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Prayer: All-knowing Lord, you see what is in my heart. All-powerful Lord, I don’t have the power to accomplish what needs to be done, so I spread out my requests before you. All-wise Lord, I know you hear and will act—but I know also I must wait on your wise timing, and so I will. Amen.
Prayer: Righteous Lord, I ask for protection from all the hostile forces around me. But when I get indignant about evil in others, I remember my own sin, and that I can come near you only by your grace. How I need to hate wrongdoing and yet not become angry and begin to feel superior to others! Keep me safe, but keep me humbled. Amen.
God hears the prayers of the faltering because of his “unfailing love” (the Hebrew chesedh, the steadfast love of a covenant God who cares for us not because we are perfect but because he is) (verse 4). Though David scarcely has the heart to pray, his tears are not in vain. He gets an “answering touch” (verses 8–9)—an assurance that God is listening even though he hasn’t done anything about the circumstances—yet (verse 10). God walks with us, and helps us to “run with perseverance the race” (Hebrews 12:1).
The answer: if we trust in God’s wisdom and will, then we have peace regardless of the immediate outcome. It is only God’s opinion of us that counts, and that will prevail.
Lord, some criticisms are terribly unfair. My deepest comfort is knowing that you see all things and will in the end set all things right. So I will not desperately defend myself or strike out at my accusers and insinuators. You know the truth, and that suffices for me. I leave this all in your hands. Amen.
But how can we be sure that we will survive Judgment Day? Christians know that before the Lord is lifted up on a throne to judge, first he will be lifted up on a cross to atone for sin (John 12:32).
Righteous Lord, I have many who falsely accuse me. Defend me from them! But I also know my sin, and my heart rightly accuses me. I rest in Jesus’s atoning death for me. “Be Thou my Shield and hiding Place, that, sheltered by Thy side, I may my fierce accuser face, and tell him Thou hast died!” 10 Amen.
Because we live in a broken world, much injustice will go unpunished until the final day of judgment. However, most of the time, God’s justice works itself out within the fabric of history. Evil carries within it the seeds of its own destruction. Not only is it a bore—leading to dissatisfaction and emptiness (verse 14)—but it recoils on itself. You fall into the pit you have dug for others. Haters are hated, deceivers are deceived, gossips are gossiped about. Remember this until you are not intimidated, discouraged, or tempted by the wrongdoing you see around you.
The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. 10 Those who know your name trust in you, for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you.
We must discern God’s “wonderful deeds” in our lives, a phrase that can refer to dramatic miracles like the parting of the Red Sea. However, we must also learn to see the more subtle ways God comforts us just when we were ready to give up, or brings the right friend or book or line of thinking into our lives just when we needed it. Recognize and tell of God’s daily, wonderful deeds, and you will have a note of grateful joy as the background music to your life.
David grabs hold of a truth that keeps him from sinking. The core sin is to forget that God is God and that we are not. And this is justice—those who forget God will be forgotten, but those who remember God will be remembered forever (Isaiah 56:5). Christians know of one who remembered God yet was completely forsaken (Matthew 27:46). But because Jesus died in our place, we can be even surer than David that God will always be there for us.
When life crumbles, the desire to run away and hide in despair is strong. David counters this impulse with three insights: theological—God is still on his throne and will execute justice in his wise time (verse 4); practical—crises are really tests, opportunities to evaluate what is true and solid and what is flimsy and should be discarded (verses 4–5); and spiritual—what we really need is the knowledge of God’s presence and face (verse 7).
And the words of the LORD are flawless, like silver purified in a crucible, like gold refined seven times.
Perhaps it has never been truer than now that “what is vile is honored by the human race.” Christians need God’s protection from lies, slander, and deception, because words have enormous power not only to distort and wound but also to overthrow a whole culture (verses 3–5, 7–8; cf. James 3:1–11). The great danger is to respond in kind. Instead we must model our words on God’s—true and well crafted (verse 6). Our job is to trust in God’s protection and to copy the actions of our Master and Savior, Jesus, who when he was reviled did not revile. We give glory to God when we suffer without hatred
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Make my words honest and true, economical and few, wise and well chosen, calm and kind. Give me so much love and grace that this kind of conversation comes naturally to me. Amen.
