Psalm 53 is almost identical to Psalm 14. They were likely alternate versions of the same Psalm before they were included in the Psalter. The theme is to mourn that mankind does not seek after God, and they thus treat God’s people cruelly. Psalm 14 uses the word LORD for Deity, whereas Psalm 53 uses the word God for Deity. Psalm 53 describes in greater detail the terror that will befall the wicked, while Psalm 14 emphasizes the God’s care of the poor.
1-6 – The fool says in his heart that there is no God. All people are corrupt. No one is good no not one. They eat up my people as they eat bread. Yet, it is God who fights against them for us. Although the Psalm is talking about the salvation of the faithful people of Israel, how much more we can pray the prayer as those saved by the blood of Christ.
Psalm 52 is a Psalm that gives the faithful confidence that God will deliver them when they are confronted with ruthless enemies. This Psalm is based upon the murder of the priests of Nob, who had helped David, when he was being pursued by King Saul. The chief evil doer is a man named Doeg. Who reports the priests of Nob to King Saul, and at King Saul’s command Doeg slaughters all but one of high priests. See 1 Samuel 21:1-7 and 1 Samuel 22:9-19.
1-4 – The main attack of Doeg against David is his lying tongue and boastful words.
5-7 – David says to Doeg that God will deal with Doeg in the sight of all for his evil against David. The faithful who take refuge in God, like David, can rely on the LORD’s protection. Doeg trusts in the abundance of his riches, but it will not help him.
8-9 – In contrast, the man who trusts in God will be safe in the steadfast love God forever and ever.
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Psalm 51 is one of the seven penitential Psalms, and it is probably the best known of the penitential psalms because it is David’s confession and repentance when he is confronted by the Prophet Nathan after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba and murdered her husband, Uriah the Hittite. David appeals to God’s grace as the grounds for forgiveness. Note that sacrifices in and of themselves do not provide forgiveness, but they are only of benefit to the sinner who is humble and repents in faith.
1-2 – David begins by asking God to have mercy upon him because of God’s steadfast love. Here David calls back to Exodus 34:6-7, where God passes before Moses, who is in a cave on the side of a mountain, and proclaims “the LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgressions and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty…” David calls for God to wash away his iniquity and cleanse him from sin.
3-5 – David confesses his sin; he owns up to his sin. David acknowledges that his actions have sinned against God, and that God’s judgment or justice upon him is clear and justified. David goes so far as to say that he has been a sinner since the moment that he was conceived.
6-13 – David asks for restoration and renewal with a fresh sense of God’s presence. He wants to be clean on the inside, his inner self. David asks that God blot out and no longer look at David’s sin. David asks that God not take away the Holy Spirit from him. Much has been said and written about this statement. The Old Testament says little about the Holy Spirit, so it is hard to use this one-line to justify a theological position on the indwelling ministry of the Holy Spirit.
14-17 – These verses deal with worship after a person’s sins have been forgiven. True worship only comes as a result confession, repentance, forgiveness and restoration.
18-19 – These are interesting verses that imply each person’s spiritual relationship with God is somehow related to everyone else’s spiritual relationship with God. The application for us is that as church body, we are a community of forgiven people worshipping God in the way that he has directed us.
Psalm 50 is a hymn an oracle, where the worshippers sing God’s instruction for how they should live holy lives. Yes, the sacrificial system was given to the people as part of their covenant worship, yet sacrifice does not buy any favor or reward from God. God wants faithfulness, thanksgiving, and obedience. Of note there are seven different names of God in this Psalm. This seems to be intentional as to say to the worshipper, no matter what your conception of God may be, God does not want you to think that your sacrifices can buy favor with him or bribe him to answer your supplications.
1-6 – God summons the Earth to assemble before him. Three names of God are given in verse one; the Mighty One – El Gibhor, God – Elohim, and LORD – Yahweh. El Gibhor means Mighty God, the powerful and mighty warrior, and the Messiah. Elohim refers to God, the creator, all powerful and strong. Notice that this word is plural, in reference to the Trinity and the name of God used in the creation account of Genesis chapter 1. Yahweh is the special covenant name that God told the Hebrews who agreed to the covenant blessings that they should call him. Again, the psalmist uses poetic terms describing God as a devouring fire and a mighty tempest. The fourth name of God is found in verse 6, where the word Judge – Shaphat is used. God is the one who pronounces judgement. These all-encompassing names of God make way for God as judge, who will judge all of the people of Earth.
