Welcome to week three of the Psalms for the Summer series! I’m glad you’re here to read the Psalms with me. Through the month of July, I’ll be sharing one Psalm a day, 1-31, with encouragement for you to process the Psalm in your own creative way. I share my words and art not to tell you what to think or for you to pray my words, but to encourage you to grow in your own relationship with God.
If you haven’t already you may want to read these posts first:
- Reading the Psalms is Better than Scrolling Social Media
- Nine Ways to Engage with a Psalm
- Psalms for the Summer Week One (Psalms One-Seven)
- Psalms for the Summer Week Two (Psalms Eight-14)
Each Friday, I’ll share the Psalms for the week ahead. If you’d like to follow one day at a time, you can follow me on Instagram.
You can read the full text of each Psalm below in the CSB version, copied from Bible Gateway.
A Description of the Godly
A psalm of David.
1 Lord, who can dwell in your tent?
Who can live on your holy mountain?
2 The one who lives blamelessly, practices righteousness,
and acknowledges the truth in his heart—
3 who does not slander with his tongue,
who does not harm his friend
or discredit his neighbor,
4 who despises the one rejected by the Lord[a]
but honors those who fear the Lord,
who keeps his word whatever the cost,
5 who does not lend his silver at interest
or take a bribe against the innocent—
the one who does these things will never be shaken.
Psalm 15 Notes
In the Christian Standard Bible (CSB)(which is what is posted here), Psalm 14 is titled “A Portrait of Sinners.” Psalm 15 is titled “A Description of the Godly.” Make a list of the different characteristics and pray that God will help you conform to the list of the Godly rather than the list under sinners. Let God’s moral code be the foundation for your life. You can see my shortened list in the image below comparing Psalms 14 and 15.
Like David says, who can abide in God’s presence. This is why Jesus came to Earth and died with the punishment of our sins, so that we can “dwell in [God’s] tent.”
For Psalm 15, I wrote a prayer, then a poem. One thing to note, my prayer and poem are really inspired by my thoughts on the last words of the Psalm “never be shaken.” That’s the beauty of reading Scripture, the same words will mean different things to each one of us. Your prayer or any art you create will look different than mine. While reading Scripture, listen to what is going on inside of you, then let it come out in your own words or creation.
A Prayer Inspired by Psalm 15
Dear Lord, Let my words be gentle, humble, kind, and true. Convict me when I try to pretend, when I put others down with gossip or blame. May I stay grounded on Your foundation. Big words and big heads make me float off of my support. Let your Sprit give me words that are not self-inflating. Keep pride out of my heart and out of my lips. Help me stay humbly low on Your solid foundation where I won’t be shaken.
I’d love to see anything you write or create while reading the Psalms. Feel free to comment below with your thoughts or a link to your post!
Confidence in the Lord
A Miktam of David.
1 Protect me, God, for I take refuge in you.
2 I said to the Lord, “You are my Lord;
I have nothing good besides you.”
3 As for the holy people who are in the land,
they are the noble ones.
All my delight is in them.
4 The sorrows of those who take another god
for themselves will multiply;
I will not pour out their drink offerings of blood,
and I will not speak their names with my lips.
5 Lord, you are my portion
and my cup of blessing;
you hold my future.
6 The boundary lines have fallen for me
in pleasant places;
indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.
7 I will bless the Lord who counsels me—
even at night when my thoughts trouble me.
8 I always let the Lord guide me.
Because he is at my right hand,
I will not be shaken.
9 Therefore my heart is glad
and my whole being rejoices;
my body also rests securely.
10 For you will not abandon me to Sheol;
you will not allow your faithful one to see decay.
11 You reveal the path of life to me;
in your presence is abundant joy;
at your right hand are eternal pleasures.
Psalm 16 Notes
Your future is in God’s hands. No one else’s…He is the one that determines where your path goes. Our hearts should be turned towards Him and no one else. Verse 7 says, “the Lord who counsels me.” Make a list of the ways God counsels you.
This is a feel good Psalm with lots of praise. Instead of coming up with my own words for this Psalm, I wrote it out word for word. Then I chose a verse to meditate on throughout the day (verse 5). Can you write your own prayer of praise?
A Prayer for Protection
A prayer of David.
1 Lord, hear a just cause;
pay attention to my cry;
listen to my prayer—
from lips free of deceit.
2 Let my vindication come from you,
for you see what is right.
