Nancy Palmer

The psalmist describes God as ever present, ever willing to counsel. God is omnipresent and omnipotent. God is a place; a firm place to stand, a place to take sanctuary. God is an indestructible, formidable fortress of protection. The conveyed thought is that everything I am not - God is for me. He is my strength, my protection, my place of safety, security and, most importantly, my home. Thanks be to God.

My/Our Dear Lord, your anger and disappointment with me/us is well know and justified. In your infinite wisdom, mercy and grace I/we plead with you to cause your light to be sight to me/us. Light my/our path and lead my/our hearts to follow you. May the memory of desolation as I/we were separated from you be distant yet fresh so that we may always and forever through all generations to come seek to always be in your favor. May I/we never reject your truths. From 2Ch 7:14 'If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.' As I reflect on the words from this piece of scripture, it seems my prayer contains parallels as I recognize His Lordship, in humility know my transgressions, ask for vision to see and turn toward His light and beg for restoration in relationship with God never to be separated again.

In a state of humility, I know I am need of salvation. With faith, I reach out to my saving and redeeming God. Without humility, I am filled with pride and in a proud state, I recognize no need of a savior and thus would not have the faith to reach out to one. It's so interesting the way God, through Christ, turns human logic upside down. From the beatitude on the mount...'Blessed [are] the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.' How preposterous to the human brain to begin to understand that being humble would lead to riches!

In all honesty, when I know that God's thoughts and plans are focused on me there is a mixture of feelings. I'm confused because to the world I seem pretty insignificant and that is where I (and most others)tend to seek acceptance and affirmation of worth. I am also humbled to know that a power infinitely greater than me is considering me to be a significant part of His grand plans. Other feelings come to the surface too, confidence, peace, a sense of purpose, gratitude, comfort, indestructibility, awe, fear, etc. Did I say fear? Oh yeah, that's a big one because when His full plan isn't revealed (and it almost never is at the onset), then I am filled with so much questioning and trepidation. I have learned through experience and am still learning as well, that even when I am filled with all these emotions, He is worthy of praise. He provides a calm in the midst of the storms of this life that witnesses to me and hopefully to others who see the Holy Spirit at work. Praise God in all things!

The adage 'It's always darkest before the dawn' comes to mind as I consider why my appeals to God often begin with laments and, if I truly give it all over to God, end up in a spirit of praise and thanksgiving. My lamentations come from my heart's outpouring of pain if I am honest with God about my dire circumstances. After truly laying my burdens upon Him, I am relieved and able to respond with gratitude and praise to the One who provides me with hope and draws me into a genuine loving relationship. Praise is the only attitude I can have toward the God who incessantly offers Himself to me without condemnation but with overflowing love. Isn't He truly wonderful?

David's knowledge of his sinful nature obviously grieves him. The only way David can appeal to God after his disgraceful behavior with Bathsheba and his sinful handling of Uriah is not through his own merit or self righteousness (obviously lost!). David must lay aside his pride and instead appeal to the everlasting and consistent nature of God, that nature of abundant grace and mercy that God has toward his creation. Our human (sinful) behavior tends to pull us away from God as we behave in self righteous/prideful ways. God's bottomless well of grace and mercy are ever drawing us toward His pure love and real righteousness. I liken it to the opposing forces of a magnet to attract and repel. Oh that I would respond more to God's pulling force and deny the repelling forces around me.

According to this psalmist, praise is offered to God because he has done marvelous things. For example the salvation of His people from their oppressors/enemies. God has also made himself known to the world as the righteous Lord of the Israelites because the world is witness to the powerful covenant He made with their father, Abraham. He (God) has kept his promises to his people. The writer recognizes that the Lord has delivered his people time after time and the writer overflows in joy and thankfulness. My church, well, some members are jubilant but for the most part, we are a subdued bunch. I suppose we are not overzealous or overt with praise because it would not be dignified behavior according to current societal norms. It may appear to be a shame that we are not full-out with praise but then again, there are people who would miss the message and be turned off if we did. I suppose we are called to share the gospel with a still small voice to those who need to receive it in that way. Anyway, as I understand God, He loves variety and equips us for his work as he sees fit. I really don't see overzealous as better or overly pious as superior as long as both serve the Lord. PRAISE THE LORD! praise the Lord! The sound is sweet, no matter the decibel with which it is said!

