Please read Psalm 12 (8 verses)

The psalmist cries out for the help of the Lord, because the godly are few and unrighteousness dwells all around him. The sins of the community are festering everywhere and there is no godliness in the lives of the people. They have forsaken the ways of the Lord and rejected God their Saviour. The sins of speaking are rampant and gossip and flattery abound. The speaking is all about boosting up the psyche of the speaker and getting the better of the other person. They speak words of fake kindness to get their own way and pretend friendliness in order to manipulate the other person for their own ends.

The writer asks the Lord to cut off all flattering tongues that speak proud and exalted things and even exalt themselves above the Lord their maker. The heights of pride that these people reach is breathtaking and they think they are in control of their lives and are happy to Lord it over each other. They oppress the poor and needy, who sigh and the sound goes up to the Lord. The Lord rises to bring safety and security to the poor in spirit and bring them the security they desire.

The Word of the Lord will prevail for it is pure and refined in the furnace seven times – the perfect number. The perfect word of the Lord will deliver the needy and preserve them in their lives for the generations to come. The wicked prowl around seeking who they will devour because the vileness of sin is tolerated by the community of people. The Lord will not let this go on forever, but will deliver His people.

Please read Psalm 11 (7 verses)

The upright will see the face of God but the wicked will be put to flight. The Lord loves justice and He will administer it in righteousness. For those who are wicked in heart there is a gathering storm that will sweep them away. The psalmist puts all his trust in the Lord but is dealing with large mouths of fear. He feels like running away and fleeing from his situation and even his life. The enemies seem so close and so ready to destroy him and he feels he is in the firing line for the worst scenario of deadly assault. He reminds himself who is in charge of this toxic situation and the attitude of the Lord to the enemy of his soul. The Lord remains on His holy throne at all times and His eyes see all the deeds the wicked do and every intention of the human heart.

The Lord has a different attitude towards His people than the wicked. The testing of the righteous is in the good blessing of the Lord for growth and sanctification, but the Lord hates all those who love violence and strife. He will punish all those who pursue evil and violent outcomes and His wrath will be their portion. He nurtures His people through the hardships they face, but destroys the wicked with a burning wind.

The Lord loves the righteous and all those who love peace and pursue it. He watches the righteous woman and man and will never let them be destroyed. The psalmist gains strength from these truths and will face his fears in the courage of the Lord his God.

Please read Psalm 10 (18 verses)

We have in this Psalm a character description of the wicked. It is comprehensive and far reaching. The psalmist remonstrates with the Lord to deal with the wicked for they persecute the poor and catch them in nets of deceit.

The wicked have no thought of God, indeed they renounce the Lord and bless the greedy. They do all they can to entrap other people in their schemes and lay in wait for the unwary like a lion waiting in his den. The predator believes that God will not see and they cannot be moved from their perceived lofty position. Their mouth is full of cursing, deceit and oppression, and trouble and iniquity are valued and enjoyed by them.

The psalmist knows that God sees everything and has observed the grief of the helpless. He knows that the Lord will help the fatherless and those who are unfortunate in their situations and he calls on God to destroy the works of the wicked and render them invalid. The writer acknowledges the Lord as king forever and recognises that the kingdoms of this world will ultimately perish by the hand of the Lord.

Only the Lord can save the hearts of the humble and fulfil their desires. Only the Lord can stop the oppression of the people of God from those who seek to rule over them and exploit them. The way of the Lord will prosper and He will sneer at all His enemies that seek the hurt of other people. He lifts up the poor and brings the rich into adversity by the motion of His hand and breaks the strength of the wicked.

Please read Psalm 9 (20 verses)

Praise is lifted to the Lord for His marvellous works in the administration of justice throughout the whole earth, in every time and place. The enemies of the Lord and His perfect righteousness shall never prevail over the cause of the sovereignty of God for the oppressed. Cities have been destroyed and long forgotten, but the Lord endures forever and His throne of judgment will never be irrelevant or cast down. The Lord is a refuge for all who are oppressed and God will not forsake those who seek His justice.

The psalmist asks the Lord to consider those who hate him and that the Lord will deliver him from the pit of despair, that he will be able to confess the mercy of the Lord and rejoice in the salvation of his Saviour God. He asks that people understand their personal position before God and that they will be humbled to realise that they are mere women and men and entirely fallible.

The writer exalts the attribute of God’s justice, and the fact that it will always be on the side of the weak and lowly, for those who set themselves against the Lord will be snared by their own wicked schemes. He asks that the wicked and all who forget God, be turned into hell, that the justice of God will be done. The poor in spirit will receive the mercy of the Lord because the wickedness of humankind will not prevail. Those who love the Lord will be delivered and the cause and right of the righteous will be maintained. Humankind may be puffed up in their schemes, but the overriding justice of God will always be administered in uprightness. People will always know that in the end they are only flesh and blood, but the Lord is eternal.

Please read Psalm 8 (9 verses)

The glory of the Lord can be seen in the created order but is set in majesty above the heavens. The redeemed of the Lord will see it one day, when we are able, but for now we glorify His name through the sight of His creation. The name of the Lord is excellent and is seen and obvious through all the earth. The praise of the Lord comes from weak and seemingly futile sources that His glorious strength might be seen, as he preserves them and silences those who are vengeful against Him. He upholds the weak and lowly and brings down princes.

God has made women and men, who are so easily compromised and yet gives humankind such honour and dignity, made in His own express image. The psalmist looks at the display of the hosts of heaven, the moon and stars at night, and is amazed at the glory to be observed there. It is so stunning to imagine what is out there, and beyond, in the heaven where God dwells. We leave that to the reality of the heavenly kingdom and rejoice in faith at what Christ is preparing for His bride, the church of God.

The writer speaks of one “made a little lower than the angels” and yet has been crowned with glory and honour, speaking of our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, who has humbled himself and become obedient to death, even death on the cross. All things are under His dominion – everything that God has made is for Him and to Him. The birds and beasts and the animals of the sea are all for Christ and the eternal glory of His name. That glorious name is raised high by all who love Him and the whole earth is full of that glory.

Please read Psalm 7 (17 verses)

The Lord is angry with the wicked every day. Most specifically, for the means they use to afflict the righteous and those who follow the ways of God. They persecute the believer and repay evil when no ill has been done to them, plundering the emotion and security of the mind and leaving a trail of lies and trouble. The Lord decrees that this trouble shall be returned on their own heads, and the violence of speech and thought shall come down on the circumstances of their futile lives.

The psalmist is beseeching the Lord to rise in anger against the enemies that rage against him and falsely judge him. God is to be seen as the judge by His people, that their confidence in Him will be secure and true. The writer asks the Lord to sharpen his implements of war against his foes and the foes of His people who are suffering under the rage of the enemy. He asks that the fiery darts of the Lord will be ready against the evil one, and the Lord will not turn back from justice.

This is also a personal call for the vindication of the Lord on His servant who is writing this prayer. The psalmist iterates his love for the Lord and asks that he be saved from the tearing of the claws and teeth of the wicked who persecute him. He relates to the Lord how he has not repaid evil against them and asks for justice that if he has plundered them without cause, then he will be trampled in the earth. The writer of this psalm loves justice and seeks justice and that the wickedness of the wicked will come to an end. His defence is in God who saves the upright. He finishes the prayer in praise to God for righteousness, which the writer loves.