3 You have tested my heart;
you have examined me at night.
You have tried me and found nothing evil;
I have determined that my mouth will not sin.
4 Concerning what people do:
by the words from your lips
I have avoided the ways of the violent.
5 My steps are on your paths;
my feet have not slipped.
6 I call on you, God,
because you will answer me;
listen closely to me; hear what I say.
7 Display the wonders of your faithful love,
Savior of all who seek refuge
from those who rebel against your right hand.
8 Protect me as the pupil of your eye;
hide me in the shadow of your wings
9 from the wicked who treat me violently,
my deadly enemies who surround me.
10 They are uncaring;
their mouths speak arrogantly.
11 They advance against me; now they surround me.
They are determined
to throw me to the ground.
12 They are like a lion eager to tear,
like a young lion lurking in ambush.
13 Rise up, Lord!
Confront him; bring him down.
With your sword, save me from the wicked.
14 With your hand, Lord, save me from men,
from men of the world
whose portion is in this life:
You fill their bellies with what you have in store;
their sons are satisfied,
and they leave their surplus to their children.
15 But I will see your face in righteousness;
when I awake, I will be satisfied with your presence.
Psalm 17 Notes
As strong as David is—physical strength, armies, a kingdom—he still prays to God for protection. A man after God’s own heart prays to God in good times and bad. His confidence is in the God of his salvation. After asking God for what he needs, he expresses his hope: “But I will see your face…”
The word “portion” is in the previous Psalm and this one as well:
-Psalm 16:5
Lord, you are my portion and my cup of blessing; you hold my future.
-Psalm 17:4
With your hand, Lord, save me from men, from men of the world whose portion is in this life: You fill their bellies with what you have in store; their sons are satisfied, and they leave their surplus to their children.
I pray the Lord is our inheritance, our hope, not the temporary things of this world.
Write Your Own Prayer for Protection
You can follow David’s pattern in this Psalm to write your own prayer.
- Hear me…David asks God to pay attention to him.
- Keep me…”Keep” means to guard or protect.
- They are…David tells God about his enemies.
- Fight for me…David tells God to use his sword.
- But I will…David says what he hopes.
There’s a simple image below that you can save and share by following me on Instagram.
Praise for Deliverance
For the choir director. Of the servant of the Lord, David, who spoke the words of this song to the Lord on the day the Lord rescued him from the grasp of all his enemies and from the power of Saul. He said:
1 I love you, Lord, my strength.
2 The Lord is my rock,
my fortress, and my deliverer,
my God, my rock where I seek refuge,
my shield and the horn of my salvation,
my stronghold.
3 I called to the Lord, who is worthy of praise,
and I was saved from my enemies.
4 The ropes of death were wrapped around me;
the torrents of destruction terrified me.
5 The ropes of Sheol entangled me;
the snares of death confronted me.
6 I called to the Lord in my distress,
and I cried to my God for help.
From his temple he heard my voice,
and my cry to him reached his ears.
7 Then the earth shook and quaked;
the foundations of the mountains trembled;
they shook because he burned with anger.
8 Smoke rose from his nostrils,
and consuming fire came from his mouth;
coals were set ablaze by it.
9 He bent the heavens and came down,
total darkness beneath his feet.
10 He rode on a cherub and flew,
soaring on the wings of the wind.
11 He made darkness his hiding place,
dark storm clouds his canopy around him.
12 From the radiance of his presence,
his clouds swept onward with hail and blazing coals.
13 The Lord thundered from heaven;
the Most High made his voice heard.
14 He shot his arrows and scattered them;
he hurled lightning bolts and routed them.
15 The depths of the sea became visible,
the foundations of the world were exposed,
at your rebuke, Lord,
at the blast of the breath of your nostrils.
16 He reached down from on high
and took hold of me;
he pulled me out of deep water.
17 He rescued me from my powerful enemy
and from those who hated me,
for they were too strong for me.
18 They confronted me in the day of my calamity,
but the Lord was my support.
19 He brought me out to a spacious place;
he rescued me because he delighted in me.
20 The Lord rewarded me
according to my righteousness;
he repaid me
according to the cleanness of my hands.
21 For I have kept the ways of the Lord
and have not turned from my God to wickedness.
22 Indeed, I let all his ordinances guide me
and have not disregarded his statutes.
23 I was blameless toward him
and kept myself from my iniquity.
24 So the Lord repaid me
according to my righteousness,
according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight.