Praise should be a part of all I do in response to all He has done. Praise should occur everywhere I go and with all that I have. Reading this psalm reminds me that my life, if lived in accordance to God's will, will be as a finely turned instrument of praise. Hallelujah!

I am blessed because this psalm is a picture of the church to which I belong. We are a community church and an interdenominational church. A distinction is made that it is not a non-denominational church. We have baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians, Catholics, 7 Day Adventists, Episcopals, and no doubt many more, yet we worship together in unity. Bound together by our profession of faith in the saving grace of Christ's sacrificial act on the cross. While there are differences in our specific beliefs, for the most part, we 'dwell in unity'. Yes, there are struggles but it works and is 'precious and lovely and flows over us abundantly as precious oil poured all over Aaron'. To me, the word purity implies things left out/removed while the word unity implies a pulling together or inclusiveness. On first glance these do seem to be words with conflicting meanings yet when pulled together will a common bond (the purity of Christ's love) there really is no significant conflict. Praise God.

How many times should my tongue have been curbed? How easy it is to listen to the news and make snide remarks. Often I feel that there is no consequence to my remarks, because they will not reach the people of whom I am speaking. Yet those evil words do reach my audience - my husband, my children, my friends, etc. Those comments do hurt. They hurt my listeners and they speak more about my character than they do about those who I am slurring. This is the lesson that this psalm has directly for me. How many times have I failed to be a faithful witness to my loved ones in the past. It is my prayer that that my tongue be curbed no, clipped, in order that I could be a more righteous example for those I love, and dwell in the tabernacle of the Lord forever. This psalm covers actions,intent, speech, honesty, fear of the Lord, respect, honor, long suffering, and charity.

Your question implies that we already 'know' that the righteous will succeed and that the wicked will perish. But on what level do we 'know' it? All around us we see examples of people who are not perceived as righteous but who are prospering according to the standards of the world while those faithful seem to lack prosperity. What's that about? Sure we have the concept of the wicked perishing but not in a 'here in the moment' reality. Conversely, we often see them seeming to thrive. It is one thing to 'know' in my head because of the written word, but to 'know' in my heart is another thing altogether. I strive to know in my heart but, Lord, I'm not there yet. My favorite part of this Psalm, is vs. 2; "But his delight is in the law of the Lord and on his law he meditates day and night." Since Christ came that His law might be written on my heart not on stone, it is that which I take comfort meditating on!

To receive the sacrificial gift of Christ, one must know the giver, the Father. As the Father is love, His gift is also born out of love. There could be no other response but to recognize God's love for me as I reach out to accept Christ. The life and death of Christ has no meaning except that God first loved (me). This realization brings me to a state of amazement, gratitude, awe, and eagerness to live up to His desire for my life.

The psalmist apparently feels depressed, defeated, maybe abandoned, physical hunger, thirst and pain, and spiritual hunger, thirst and pain. (Haven't we all?) The writer combats these feelings of despair with recollections, longing for communion with God, emptying his soul in prayer, engaging in self affirming words of encouragement, and pleading with God while being honest with his feelings. In my most desperate time of late, I got down on my knees numerous days and prayed in front of an icon of Jesus with the lost lamb on his shoulders. In those times, I felt myself being carried by and cared for by Him. He alone provided the comfort I needed to get through one day at a time after the loss of my job. Ten years ago when my father was ill and dying of stomach cancer, I was worn out and found myself unable to concentrate enough to converse much with God. During that time, I often awaken in the night and began prayers only to fall asleep after a few minutes. When I told my husband that I was upset about falling asleep during prayers, he pointed out to me that Jesus awakened me to give me enough comfort and then give me rest. After that, I saw those middle of the night prayers in a special light - they were gifts of just the right size for me. God is soooo good! All the time!