7-15 – God calls people to worship him from their heart. There he will judge their worship of him. He does not need their sacrifices. Instead, God wants their thanksgiving, praise, and obedience, this is what worships God. In verse 14 we see the fifth term for God, the Most High – El Elyon. God wants sacrifices from the heart from all peoples of the Earth.
16-22 – God now rebukes the wicked who mouth their praise to God, yet by their actions show that they do not honor God with their heart. In verse 21, we see the sixth term for God, I – Yahweh, which often stated in the English translations as I Am. God is, he has no beginning and no end. So, this instruction from God is not going to change, it is timeless. Finally in verse 22, we find the seven name of God, God – El-oah, this is a term for Mighty God, made in the vocative case, directly addressing God.
23 – The final verse summaries the Psalm, the one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me, to the person who is disciplined and follows my commands, I will show that person the salvation of God.
Psalm 49 is a wisdom psalm. It explains why the pious often deal with trouble, while in contrast, the unfaithful seem to get along so well in life. The short answer is that God will distinguish between the faithful and the unfaithful after their death.
1-4 – Here is a call to pay attention to attain wisdom and understanding, which is often used in Wisdom Literature to mean spiritual perception, the ability to approach life from God’s perspective. The singer states that he will do this by solving a riddle.
5-12 – The riddle is presented, which, as stated above, is the question of why the faithful have times of trouble, while the unfaithful always seem to prosper. The unfaithful trust in their wealth, yet they are not wealthy enough to ransom their lives from death. All of the wealth of the unfaithful is left to others. The unfaithful will die just as the faithful will someday die. Then the Psalm explains what happens after death.
13-20 – The singer tells us that after death the unfaithful will be sent to Sheol, a grim place of destruction. The unfaithful dead will be in an unnatural situation of having a soul unattached to a body. In contrast God will ransom the soul of the faithful from Sheol. Here we see future reference of Christ’s death on the cross that paid the ransom for our sins. Instead of Sheol, the faithful after death will live in glory with God. The implication is that the faithful will have new bodies in glory with God.
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Psalm 48 is a hymn celebrating Zion as God’s special city, which God defends for the sake of the world. It commemorates an event where gentile nations threatened Zion, and God protected the city and the people within. We can identify with this psalm as it is God himself who is our defense.
1-3 – The LORD is King, and he resides in Zion, Jerusalem. The reference to the holy mountain could be to the Temple in Jerusalem, but because of the reference of the holy mountain to be in the north, it is probably a poetic term, idiom, not for a physical location but for the throne of God over all creation. See Isaiah 14:13.
4-8 – The gentile nations that attacked Jerusalem are defeated. Even a mighty east wind destroys their ships.
9-11 – The LORD’s presence and protection of Jerusalem brings joy to his people. Such deliverance displays God’s steadfast love for his people. The reference to the daughters of Judah is a poetic term for the towns and villages of Judah.
12-14 – While the congregation admires the strength of the city, yet it is God secures the city. The congregation commissions itself to tell the next generation of this display of God’s steadfast love for them.
Psalm 47 is a hymn praising God for his kingship, that is his rule over all the earth. We praise God because of God’s promises to Abraham that all peoples will be blessed though him, Genesis 12:3.
1-4 – The LORD loved Israel and gave them the covenant blessings, but this was done so that all peoples of the world might come to fear and to love the God of Israel. The term clap your hands, all people is a poetic expression of exultation. Again, verse 2 uses the term the LORD, the Most High, El Elyon, the highest God over all the gods of the world.
5-7 – The psalmist now issues a call for all peoples to praise the God of Israel by voice and instrument.
8-9 – God reigns over all the nations. The psalm looks to a future time when the leaders of the nations will worship God as children of Abraham worshipped God.
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Psalm 46 is a hymn praise celebrating Zion, Jerusalem, as the city, to which God has pledged himself and through which he will bless the world.
1-7 – Here is the scripture which inspired Martin Luther’s hymn, A Mighty Fortress is Our God. The people of God are secure within Zion, even in times of tumult, for God is their strength and refuge. Here the psalmist uses poetic forms, such a raging sea, great earthquakes and warring nations, to state that God will protect the people of Zion, no matter what. Notice verse 4, the title Most High is El Elyon in Hebrew, the Most-High God of all gods, of all people, and is first referenced in Genesis 18:14. This title for God is often used when relating the to the gentiles.