25 With the faithful
you prove yourself faithful,
with the blameless
you prove yourself blameless,
26 with the pure
you prove yourself pure,
but with the crooked
you prove yourself shrewd.
27 For you rescue an oppressed people,
but you humble those with haughty eyes.
28 Lord, you light my lamp;
my God illuminates my darkness.
29 With you I can attack a barricade,
and with my God I can leap over a wall.
30 God—his way is perfect;
the word of the Lord is pure.
He is a shield to all who take refuge in him.
31 For who is God besides the Lord?
And who is a rock? Only our God.
32 God—he clothes me with strength
and makes my way perfect.
33 He makes my feet like the feet of a deer
and sets me securely on the heights.
34 He trains my hands for war;
my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
35 You have given me the shield of your salvation;
your right hand upholds me,
and your humility exalts me.
36 You make a spacious place beneath me for my steps,
and my ankles do not give way.
37 I pursue my enemies and overtake them;
I do not turn back until they are wiped out.
38 I crush them, and they cannot get up;
they fall beneath my feet.
39 You have clothed me with strength for battle;
you subdue my adversaries beneath me.
40 You have made my enemies retreat before me;
I annihilate those who hate me.
41 They cry for help, but there is no one to save them—
they cry to the Lord, but he does not answer them.
42 I pulverize them like dust before the wind;
I trample them like mud in the streets.
43 You have freed me from the feuds among the people;
you have appointed me the head of nations;
a people I had not known serve me.
44 Foreigners submit to me cringing;
as soon as they hear they obey me.
45 Foreigners lose heart
and come trembling from their fortifications.
46 The Lord lives—blessed be my rock!
The God of my salvation is exalted.
47 God—he grants me vengeance
and subdues peoples under me.
48 He frees me from my enemies.
You exalt me above my adversaries;
you rescue me from violent men.
49 Therefore I will give thanks to you among the nations, Lord;
I will sing praises about your name.
50 He gives great victories to his king;
he shows loyalty to his anointed,
to David and his descendants forever.
Psalm 18 Notes
The longest Psalm so far! The six-chapter verses are much easier to read on busy mornings. David didn’t shorten his words when praising God for delivering him from Saul. Here’s what Dane C. Ortlund says in his book, In the Lord I take Refuge:
“The Lord’s strong deliverance of David from Saul elicits from David a song of love (v.1). The Lord has delivered David from deadly peril at the hands of an aggressive and hostile enemy. David recognizes that it is only by God’s mercy and provision that he has been spared.”
The last verse is where it really brings it home for Christians today: “He gives great victories to his king…to David and his descendants forever.” Jesus is David’s descendant who reigns forever. Jesus is our victory.
I wrote a prayer with this Psalm, and it is too long to share. So I encourage you to write your own prayer. Just like yesterday, I’m giving you a guide based on David’s pattern and I share some of the words from my own to help you.
The Witness of Creation and Scripture
For the choir director. A psalm of David.
1 The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the expanse proclaims the work of his hands.
2 Day after day they pour out speech;
night after night they communicate knowledge.
3 There is no speech; there are no words;
their voice is not heard.
4 Their message has gone out to the whole earth,
and their words to the ends of the world.
In the heavens he has pitched a tent for the sun.
5 It is like a bridegroom coming from his home;
it rejoices like an athlete running a course.
6 It rises from one end of the heavens
and circles to their other end;
nothing is hidden from its heat.
7 The instruction of the Lord is perfect,
renewing one’s life;
the testimony of the Lord is trustworthy,
making the inexperienced wise.
8 The precepts of the Lord are right,
making the heart glad;
the command of the Lord is radiant,
making the eyes light up.
9 The fear of the Lord is pure,
enduring forever;
the ordinances of the Lord are reliable
and altogether righteous.
10 They are more desirable than gold—
than an abundance of pure gold;
and sweeter than honey
dripping from a honeycomb.
11 In addition, your servant is warned by them,
and in keeping them there is an abundant reward.
12 Who perceives his unintentional sins?
Cleanse me from my hidden faults.
13 Moreover, keep your servant from willful sins;
do not let them rule me.
Then I will be blameless
and cleansed from blatant rebellion.
14 May the words of my mouth
and the meditation of my heart
be acceptable to you,
Lord, my rock and my Redeemer.
