Praying the Psalms

Psalm 52

Psalm 52

For the director of music. A maskil^[b] of David. When Doeg the Edomite had gone to Saul and told him: “David has gone to the house of Ahimelek.”

¹ Why do you boast of evil, you mighty hero?
    Why do you boast all day long,
    you who are a disgrace in the eyes of God?
² You who practice deceit,
    your tongue plots destruction;
    it is like a sharpened razor.
³ You love evil rather than good,
    falsehood rather than speaking the truth.^[c]
4 You love every harmful word,
    you deceitful tongue!

⁵ Surely God will bring you down to everlasting ruin:
    He will snatch you up and pluck you from your tent;
    he will uproot you from the land of the living.
⁶ The righteous will see and fear;
    they will laugh at you, saying,
⁷ “Here now is the man
    who did not make God his stronghold
but trusted in his great wealth
    and grew strong by destroying others!”

⁸ But I am like an olive tree
    flourishing in the house of God;
I trust in God’s unfailing love
    for ever and ever.
⁹ For what you have done I will always praise you
    in the presence of your faithful people.
And I will hope in your name,
    for your name is good.

Questions to ponder:

In what ways do I need to “trust in the steadfast love of God” today?

How can I proclaim the good name of God even among scoffers?

Praying for you as you read, study, and apply God’s Word.

Psalm 48

Psalm 48

A song. A psalm of the Sons of Korah.

¹ Great is the Lord, and most worthy of praise,
    in the city of our God, his holy mountain.

² Beautiful in its loftiness,
    the joy of the whole earth,
like the heights of Zaphon^[b] is Mount Zion,
    the city of the Great King.
³ God is in her citadels;
    he has shown himself to be her fortress.

⁴ When the kings joined forces,
    when they advanced together,
⁵ they saw her and were astounded;
    they fled in terror.
⁶ Trembling seized them there,
    pain like that of a woman in labor.
⁷ You destroyed them like ships of Tarshish
    shattered by an east wind.

⁸ As we have heard,
    so we have seen
in the city of the Lord Almighty,
    in the city of our God:
God makes her secure
    forever.^[c]

⁹ Within your temple, O God,
    we meditate on your unfailing love.
¹⁰ Like your name, O God,
    your praise reaches to the ends of the earth;
    your right hand is filled with righteousness.
¹¹ Mount Zion rejoices,
    the villages of Judah are glad
    because of your judgments.

¹² Walk about Zion, go around her,
    count her towers,
¹³ consider well her ramparts,
    view her citadels,
that you may tell of them
    to the next generation.

¹⁴ For this God is our God for ever and ever;
    he will be our guide even to the end.

Questions to ponder:

We are reminded that God is out fortress and ultimate security. What are you tempted to seek security in other than in God?

What are some practical ways our church (through Sunday school, discipleship, children’s ministry, youth ministry, etc.) is teaching the next generation to live boldly and to believe that God is our God for ever and ever and our guide to the end?

Praying for you as you read, study, and apply God’s Word.