8-11 – This God who protects Zion will one day be exalted by all the nations of the Earth. In verse 11, the title for God is the LORD of Hosts, which in Hebrew is Yahweh Tsabot, or in Latinized form, LORD Sabbaoth. Here is God presented as the commander of the hosts of heaven, the heavenly beings. One day God will make all wars cease and all people and all nations exalt and worship him.
Psalm 45 is a hymn celebrating a royal wedding. It is a love song.
1 – The singer addresses the king, a descendant of David, directly.
2-9 – The king is described as handsome, majestic, and just. In verse 6 the singer addresses God, who sits above the throne of the Davidic King. Then the singer describes the divine ideals of how the earthly king should reign, which includes righteousness and which hates wickedness. These are an admonition to the young king about to be married. These verses also have double meaning as they are cited in Hebrews 1:5 to refer to Christ as the Son, the Son of God, who is superior to the angels.
10-15 – In verses 10-15, the singer addresses the bride and describes the wedding procession. She is described as beautiful, and she is a princess of a foreign country,
16-17 – Now singer addresses the young king that his sons will continue his line after he is gone.
Psalm 44 is a community lament when the people of God have suffered a great calamity at the hands of their enemies, and they are seeking God’s help. (Elohim). Please note that the focus of the group is personal. Each member identifies with the singular “I” although the request for God’s help is a group request. This is to remind them that they have a personal obligation under the covenant, and on that basis, they appeal to God’s unfailing loyalty to his covenant people.
1-8 – The congregation recites that they have heard of what God has done in the past for their ancestors. He drove out the nations and planted them in Palestine/Israel.
9-16 – They pour out their plea for help as it seems God has abandoned them just now on the battlefield. Their troops have been slaughtered and taunted.
17-22 – The congregation states that they have been faithful and have not forsaken the God of the covenant.
23-26 – Therefore, they cry out for God to come and to help them now. They use the poetic form of asking God to wake up, to see their distress, and to save them. They can boldly ask God with confidence for help because they are his covenant people. The Psalm is ended with the request for God to redeem his people for the sake of his steadfast love.
Psalms 42 and 43 go together as a song with three stanzas, and they share a refrain. This is a lament in which the singer cries out about enemies who despise God and prevent his faithful servants from worshipping in the Sanctuary. Here the emphasis is on the community singing praises to God as the corporate worship. Such singing fosters a sense of yearning and expectation in the faithful as they look for God’s presence. Stated simply, this is the yearning for God.
1-5 – Here is a poetic expression of the soul yearning for God as the deer thirsts for a flowing stream. The soul’s yearning for God is only satisfied in the singing of public worship at the Sanctuary.
6-11 – The singer is geographically separated from God north of the Sea of Galilee near Mt. Hermon. Verse 7 is a cryptic use of surging water, flowing streams and the roaring sea. Deep calls to deep, perhaps speaks to two things. First, the roaring waters are the troubles that flow over the singer and his deep need for God. Second, only the deep water of God can satisfy the singer’s need. Likely this is a call from the depth of despair to the depth of God’s goodness.
Psalm 43
1-5 – The singer asks God to vindicate him against the wicked who prevent him from worshipping at the Sanctuary. God’s light and truth are personified as guides who will lead him back to God’s holy hill.
Psalm 41 is lament of a man who satisfies his responsibility to the poor under the covenant and now asks for the LORD’s help and vindication in the midst of severe suffering.
1-3 – The opening section calls in faith on the LORD to honor the covenant with Israel by sustaining those who are kind to the poor. As an example, see Proverbs 19:17 - Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will repay him for his deed. Note that the singer is praying according to God’s will. See 1 John 5:13-15.
13 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life. 14 And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.
4-10 – The previous statement of faith now turns to the singer’s predicament, serious illness and betrayal by a close friend. In John 13:18 Jesus applies this verse to Judas, the betrayer.
11-12 – The singer returns to faith and acknowledges that the LORD will continue to honor him and to acknowledge his covenant help to the poor.
13 – The end of Book One. This a doxology concluding Book One.
Psalm 40 gives thanks to the LORD for past mercies and then presents a new situation that has risen in which the singer is again in need of God’s mercy.
1-10 – The singer recounts past mercies from God that he is thankful for. The singer recounts these past mercies to those in the great congregation. In doing so, the singer highlights the LORD’s attributes of faithfulness and steadfast love. The singer goes on to say blessed is the man who makes the LORD his trust; such a man will not be disappointed. The LORD does not seek sacrifice and offerings from his people, but an open ear to hear and to respond to the word of the LORD.