The plea by David (and so many of us) to 'dwell in the house of the Lord' is a request for God to surround us in the comfort of his loving home, in his presence, to be protected, cared for, to receive the full measure of His gracious hospitality where all our needs are met and we are accepted in complete fellowship with the Lord of all creation. Seeking the 'face of the Lord' - There is a contemporary song with lyrics that include this phrase and it's always driven me crazy because I didn't feel as if I needed to see the face of God literally. I don't feel the face of God is something that could be defined by vision. I am coming to understand that I have been correct - to perceive the face of God requires more than sight with the eyes. As with any human loved one - to 'see' fully involves the experiences of all your senses ... sight, touch, smell, taste, sound, and most importantly heart. To see God's face is to know Him spirit to spirit, soul to soul, and body to body. That, I think, is what David longs for and what I long for too. At the end of this Psalm, David expresses that he knows without doubt that he will see (experience) the full goodness of God during his life time. In the study guide we are led to believe that David means it will be within his physical lifetime, but I am not sure. I think David is considering that his experience of the full goodness of God will come within his eternal lifetime.

Responding specifically to vs. 13-16 and 23-24. Beholding the vastness of God's creation and also God's involvement in the minuscule details of even David's life (and mine, too), David takes comfort rather than feeling stalked or controlled. Controlled by God is not a loss of freedom, in a way that it seems both David and I have a difficult time expressing. God's ordaining of ALL MY DAYS is THE source of a great comfort and empowerment. Vs. 23-24 struck me as similar to David's prayer in Psalm 19:14 (just studied) because David again is pleading with God to align his will with His will. On a personal note - In all my prior readings of this Psalm, I never realized that I was conceived having already existing with reverential fear (awe) of God. Isn't that marvelous - We are created with an overwhelming adoration for God even before we are a single cell!

Comparing vs. 1-6 and 7-13. Both refer to the Word of God but manifest in different ways. Vs. 1-6 the Word is every part of His creation and Vs. 7-13 the Word as written in the laws statutes, precepts, commands, ordinances. Both are tangible demonstrations of His generous love. The writer loves the Word of the Lord in all forms because they are precious, sweet, and promise reward. (I love the Word of God mainly because it is true, my compass to follow that leads to a sweet and precious victory.) David wants to be purged of transgressions. David ultimately desires to be both inwardly and outwardly pleasing to God and aligned perfectly with His will.

The Psalm (19) teaches that God is wonderful - even just in name. That is greatness is apparent and obvious. His name empowers even the weakest with his protection. The Psalm (19) teaches that man should be humble because in contrast to God, we are insignificant in appearance yet fully loved by God. We are lower than the angels yet entrusted by God with the care of all of the earth and it's contents. The Psalm (19) teaches that God took on the form of man as the Christ and that as God took this form, He loved The Man as deeply as a father loves his son. (What a sacrifice on His part for our (human) benefit!) The Psalm (19) teaches that I (we) are to care for all the creations of God that He has entrusted us with. Amen

Hey y'all. I'm a new student to this online community and excited and nervous about it. My name is Nancy and I live in South Carolina (U.S.A.) with my husband and cat. I am disciplining (it's an ongoing process) Christian, raised in the Methodist tradition. For the last 20 years, I've been in an interdenominational church which has nurtured my faith and that of my 2 grown boys and husband. I've taught Sunday School for kids for years, been in assorted adult classes and small group Bible studies but have never really caught the fever for Psalms. I guess you could say I've purposely avoided them (Psalms). I love the Old Testament books of history and when I saw this class listed, I prayerfully considered it and felt God's nudge to dig in deep. Please pray for me as I engage in His Holy song book. Blessings to you all.