This standard not only challenges us but also reminds us we can go to God only through his grace. No one but Jesus ever lived with perfect integrity (Hebrews 4:15), but because he is our Savior, we can go in to God (Hebrews 4:16).
we must make God our portion (our real wealth), our cup (our real pleasure), our ultimate good.
Without your constant presence and favor, no thing is a “good thing.” So I receive them with thanks, but I rest my heart and hope in you. Amen.
Psalm 16:7–11. 7 I will praise the LORD, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me. 8 I keep my eyes always on the LORD. With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken. 9 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, 10 because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, nor will you let your faithful one see decay. 11 You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.
How can we always keep a clear conscience? There are two parts to it. Do the right thing. But when you don’t, immediately repent, knowing that you are “the apple of [God’s] eye.” In Christ, astonishingly, God does indeed see us as perfect (Philippians 3:9–10). So whether you are falsely accused or fallen and recovered, you can walk with your head up.
Lord, help me to not care so much what others think of me. But help me to not even care so much about what I think of myself. Remind my heart that when you look on me you find me “in Christ” and see beauty. Let me rest in that. Amen.
I love you, LORD, my strength. 2 The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. 3 I called to the LORD, who is worthy of praise, and I have been saved from my enemies.
He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me.
Lord, the very fact that another day has been added to my life is due to your undeserved mercy and active presence. As I age another day, let me grow in the knowledge that I am completely accepted and fully loved, despite my flaws and failures, in Christ. Amen.
Lord Jesus, you said that you are “gentle and humble in heart” (Matthew 11:29)—but I so often am not. You were not concerned about your glory and reputation but I am. You never paid people back in anger but I do. Let your gentleness toward me make me gentle to others. Amen.
Is it we who work or God? Both—and this paradox (Philippians 2:12) is no contradiction. David knew, in the end, that God accomplished it all through his grace, despite David’s imperfect efforts. But that did not make him passive. Work done in the belief it is all up to us becomes a joyless, deadly grind. Only those who know that salvation comes by sheer grace, not our efforts, have the inner dynamic of grateful joy (Colossians 3:15–17) that empowers the greatest efforts.
Lord, help me remember that my salvation in Christ is complete—so the great work is already done, the great debt already paid, the great disease already healed. That enables me to take on all lesser tasks and challenges with confidence and joy. I put myself in your hands—work through me. Amen.
Why do mountains and oceans, the sun and stars move us as deeply as great art? The answer is because they are great art. Nature speaks to all (verse 2) without audible words (verse 3). It is nonverbal communication that there is a God, that the world is not an accidental collocation of molecules but the meaningful work of an artist’s hands.
Maker of heaven and earth, your creation speaks and sings to us of your greatness. May I neither despise nature, failing to care reverently for its integrity, nor worship nature, failing to let it point me beyond itself to your glory, which even it only “fitfully reflects.”13 Amen.
Nature tells us about God’s reality and power but not about his saving grace (verses 7–14). Only the Bible can enlighten the spiritually blind (verse 8) and “refresh the soul” (verse 7). Since the Hebrew word for “soul” means one’s psyche or self, the Bible has the power to show and restore your true identity.
Finally, ask Jesus, the Word made flesh, to give you his Spirit in order to find him in the written Word. The result will be wisdom, joy, and sweetness.
But if the Word is going to be sweet and life-giving to me, I must let it examine, search, and warn me. Help me have the discipline and faith to let it do that in my life. Amen.
Lord, I am so anxious because I look to human wisdom, talent, and resources. They can let me down, but you cannot! Even if things don’t go as I wish, if they are in your hands I am safe. And I know you will hear my prayer because you always hear my Savior’s prayers. Amen.