11-17 – The singer now asks for mercy once again from the LORD; he asks for deliverance from the wicked. This deliverance would put the wicked to shame, and they would be disappointed in their schemes. This is in contrast to the faithful, to all who seek the LORD; they should rejoice and be glad, shouting Great is the LORD! The prayer is offered in humility.
Psalm 39 – In this psalm the suffering person expresses bewilderment to God for his suffering. In many ways it is a lament on how fleeting and sad life is.
1-3 – The singer is trying to be quiet in his suffering and not to say anything disparaging about God in front of the wicked, but finally he speaks. What follows next is worship, the only appropriate thing to say before God.
4-6 – The singer prays to know how fleeting is his life so that he may not engage in the turmoil of life trying to heap up wealth.
7-13 – The singer confesses his sin, which is perhaps partly responsible for his suffering. The singer asks the LORD to deliver him from all of his transgressions and to take away God’s discipline for sin, and then he waits upon the LORD. The final thought is a confession that the singer is just a sojourner, a guest in this present life, as are all men.
Psalm 38 is both a lament and a penitential psalm. The singer lays his troubles before the LORD and confesses that his troubles are due to his own sins. The Psalm describes anguish of body and of mind, dissertation by his friends, and attacks by enemies.
1-8 – The singer in anguish describes his sufferings because of his sins. He refers to this anguish as the tumult of his heart. His sufferings for his sins are described as arrows from the LORD.
9-14 – The singer’s anguish intensifies as he is estranged from the LORD and from his friends. He describes intense loneliness.
15-22 – The singer ends with a confession that the LORD is his only hope in this otherwise hopeless situation. In verse 18, he confesses his iniquity, his sin. He says, I confess my iniquity; I am sorry for my sin. On this confession, he now bases his petition for salvation from his troubles.
Psalm 37 is a wisdom psalm dealing with themes presented in what we call the Wisdom Literature. In particular, Psalm 37 addresses the problem caused when godless people prosper. It contrast, it is better to stay faithful to God, which is expressed in contentment, honest dealing, generosity, and just speech. The LORD will make a distinction between the wicked and faithful in his own time. The faithful must wait patiently. This is an imperfect acrostic Psalm.
1-11 – Do not be envious of evildoers. Do not fret, be assured that God’s justice will come in the end, then evildoers will fade like grass and be no more, but the faithful, the meek, will inherit the land and delight themselves in peace. Psalm 37:1 is almost identical to Proverbs 24:19. Notice the commands in verses 3-11. Trust in the LORD, Do good, Dwell in the land, befriend faithfulness, Commit your way to the LORD, Trust in him, Be still before the LORD, Wait patiently for him, Refrain from anger, and Forsake wrath.
12-20 – The LORD thwarts the schemes of the wicked. The wicked think of all kinds evil schemes against the faithful, but the LORD sees to it that the wicked perish and that their evil schemes come to nothing. The LORD knows the days of the righteous; he is right there with them.
21-31 – Therefore, commit yourself to doing good. The singer reiterates that the wicked will be cutoff, but those blessed by the LORD will inherit the land. Only those faithful, blessed by the LORD, can do good because it is by the LORD that the steps of a man are established. One verse that means a lot to me is Psalm 37:25, I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his children begging bread. Verse 31 also, for one who has hidden God’s word in his heart, his steps do not slip.
32-40 – The LORD protects the righteous from the plots of the wicked. A common theme in the Psalms is that the faithful; are always under threat from the devices of the wicked, but they may trust in the LORD to preserve them. The singer then gives a final assurance that the LORD will not abandon the faithful to the power of the wicked, but will ensure that both the righteous and the wicked receive their proper regard in due time, most likely in the world to come.
Psalm 36 is a lament regarding the wicked who oppose the faithful and the steadfast love of the LORD. It concludes with a prayer that God in his steadfast love will protect his people from the attacks of the wicked.
1-4 – The singer begins by stating that the wicked act without fear of God. Who are the wicked? The wicked are those who do not reject evil but who are given over to committing such acts of evil. The wicked flatter themselves. The wicked believe that God cannot see their sins. They wicked always lie; they do not act wisely nor act good.
5-9 – In contrast God acts with steadfast love and faithfulness to his holy godly people. We also see other attributes of God such as righteousness, and justice. God figuratively takes his faithful people under the refuge of his wings. God nourishes them from the fountain of life, and so they may see the light, that is so that they may experience life.
10-12 – The final prayer is that God, through his steadfast love, will protect the faithful people of God from the wicked. The faithful people of God are the upright of heart.