Psalm 19 Notes
Everything God makes is good, because He is good. Creation sings, His written word teaches, and mankind is a walking, talking reflection of God. If only we could “be blameless and cleansed from blatant rebellion.”
If only we relied on God’s words more than the world’s words. God’s Word is perfect, trustworthy, right, radiant, reliable, and righteous. Can you say that about what you hear from our society’s experts? God’s word also renews life, gives wisdom, gladdens the heart, and lights up the eyes. What a treasure we have in Scripture. May we rely on God’s wisdom more and more each day.
Below is my paraphrase and a collage I made in Canva.
Deliverance in Battle
For the choir director. A psalm of David.
1 May the Lord answer you in a day of trouble;
may the name of Jacob’s God protect you.
2 May he send you help from the sanctuary
and sustain you from Zion.
3 May he remember all your offerings
and accept your burnt offering.Selah
4 May he give you what your heart desires
and fulfill your whole purpose.
5 Let us shout for joy at your victory
and lift the banner in the name of our God.
May the Lord fulfill all your requests.
6 Now I know that the Lord gives victory to his anointed;
he will answer him from his holy heaven
with mighty victories from his right hand.
7 Some take pride in chariots, and others in horses,
but we take pride in the name of the Lord our God.
8 They collapse and fall,
but we rise and stand firm.
9 Lord, give victory to the king!
May he answer us on the day that we call.
Psalm 20 Notes
This Psalm reads like a blessing, David blessing himself(?) and others going into battle with him. We’re not kings actually going into battle and we’re not watching others groom their chariots, but we still do battle daily. Battling grief, sickness, difficult relationships, expectations. Satan. Every day we’re battling evil that wants to overwhelm our hearts.
But David begins and ends this Psalm with may the Lord answer you. God is always there to give us strength to overcome. Let us wait and receive and celebrate victory. I enjoy The Message translation of verse five: “When you win, we plan to raise the roof and lead the parade with our banners. May all your wishes come true!”
A Blessing and a Fill in the Blank
As you’re going through battles, it may be helpful to name what you’re after. What are your motives and goals for battle? Use verses 7-8 as a fill-in-the-blank.
Some take pride in chariots, and others in horses,
but we take pride in the name of the Lord our God.
They collapse and fall,
but we rise and stand firm.
You can see the fill-in-the-blank below. I don’t want this to be an exercise in looking down on anyone. But hopefully it’s an exercise in naming what is important to you. We cannot judge the hearts of others, but we can examine our own hearts. Is there an area where you feel like you’re not good enough? Is there something that you feel like you’ll never measure up to another person’s standard? Maybe that’s what you need to write about. David had chariots and horses, lots, but he said that’s not his pride and his courage in battle—his trust is in the Lord.
Can you name a place where you trust in the Lord and not in physical things?
The King’s Victory
For the choir director. A psalm of David.
1 Lord, the king finds joy in your strength.
How greatly he rejoices in your victory!
2 You have given him his heart’s desire
and have not denied the request of his lips.Selah
3 For you meet him with rich blessings;
you place a crown of pure gold on his head.
4 He asked you for life, and you gave it to him—
length of days forever and ever.
5 His glory is great through your victory;
you confer majesty and splendor on him.
6 You give him blessings forever;
you cheer him with joy in your presence.
7 For the king relies on the Lord;
through the faithful love of the Most High
he is not shaken.
8 Your hand will capture all your enemies;
your right hand will seize those who hate you.
9 You will make them burn
like a fiery furnace when you appear;
the Lord will engulf them in his wrath,
and fire will devour them.
10 You will wipe their progeny from the earth
and their offspring from the human race.
11 Though they intend to harm you
and devise a wicked plan, they will not prevail.
12 Instead, you will put them to flight
when you ready your bowstrings to shoot at them.
13 Be exalted, Lord, in your strength;
we will sing and praise your might.
Psalm 21 Notes
After a prayer for deliverance in battle in Psalm 20, we now read rejoicing in the king’s victory. I’m not a king, but I can still find reasons to rejoice in God. Verses 8-12 show how God seizes His enemies. I do not want to be on the wrong side of God’s wrath!
With this Psalm I chose verse seven to mediate on. You can see below that I changed a couple words (the ones in teal).
Share Your Thoughts with Me!
I hope you have enjoyed reading a Psalm a day for three weeks now. I hope it’s deepening your communion with God. I’d love to hear your thoughts on any of these Psalms. Share in the comments or tag me on social media!
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