Lord, I praise you for being a God of justice, who will not let any wrongdoing go unaddressed or unpunished. Instead of being angry at those who wrong me, let me be compassionate, praying that they find your mercy through repentance. Amen.
Lord, let your word be not merely something I believe but something that dwells richly inside me, so it reshapes all my thinking and feelings and even the very foundations of my heart. Let your promises, summonses, and declarations be my strength. Amen.
Jesus understood this psalm to be about his death (Matthew 27:46). Here, then, we have something remarkable—a look into the horror and agony of his heart, described by Jesus himself. Reading the psalm is like standing on holy ground.
God never calls us in to love and change us without then sending us out to reach and serve others. We are blessed to bless.
Lord God, you love all you have made and want all to turn to you and live. So show mercy to the many across the world who do not know you, removing any ignorance, hardness of heart, and disdain for your Gospel and so bring them home to yourself.16 Amen.
What is this universal message? It is that salvation is something not that we attain but that he attains and gives. “He has done it!” cries David. “It is finished,” cries Jesus (John 19:30),
God has a celebration meal with us not after we finally get out of the dark valley but in the middle of it, in the presence of our enemies. He wants us to rejoice in him in the midst of our troubles. Is our shepherd out of touch with reality? Hardly. Jesus is the only shepherd who knows what it is like to be a sheep (John 10:11). He understands what we are going through and will be with us every step of the way, even through death itself, where “all other guides turn back”17 (Romans 8:39).
Lord, I want to live according to your Word—“your ways,” “your truth” (verses 4–5)—rather than by what will make me popular and powerful. Give me the desire and integrity to live like this. And because this will make me vulnerable, protect me from those who would take the opportunity to harm me. Amen.
How does God guide us? The better question is not how, but whom God guides. What kind of person must we be so that he leads us in our decision making? We must be so immersed in God’s written Word and truth (verses 4–5) that we are trained to choose rightly even in cases to which the Bible doesn’t speak directly. We must be not wise in our own eyes (verse 9) but aware of our sins and limitations (verse 11). We must trust that all the things God sends us are grounded in his loving will (verse 10; Genesis 50:20). God “confides” in those who have all these attitudes of heart (verse 14). He makes
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Verse 21 uses the word “hope” to translate a term that means “to wait eagerly” for God. This is not resignation or passivity but an active stance toward life. David lives in integrity and uprightness (verse 21) despite how well his enemies are doing (verse 19).
Waiting on God, rather than jumping the gun by taking matters into your own hands, is the epitome of wisdom, as the contrasting lives and destinies of Saul (1 Samuel 13:8–14) and David (1 Samuel 26:10–11) make clear.
David is having difficulties, but the beauty of God enables him to live in confident peace (verses 1 and 6). If our hearts delight in God and his face, then we can contemplate losing earthly joys without fear. Even if our mother and father forsake us, we can face it (verse 10). Why? If our greatest treasure—communion with the living God—is safe, of what can we be afraid? Yet we are afraid of so many things. So our fears can serve an important purpose—they show us where we have really located our heart’s treasure. Follow the pathway of the fear back into your heart to discover the things you
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Show me your beauty—attract my heart, capture my imagination, so that I find joyful pleasure in serving you. Amen.
Father, I know that you listen to me—not because I deserve it but because your Son, Jesus, my great high priest, brings my needs before your throne and you hear them all for his sake. I lift my empty hands to you and ask that you fill them with your grace and help. Amen.
Jesus’s grief and suffering produced joy for both him and us, and now, when we trust in him during dark times, our sorrow can also produce the joy of increased faith and spiritual reality.
Lord, your Word says that our troubles are “achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all” (2 Corinthians 4:17). I can’t fathom all that that means, but I have seen the beginnings of it in my life. So do the work in me that can happen only when I trust in you as I weep. Amen.
Lord Jesus, on the cross you were being betrayed, denied, rejected, and forsaken by everyone. Yet you trusted and put yourself in your Father’s hands. If you did all that for my sake, then I can trust and put myself into your hands, for your sake. Here I am. Amen.
