God loves you, though you may not love Him. Maybe you love Him a bit, but feel there are things about His character you do not approve of! Sounds silly doesn’t it? A mere mortal judging the Almighty God on grounds that we do not fully understand.

O that we would humble ourselves and find Him to be as He says He is, the lover of human souls and the Saviour of our whole self! Those who do come to Him are never disappointed, but those who are wise in their own eyes, think believers are a bit foolish and a bit inadequate. But who would dare to face this life without a loving God?

Only fools deny the existence of the only necessary being. Only He has always existed and without Him, we do not exist either. Something cannot come out of nothing and to imagine that it does flies in the face of all reason and logic. Why be an utter fool and lose your soul just to fit in with a corrupt and godless mindset?

What we don’t understand we are not meant to understand, but we can understand more, if our minds are free to think the unthinkable and trust in the living God. God reveals Himself to those who will follow Him, and will show us such beauty that the unredeemed mind cannot see. Why be overwhelmed by dread because you will not see?